Characteristics of communicative English A study on application of English teaching for non language major classes at Quang Binh University

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

LE THI HANG
Characteristics of communicative English:
A study on application of English teaching for
non- language major classes at Quang Binh
University
Academic field: Applied linguistics
Ref No: 62.22.01.05
DOCTORAL THESIS IN PHILOLOGY

HANOI, 2014
2
This research was completed at
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Name of supervisors: 1. Assoc Prof. Dr. Vu Thi Thanh Huong
Reviewer 1: Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Khang
Reviewer 2: Prof. Dr. Mai Ngoc Chu
Reviewer 3: Assoc Prof.Lam Quang Dong
This dissertation will be defended to academic evaluation committee of the
Graduate academy of social sciences, held at:
at…… am, October 2014
The thesis can be found at:
1. National Library of Vietnam
2. Library of Graduate academy of social siences
3. Library of Institute of linguistics
PREAMBLE
1. Rational
The tendency towards communicative language teaching (CLT)
appeared in 1970s, since then this learning - teaching approach has

developed worldwide and brought about highly educating and training
effects for the learner. However, there is no one specific model applicable to
all trained subjects and instructing environment nor are there any studies to
understand the nature of CLT and the way to adapt this approach to teaching
non-major English at univerities in Vietnam. That is the main reasons
urging us to select the thesis title ‘Characteristics of communicative
English: A study on application of English teaching for non- language
major classes at Quang Binh University’
2. Review of previous studies
2.1. Previous studies in the world
CLT has so far developed and expanded in its different aspects, the
British and American initiators considered it as the way or approach to gain
the target communicative competence. Curriculum development, syllabus
design, materials and facilities, learning-teaching activities were researched
and applied basing on the fundamental characteristics of communicative
language and theories of second or foreign language acquisition process of
human beings.
Teaching activities and techniques are designed and created to
enhance excitement and motivation for learning and help the learner to use
language in natural communication contexts or in connection with real life.
Nevertheless, the primary tenets and approaches of CLT have mainly been
studied in English speaking countries or those in the Council of Europe. It
is, therefore, neccessary to carry out research with the aim of understanding
more thoroughly the nature of CLT and how to adapt it to specific trained
subjects and educating environment.
2.2. Previous studies and application of communicative English teaching
for non-major language university students in Vietnam
1
Our preliminary survey shows that there were not many studies on
characteristics of communicative English and application of communicative

English teaching to non English major students in Vietnam. There was only
‘an investigation into the application of communicative language teaching
to non-English major students in Thai Nguyên College of Economics and
Finance, school year 2007-2008 A Vietnamese Experience’ studied by
Nguyen Thi Minh Thu. The results indicate the effectiveness and
importance of adapting this approach to teaching English speaking skills for
students. Most studies focused on searching for the causes of low English
teaching results and solutions to the problems.
3. Aims, questions and contents of the study
3.1. Aims of the study
The author’s study purpose is to further the understanding of the
nature of CLT and learn how to teach English effectively for non English
major students at Quang Binh University.
3.2. Research questions
In order to achieve the study bjectives, the thesis poses three
research questions as follows:
1. What are characteristics of communicative English? and what
characteristics do English learning classes in communicative approach
have?
2. What are properties and conditions of English teaching at Quang Binh
University? Which of those have/have not met requirements of CLT?
3. How to teach communicatve English writing for non English major
students at the Quang Binh University?
3.3. Contents of the study
To answer each research question we will respectively carry out the
research contents as follows:
a, Analysis and synthesize previous studies of theory and reality on
properties of English under the context of communication theory, and
characteristics of English learning classes in communicative approach.
2

b, Investigate the reality of teaching-learning, and needs analysis written
English learning of non-language majors students of courses 49 to 52 at
Quang Binh University .
c, Teach pedagogical experiment in communicative English writing for non-
language majors students of courses 49 to 53 to find out the appropriate
ways to apply CLT effectively to teaching English for non-language major
students at Quang Binh University.
4. Objects and scope of the study
The objects of our study are properties of communicative English
and applying it to learning-teaching English. Subjects whom are applied to
this teaching approach are non-language major students at Quang Binh
University. In this study, we will only focus on the application of teaching
of communicative English writing and carry out investigations, verification,
and experiment with non-language major students of courses 49 to 53.
5. Research Methodology
The researcher has used the following research methods:
- Description,
- Analysis and synthesis,
- Observation,
- Testing
- Podagogical experiment
- Questionnaire
- Interview
- Comparison and contrast
- Statistical procedures
6. New contributions of the thesis
- Theoretical contributions: the reasearcher analyzed, synthesized,
and linked a wide range of relatively new resources to draw out some basic
characteristics of communicative English and make sense of the nature of
communicative language teaching.

