IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING ACROSS SIX FOREIGN LANGUAGES A dissertation submitted to Kent State University College of Education, Health, and Human Services in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Ahmed A. Alsaghiar May 2018 © Copyright 2018 by Ahmed A. Alsaghiar All Rights Reserved ii A dissertation written by Ahmed A. Alsaghiar B.A., King Khalid University, 2004 M.Ed., Kent State University, 2012 Ph.D., Kent State University, 2018 Approved by _____________________________, Co-Director, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Denise N. Morgan _____________________________, Co-Director, Doctoral Dissertation Committee William P. Bintz _____________________________, Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Jessie Carduner Accepted by _____________________________, Director, School of Teaching, Learning, Alexa L. Sandmann and Curriculum Studies _____________________________, Dean, College of Education, Health, and James C. Hannon Human Services iii ALSAGHIAR, AHMED A., PH.D., May 2018 CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION/ FLE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING ACROSS SIX FOREIGN LANGUAGES (192 pp.) Co-Directors of Dissertation: Denise N. Morgan, Ph.D. William P. Bintz, Ph.D. The purpose of this qualitative multicase study was to examine how college foreign language instructors implement communicative language teaching (CLT) to teach beginner-level classes across six foreign languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Russian, and Spanish. Multiple data collection methods were used to gather the data: one electronic survey, 48classroom observations, document analysis, and a semi-structured interview with each participant. Findings revealed that the instructors’ implementation of CLT was limited as a few CLT features occurred across the six classes, including providing positive feedback and accepting students’ errors. Only two instructors (Chinese and German) used the target language extensively and used visual aids to support students’ comprehension. There were several factors that hindered the instructors’ ability to implement CLT: lack of teaching preparation and experience, lack of teaching freedom, the predominance of structure-based activities in the textbooks, the instructor’s domination of the classroom communication and interaction, the instructor’s explanation of language rules explicitly, and the classroom layouts. The findings also revealed that language differences played a role in implementing CLT. Five language instructors (Arabic, French, German, Russian, and Spanish) reported that it was challenging to implement CLT when teaching inflections in these highly inflected languages. By contrast, the Chinese instructor reported that the simplicity of Chinese grammar helped her engage students in communicative activities. The Chinese instructor’s concern was teaching pronunciation and to what extent her implementation of CLT was effective in giving students feedback on their pronunciation errors. The implications of this study point to the need for strategies and techniques, such as using visual aids and follow-up questions to maximize the use of the target language and enhance the implementation of CLT in the classroom. There is a need for research on helping novice instructors critically evaluate and implement the best practices of CLT and for more studies like this one in which CLT is examined across languages. ii DEDICATION To my parents. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is with the utmost appreciation that I must thank my dissertation committee members for their endless help and unlimited support. Dr. Bintz, Dr. Morgan, and Dr. Carduner, there is no word or words in any language that can express my sincere gratitude for all they have done to help me through this journey. They made it an amazing and informative experience, and I owe them any further success in my future. I will be grateful forever. I would like to extend my true appreciation to the participants of this study for being so generous and supportive. Without their contribution, this study would have ,謝謝, Je vous remercie, vielen dank, спасибо ,شكرا ,not been achieved. Thank you and, gracias. I also would like to extend my acknowledgments to three teachers: Abdullah Al-Salami, my writing teacher in elementary and middle school; Yahya Laheq, my social studies teacher in elementary school; and Muhammad Kedwan, my physics teacher in high school. I am still inspired and influenced by their teaching talents. I will never forget their amazing classes. I am here because of them, among others. They demonstrated the meaning of a teacher. They are role models. Most important, special thank goes to my family for their endless love and support. I am back to my country because I am nothing without them. I would like to thank my friends and say, “Now, let us have fun.” I would like to specially thank my brother and cousin Ali Moghawi. I am speechless when it comes to thanking him. His presence in my life is just a remainder that I am a lucky person. Thank you. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................. x LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. xi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 Purpose of the Study .......................................................................................... 2 Research Question ............................................................................................. 3 Significance of the Study ................................................................................... 3 Summary ............................................................................................................ 4 Definition of Terms............................................................................................ 5 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ....................................................................... 8 Theoretical Background of CLT ........................................................................ 8 From Grammatical Competence to Communicative Competence .................... 9 CLT in Practice ................................................................................................ 11 Criticisms of CLT ............................................................................................ 18 Tasks Based Language Teaching (TBLT) ....................................................... 20 Summary .......................................................................................................... 22 III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ....................................................................... 24 Theoretical Framework .................................................................................... 24 Qualitative Research .................................................................................. 25 Multicase Study Design ............................................................................. 26 Research Context ....................................................................................... 27 Participants ................................................................................................. 28 Instructional Context .................................................................................. 33 Data Collection Methods ........................................................................... 35 Survey ........................................................................................................ 36 Document Analysis .................................................................................... 36 Observations .............................................................................................. 37 Semi-Structured Interview ......................................................................... 40 Data Analysis ............................................................................................. 40 Establishing Trustworthiness ..................................................................... 43 Summary .......................................................................................................... 44 IV. RESEARCH FINDINGS ................................................................................... 46 Instructor’s Role in a CLT Classroom ............................................................. 47 The Arabic Instructor’s Case ........................................................................... 49 vi Preparation for Teaching Foreign Languages ............................................ 49 Teaching Practices ..................................................................................... 50 Teaching Grammar and Vocabulary .......................................................... 53 Teaching Culture ........................................................................................ 56 Teaching Language Skills .......................................................................... 56 Providing Feedback ................................................................................... 57 The Arabic Language Instructor’s