ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 49-68
DEVELOPING SECONDARY STUDENTS’ COMMUNICATIVE
COMPETENCE: POLITICS AND REALITY
Ana Halbach
Uni e sidad de Alcalá
Tha heo y and p ac ice do no always go hand in hand is some hing o a
commonplace. The same holds ue o wha is legisla ed abou how
languages should be augh , and how hey eally a e augh in schools. This
ela ion be ween poli ics and class oom eali y is he opic o he p esen
pape . In i seconda y school eache s' a i ude owa ds language eaching
and s uden s' pe cep ion o he way in which languages a e augh a e
compa ed wi h wha , acco ding o go e nmen policies should be going on
in class ooms. A he end o he pape , possible easons o he di e gence
be ween one and he o he a e o wa ded.
Keywo ds: educa ional e o m, eache hinking, change.
1. In oduc ion
Wi h he wide accep ance o he pos ula es o communica i e language
eaching, he aim o EFL has gene ally been de ined as de eloping s uden s’
communica i e compe ence in English. Co espondingly, o eign language
eaching in he Spanish Educación Secunda ia Obliga o ia has o
“p opo cion[a ] a los alumnos una compe encia comunica i a en alguna
lengua ex anje a” (Real Dec e o 1345/1991; suplemen o del núme o 220
del BOE: 70). The same documen u he s a es ha “la inalidad cu icula
de es e á ea no es enseña una lengua ex anje a, sino enseña a
comunica se en ella.” This clea ly e lec s a communica i e app oach o
Es udios de
lingüís ica inglesa aplicada
50 A. Halbach
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 49-68
language eaching, bu apa om i , o eign language eaching a seconda y
le el also has o be lea ne -cen ed. Thus
Consegui que el alumno llegue a se au ónomo y se esponsabilice de su
p oceso de ap endizaje exige que se le o ezca pa icipa en las decisiones
ela i as a los con enidos y en la e aluación del ap endizaje ealizado. La
negociación y la au oe aluación se án pues aspec os esenciales de la
enseñanza de lenguas ex anje as en es a e apa (suplemen o del nº 220 del
BOE: 71).
Howe e , i is also clea ha legisla ing one ype o language
eaching is no concomi an o eaching in his way.
In a i s s ep owa ds explo ing he ela ionship be ween educa ional
policy and class oom p ac ice, his pape se s ou o e alua e he ex en o
which eache s o English in seconda y schools in he Comunidad de Mad id
emb ace he p inciples unde lying communica i e language eaching and
lea ne -cen ed app oaches. I does so h ough a su ey using he a i ude
scale de eloped by Ka a as-Doukas (1996), and by compa ing wha eache s
e lec in his su ey wi h wha ac ually goes on in second language
class ooms. These da a, i is hoped, will shed some ligh on he deg ee o
communica i eness o English language eaching in seconda y schools in
Spain.
Once his deg ee o communica i eness has been es ablished, i will
be necessa y o ind he easons o eache s’ commi men – o lack o
commi men – o he p inciples unde lying communica i e language
eaching. To do so, I will look a he oppo uni ies eache s ha e o
becoming amilia wi h me hodological p inciples and issues, and he ex en
o which hey can in eg a e hese in o hei ideas abou eaching.
2. The s udy
The s udy is based on wo ypes o da a, which y o es ablish, on he one
hand, how communica i e second-language eache s a e, and on he o he ,
wha ype o eaching goes on in seconda y schools in he Mad id a ea. The
i s ype o da a was collec ed h ough an a i ude scale de eloped by
De eloping seconda y s uden s’… 51
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 49-68
Ka a as-Doukas (1996)1, which was sen ou o 20 seconda y schools in he
Mad id a ea. Teache s we e asked o a e di e en s a emen s ela ed o
language eaching/lea ning, and o say wha hey hough had exe ed he
s onges in luence on hei ideas abou eaching. In addi ion, hey we e
encou aged o commen on any hing hey hough ele an . The second ype
o da a s ems om he analysis o uni e si y s uden s’ commen s abou he
eaching o English hey had ecei ed a seconda y school.
