English Didactics in initial teacher training with a particular reference to Communicative Language Teaching

Learning and teaching English as a Foreign Language in Burkina Faso have always been a concern for the authorities, teachers and learners alike. The present research work can be viewed as a contribution to the improvement of the teaching of English as a foreign language. Most specifically, it probes into the practices of teaching English as a foreign language in post primary and general secondary schools. It examines the training practices, that is, what has changed in terms of teacher training programmes, the implications for teacher training and proposes alternatives for initial teacher training towards the attainment of a more communicative goal. Thus, I intend to visit the literature about theories of language learning and language teaching, the methodological principles underlying the teaching of languages as well as theories of teacher training and teacher development. More precisely, I will rely heavily on developing communicative language learning and teaching skills, keeping abreast with new findings in this domain of research, and making use of the concept of the Competency Based Approach to language learning and language teaching.