Communicative Activities in Classrooms

Mrs Heather Dallas, a CfBT teacher from the school

Communicative activities are indeed effective ways to engage pupils for student-centred learning. The activities need a reason for pupils to communicate with each other. They are realistic and have purposeful context and are meant to be fun and motivating. They adapt a classroom culture that encourages co-operative learning and to match the skill level of the class with the skills required to perform the task.

As presented today by a CfBT teacher from the school, Mrs Heather Dallas, a Pra teacher explained the benefits of using communicative activities. She mentioned that the activities encourage active learning rather than receptive learning where pupils learn through practising language and correcting own errors. She added that the activities focus on language content and meaning rather than grammatical form and provide self-motivating and memorable learning experiences. The activities also often able to provide opportunities for differentiated learning so pupils participate at their own level.

She emphasized the possible problems in using communicative activities including to teach pupils to use quiet voices and take turns talking within a group which normally pupils are overjoyed with fun activities and to engage all pupils to perform a purposeful and accountable task rather than they being off-task.

Lots of activities were demonstrated and performed by teachers who attended the workshop which took place in the Conference Room this afternoon. Among others, Cikgu Haji Suhaili bin Haji Jaafar, the school's Headmaster, Cikgu Saramah binti Mail, the Assistant Headmistress I and Cikgu Hajah Samziah binti Haji Sabtu, the Assistant Headmistress II were also attending and participating in doing the demonstrated activities.