1. COMMUNICATIVE
COMPETENCE THROUGH
DIALOGUES
Arlenne M. Fernández
Cand. Master in Teaching EFL
Univ. De Jaen España

2. Dialogues
• In foreign language teaching classrooms,
every teacher will eventually find
dialogues in his/her textbook. Teachers
need to know how to cope with dialogues
presented within the units.
• Keeping all this in mind, we will see some
key points in teaching dialogues in the EFL
classrooms.

3. Why do we use
dialogues?
• We should keep in • We can either
mind that dialogues teach new
are a useful source vocabulary, stress
of materials to on the
present the pronunciation or
functional language focus on a
and students mostly language item with
enjoy working on the help of
them when they are dialogues
presented regardless of
appropriately. learner’s ages and
levels.

4. Steps and Activities
Before presenting Set the scene for
the dialogue the dialogue using
some materials
Teach new words such as
and structures:
• vocabulary, • stick figure
• grammar or drawings on the
• communicative blackboard,
• board figurines, or
functions.
puppets, or
• the illustrations in
the student’s book.

5. Steps and Activities
While presenting
the dialogue • If the dialogue is in a
CD or cassette let
students listen to it a
• Read the dialogue at few times so that they
normal speed, once or can hear the native
twice, indicating the speakers.
different speakers as • Ask questions on the
you read. You may
dialogue. These
change your voice, use
questions should test
facial expressions and
the students’
gestures or point to the
understanding of the
figurines, pictures or
meaning of the
drawings.
dialogue.(Books open
or closed)

6. Steps and Activities
• Put key words or • Give clues for
visuals for the substitutions in the
dialogue on the dialogue. Remember
board. These should that the substitutions
be content, not must fit in with the
structure words and sense of the whole
get students (books dialogue. Students
closed) reconstruct should also be
the dialogue from encouraged to use
these key words. their own substitutions

7. Steps and Activities
After presenting the
• According to the
dialogue
students´ level you
can provide them with
• Get students to key words to make
continue where the them create their own
dialogue stops. (e.g a dialogues.
writing or speaking
activity in pairs, groups • They can role play
or individually)
their creations after
having checked the
pronunciation in their
dictionaries.

8. Conclusion
• In teaching setting not encouraged to get
only are students involved in this process
active, but teachers by activities such as
need to bring their reading aloud, role-
“creativity” to the play, substitution drills,
classroom as well. pair/group work,
Teachers should be question and answer, or
able to create an problem solving.
attractive teaching
atmosphere by means Pure repetition or
of audio-visual
materials, and students memorization of
should be a
dialogue is NOT a
communicative

9. References
• Alright, R. "Language Learning Through Communicative
Practice" in the Communicative Approach To Language
Teaching, ed. C.J. Brumfit; J.K Jhonson. OUP.1979.
• Hymes, D. "On Communicative Competence" In
Sociolinguistics, ed. J.B. Pride; J. Holmes. Harmondsforth:
Penguin, 1972.
• Lavery, C. “Having fun with dialogues”. 2006.
http://www.britishcouncil.org/languageassistant-teaching-tips-
dialogues.htm
• Pigg, D. "Choosing and Using Dialogues" in TESOL vol.10.
September,1976. Charleston Latin 21,06,06, 10;34
• Pilleux, M. “The Dialogue: A Useful Tool in Language
Teaching”. TESOL Quarterly, vol 3. No3. pp 203-206
• İsmail Çakır. “Bringing External Situations into the ELT
Classrooms Through Dialogues”. Turkey 2009.
http://www.hltmag.co.uk/feb09/less01.htm