The problematic of the implantation of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in Senegal

Description

During colonial time and even after independence, the most used methods of teaching English in Senegal were first the grammar translation method and then the audio-lingual method. It was in the late 1990s and early 2000s that the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) method was introduced in the Senegalese teaching system. CLT then appeared as a brand new method, but implementation caused and is still causing some important problems. And these problems added to the already existing problems such as large class size (generally over 80 students per class), lack of training for many teachers, reluctance of a great number of teachers to give up the old method because they felt more at ease in it, lack of adequate teaching material etc…The objective of this work is to study the true impact of the implementation of CLT in a foreign language context like Senegal, to analyze the different problems it poses and to propose appropriate solutions. The methodology used is as follows: it starts setting the context and problematic, then it presents the literary review to better define the key concept, that is CLT and through questionnaires it gathers the opinions of the majors components of the educational system, teachers and learners; the data collected from the questionnaires are then studied and interpreted. Finally, conclusions are drawn from this interpretation and recommendations are made to the different stakeholders of the educational system: teachers, learners, parents and government.