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TOPIC 4

THE COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE AND ITS COMPONENTS

Contents:

1.- Introduction

2.- Chomsky's Theory

3.- Hymes Theory

4.- Canale And Swain's Theory 4.1.- Definition Of Communication 4.2.- Definition Of Communicative Competence 4.3.- Components Of Communicative Competence 4.3.1.- Grammatical Competence 4.3.2.- Sociolinguistic Competence 4.3.3.- Discourse Competence 4.3.4.- Strategic Competence

5.

Present-Day

Directions

Regarding

Communicative

Competence 5.1.- Multimedia And Hypermedia Contexts. 5.2.- Implications In Language Teaching.

6.- Conclusion

7. Bibliography

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Academia ADOS

TOPIC 4

THE COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE AND ITS COMPONENTS

1.- INTRODUCTION

Before talking about communicative competence many teaching language theories only dealt with the linguistic system. The first linguist who referred to the system was Saussure. He established a difference between the language as a system that he called langue and the act of speaking that he named parole. The system was the totality of language, something that we can learn while the act of speaking is something real, the concrete speech on the part of a speaker.

Saussure opened the path for other linguists who developed their theories bearing Saussures ideas in mind. Gradually the theory of communicative competence was formed, although it underwent several changes.

2.- CHOMSKYS THEORY

Chomsky said that language is a set of sentences taken out of a finite set of elements. Each language user has a subconscious knowledge of the grammar rules of his/her language, and following these rules the user can generate meaningful sentences. This subconscious knowledge is what Chomsky called linguistic competence. But then each person uses his/her competence to repeat, understand and produce new utterances, and this is linguistic performance, that is to say the use of the system in specific situations.

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3.- HYMES THEORY

Chomskys ideas were well received. However after a while he was criticised especially by second language teaching theories. Hymes used by mid 1960s the concept of communicative competence. He thought that a knowledge of the system and the producing of grammatical sentences accepted by native speakers were not enough to define communicative competence and he introduced a social component to develop his theory. The users know when, where and how they can use the language and to whom.

Hymes communicative competence theory includes the following features:

Systematic potential: this is similar to Chomskys linguistic competence and refers to the possibilities of using the system to create language.

Appropriacy: it means that given a situation the speaker knows what is adequate to use taking some factors into account, for example who is taking part in the conversation, where and when the participants are, what the main aim of the communication is and the channel. For example, in a very luxurious restaurant the waiter would not ask OK, you, what you gonna eat?; the newspapers headlines tend to the maximum economy of language because space is very limited.

Occurrence: it means how often something is said in a language. This means that apart from being grammatically correct it must be actually used by the speakers. For instance, the old second person singular pronoun thou is only used nowadays for some elevated or ecclesiastical prose, so it would be very strange to hear it in everyday life.

- Feasibility: it refers to the possible use of some constructions in the language. For example, nobody would use ten adjectives premodifying a noun although the system does not forbid it.

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4.- CANALE AND SWAINS THEORY

Hymes theory was very important for second language teaching because his theory of communicative competence was the first step for the revolution in the teaching of languages. In the 1980s Canale and Swain developed their theory of communicative competence, and since then it is one of the most widely accepted. In fact it is very closely related to the communicative competence that the MEC asks teachers to put into practice.

4.1.- Definition of communication

Canale gave several criteria to define communication:

it is a form of social interaction it has a high degree of unpredictability and creativity it takes place in discourse and sociocultural contexts it is carried out under psychological and other conditions such as memory, fatigue or distractions

it always has a purpose it involves authentic material it is judged as successful or not depending on the outcome (for example an utterance like How to go train? can be regarded as successful if we are given appropriate directions to go to the station.

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Academia ADOS 4.2.- Definition of communicative competence

In both L1 learning and L2 learning it is important to analyse how people become language users and also what speakers know about their own language that enables them to use it effectively.

This analysis of the mechanisms used by native speakers will help us decide what Second or Foreign language students should learn o be competent speakers. In this way, we are entering the field of communicative competence.

Communicative competence is the underlying system of knowledge and skill required for communication. After giving this definition we have to redefine some of these concepts. Knowledge refers to what one knows both consciously and unconsciously about language and use. Skill refers to how well one performs that knowledge in actual communication. This actual communication is the realisation of that knowledge and skill under several conditions like psychological, sociological or environmental conditions, for instance, memory, fatigue or nervousness. (see Hymes theory). Thus, communicative competence is an essential part of actual communication.

