U4
1. COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE
The Nature of Communication
The Notion of Competence
Noam Chomsky
Semiotics
Verbal communication
Code: Language
Speech: Speech sounds > Phonemes
Limited
Writing: Linguistic units > Words
Unlimited
Non-Verbal communication
Visual & Tactile modes
get the message by
Sound (auditory-vocal)
Speech, Musical sounds, birdsong
Touch (tactile)
Braille alphabet of the blind, Secret codes
Sight (visual)
Writing, Sign languages, Morse, Traffic lights
A much wider domain of enquiry of which language is part: the analysis of linguistic & non-linguistic signs in communication processes in general. It deals with patterned human communication in all its modes and in all contexts
Origins
A need for animals & humans to communicate so as to (1) carry out basic activities of everyday life & (2) express their feelings/attitudes. However, even the most primitive cultures had a constant need to express their feelings and ideas by other means than guttural sounds & body movements as animals did. Our constant preoccupation was how to turn thoughts into words.
The physiological & genetic evolution of our vocal tract was essential in the emergence of language, which was accompanied by natural sounds & body language
Distinctive Features of Human Language
Our auditory-vocal channel
Exclusive to humans
Arbitrariness
No intrinsic/logical connection btw word/sound forms & what they mean/refer to in real life (btw language & reality)
Traditional transmission
Language is handed down from one generation to the next by a process of teaching & learning
Productivity
Infinite number of possible new messages to be expressed, including inventing & telling lies
Displacement
Talk about events remote in space or time
Duality of patterning
Meaningful messages are made up of distinct smaller meaningful units (words/utterances) which in turn are made up of distinct smaller meaningful units (morphemes/phonemes)
Interchangeablity
of messages
Possibility to reproduce messages to say anything in any context: anything one can hear, one can say. This allows for the roles of speaker & listener alternating via turn-taking
Competence
Canale & Swain
Dell Hymes
On communicative competence (1972)
Communicative Competence
theory of transformational generative grammar (1960s)
Performance
The abstract/idealized native speaker’s innate/underlying system of rules: One's implicit or explicit knowledge of the language system.
The innate knowledge of language an ideal speaker-listener has in an homogeneous speech community
The actual individual production & comprehension of utterances in specific instances of language use (actual communication situations) and the rules of language use. It did not properly reflect the underlying knowledge (competence), because of its many imperfections at the level of errors & hesitations
Linguisitic
Language
A finite system of rules which allows to produce an infinite number/set of grammatically correct sentences. Thus, learners do not acquire an endless list of rules, but a limited set of transformations with which language users can form an unlimited number of sentences
Communicative Competence
The underlying knowledge a speaker has of the rules of grammar & their use in socially appropriate circumstances
Extends Chomsky's notion of competence & includes not only grammatical, but also sociolinguistic competence
He states that "native speakers knowledge is larger than just grammatical competence" & distinguishes 4 aspects of competence
a turning point in the development of subsequent theories on language learning
= Grammaticality
= Acceptability
Systematic potential
Appropiacy
Occurrence
Feasibility
Native speakers have a system for producing potentially infinite grammatically correct language
Native speakers know what is appropiate in a given situation/context in which language is used, based on things like the setting, participants, purpose, channel & topic
Native speakers know how often something is said in language & act accordingly
Native speakers know whether something is possible or not in the language, even if there is not a grammar rule to ban it
It included not only grammatical competence, but also sociolinguistic competence, which connects language & culture/society, necessary to use & understand linguistic forms (language use in social contexts)
Knowing a language is not only knowing its grammar but also knowing how to use it, with whom, and in what situations. Therefore: (1) the underlying knowledge of the system and (2) the skills needed for communicating (e.g. knowledge of vocabulary and skill in using the sociolinguistic conventions for a given language)
(1980)
Actual communication
The realization/manifestation of such knowledge & skills (which make up competence) in actual communication under limiting psychological & environmental conditions (memory & perceptual constraints, fatigue, nervousness, distractions, etc.). It shows the reality that CC is only indirectly reflected in communication
Language use
Knowledge
Skills
what one knows, consciously or not, about the language and about communicative language use
how well one can perform this knowledge in actual communication
They use CC to refer to the relationship/interaction btw Grammatical competence (knowledge of the rules of grammar) & Sociolinguistic competence (knowledge of the rules of language use)
3. EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS: THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH
2. ANALYSIS OF ITS COMPONENTS
Communicative competence
Use of the linguistic system
Grammatical /Linguistic competence
Control/mastery over the purely linguistic aspects of the language code itself (to match sound & meaning), verbal and non-verbal to attain a higher level of proficiency, where accuracy is important. The KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS required to UNDERSTAND & PRODUCE accurately the literal meaning of utterances
Knowledge of rules of:
- Morphology (word formation),
- Phonology (pronunciation),
- Syntax (sentence formation),
- Lexicon (vocabulary),
- Orthography (spelling),
- Semantics (meaning comprising the 4 skills)
Discourse competence
