Communicative Competence Chapter 8

What is communicative competence? Communicative Competence – the ability to communicate Two kinds of CC: Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS) – informal, conversation skills Cognitive/Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) – understanding academic language Which is most important to learn first?

Factors affecting competence Context-embedded When the student knows what the language is about. Context-reduced When the student doesn’t know what the language is about. Which helps students more when understanding and producing language?

Types of competence Grammatical Competence – knowledge of grammar Discourse Competence – ability to connect sentences into conversation Sociolinguistic Competence – ability to follow sociocultural rules of language Strategic Competence – ability to use verbal/nonverbal to give a message Organizational Competence – ability to use forms of language Illocutionary or Pragmatic Competence – ability to send and receive intended messages; understanding nuance

How communication works Speech Act – different meanings coming from one sentence; actions and meanings conveyed during conversation Locutionary Basic sentence There is a fire in that house. – basic sentence Illocutionary Intended meaning There is a fire in that house. – warning, don’t go near it Perlocutionary Actual Response There is a fire in that house. – listener is frightened and doesn’t go to the house

Group Work – What are all of the possible meanings of these sentences? Where have you been? You can leave now. Why weren’t you at the party? What did your parents say? You look so hot.

Group Work – What are all of the possible meanings of these sentences? American: What a beautiful necklace! Samoan: Please have it. English Teacher: Would you like to read this paragraph? Russian Student: No, I would not.

Styles of Communication Oratorical – language conventions used in public speaking Deliberative – impromptu situations in front of an audience Consultative – formal and words are chosen carefully Casual – between friends Intimate/Personal – between family or lovers Which is utilized in writing? Which is taught in school? Which SHOULD be taught in school?

Other factors of communication competence Kinesics – gestures; different for every culture Eye contact – looking directly into someone’s eyes or not Facial expressions – facial gestures Proxemics – physical distance between speaker and listener Artifacts – clothing and jewelry Kinesthetics – touching Olfactory Dimensions – sense of smell How do each of these affect communication?

Communicative Language Teaching Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) – classrooms where teachers teach students to communicate with their language rather than learn grammatical rules Example: a teacher teaches the topic of traveling and the students role-play as if they are going to the airport and trying to buy a plane ticket. The students describe where they want to go and what they will do.

Task-Based Language Teaching Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) – there is a task to solve when learning language Task Meaning is primary There is a problem to solve A relationship to real-world activities An objective that can be assessed or tested Example: Adult business English language learners are asked to find a business in the community and develop in English a business plan that would create more profit for the business and improve the company.

Create a language learning activity In groups, write down an activity for both approaches: CLT TBLT The activities should teach a specific age level of student. Be specific and outline how the activity is CLT or TBLT. Present to the class!