4.3.- Components of communicative competence

For Canale and Swain there are four main areas of competence that interact with the systems of knowledge and skill to form actual communication.

4.3.1.- Grammatical competence It refers to the mastery of the language code. Here we have to include wide areas like vocabulary, 'pronunciation, spelling, semantics and sentence formation. It focuses on the knowledge and skill necessary to understand and express the meaning of utterances. It was widely used in pedagogy and especially in second language teaching until the 1970s. The term grammatical competence would be similar to Chomskys linguistic competence.

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4.3.2.- Sociolinguistic competence

It means that utterances are appropriate both in meaning and form given particular situations, that is to say, contextual background. Appropriateness of meaning makes reference to the communicative functions that are adequate or inadequate for a given situation.

For example a waiter can advise a customer in a restaurant, but not command.

Appropriateness of form concerns the way a given meaning is represented in verbal form. We cannot finish a letter of application for a job with Love or Good-bye, but with I am looking forward to hearing from you or Yours faithfully. In the same way we would not say to a friend Nice to meet you, but hi or hello.

There are three types of rules that must be considered under the epigraph sociolinguistic competence.

pragmatic rules, that is to say, the previous conditions. For example, to give a command one must have the right to do so.

social appropriateness. It would be impolite to ask a stranger how much he/she earns. These two first rules are similar to Hymes appropriateness.

linguistic realisation, that is the frequency and generality of forms, which is similar to Hymes feasibility and occurrence.

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Academia ADOS 4.3.3.- Discourse competence

It means how to combine grammatical forms and meanings to form a unified text. This unity is achieved through cohesion in form (use of pronouns, conjunctions or reference) and coherence in meaning, that is, the relationship of meaning in a text.

There are four ways to achieve coherence. repetition of meaning, which gives continuity to the text. progression of meaning, which makes the text develop. relevance of meaning, which leads to congruity. non-contradiction, so that the text can be consistent.

With the educational innovations and the new legislation discourse has become the unit of study connected with both meaning and writing.

Up to now the sentence has been the unit of study in second language teaching.

phoneme- morpheme- phrase- clause- TEXTS meaning word- sentence- paragraphs writing

As we can see here the most real language use involves the production and reception of connected stretches of spoken and written language, so the final aim of study must be the discourse, since it is the largest unit.

Meanings can vary according to the context or purpose of communication. The same forms can have different meanings in different contexts. So, in spite of considering discourse our unit of study, we cannot forget sociolinguistic competence.

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Academia ADOS We can pinpoint the following criteria for discourse:

the emphasis is on the process, not only on the product of communication. studies language in context is above sentence level has text as unit of study is spoken and written purpose, choice and meaning are essential

According to Michael McCarthy (a teacher) the better a text analyst is the better equipped his students are likely to be in using language appropriately.

This means that we as teachers have three roles: as user of English as analyst of the language

as teacher

This can be represented as follows: User (everyday life)

Language Awareness

Analyst (linguist) (methodology

teacher

Experience)

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Academia ADOS 4.3.4.- Strategic competence

It refers to the mastery of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies and has two reasons.

to make up for breakdowns in communication to enhance the effectiveness of communication

Students must be encouraged to use communication strategies because they can make communication possible even if they think the input of their language is not good enough or they cannot cope with the communicative situation.

For example, as far as making up for breakdowns in communication is concerned students can do the following to judge communication as successful:

paraphrase: if they dont know the word bakers they can say the place where bread is sold

approximation: this refers to the use of a more general word to define an unknown concept. For example if our students dont know the word for oak they can say tree. In the same way the word nightingale may be approximated by saying bird. This process is also called generalisation.

Paralinguistics. This is the use of non-linguistic features to convey the meaning of unknown expressions. For instance we can use body language to convey the meaning of the verb to yawn

Fillers (oilers): These are words that dont add any meaning to a message but that can be used when one is looking for the exact word or expression in order to win time. Some of these fillers are for example well, so, really...

Direct appeals for help: this is the last resort when everything else has failed. This appeal for help may be a dictionary, a teacher, an authority, etc.