As ega ds he a i ude scale used, i is composed o 24 s a emen s
abou language eaching/lea ning, which make e e ence o di e en aspec s
o he eaching/lea ning p ocess. The hemes hey ocussed on we e:
• G oup/pai wo k (s a emen s 2, 13, 21, 22).
• Quali y and quan i y o e o co ec ion (s a emen s 6, 10, 14, 15).
• The ole and con ibu ion o lea ne s in he lea ning p ocess (s a emen s
4, 5, 8, 9, 20).
• The ole o he eache in he class oom (s a emen s 7, 11, 16, 19 , 24).
• Place/impo ance o g amma (s a emen s 1, 3, 12, 17, 18, 23).
In o de o inc ease he eliabili y and o a oid eache s answe ing
wha hey hink is expec ed o hem, he ques ionnai e con ains bo h
s a emen s ha e lec a communica i e app oach, and s a emen s ha
con adic i (see Ka a as-Doukas 1996: 189-191 o he p ocess ollowed
in he c ea ion o his ool). This made i necessa y, in o de o be able o
wo k ou a sco e o he deg ee o communica i eness o he esponden s,
o e e se he sco es gi en o he s a emen s ha do no e lec a
communica i e app oach, he nega i e sco es o 1 and 2 becoming 5 and 4
espec i ely, and he posi i e 4 and 5 becoming he sco es 2 and 1
espec i ely.
1 Fo he a i ude scale, see Appendix I.
52 A. Halbach
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 49-68
Once he ques ionnai es (21 o he 98 sen ou )2 had been collec ed, he
esponses we e colla ed and mean sco es ound o each o he eache s, he
whole ques ionnai e by all he eache s and each o he ques ions by all he
eache s. All o hese da a oge he we e expec ed o shed some ligh on
eache s’ a i ude owa ds communica i e language eaching, and hus on he
ex en o which wha has been legisla ed h ough he e o m o he
educa ional sys em has eally been pu in o p ac ice by class oom eache s.
Apa om he a i udes o eache s owa ds communica i e language
eaching as e lec ed in hei answe s o he ques ionnai e, he o he sou ce o
in o ma ion we ha e o wha goes on in class ooms is he s uden s’
expe ience. Thus, I will y o illus a e wha seems o go on in class ooms
by looking a wha 10 uni e si y s uden s w o e in he s uden dia ies hey
kep o hei cou se in Me hodology3 abou he way hey had been augh .
By le ing he s uden s speak o hemsel es a he han asking hem di ec ly,
and wi hou ocussing hei a en ion owa ds he eaching hey had
expe ienced as s uden s, I assumed ha wha hey said e lec ed mo e
u h ully wha wen on in hei English lessons a school ( o a simila poin ,
see Woods 1996: 27).
To ind hese commen s, all he dia ies we e ead se e al imes, and
hose passages whe e men ion was made o eaching and lea ning in a
seconda y school con ex we e copied. I la e g ouped hem acco ding o he
opic hey deal wi h, and coded each o he quo a ions so as o iden i y he
au ho wi hou e ealing his/he iden i y. S uden s’ commen s we e no
2 The ac ha such a small p opo ion o he eache s asked o ill in he ques ionnai es
ac ually e u ned hem, which o a ce ain deg ee is ine i able, ne e heless opens up
ques ions abou he ex en o which hese eache s a e ep esen a i e o he whole eaching
popula ion – a leas in he Mad id a ea. One could a gue ha only he mos commi ed o he
eache s a e likely o answe a ques ionnai e like his – he mos commi ed also being hose
ha end o be mo e willing o adop new me hods.
3 This is an op ional subjec which s uden s ake in he i 3 d o 4 h yea o s udy. Fo mo e
in oma ion abou his cou se as well as abou he s uden dia ies, see Halbach (1999a; 1999b).
De eloping seconda y s uden s’… 53
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 49-68
edi ed, so as o a oid an e en g ea e bias han he one inhe en in a selec ion
p ocess o he ype desc ibed abo e.
