Communicative language teaching and the ELT Journal : a corpus-based approach to the history  of a discourse
Despite recent challenges, CLT remains influential and continues to be implemented in a number of contemporary ELT contexts. This project represents an attempt to investigate the history of CLT as a means of gaining a clearer understanding of its main principles and ideas. The investigation aims to identify some key concepts in the discourse of the ELT Journal over the period when the communicative approach is believed to have emerged. Two consecutive periods are studied; an earlier (1973 to 1981) phase when the journal was edited by W.R. Lee, and a later (1981 to 1986) period under Richard Rossner. The project makes use of two separate keyword âtraditionsâ to examine words that play an important role in the discourse of the journal. Firstly, a machine-based, corpus procedure was carried out, using the collections of articles as a kind of corpus. Later, a more thorough, detailed keyword analysis was undertaken, borrowing from the techniques pioneered by Raymond Williams, in which the histories of individual words are traced chronologically across texts. Chapter One, the literature review, presents a rationale for the project and the use of history to illuminate our understanding of CLT. It carries out
Hunter, Duncan
LB Theory and practice of education
Communicative language teaching and the ELT Journal : a corpus-based approach to the history  of a discourse. Despite recent challenges, CLT remains influential and continues to be implemented in a number of contemporary ELT contexts. This project represents an attempt to investigate the history of CLT as a means of gaining a clearer understanding of its main principles and ideas. The investigation aims to identify some key concepts in the discourse of the ELT Journal over the period when the communicative approach is believed to have emerged. Two consecutive periods are studied; an earlier (1973 to 1981) phase when the journal was edited by W.R. Lee, and a later (1981 to 1986) period under Richard Rossner. The project makes use of two separate keyword âtraditionsâ to examine words that play an important role in the discourse of the journal. Firstly, a machine-based, corpus procedure was carried out, using the collections of articles as a kind of corpus. Later, a more thorough, detailed keyword analysis was undertaken, borrowing from the techniques pioneered by Raymond Williams, in which the histories of individual words are traced chronologically across texts. Chapter One, the literature review, presents a rationale for the project and the use of history to illuminate our understanding of CLT. It carries out
communicative_language teach elt journal corpus_based history discourse despite_recent challenge clt remain influential continue implement number contemporary elt context project represent_attempt investigate history clt mean gain clear main principle idea investigation aim_identify key_concept discourse elt journal period communicative believe emerge consecutive period study earlier phase journal edit later period project make_use two_separate tradition examine word play_important_role discourse journal firstly machine based corpus procedure carry use collection article kind corpus later thorough detailed analysis_undertaken borrow technique pioneer williams histories individual word trace chronologically across text literature_review present rationale project use history illuminate clt carry