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- Practical contributions: the autor initially identified appropriate
ways to apply teaching communicative English writing to subjects of the
study.
7. Organization of the thesis
Besides introduction, conclusion, references, and appendixes, the
thesis consists of three chapters:
Chapter 1: Theoretical background
Chapter 2: Reality of English teaching-learning and needs analysis of
learning English writing of non-language majors at Quang Binh University
Chapter 3: Pidagogical experiment in teaching of communicative English
writing for non-language majors at Quang Binh University
CHAPTER 1
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1. Characteristics of communicative English
The term communicative English in this thesis refers to the English
style in association with communication function which is used to exchange
and negotiate meanings.
1.1.1. Transactional model of communication process
To better understand the characteristics of English communication,
we will revise the transactional model of communication process of DC
Barnlund (1970). Looking at the chart 1.1, we can see that the participants
not merely mean to send and receive from one person to another and then
feedback to each other, but rather they are building a common meaning
through this process. Shared meaning lies in the area where the two ovals
intersect with each other. The keys to communicate successfully are not
only to master conventions of using codes or transmitting intact contents of
a message but also to pay attention to a wide rang of other related problems
such as non-verbal cues, context, cultural values, noise, styles and
preferences of the listener or reader to have a communication strategy

accordingly.
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Two dimensions
Commuincator A Social systems Commuincator B
Channel


Field of Field of
experience Code interactions over time experience

Meaing Shared meaning Meaing

Shared field of experience



Feedback Message
Context
Chart 1.1. Transactional model of communication adapted from DC
Barnlund’s viewpoints
1.1.2. Characteristics of communicative English
1.1.2.1. Primary characteristics
Like all languages, communicative English has six following basic
properties: duality, displacement, productivity, discreteness, arbitrary, and
cultural transmission. The first four properties force the learner or the user
to use English flexibly and creatively. One meaning can be expressed in a
variety of language forms and one word can be combined with other words
in different ways to express different meanings. Displacement probably help
people use language with 'poetry function', for example, they may use
rhetorical forms to indicate other latent meanings. Productivity and

discreteness can help users express and understand meanings of sentences
they never heard before thanks to their mastering grammar and reasoning
Noise
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skills. Therefore, learners have to learn to memorize common conventions
of using codes such as the rules of syntax, pragmatics, semantics and
phonetics. The arbitrary, and cultural transmission make students learn to
grasp the cultural characteristics of the target communities as norms, habits
- customs, beliefs, attitudes and values which rule over their communication
behaviors.
1.1.2.2. Functional characteristics
The main function of English is a means of communication to
express meanings, for example, expressing gratitude, asking for directions,
verbalizing the knowledge of certain topics, etc. However, one meaning can
be expressed and interpreted in different ways, so the dual function of
communicative English is means to exchange and negotiate meanings with
the aim of achieving a common meaning or any communication purposes.
Besides, English has got fuction of a foreign language used to meet the
communication needs of the social community groups whose first language
is not English. With the role of international communication language,
English has both the functions of the first language and those of a language
of intercultural and international communication.
1.1.2.3. Characteristics of stylistics and register
In terms of style, English can be varied from the ritual, the formal,
the negotiating, the casual to the intimate in order to accommodate the user
achieve their communication goals. Register is governed by the relationship
of three elements: topics, roles of participants and communication channels.
Therefore, the language always associates with the communication
environment and the user’s needs. Based on the topics regularly referred to,
situations of context, roles of participants, and communication channel,

