Communicative Orientation of EFL Instruction in Primary Schools: A Comparison of Public and Private Contexts

Purpose: This study examines the communicative orientation of primary-level EFL instruction in two contrasting institutional contexts (a public and a private school) using classroom observations and teacher interviews.Design/Methodology/Approach: Adopting a qualitative multiple-case design, data were collected through the Communicative Orientation of Language Teaching (COLT) Observation Scheme Part A (Spada & Fröhlich, 1995), field notes, and semi-structured interviews with two in-service teachers. Observation data were analyzed quantitatively using category-based percentages, while interview data were subjected to content analysis to explore belief–practice relationships.Findings: The findings indicate that both classrooms were predominantly teacher-fronted and form-focused, reflecting a weak version of CLT. Nevertheless, the private school provided comparatively more opportunities for communicative and interpretation-oriented activities, whereas the public school displayed a more eclectic pedagogy shaped by curricular and institutional constraints. Highlights: The study contributes classroom-based comparative evidence on CLT implementation in young learner EFL contexts in Türkiye. Although Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has been central to English language policy in Türkiye since 1997, the study confirms an ongoing gap between curricular intentions and actual classroom practices.