3. The esul s
3.1. The deg ee o communica i eness o seconda y school eache s
The i s o he sco es ha was de e mined om he analysis o he
ques ionnai es was an indi idual sco e o each eache . Thus, he "deg ee o
communica i eness" o he eache s anges om a sco e o 2.7 o a sco e o
3.7 on a 5-poin scale. While nei he o he wo ex emes indica es a clea
endency in a ou o agains a communica i e app oach o language
eaching, hey can nei he be said o gi e an imp ession o g ea en husiasm
owa ds i . The o e all mean sco e o 3.309 o all he eache s gi es a
simila imp ession o indecisi eness.
Howe e , as Ka a as-Doukas poin s ou , a sco e o 3 does no
necessa ily indica e a neu al posi ion owa ds he communica i e app oach,
since “a esponden can ob ain a middle-o - he- ange sco e by ei he being
unce ain abou many i ems, o by holding inconsis en o s ongly
a ou able and s ongly un a ou able a i udes owa ds he a i ude objec in
ques ion” (Ka a as-Doukas 1996: 192). I he e o e becomes necessa y o
look a each answe in g ea e de ail. To do so, and since he s a emen s a e
ela ed o i e di e en aspec s o he eaching/lea ning p ocess, he mean
sco es o eache s’ alua ions o he di e en s a emen s a e going o be
g ouped and analysed acco ding o he issue hey make e e ence o.
a) G oup/pai wo k
S a emen 2 S a emen 13 S a emen 21 S a emen 22
3.5 3.25 3.05 2.91
All o hese sco es ep esen a ai ly neu al posi ion wi h no mo e
han 0.6 a ia ion be ween he sco es gi en o each o he s a emen s, so ha

54 A. Halbach
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 49-68
in espec o g oup/pai -wo k eache s seem o ha e a a he neu al posi ion.
This may be explained by he commen made by one o he eache s in he
ques ionnai e:
[g oup wo k]: i ’s pe ec in a small cen e wi h s uden s in e es ed in wha
hey a e doing (T 3)
implying ha in seconda y schools, wi h la ge g oups and unmo i a ed
s uden s, using g oup-wo k is no easible. Thus, his neu al sco e migh
e lec eache s’ ag eemen wi h he bene i s o pai - and g oup-wo k, bu
hei impossibili y o use i because o p ac ical p oblems.
b) Quali y and quan i y o e o co ec ion
S a emen 6 S a emen 10 S a emen 14 S a emen 15
3.6 3.5 3.1 2.66
In ela ion o his second g oup o s a emen s we ind ha , again,
eache s seem o ha e a mo e o less cohe en opinion abou he way in
which e o s should be unde s ood and deal wi h in language lea ning, a
leas as e lec ed by he sco e gi en o he i s h ee s a emen s. In his case,
eache s seem o hold sligh ly mo e “communica i e” opinions, since hei
sco es a e all sligh ly highe han he neu al 3, excep , once mo e, o he
las s a emen .
In e es ingly, his las s a emen is he mos gene al o he ou ,
s a ing ha he communica i e app oach o language eaching p oduces
luen bu inaccu a e lea ne s.4 I eache s eally hold his o be ue hen his
4 This is one o hose s a emen s o which he sco es ha e o be e e sed in o de o ind ou
how communica i e eache s a e. The e o e, al hough he sco e o 2.66 would indica e ha
eache s a e indeed saying ha hey don’ ag ee wi h his s ance, because he sco es ha e
De eloping seconda y s uden s’… 55
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 49-68
con adic s wha hey ha e said abou he ac ha i is no necessa y o
co ec s uden s’ mis akes (s a emen 10), o example. I shows,
u he mo e, ha g amma ical co ec ness and accu acy a e alued highly,
hus con adic ing he appa en alue gi en o he eaching o g amma as
e lec ed in he i h se o s a emen s.
c) The ole and con ibu ion o lea ne s in he lea ning p ocess
S a emen 4 S a emen 5 S a emen 8 S a emen 9 S a emen 20
2.45 3.45 3.8 3.43 2.33
Gene ally speaking, eache s seem o be in a ou o gi ing lea ne s
a mo e ac i e ole in hei lea ning p ocess, helping hem o ake on
esponsibili y o hei lea ning (s a emen s 5 and 8) helping hem h ough
lea ne aining o de elop hei ull po en ial (s a emen 8), and ha ing some
con ol o e hei own lea ning (s a emen 9). Howe e , once again we ind
sco es ha seem o con adic hese conclusions.
