As an English teacher, it is important for me that the students are learning and having fun while doing so. Not everything can be fun, but it is still important as a teacher to make it interesting for the students. When it comes to the question about whether one should use grammar-focused drills or communicative practice, I prefer the communicative practice. One should also focus on grammar so that the students know how to use it correctly. The best way to do this is to get the grammar focus in the communicative practice when the students have learned enough to speak English and use it to communicate.
English teachers should focus on communicative practice. The most important thing for L2 teachers is to get the students involved and interested in the language they are learning. If one only focuses on grammar-focused drills it will soon become boring for the students, and not as motivating as one would like. There has to be a focus on grammar, grammar is very important. Still, there is a line here, that every L2 teachers should find. This line will be different from class to class, and student to student. It is important to remember that every student learn differently and needs different things. When that is said, I still believe that the most important thing for every student is to learn to communicate well.
Communicative practice is very important for students who are learning L2. I believe that it is more important for the L2 students that they learn how to communicate than to be good at writing the language. Learning to write is also important, but to be able to communicate and speak the language is the most important thing. There are multiple ways to teach English by using communicative practice. The first thing one should consider is the level of the class. How much do they know, and how good are they at speaking English.
Roleplay is the first communicative practice I would like to suggest. There are multiple ways to use roleplay in the classroom. If the students are in the early phase of learning English, they could be given lines to work with. And there should be no more than 2-3 students who work together. That way it will not be so difficult to pay attention to what everyone is saying and it will feel safer for the students. For older and more experienced students, they should only be given a topic and some guidelines. That way they are the one making up the lines. This way they have to think for themselves and use what they already know to do the exercise. The focus of the roleplay is up to the teacher, that way you and the students know what they should get out of the exercise.
Identifying differences is the second communicative practice. The students will work in pairs, and they will be seated with their backs against each other. They will be given a photograph each, the same picture, with small differences. They need to communicate with each other, to find out what the differences in the pictures are. Everything needs to be in English, that way they have to ask each other whats in the other person's picture to find out what is different. Here they learn to ask questions. To make it more fun for the students, you can make it into a competition. That way they will be more motivated to find out the differences. Making it a competition can also make it less productive for the students. So make sure the focus for the students is to speak English and ask good questions.
The last communicative practice I would like to suggest are letter writing. The students should answer a Dear Abby letter from someone their own age. Here they have to communicate with each other and actually write down an answer. It is best for the students and the exercise that they are 2-3 in each group. That way they have to talk to each other and work together to write down an answer. When they write down an answer, they will learn from each other and communicate while doing so. This task has it all, they have to read the letter, talk about it and work together to find an answer, and they have to write it down.
There are so many different types of communicative practices that teachers can use. Practices that will teach your students different things. Communicative practices should be used more in the classroom than grammar-focused drills. It will be more motivating for your students. They will have fun while learning new things and improve their English speaking skills.
