| The Communicative Approach to Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) is currently the most popular approach in Southeast Asian countries. Its use by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers has been recommended by the Ministry of Education and Culture in Indonesia for the past decade, in all secondary schools throughout the country.;This study attempts to gain deeper insights into the theoretical and practical relevance of the Communicative Approach to Indonesian EFL teachers, by obtaining data on how well teachers understand the underlying approach, and to what extent these teachers implement this understanding in their classroom practices. The study is based on the assumption that teachers' understanding of the theoretical knowledge of the underlying approach will be reflected in their classroom teaching.;Overall, results indicate that Indonesian EFL teachers' theoretical and practical knowledge of the Communicative Approach was low. This was as expected. Specifically, their theoretical knowledge of this approach is severely limited in terms of the principles, terminology, and the underlying meanings of the terminology. Most teachers have difficulties comprehending the concepts, and do not extract the true meaning of each concept. In addition, practice is inconsistent with theory. What EFL teachers believe and value, in terms of the setting, the learner, and the target language, does appear to have a direct influence on their teaching practices. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