The strategies to enhance the effectiveness of communication can be soft or slow speech in order to create an effect on the listener.

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For instance, politicians modulate their voices in their meetings to convince others of their ideas; a captain tries to strengthen the confidence in his soldiers by shouting and praising them.

In general willingness, confidence and motivation can compensate for deficiencies in language.

It has been discussed that the teaching of these communication strategies is not necessary because they are universal and used in L1. But it is much better if we can help our students teaching them in several ways. We can show them how these strategies can be implemented in L2 and we should encourage them to use them.

Although we have discussed the four areas of competence separately all of them interact with one another, and we cannot neglect any one when we are communicating. Consider these example:

A: What did the police do? B: Demonstrators were hit by the police.

This example is grammatically and sociolinguistically correct; however it is inappropriate as far as discourse is concerned.

In general in English the new information (in this case that demonstrators were hit) never precedes the shared topic (here that the police did something).

Thus, from the discourse point of view the logical answer to the previous question would have been The police hit the demonstrators.

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Academia ADOS 5.PRESENT-DAY COMPETENCE Although traditionally, foreign language teachers have used media, or devices we use to s re, process, and communicate information, technological developments have altered the type of m - to foreign language students encounter. In the 1950's and 1960's, foreign language teachers who used the Audio Lingual Method departed from traditional textbooks and introduced audiotaped dialogues to the learning situation. With the emergence of video, foreign language students had access to more contextualized language use and greater opportunity for comprehensible input that facilitates second language acquisition (Krashen and Terrell 1983). More recently, researchers have be un investigating multimedia, and hypermedia contexts for foreign language and culture acquisition. This section first examines the use of video in the foreign language domain and then, explores multimedia and hypermedia contexts for the acquisition of communicative competence. In the second part, we will broadly overview the implications of a communicative approach into Ian e teaching. DIRECTION SREGARDING COMMUNICATIVE

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Academia ADOS 5.1. Multimedia and hypermedia contexts. From a practical perspective in education, providing experiences for contact with language in context may prove difficult for foreign language teachers. Constrained by lack of sufficient access to the target culture, teachers often rely on textbooks and classroom materials in teaching Ian e. These materials, most of them linear in nature and lacking in interactivity may not necessarily provide the required environment for the acquisition of communicative competence. Although a lack of empirical evidence exists, proponents of video for use in the foreign language classroom suggest that this medium can increase the amount of comprehensible input accessible in the foreign language classroom. It is suggested that through the medium of video, students receive massive doses of comprehensible input, and that video can provide target language speech or texts that include challenging yet understandable portions. Furthermore, when the target language is presented in context, in the form of video, the meaning of specific words and utterances becomes clear to the learner. Furthermore, they may not necessarily provide all aspects of discourse activity, thus paralinguistic and extralinguistic behaviour that accompany speech. Hypermedia and multimedia environments may also provide a more appropriate context for students to experience the target culture (Warschauer 1996).

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Present-day approaches deal with a communicative competence model in which first, there is an emphasis on significance over form, and secondly, motivation and involvement are enhanced. This requires to create classrooms conditions which match those in real life and foster acquisition, encouraging learning. The success partly lies in the way the language becomes real to the users, feeling themselves really in the language. Some of this motivational force is brought about by intervening in authentic communicative events. Otherwise, we have to recreate as much as possible the whole cultural environment in the classroom. Recent technological multimedia tools, which utilize audio-visual formats can provide many of the contextual cues that traditional text k formats can not (Cummings, 1994). Second, the linear nature of textbooks affords students a rather restricted experience of the content and does not allow for navigational freedom or interactivity at modem technological tools such as CD ROM and hypertext provide learners. Contrary to multimedia formats, traditional textbooks, linear and non-interactive, may not provide the appropriate context for the acquisition of communicative competence. This method relies on a notion of communicative competence which takes place first, info language classrooms where the effectiveness of communication is to be acquired, and secondly multimedia and hypermedia environments which support the acquisition-, of communicative competence. Recent developments in foreign language education have indicated a trend toward field of intercultural communication, where the Ministry of Education proposes several prod within the framework of the European Community. These projects consist of real exchanges, such as first, Erasmus projects, for learners to acquire a foreign language in the culture for three, six or twelve months; Comenius projects, for learners to travel to the target cu up to two weeks; and Plumier projects, for learners to use multimedia resources in a classroom setting where learners are expected to learn to interpret and produce meaning with members o target culture. In essence, they all call for the contextualization of language (Cummings 1983).

