Research on the Application of Communicative Language Teaching in Foreign Language Education from the Perspective of Post-method

Abstract

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), which centers on developing learners’ authentic communicative competence, has been widely adopted as a mainstream approach in foreign language education in China. This paper first reviews the theoretical origins and framework of CLT, then examines its pedagogical strengths in light of the requirements of China’s New English Curriculum Standards, and analyzes the practical challenges it encounters in classroom implementation. Drawing on the post-method pedagogy, the paper further explicates the core tenets of post-method thinking and its inherent relationship with CLT, arguing that CLT should be integrated with other teaching approaches in the post-method era. The study finds that CLT alone cannot fully address the needs of local foreign language classrooms in China. Foreign language teachers should therefore reconstruct classroom practice through a post-method lens, moving beyond a rigid adherence to any single method. By integrating diverse pedagogical strategies in response to actual classroom contexts, teachers can foster the coordinated development of students’ foundational language proficiency and communicative competence.