Measuring EFL Teachers Knowledge of Communicative Language Teaching Approach and their Practices in the Jordanian Public Schools

The purpose of this study was to measure the English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers knowledge of the principles of the communicative language teaching approach (CLTA) and the extent to which they apply it inside the English language classrooms. The sample of this study consisted of 144 (63 male and 81 female) EFL teachers who were chosen purposefully. From this sample, the researcher has also chosen randomly 47 teachers (28 male and 19 female) for classroom observation. Two instruments were used to collect the data: a teachers questionnaire and a classroom observation checklist to elicit answers to the questions of the study. From the findings of this research, it can be concluded that all the CLTA characteristics included in the questionnaire and the observation checklist which can be attributed to the variables of experience, gender, and qualifications were known and used by the EFL teachers in different degrees. The results of the first question showed that concerning the experience the mean difference was significant at the 0.05 level; there were statistical significant differences due to the teachers’ experience in favour of the teachers of more than 15 years of experience. The results of the second question showed that there were significant differences between male and female teachers at the level 0.05 of significance in the favor of the males. The results of the third question showed that there were no statistical significant differences at the level of 0.05 of significance related to other dimensions. Finally the results of the fourth question showed that the teachers had good knowledge of the characteristics of CLTA in different degrees; they used these characteristics as much as possible inside their classrooms; and there were some obstacles that hinder the teachers from using the characteristics of CLTA in spite of their awareness of its usefulness.