The ways in which individual sentences connect together to form a unified, meaningful communicative message. How to combine grammatical forms/structures & meanings to achieve a unified spoken/written text in different genres (modes of discourse). The unity of a text is achieved through cohesion in form & coherence in meaning
Functional aspects of communication
Strategic competence
The type of knowledge which we need to sustain communication with someone. The mastery of the verbal & nonverbal Communication Strategies that may be called into action to (1) compensate for breakdowns in communication due to performance variables or due to insufficient competence & to (2) enhance the effectiveness of communication. They solve not only grammatical, but also discursive & sociolinguistic problems/deficiencies in actual communication (the other components of CC)
Most useful in the early stages of L2 learning where CC can be present with just Strategic and Sociolinguistic competence
Sociolinguistic competence
The appropriate use of language in particular social situations to convey specific communicative functions. The knowledge of the sociocultural rules of language use (which the learner has to acquire). It requires an understanding of the social context in which language is used: (1) the roles of the participants, (2) the information/relationships they share, and (3) the function/purpose of the interaction. So, when an utterance is not clear from its literal meaning it is important to know its social meaning
Appropiateness
The extent to which an utterance is proper/suitable for (1) a particular audience, (2) in a given sociolinguistic context (3) with a particular purpose
Canale & Swain's (1980) and later Canale (1983)
Linguistic knowledge is separated from sociocultural features
of Meaning
of Form
Whether the particular "communicative functions" are judged to be proper to the situation
Whether a given "meaning" is represented in a
(verbal or non-verbal) form that is proper to the situation
Cohesion
Coherence
How individual utterances are linked structurally (grammatically & lexically) and facilitates interpretation of a text by means of cohesive devices which connect ideas within & between sentences
The relatioships among the different meanings or contents of a text. When texts are not coherent, they do not make sense or make it difficult for the reader to follow & understand
It performs assessment, planning & execution functions in determining the most effective means of achieving a communicative goal
Communicative Approach
Important factors
to language teaching
in a communicative class
Materials
Activities
Task-based
The goal of classroom activities should be authentic and meaningful communication
A shift in focus on students’ capacity to communicate, rather that the ability to produce grammatically correct sentences
Achieving Communicative Competence is the goal of language learning
Principles
Communication
Task
Meaningfulness
A theory of learning (the conditions needed to promote L2 learning), not a language theory (the processes of language acquisition)
Activities that involve real communication promote learning (in a context & with a communicative purpose)
Activities in which language is used for carrying out authentic, meaningful tasks promote learning
Language that is meaningful to the learner supports the learning process
for promoting communicative language use
Realia
Text-based
Signs, magazines, advertisements, and newspapers, or graphic and visual sources around which communicative activities can be built, such as maps, pictures, symbols, graphs, and charts
Textbooks with none of the usual dialogues, drills, or sentence patterns and instead use visual cues, recorded cues, pictures, and sentence fragments to initiate conversation
A variety of games, role plays, simulations, and task-based communication activities used to achieve sth through the use of language
Social interaction
Functional communication
Comparing 2 pictures. Similarities & differences
Giving instructions on how to draw a picture or shape
Following directions
Solving problems from shared clues
Discovering missing features in a map/picture
Discussion/debate
Role-play
Improvisation
Simulation
Students' role
Communicators actively engaged in the negotiation of meaning
Dialogues
"Authentic"
Verbal & Non-verbal
Spoken & Written
Understand & Produce
(4 macro-skills)
How the components of the surface text, the actual
words we hear or see, are mutually connected
How the components of the textual world, thus the concepts and relations which underlie the surface text, are mutually accessible and relevant
that promote L2 learningm
Characteristics
Learn by Doing
We learn to do by doing. Thus, we learn a language through using it to communicate, that is, through interaction in the L2
Fluency > Accuracy
Fluency (the ability to generate & communicate one’s ideas clearly and with relative ease) is more relevant than "accuracy" (the ability to produce language with few errors)
4 Skills
It involves the development & integration of the 4 language macroskills
Trial & Error
Learning is a process of creative construction which involves trial & error (errors are natural & tolerated)
Student-centred
They are the centre of the process (active role). Become negotiators & must engage in interaction, fostering student autonomy & motivation. Here, students' needs & interests are at the core
Situation-oriented
Lessons are built around everyday real-world situations that make learners put their learning into practice
Teacher's role
Facilitator: acts as an advisor during the activities, answering the stuident's questions & monitoring their performance
Multidimensional
Co-communicator: engages in the communicative activity along with the students
of communication
Lexico-grammatical connection within & btw sentences
Meaning relations
Knowledge of the Sociocultural rules of language use: appropriate use in a particular context with a specific purpose
Unified (cohesive & coherent), meaningful communicative messages
Mastery of verbal & non-verbal communication strategies
Mastery over the purely linguistic aspects of the language code
Real
Meaningful
Language