Communicative Approach as Employed in English Class

Communicative Approach is regarded as one of the most effective approaches to English language teaching. It involves teachers’ communicative ability and competence. This study aimed to determine the teachers’ Communicative Approach employed in English class as perceived by the Grade 10 students in both public and private secondary schools in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. It made use of the descriptive-quantitative research design. A researcher-made-scale carefully checked and validated by panel of experts was composed of variables namely communicative competence and communicative ability. Mean, average mean and t-test were the statistical tools utilized to analyze the data. Results revealed that public secondary school teachers’ communicative ability was moderately employed while their communicative competence was highly employed in English class. Meanwhile, private secondary school teachers’ communicative ability and communicative competence were both very highly employed in English class. Teachers from private schools manifested better communicative ability compared to teachers from public schools as they displayed creativity and resourcefulness in delivering their lessons through varied activities, conversations and discussions. On the other hand, teachers in both public and private schools have similar extent of communicative competence since they displayed proficiency in communication using English language. Consequently, teachers from both public and private secondary schools in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi employed the communicative approach in English class. However, teachers from private schools manifested higher communicative ability and communicative competence than teachers from public secondary schools. Further, they significantly employed communicative approach in English class to engage students to challenging, motivating and meaningful activities, hence, create an interactive class that inculcates the students with an effective and meaningful leaning experience. Thus, communicative ability and communicative competence of teachers are emphasized as important ingredients or approaches in teaching English.