English can be classified into a variety of types such as General English,
Academic English. etc. Stylistics and register have reciprocal relationship
impacting and governing each other. Depending on the type of English
taught, conventions of style and selection of register such as vocabulary,
grammar, genre will be designed to facilitate the goal of that teaching.
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1.1.2.4. Socio-cultural characteristics where the language is used
To communicate naturally and effectively, people must be
harmoniously combined 8 elements dominating communicative activities in
languages. Those contain setting and scene, participants, ends, act sequence,
key, instrumentalities, norms, and genre. Defining the content of those
elements depend entirely on the social context where the language is used.
Relying on the communication context, the purpose of the action, social
norms, type of the text in question, the participants will establish their social
roles and those of their partners, then they select and use appropriate
language. Therefore, communicative English always indicate sociocultural
features in which it is used.
1.2. Communicative approach in second languages teaching
Putting of English teaching in communicative approach into
practice of a foreign language classroom concern a number of problems. Its
primary process is probably perceived from the sytematic model of syllabus
design adapted from Brown that you can see in the feagure 1.5. Of those,
needs analysis to determine syllabus objectives, testing and evaluation take
up vitally important stages in CLT process.

Chart 1.5. Sytematic model of syllabus design (adapted from Brown, 1996)
Evaluation
Objectives
Teaching
Testing

Materials
Needs analysis
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The main tenets and approaches in CLT are to help students use
English, flexibly and creatively, and to express meanings appropriate to the
text type, topic, roles and norms in a specific situation of communication
context with the aim of having their communication goals. Communicative
approach is expanded under the viewpoint of seeing language as
communication, the learner learn a forein language to have the ability of
interacting and negotiating meanings in an attempt to gain a common
meaning or a communication goal satisfying all participants’ wants; and
through this process, language acquisition will be happened. Besides, CLT
is also developed on the base of theories of second language acquisition and
the terms communicative competence and communicative performance.
Similar to development of first language acquisition process, second
language acquisition normally goes through certain stages; therefore,
General English has been designed according to levels. At each level of
proficiency, knowledge of communicative competence and communicative
performance is compiled in association with the needs and abilities of users.
The theory of working memory of Alan Bladdley proves that English
learning and acquiring as a foreign language are two processes requiring
relatively different types of practising activities. In the first process, students
need to learn to memorize new patterns of language structure by receiving
or using them repeatedly and implementing meaningful association. The
other knowledge of communicative competence is also received and
memorized by listening and reading comprehension. In the latter process,
students have to practise English regularly in natural or unrehearsal
communication contexts. This will help students get quick reactions to
processing language and use it fluently and naturally.
1.3. Characteristics of foreign languages classes in communicative

approach
Douglas Brown summarized four interconnected characteristics of a
CLT class as follows:
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- Classroom goals are focused on all of the components of
communicative competence and not restricted to grammatical or linguistic
competence.
- Language techniques are designed to engage learners in the
pragmatic, authentic, functional use of language for meaningful purposes.
Organizational language forms are not the central focus but rather aspects of
language that enable the learner to accomplish those purposes.
- Fluency and accuracy are seen as complementary principles
underlying communicative techniques. At times frequency may have to take
on more importance than accuracy in order to keep learners meaningful
engaged in language use.
- In communicative classroom, students ultimately have to use the
language, productively and receptively, in unrehearsed contexts.
CHAPTER 2
REALITY OF TEACHING - LEARNING ENGLISH AND NEEDS
ANALYSIS OF LEARNING ENGLISH WRITING OF NON-
LANGUAGE MAJORS AT QUANG BINH UNIVERSITY
2.1. Reality of teaching and learning non-major English at Quang Binh
University
2.1.1. Characteristics of English taught for non-language major students
at Quang Binh University
The type of English requried to instruct for non-English major
students at the Quang Binh University is General English.
2.1.2. Characteristics of non-language major students and conditions on
English teaching at Quang Binh University
Approximately 70% of students at Quang Binh University come from

