What does it mean to 'communicate' in the classroom?

As a teacher I wanted desperately for my students to learn to

‘communicate’ in the language.

Many times it seemed my students were nowhere as passionate about the 'communicative' activity as I was. Did they not want to learn to ‘communicate’ with this activity? Why were they not excited?

In an episode of the podcast Tea with Bill VanPatten he posits that the less than enthusiastic reaction of students may be that the activity did not resonate as I thought it should have with my learners: it was not truly 'communicative'.

VanPatten defines communication as:
 “the expression, interpretation and negotiation of meaning in a given context.”

Context is defined by participants, setting and purpose. 

Since the classroom is a fixed setting (not a bank, restaurant or train station) role playing in pairs pretending you were at a train station would not ‘count’ as communication: the purpose may not resonate with the participants. A less than enthusiastic reception to a train station or café dialogue may simply be in response to the less than natural context. (I finally understand why my "now you're the waiter and you are the guest" activities were not so well received!)

Une immigrée...qui a peur...

When I thought about lessons that were successful they almost always revolved around themes and concepts that students were able to relate to. Once we read about and discussed what it meant to be a woman in society, what it was like not to have a boyfriend or girlfriend, to be an immigrant and not ‘fit in’, we compared ourselves to someone who overcame difficulties to follow their dreams, or we discussed human rights in advanced French. Were those days ‘easy’ for me as a teacher because the students were more able to relate to the stories, music and situations on a personal level? When I asked: "How is this person's situation similar or different from your own", "Do you know someone who..." it was not as hard to engage the students. The focus was the content: not the vocabulary or structures used to create it.
(Sorry: all examples are in French: turn on Google translate :))

BTW: lessons do not have to be so 'dramatic': VanPatten's own example is presenting his family to his students to tell them about his family: learning the vocabulary and structures is simply 'incidental' to the learning experience. He then does not assess for vocabulary, but uses the vocabulary to test about the content of what was presented. I did the same with the stories referenced above: "Why is she sad?" was more interesting than: 'what does the word 'triste' mean?

A challenge: try to look at your lesson from the standpoint of a student. Is the proposed activity one that is relatable or that resonates on a personal level? Obviously this bar is set very high, but it may give you some perspective when planning ‘communicative’ activities for your students.

Bill VanPatten’s blog is here (especially interesting to Spanish teachers btw!) and his podcast is here (can be silly but often thought provoking and insightful)

Here is VanPatten on Comprehensible Input: I am going to suggest discussing this in one of your department meetings.