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Academia ADOS 5.2. Implications into language teaching Some research has reported successful and meaningful cultural learning through the u of ethnographic methods (Robinson-Stuart & Nocon 1996). However, the practicality of implementing ethnographic approaches to foreign language and culture learning is questionable. For e e, oftentimes, students do not have direct access to members of the target culture, or to a rang of individuals representing much of the communicative repertoire of that culture. Furthermore, traditional means of contact with the target culture, such as textbooks do not provide a pr per context for ethnographic investigation. In order to access another culture and understand its members practices and perspectives concerning these practices, second language learners must ve the opportunity to experience them in context, as do true ethnographers. In order to understand communicative practices, second language learners must see members of the target culture use them in authentic situations and must have access to the ground of meaning attached to those practices. As previously noted, the main tenet of Foreign Language Learning is for foreign language learners to acquire language within its social context. Thus, since the nature of language demands interlocutors concurrently interpret and produce language in order to create meaning and effectively communicate, foreign language learners must exercise both receptive and productive ski simultaneously. The National Standards reflect these interdependent properties of communicate necessary for successful interactions, emphasizing both the productive and the receptive skills. Yet, as students increase their ability to produce in the target language, then they will most likely increase opportunities for meaningful input (Krashen & Terrell 1983). As an example of some standards, we shall mention some of them, such as standard number one where students are expected to understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics, and standard number two by means of which students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied. These are just some instances among many others.

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Academia ADOS In essence, textbooks generally provide students prescriptive phrases with which to communicate without providing insights as to contextual influences on these utterances. They also often f '1 to represent the linguistic repertoire of speech communities as they typically depict a rather monolithic speech community, neglecting to portray the heterogeneous nature of the target cultures' speakers. Essentially, if the goal of foreign language teaching is to develop communicative competence among foreign language students, then we must address sociolinguistic aspects of language d provide students opportunities to access the meaning associated with language' practices. By ignoring these aspects of communication in the foreign language classroom, we are not providing our students essential elements of human interaction, for spoken language must be presented i the full context of communication.

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Academia ADOS 6. CONCLUSION A review of the literature in this survey revealed that although recent developments in foreign language education have indicated a trend towards approaching the acquisition of a second language in terms of communicative competence, traditional resources have proven inadequate. Students are expected to learn to function properly in the target language and culture, both interpreting and producing_ meaning with members of the target culture. However, providing experiences for contact with language in context has been problematic. Limited access to the target culture has forced teachers to rely on textbooks and other classroom materials in teaching Ian e, and these

materials may not necessarily furnish a sufficiently rich environment for the acquisition of communicative competence, including many aspects of discourse activity, such as paralinguistic and extralinguistic behavior. Hypermedia and multimedia environments may provide a appropriate setting for students to experience the target language in its cultural context. For over twenty years,' many researchers have concentrated on the development of the notion of communicative competence, among which we may mention Savignon (1972,1983); Hymes (1 2, Canale and Swain (1980); and Bachman (1990) in an attempt to mention the most representative figures in this field. The theme of communicative competence emerges upon the basis that language and communication are at the heart of the human experience, and therefore the main aim is for students to be equipped linguistically and culturally in order to communicate successfully 1 a pluralistic society and abroad. Furthermore, it is said that foreign language teachers must focUS on the sociolinguistic and cultural aspects of language for students to be familiar with and knowledgeable of the target language and culture or cultures. For generations, language teachers have attempted to overcome this obstacle with the use of realia, or authentic materials in the classroom. However, the use of these materials does not necessarily result in an interpretation of the intent of the message that matches those members of the target culture. Without an understanding of native viewpoints, second language and culture learners may be incapable of accessing and interpreting the meaning of communication in the target language as intended by members of that culture.

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7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

-CANALE, M and SWAIN, M, 1980. Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching and Testing. Applied Linguistics Vol. I - CHOMSKY,N; 1965. Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Ambridge, Mass, MIT Press. - HALLIDAY, M.A.K, 1985. An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London, Edward Arnold