Quang Binh province, most of them are passive in learning English.
Although students wish to enhance communication activities in order to
improve the efficiency of learning English, they still need to be facilitated
and guided properly. In addition, written English communication skills of
the students is very low, up to 85% of the student do not gain level A1 of
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English. This makes it difficult for them students to study B1 level
immediately as requirements.
Survey on English teaching-learning conditions for non-language major
students at Quang Binh University showed a number of issues which were
not guaranteed for teaching communicating English successfully, including
syllabus design, assessment test, document and facilities, teaching-learning
activities, and students' learning strategies.
2.2. Survey on needs analysis of written English learning of non-
language major students at Quang Binh University
2.2.1. Respondents
- 200 non-language major students of courses 49, 50, 51, 52 Quang Binh
University.
- 10 lecturers teaching English from Faculty of Foreign Languages,
Quang Binh University.
2.2.2. Survey results
According to training requirements, output English of graduate students
at Quang Binh University must reach level A2. The results of needs analysis
of learning communicative English writing helped us identify the objectives
and contents of teaching and learning English in order to serve designing
syllabus for students at experimenta classes. Accordingly, we proposed that
the adverbs: first, second, then, and the conjunctions and, but, because need
for reviewed, so that the student could use them in writing sentences and
paragraphs. For Mathematics Pedagogy class (the students have better
English qualification), we could introduce more conjunctions: so, however.

A number of language texts will be taught including simple forms, short
functional texts such as greetings on cards, messages, or notes; informal e-
mails; description; instructions, directions; recounts; reports; and narratives.
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2.3. Research and propose solutions application of teaching
communicative English writing
2.3.1. Review of some theoretical matters related to teaching communicative
English writing
2.3.1.1. Communication by written English
Writting communication is a communication activity where people use
writing language symbols to exchange meanings with one another, but the
other non-verbal means can be used to support, illustrate, and supplement
meaning of the message.
2.3.1.2. The nature of writing
Writing is an action that has got both material and spiritual
characteristics. At the most basic scope, writing is a physical act to transfer
ideas on a certain means, it may be the pictograms on leather or an
electronic message typed on the computer. On the other hand, writing is also
a brain-related activity to reflect in the creation of the ideas, to think of
ways to express them, and to align them into statements and passages which
are clear with the readers.
2.3.1.3. Developing proficiency in written communicative English for lower
learners
When learning to write, there are two major matters that emerge and
parallel with each other: learn to understand the knowledge for serving of
communication activities also known as communicative competence and
learn to have the ability of conscious communication, also known as
communicative performance. Rivers (1975) called them respectively:
support-skill/skill-getting and skill-using. For students at low level, teaching
communicative English writing focuses more on skill-getting. But Savignon,

a scholar of communicative approach, confirmed that learners can perform
activities to obtain communcation ability from the beginning, and that it is
not necessary to learn the language structures in such a mechanical and
traditional manner.
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To balance the skill-getting and skill-using, the best solution is to limit
code consolidation activities by selecting the substitute activities
contextually, in order to express personalized meannings and design
exercises using language in a full context. For example, simple description
with illustrations, spelling, fill out the form or creative writing activities
with free writing practices. Free writing practices can be applied for
students at this level by writing daily news journal, diary, or cinquain poem.
2.3.1.4. Principles for teaching English writing at non-language major
universities in Vietnam
Based on the communicative English teaching method, the author Hoang
Van Van (2010) proposed six principles of teaching English at Universities
in Vietnam as follows:
1. Although communication English teaching method is divided into
four skill areas (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and
aspects of language (phonology, grammar, vocabulary); these areas
should not be treated (taught) separately. Consequently, if the
writing is central of a lecture, it must be supported by other skills.
2. While learning writing skill, students must perform tasks as many
as possible. The role of the teacher is to guide and organize the
writing activities for learners, and to monitor and promote those
activities.
3. The learners must work together through activities in pairs or in
groups. Discuss importance in generating ideas and organizing
ideas, and to discover what they want to express, even when the
individuals carry out writing activities.

