The CEFR’s focus on communicative effectiveness means that the focus now shifts from learning decontextualized grammar or vocabulary as ends in themselves to a contextualized approach through communicative tasks and activities. “Communicative pedagogic tasks aim to actively involve learners in meaningful communication. They are relevant, challenging but feasible and have identifiable outcomes.” (CEFR, 2011 p.157).
Essentially, these communicative tasks are open-ended, with many possible correct answers, and include the use of listening, speaking, reading and writing in order to interact. These tasks also “prepare students with the necessary sociolinguistic and pragmatic skills to interact appropriately and develop the cooperative skills needed for interaction, e.g. turn- taking, asking for clarification” (Exploring the CEFR: Big Ideas, page 8 ).
Here is an example of a communicative pedagogical task that requires students to listen, react, and respond in writing on an open-ended grammar-based task:
Instead of using only decontextualized ‘drill and practice’ exercises to teach the present continuous tense, students print out and listen to Rod Stewart’s ‘I am sailing’ before class. Students are asked to listen to this song before class, while reading the lyrics of this song. While they listen to the song, students read the words of the song and underline different examples of the present continuous tense. During class, students work in pairs – they collaborate in English in order to write four additional lines to the song, using present continuous tense. Each pair presents their work to the class.
