ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I intend to investigate an im portant aspect affecting an effective im plem entation of CLT, the students’ comm unicative intent in com municative activities. Against a backdrop of research findings showing “m e diation” as a prom ising factor leading to a more successful im plem entation of CLT in non-W estern countries (Ellis, 1996; Kramsch 8c Sullivan, 1996; Sullivan, 2000), I show, through two contrasting classroom excerpts from two secondary schools in H ong Kong, how student’s communicative intent could be prom oted or dem oted through the presence or absence of a genu ine opportunity for students to express their selves. It is argued that people communicate (irrespective of whether it is their first or second language) mainly for the purpose of asserting their local identity, interests, and values. Without the provision of such opportunities, anything said by the students will only be empty noises. In the following sections, I begin by providing a brief overview of how CLT has been practiced in Hong Kong. I then explore the m anagem ent of “self ’ and “com munication” in my data, before discuss ing the implications for a locally relevant pedagogical practice.