4. When students work in pairs or in groups, teachers must monitor
carefully to ensure that this work is carried out smoothly. Make
corrections and give tips can be made when necessary. Although
self-assessment must be conducted, the students often want the
teacher’s assessment on what they wrote, but this work should be
done after the students have tried to correct their writing.
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5. The learners must discuss with classmates about the writing so that
they become reader of one another. This is an important part of
writing experience because by reponding as a reader, the students
learn to develop their awareness of the fact that the writer produces
something for others to read. And through reading the products of
others, students will develop the ability to read their writing in a
critical way.
6. While making corfections for the students’ writing, the teachers
must:
- introduce the system correction symbols; each symbol is used for
a type of error; for example, sp for spelling errors, voc for
vocabulary errors, gr for grammatical errors, t for the tense error,
and a for agreement error, etc.;
- focus on the general error, should not focus on the small errors;
that is, to focus on errors that cause big misunderstanding rather
than those casing not or less misunderstanding;
- show the students about their progress by giving a short comment
but generalize their progress.
Depending on the real requirements and characteristics of each
specific class, teachers can deploy it in a flexible manner. Although the
teaching – learning principles above are based on communicatve approach,
applied sobjects have reached level a2 and continue to learn level B1 or
higher. There is no study on describing the principles of teaching

communicative English writing for students whose levels of proficiency
lower A2.
2.3.1.5. Testing and evaluating competence of communicative English
writing
The evaluation of communicative English ability of students includes
multiple elements, depending on the requirments of qualification level. The
assessment includes the evaluation of written products based on analysis
criteria and overall criteria.
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2.3.2. Propose solutions for teaching teaching communicative English
writing for non-language majors at Quang Binh University
2.3.2.1. Syllabus design
For apply teaching communicative English writing for students in
credit system, we proposed to design program based on competence as the
key factor by transforming a number of goals into teaching – learning tasks.
2.3.2.2. Testing and evaluating competence of communicative English
writing
The examination and assessment are implemented the same as in
Section 2.3.1.5. However, in experimental time, we have not found criteria
and grading scale to evaluate a writing product, so we based on the
evaluation criteria introduced by Cyril Weir, we have organized group
seminars to make recommendations for grading scale.
2.3.2.3. Use of teaching-learning resources and facilities
Textbooks and reference materials that serve teaching include materials
and documents for communication English at the level A1 - A2 (equivalent
to the primary level and intermediate level). Among them, the main
textbook will be English for Life and New English File, in which, a number
of lessons will be added with language aspects, or combined and recompiled
from a number of duplicated contents to suit the students’ needs and
program.

2.3.2.4. Teaching- learning activities for commuinicative English writing
Contents of a lesson focus on developing the capacity to write
sentences or to write a language category including main activities as
described in the diagram 2.3.
Pre-communicative activities Structural activities
Quasi-communicative activities
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Communicative activities Functional communication activities
Social interact ional activities
Diagram 2.3. The process of teaching a lesson given by William Littlewood
(1981)
Pre-writing activities of communicative language includes those to help
students understand knowledge of communicative language such as
vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, styles, and structures of target language,
etc. These activities will help functional communication activities or social
interaction activities become flexible and creative later.
The communication activities require students to work in pairs or
groups. This type of operation is composed of two types: functional
communication activities and social interaction activities. The first type is
based on the reality that people often communicate to express meaning or to
get information. The second type of activity related to social interaction
requires students to pay attention to the kind of language, let alone English
context, the role of the parties, the purpose of communication, from which
they will select the language to communicate knowledge to achieve
objectives consistent communication.
Learning vocabulary and grammar means learning how to grasp
knowledge of codes, it is related to 4 channels of communication: listening,
speaking, reading and writing. Due to limited class hours and and adult
students, we mainly help them self-study . At the beginning of the course, in
addition to reviewing some grammar points we guide the students how to

learn vocabulary and grammar. Each week students will be provided with a
certain amount of vocabulary which they need to know how to use to
prepare for the 'skill using' stage. With the same grammar content, most of
the main grammar has been learned in high school, so that the teacher only
provide references for self-study, self-study according to the students’ needs
and instruction of the teachers. In class, we only focus on “skill using”.
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At the beginning of the classes containing a part of writing ability
development, lecturers set aside from 15 to 20 minutes to implement
activities for practising speed, fluency and dictation. Activities outside the
classroom such as exercises selected from the student workbooks or teacher
workbooks. The teachers guide students how to write dialogue journals and
to make cinquain poetry. Each week, in addition to the homework, the
students will be required to write three short paragraphs (journals).
2.3.2.5. Learning strategies
In addition to the usual learning strategies, the teachers guide students
to use the "super-cognitive strategies" and "social strategies" to help them
apply knowledge about “skill-getting” activities in “Skill using” activities.
CHARP 3
PEDAGOGICAL EXPERIMENT IN TEACHING
COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH WRITING FOR NON-LANGUAGE
MAJORS AT QUANG BINH UNIVERSITY
3.1. Aims and contents of the experiment
3.1.1. Aims of the experiment
The empirical purposes is to verify reliability and feasibility of the
proposed solutions for applying written communicative English for teaching
students of Pedagogy and Social Sciences fields at Quang Binh University.
3.1.2. Contents of the experiment
As described in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, after identifying program
objectives, assessment forms, sellecting the teaching - learning materials and

