Communicative competence: Def: To be communicative competent means, roughly speaking, to be able to communicate that which you wish to communicate.
To be communicative competent you need skills within the following areas:Grammatical competence• the ability to use the rules of the language to understand and produce the language correctlyDiscourse competence• the ability to understand and produce coherent texts (written and oral) within various genresPragmatic competence• the ability to understand and produce utterances that are suitable for the context in which they are utteredStrategic competence• the ability to efficiently use the skills available to you to get your message across - strategiesFluencyInterrelation between the elements of communicative competence
Competence – definition:Competence:• proficiencies within and knowledge of the competences described above• meta-communicative knowledge (knowing about): language and language usage and elements which affect various communication situations
Communication:• written and oral communication proficiencies• sender and receiver• speaking, listening, writing, and reading• all communication is unique• authentic communication is demanding in terms of collaboration, and it’s unpredictable• we communicate and understand communi- cation based on the context in which it takes place / in which we find ourselves
Teaching from a communicative perspective• focus on both form and content and their interdependence• involve all the 4/5 competences – together NOT separately• listening, reading, writing and speaking (the 4 proficiencies)• authentic language usage
Grammatical competence = the linguistic code• Phonetics – Pronunciation and prosody• Morphology – Word function and inflection• Syntax – Structure of language• Lexis – Vocabulary and semantics
Grammatical competence = the linguistic code• Lexis – What does it mean to know a word? • Semantic networks • Using context to process input (current lang.acq. theory) • Interlanguage – Teaching grammar • Language acquisition view vs. teaching methods – Why grammar? • The rules of the game – Grammar in practice • Communicative need – relate form to content – Correction or reparation? • Errors are natural
Interlanguage definitions I• ”…intersprog består af strukturer, som finpudses og udvikles cirkulært i retning af målsproget.” (Sprogfagenes didaktik, p. 48)• ”Det specielle elevsprog, som man i dag antager, at en elev udvikler på vejen mod fremmedsprog – udviklende og dynamisk.” (Tornberg p. 64)
Interlanguage definitions II• “A learner’s developing second language knowledge. It may have characteristics of the learner’s first language, characteristics of the second language, and some characteristics that seem to be very general and tend to occur in all or most interlanguage systems. Interlanguages are systematic, but they are also dynamic. They change as learners receive more input and revise their hypotheses about the second language.” (Spada and Lightbown p.201)
Interlanguage definitions III• “Thus interlanguage consists of both the rules about the target language that have become automatic and of the language which is still being developed.” (Tornberg p.66 min oversættelse)• “Extensive empirical research suggests that grammar teaching has no direct effect on the pupil’s interlanguage. Interlanguage rather seems to develop in sequences that follow certain rules independent of grammar teaching.” (Tornberg p.67 min oversættelse)
Discourse competence• Oral – Gambits/samtalemarkører = tools to organize who says sth. in a conversation /whose turn it is to speak• Written – coherence: to do with the content and structure of the text (global) – cohesion: more formal, linguistic context (local) • content related • logical/ structure related• Why is discourse important to teach? And is it?
Pragmatic competence• Pragmatics: the social context in which the language is used – Speech acts – Culture• Pragma-linguistics – how speech acts are realised in the target language• Socio-pragmatics – factors in the social context which influences the linguistic realisation• Why?• What about culture and language? How are they linked? – World Englishes…
Strategic competence• AIM: to make available problem solving strategies on all levels of the communi- cative competence (communication strategies)• Why important? (in EFL teaching)• Strategic competence as problem solving strategies – evasive approach – creative utilization approach
Strategic competence continued I• Utilization strategies as learning strategies• Communication strategies (utilisation strategies) – based on native language – based on interlanguage – based on interaction
Strategic competence continued II• Which strategies are best? – most researchers agree that strategies based on the interlanguage will be more successful than those based on native language when the aim is communicative – conscious knowledge of strategies ―› help pupils utilize their potentials• Why teach communicative strategies – is it necessary?• Draw backs
Why teach from a communicative perspective?• Karen Lund argues:• AIM: to achieve as high a degree of correctness as possible within all levels of communicative competence (p.8)• “The core reason for using communicative syllabuses in teaching is that it drives the acquisition of a new language forward….” (p.20)
Why teach from a communicative perspective? continued• “…the central factor in acquisition of a new language lies in the student’s search for means that enable them to communicate and interact with the aid of language[…the student’s search for linguistic means of expression that enables them to encode and decode communication (p.20)…] It is this search that drives acquisition forward.” (p.19)• “…communicative teaching in itself is the means towards this end…” (p.20)• “So there are not only one but two good reasons for communicative teaching: one based on a view of language, the other on acquisition” (p.20)
Intercultural competence• Should it be a separate competence? Why / why not?• Where do you see it in this communicative competence perspective?
Intercultural competence• Grammatical competence: direct translations are not always possible (i.e. ‘small pizza’ vs. ‘personal pizza’); connotations (the owl: wisdom – stupidity)• Discourse competence: genre manifestations; gambits; pause between utterances• Pragmatic competence: speech acts in communication contexts; politeness;• Strategic competence: might vary which are most effective
Literature• Vivian Lindhardsen og Bjarne Christensen, Sprogfagenes didaktik, 2. reviderede udgave, Kroghs Forlag 2006• Karen Lund, Communicate competence – where do we stand? Sprogforum nr. 4, 1996• Ulrika Tornberg, Sprogdidaktik, L&R Uddannelse 2001• Patsy Lightbown and Nina Spada, How Languages are Learned, 3rd edition, OUP 2006
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