Thus, he sco es gi en o s a emen s 4 and 20 a e mo e han 1 poin
below hose gi en o he s a emen s discussed abo e. On close inspec ion,
we ind ha hese wo s a emen s di ec ly men ion he eaching p ocess:
numbe 4 men ions he con en o he lesson while numbe 20 makes
e e ence o asks and ac i i ies. The selec ion o bo h o hese ha e
adi ionally been he esponsibili y o eache s, and h ough he low sco es
gi en o hese s a emen s eache s seem o be saying ha lea ne s a e in no
posi ion o in e ene in his aspec o he eaching / lea ning p ocess.
Once again we ind, hen, con adic ing opinions, which can be
explained howe e , i we ake in o accoun ha one o he ecu en ideas
ha appea s in he s a emen s a ed posi i ely is ha s uden s should ake on
he esponsibili y o hei own lea ning. Al hough lea ne aining is
al eady been e e sed, his alua ion indica es ha eache s ag ee a he han disag ee wi h i .
Thus, wha his sco e e lec s is ha eache s do hink, o a ce ain ex en , ha he
communica i e app oach p oduces luen a he han accu a e lea ne s.
56 A. Halbach
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 49-68
men ioned explici ly in s a emen 5, i is possible o unde s and e en his
s a emen as dealing wi h he issue o s uden s’ esponsibili y alone, which
would in no way con adic a mo e adi ional poin o iew. T adi ionally, i
is he eache who selec s he asks and ac i i ies and o ganises he eaching,
bu i is he lea ne s’ esponsibili y o ac ually do he lea ning. Maybe in his
case, hen, he sco es all e lec a qui e adi ional dis ibu ion o oles in he
class oom. Whe he o no his is ue needs o be decided in he ligh o he
way in which eache s espond o he nex se o s a emen s, abou hei ole
in he eaching/lea ning p ocess.
d) The ole o he eache in he class oom
S a emen 7 S a emen 11 S a emen 16 S a emen 19 S a emen 24
2.35 1.4 4.05 3.1 4.57
Al eady a i s sigh , his appea s o be he issue whe e mos
con adic ions appea . I is he se o s a emen s whe e bo h he highes
(4.57) and he lowes (1.4) sco es ha e been gi en. Ini ially, he alua ion
gi en o he las 3 s a emen s would indica e ha eache s' opinions a e in
line wi h he ideas unde lying he communica i e app oach while he i s 2
would indica e almos he con a y.
As ega ds s a emen 7, in i eache s exp ess hei doub s abou he
idea ha he eache as ‘au ho i y’ and ‘ins uc o ’ is no longe adequa e o
desc ibe he eache s’ ole in he class oom. This would be in line wi h he
in e p e a ion made o he sco es gi en o he p e ious se o s a emen s,
whe e i became appa en ha eache s end o hold on o a a he adi ional
unde s anding o he oles o eache s and lea ne s in he class oom.
The nex s a emen , numbe 11, ouches on one o he p oblems o
he Spanish educa ional sys em a e he Re o ma, he p oblem o mixed
abili y classes. Thus, al hough ini ially, ollowing a mo e communica i e
and lea ne -cen ed app oach we would say ha i is no impossible in a
class o 30 s uden s o o ganise you eaching so as o sui e e ybody’s
De eloping seconda y s uden s’… 57
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 49-68
needs, i is almos a commonplace o say ha one o he g ea challenges
eache s ace in hei e e yday eaching is he so-called “di e sidad”5. Thus,
i is no su p ising ha hey almos unanimously gi e his s a emen a sco e
o 1 o 2.