means, designing teaching - learning activities, we conduct empirical teaching
for 5 groups proposed chapter 2.
3.2. Selection of participants
To carry out empirical teaching – learning, we have chosen the
participants as follows:
3.2.1. Selection of teacher
The author of the thesis on Primary Pedagogy and another experienced
teacher who participates to teach Mathematics Pedagogy class.
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3.2.2. Selection of student
Two experimental classes (EC) and two control classes (CC) are chosen
radomly in course 52 start learning English in accademic year 2011-2012.
Total number of students of experimental classes and control classes classes
are similar (see table 3.1).
Table 3.1. Learning subjects in experimental classes and control classes

Experimental class Control class
Class
No. of
students
Class Students
Primary
Pedagogy C52
22
Chemistry
Pedagogy C52
20
Mathematics
Pedagogy C52
40

Mathematics
Pedagogy C53
39
3.3. Assessment contents and criteria, verification of experimental
results
3.3.1. Assessment contents
Although the learning program of experimental class has been
supplemented and adjusted compared with the general program compiled by
the Faculty of Foreign Languages, to ensure objective comparison between
results of experimental classes and those of control classes, the evaluated
contents must exist in learning program of experimental classes and control
classses. Contents of the exam include two or more writing products at the end
of English II and English III.
In the final semester exam, there will test for assessing grammar and
vocabulary ability. We want to assess whether the language knowledge such
as vocabulary and grammar affects the competence of communicative
English writing.
3.3.2. Assessment criteria
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We organized seminars in team and build grading scale based on
analytical and holistic criteria of CEFR to assess whether the students have
achieved the English proficiency level A2.
3.4. Experimental process
3.4.1. Experimental steps
To carry out the experimental process on schedule, we carried out the
following steps:
Step 1: Deploy pre-experimental plan
Step 2: Organize experimentalwork
Step 3. Process the experimental results
3.5. Results of teaching experiment and discussions

3.5.1. Compare the abilityof communicative English writing of students at
experimental classes and control classes
After 15 weeks of empirical deloyment, we examined and evaluated the
students. We obtained quite satisfactory results; All tests in experimental
classes obtained higher results than that in control classes, especially for
communicative English writing in the two experimental classes. Evaluation
results are summarized in Table 3.2 below.
Table 3.2. Compare English grades at stage I of experimental classes and
control classes
Assessment
contents
Excellent
(%)
Good
(%)
Average
(%)
Weak
(%)
EC CC EC CC EC CC EC CC
Writing 45 3 27 10 15 14 13 73
Grammar 43,5 36 43,5 38,5 8 13,5 5 12
Vocabulary 47 32 21 10 24 32 8 26
At the English III test (stage II of empirical process), we obtained
difference results of communicative English writing as well as grammar
ability between students in experimental classes and those in control classes,
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which was greater than the difference in stage I (See table 3.3).
Table 3.3. Compare English grades at stage II of experimental classes and
control classes

Assessment
contents
Excellent
(%)
Good
(%)
Average
(%)
Weak
(%)
EC CC EC CC EC CC EC CC
Writing 42 0 21 12 11 7 26 81
Grammar 15 7 35 12 43,5 24 6,5 57
Compare with criteria of level A2 for communicative English writing, we
found that 74% of students in experimental classes passed level A2 and 26%
did not pass level A2, while 19% of students in control classes passed level
A2 and 81% did not pass level A2 (see digram 3.4 and 3.5).
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3.5.2. Compare the abilityof communicative English writing of students
before and after the experiment
Results of assessing the competence of communicative English writing
of students show that more than 85% of students did not pass level A1 and
less than 15% of students passed level A1. After 15 weeks of experimental
program, the results show that 74% of students in empirical class passed
level A2 and oly 26% did not pass. While in control classes, only 19% of
students passed level A2 and 81% did not pass communicative English
writing level A2. These results confirmed the effectiveness of the
experimental method: written English ability of the students in experimental
classes is not only better than those in control classes but also much better
than their own results before the empirical process.

3.5.3. Dicussion about the experimental results
Initially, the experimental results showed the effectiveness of teaching
communicative English writing. After the group discussion and direct
interviews, the autor found that activities for fluency, especially taking
dictations, self-study, writing practice through homework together with
high-level of language interaction significantly influenced on the ability of
the student’s English writing. The students were really excited by activities
developing fluency and cinquain poems.
CONCLUSIONS-IMPLICATIONS-SUGGESTIONS
1.CONCLUSIONS
The study results helped us identify basic characteristics of
communicative English related to 4 group of language’s aspects-the primary
properties, functions, stylistics and register, socio-cultural features. These
characteristics associate with the use of communicative language of the
learner and user.
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The first group concerns six most primary properties of a language,
of which, properties like duality, displacement, productivity, discreteness
make the learner use English flexibly and creatively. Properties like
arbitrary and cultural transmission indicate that the language used in
communication is dominated by the socio-cultural conventions, it itself is
culture’s product and affected by the cultural values of the target
community. Therefore, learners of communicative English learn not only to
master language structures, but also to understand the cultural features of
the target community governing communication behaviors.
The second group shows that the main functions of English as a
means in order to express, exchange and negotiate meanings. Moreover,
English with the role of a international foreign language has functions
satisfying the needs of communication and cultural exchange of community
groups whose first languages are not English.

The third group related to stylistics and register shows that relying
on the participants’ roles, communication purposes and topics, the speaker
or writer will have to choose how to process language in completely
different ways. Styles of communicative English use can change from the
ritual, the formal, the negotiating, the casual to the intimate. Based on
register, communicative English is probably classified into General English,
English for Office Services, Business English. etc.
The fourth group shows that communicative English always carry
socio-cultural features where language is used, because if partcipants want
to communicate naturally and effectively, they have to process harmonically
8 basic elements: setting and scene, participants, ends, act sequence, key,
instrumentalities, norms, and genre. These elements are governed by the
situation of context where communication event takes place.
In summary, with characteristics of communicative English that the
author elicited above, we can see language in communication as a special
signal system with particular conventions on how it is used. This requires
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learners not only to use language accurately, but also use it appropriately,
flexibly, and creatively, with strategies to achieve their communication
goals.
In order to apply teaching English as a foreign language
communicative approach, apart from basing on the characteristics of
English under the points of communcation functions, we must take into
account the issues in theories of second language acquisition of human
beings, especially those in the theory of working memory of Alan Bladdley
and consider it as the most important factors. The studies verifies that the
process of language acquisition experience certain stages of development,
so General English has been designed according to each level of
proficiency. At each level of proficiency, knowledge of communicative
competence and performance is designed in accordance with the needs and

abilities of users. Of those, English learning and acquiring are considered as
two different processes. Learning resembles encoding stage, students need
to do mechanical exercises by practising and using repetitively new
language structures in parallel with understanding the meaning of those
structures. English acquiring requires learners to reason and process
knowledge of communicative competence quickly, flexibly, creatively and
accurately, in accordance with the practical requirements of activities of
complicated and diversified communication. Learners learn to develop not
only accuracy but also speed and fluency in using language.
English belongs to the system of sound based languages and is
governed by our minds; therefore, similar to the evolution of other channels
of communication, the evolution of communicative English requires
learners to practice both pre-communicative activities and communicative
activities. It is neccessary for students to learn the way to memorize the
knowledge of written communicative language such as vocabulary,
grammar, cohesive devices, spelling, punctuation, and conventions of text
tyle and style, socio-cultural context, roles, verbal and nonverbal strategies.
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