One o he eache s e y nicely links he sco es gi en by mos o he
colleagues o hese wo s a emen s by saying
Si yo supie a cuál es la mejo mane a de enseña el inglés la hab ía
pa en ado. No hay una única ía, pe o con el alumnado ac ual, an
he e ogéneo, es casi mejo ol e a sis emas más adicionales que, de
hecho, yo nunca había u ilizado. (T 1)
In he ligh o his commen , i also becomes clea why he o he
s a emen s a e gi en such posi i e sco es. In he case o s a emen 16,
eache s ag ee wi h he ac ha he eache as ansmi e o knowledge is
only one o he many di e en oles he/she mus pe o m in he cou se o a
lesson, bu no because, as would be in line wi h a mo e lea ne -cen ed
app oach, he eache has o ac as a acili a o oo, o example, bu a he
because, as one o he eache s pu s i
... eache s can’ cope wi h e e y hing: s uden s, syllabuses, beha iou &
discipline p oblems. (T 3)
The eache is no only a ansmi e o knowledge, bu also an
adminis a o , an educa o , a policeman...
S a emen 24, ega ding he ex book and he need o complemen i
wi h o he ma e ial, migh well e lec a mo e “mode n” unde s anding o he
ex book as a sou cebook a he han a cou sebook (see Nunan & Lamb
1996: 183), bu can also be unde s ood as e lec ing, once again, he
p oblems ela ed wi h ca e ing o a la ge numbe o e y mixed-abili y
5 Tha his is so is shown, among o he hings, by he ac ha many p e-se ice eache
aining cou ses include an obliga o y subjec called “A ención a la di e sidad”, and by he
ac ha many in-se ice eache - aining cou ses also deal wi h his issue.
64 A. Halbach
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 49-68
s ill necessa y o apply his knowledge and y o ind ou wha exac ly is no
wo king, so as o be in a posi ion o make he necessa y changes o eache
aining cou ses, o example. Fu he s udy is needed in his a ea, bu I hope
o ha e o e ed a leas a s a ing poin o i .
Appendix I
A i ude scale
Read he ollowing s a emen s, and gi e hem one o he ollowing
a ings so as o e lec wha you hink abou his issue:
1 – I s ongly disag ee
2 – I disag ee
3 – I nei he ag ee no disag ee
4 – I ag ee
5 – I s ongly ag ee
I you a e no su e wha he ques ion means, jus lea e i blank.
Ra ing
1. G amma ical co ec ness is he mos impo an c i e ion by
which language pe o mance should be judged.
2. G oup wo k ac i i ies a e essen ial in p omo ing genuine
in e ac ion among s uden s.
3. G amma should be augh as a means o an end and no as an
end in i sel .
4. Since he lea ne comes o he language class oom wi h li le o
no knowledge o he language, he/she is in no posi ion o sugges

De eloping seconda y s uden s’… 65
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 49-68
wha he con en o he lesson should be o wha ac i i ies a e
use ul o him/he .
5. T aining lea ne s o ake esponsibili y o hei own lea ning is
useless since lea ne s a e no used o such an app oach.
6. Fo s uden s o become e ec i e communica o s in he o eign
language, he eache s' eedback mus be ocused on he
app op ia eness and no he linguis ic o m o he s uden s'
esponses.
7. The eache as 'au ho i y' and 'ins uc o ' is no longe adequa e
o desc ibe he eache 's ole in he language class oom.
8. The lea ne cen ed app oach o language eaching encou ages
esponsibili y and sel -discipline and allows each s uden o
de elop his/he ull po en ial.
9. G oup wo k allows s uden s o explo e p oblems o
hemsel es and hus ha e some measu e o con ol o e hei own
lea ning.
10. The eache should co ec all he g amma ical e o s s uden s
make. I e o s a e igno ed, his will esul in impe ec lea ning.
11. I is impossible in a class o 30 s uden s o o ganise you
eaching so as o sui e e ybody's needs.
12. Knowledge o he ules o a language does no gua an ee he
abili y o use he language.
13. G oup wo k ac i i ies ake oo long and was e a lo o
aluable eaching ime.
14. Since e o s a e a no mal pa o lea ning, much co ec ion is
a was e o ime.
15. The communica i e app oach o language eaching p oduces
66 A. Halbach
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 49-68
luen bu inaccu a e lea ne s.
16. The eache as a ansmi e o knowledge is only one o he
many di e en oles he/she mus pe o m in he cou se o a
lesson.
17. By mas e ing he ules o g amma s uden s become ully
capable o communica ing wi h a na i e speake .
18. Fo mos s uden s language is acqui ed mos e ec i ely when
i is used as a ehicle o doing some hing else and no when i is
s udied in a di ec o explici way.
19. The ole o he eache in he language class oom is o impa
knowledge h ough ac i i ies such as explana ion, w i ing, and
example.
20. Tasks and ac i i ies should be nego ia ed and adap ed o sui
he s uden s’ needs a he han imposed on hem.
21. S uden s do bes when augh as a whole class by he eache .
Small g oup wo k may occasionally be use ul o a y he ou ine,
bu i can ne e eplace sound o mal ins uc ion by a compe en
eache .
22. G oup wo k has li le use since i is e y di icul o he
eache o moni o he s uden s' pe o mance and p e en hem
om using hei mo he ongue.
23. Di ec ins uc ion in he ules and e minology o g amma is
essen ial i s uden s a e o lea n o communica e e ec i ely.
24. A ex book alone is no able o ca e o all he needs and
in e es s o he s uden s. The eache mus supplemen he
ex book wi h o he ma e ials and asks so as o sa is y he widely
di e ing needs o he s uden s.
De eloping seconda y s uden s’… 67
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 49-68
Think abou you answe s o a momen . Who o wha has in luenced you ideas
abou eaching?
• he way you lea ned English o ano he o eign language
• one o mo e o you eache s
• you obse a ions abou how child en lea n o speak
• wha you lea ned in a ious subjec s du ing you s udies (Filología)
• wha you ha e ead abou lea ning languages
• one o mo e eache aining cou ses you ha e a ended
• you p ac ical expe ience
• o he s
Numbe o yea s in eaching English:
Thank you e y much o you collabo a ion (and ime)!
68 A. Halbach
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 49-68
Re e ences
Halbach, A. 1999a. “Using ainee dia ies o assessmen : Type o en y and
echnical e minology”. The Teache T aine 13/2: 3-7.
Halbach, A. 1999b. “Using ainee dia ies o e alua e a eache - aining
cou se”. ELT Jou nal 53/3: 183-190.
Ha me , J. 1999. “Abide wi h me: Change o decay in eache beha iou ?”
Changing Teache Beha iou . A Special IATEFL Join SIG
Newsle e : 5-8.
Ka a as-Doukas, E. 1996. “Using a i ude scales o in es iga e eache s’
a i udes o he communica i e app oach”. ELT Jou nal 50/3: 187-
198.
Nunan, D. & Lamb, C. 1996. The Sel -di ec ed Teache . Camb idge: CUP.
P od omou, L. 1995. “The backwash e ec : om es ing o eaching”. ELT
Jou nal 49/1: 13-25.
Richa ds, J. C. & Lockha , C. 1994. Re lec i e Teaching in Second
Language Class ooms. Camb idge: CUP.
Penning on, M.C. 1996. “When inpu becomes in ake: T acing he sou ces o
eache s’ a i ude change” in D. F eeman & J.C. Richa ds (eds.)
Teache Lea ning in Language Teaching. Camb idge: CUP: 320-348.
Wallace, M. J. 1991. T aining Fo eign Language Teache s: A Re lec i e
App oach. Camb idge: CUP.
Woods, D. 1996. Teache Cogni ion in Language Teaching. Camb idge:
CUP.