Lecture 2

M1 Lit Communicational Skills
Lecture 2 : Communicative Competence
1- Defining Language
The use of gestures, symbols, vocal sounds, and other signals to communicate does not,
in and of itself constitute language. Communication and language are different but strongly
related. Language is the "communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of
arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols," (American Heritage,
2000). When we say a person is using language, we mean that he is using in a rule governed
communication system to represent his thoughts and feelings to members of his community
that share his language (Valli,2000).
Defining language is a lot like defining "art" or “culture” .Concepts as such can be
seen from different perspectives. Obviously this can cause problems and confusion. The same
issues are present when trying to define language. Linguists tell us that language consists of
identifiable elements: phonemes, morphemes, and lexemes, plus a set of rules on how to
combine those elements to in consistent ways so as to facilitate their correlation with ideas
and thoughts. For example, the idea or thought of "more than one" is strongly correlated to the
English language letter "s." For example to show more than one cat we add the phoneme "s"
to the morpheme "cat." Once the phoneme "s" has been added to morpheme "cat" the
phoneme "s" takes on meaning (which is to say it now represents the idea of more than one
cat) and thus "s" is no longer considered a phoneme but is in that circumstance considered to
be a morpheme (a bound morpheme actually) because it is now a meaningful unit. In words
such as "sit, sign, and kiss" the letter "s" functions as a phoneme and carries no independent
meaning. It is at the morphemic level that elements of speech start carrying meaning.
Morphemes can be broken down to linguistic units that do not carry meaning, (phonemes).
Encoding the idea, "more than one" into the bound morpheme "s" and then using that "s"
either in your own mind to manage thinking or by transmitting it to someone else's mind
through signing, speaking, or typing, is an example of language use. That is language at its
most basic.
On the other end of the definition spectrum, there are many features that a
communication system must possess prior to it's being considered "a language." Notice, there
is a difference between "language" and "a language." Neurolinguistic psychologists talk about
"language." Linguists talk about languages. Cognitive scientists talk about language use.
Linguists talk about language features. How you define language depends on your audience.
A linguist will tell you that while all languages are communication systems, not all
communication systems are languages (Valli, 2000).
2- Communication vs. Language
Communication and language are different. Language helps you to communicate. Language
enables the mind to compress and efficiently manage thoughts, then it serves as a vehicle to
transport those thoughts out of the mind and into the world. Communication is a broader
concept than language. The purpose of language is to provide one of the essential elements
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needed for communication, but communication is the goal. (Finnerty, 1991) Language is a
vehicle, communication is the destination.
3- Communicative Competence (Definition and examples)
The term communicative competence refers to both the tacit knowledge of a languageand the
ability to use it effectively. It's also called communication competence.The concept of
communicative competence (a term coined by linguist Dell Hymes in 1972) grew out of
resistance to the concept of linguistic competence introduced by Noam Chomsky (1965).
Most scholars now consider linguistic competence to be a part of communicative competence.
Examples and Observations
 "Why have so many scholars, from so many fields, studied communicative

competence within so many relational, institutional, and cultural contexts? Our hunch
is that scholars, as well as the contemporary Western societies in which most live and
work, widely accept the following tacit beliefs:
(a) within any situation, not all things that can be said and done are equally competent;
(b) success in personal and professional relationships depends, in no small part, on
communicative competence; and
(c) most people display incompetence in at least a few situations, and a smaller
number are judged incompetent across many situations."
 "By far the most important development in TESOL has been the emphasis on a
communicative approach in language teaching (Widdowson, 1978). The one thing that
everyone is certain about is the necessity to use language for communicative purposes
in the classroom. Consequently, the concern for teaching linguistic competence has
widened to include communicative competence, the socially appropriate use of
language, and the methods reflect this shift from form to function."
Hymes on Competence
"We have then to account for the fact that a normal child acquires knowledge of sentences not
only as grammatical, but also as appropriate. He or she acquires competence as to when to
speak, when not, and as to what to talk about with whom, when, where, in what manner. In
short, a child becomes able to accomplish a repertoire of speech acts, to take part in speech
events, and to evaluate their accomplishment by others. This competence, moreover, is
integral with attitudes, values, and motivations concerning language, its features and uses, and
integral with competence for, and attitudes toward, the interrelation of language with the other
code of communicative conduct." (Dell Hymes, 1972).
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3-Canale and Swain's Model of Communicative Competence
In "Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching and

Testing" (Applied Linguistics, 1980), Michael Canale and Merrill Swain identified these four
components of communicative competence:
a-Grammatical competence
includes knowledge of phonology, orthography, vocabulary, word formation
and sentence formation.
b-Sociolinguistic competence
includes knowledge of sociocultural rules of use. It is concerned with the learners' ability to
handle for example settings, topics and communicative functions in different sociolinguistic
contexts. In addition, it deals with the use of appropriate grammatical forms for different
communicative functions in different sociolinguistic contexts.
c- Discourse competence
is related to the learners' mastery of understanding and producing texts in the modes of
listening, speaking, reading and writing. It deals with cohesion and coherence in different
types of texts.
d- Strategic competence
refers to compensatory strategies in case of grammatical or sociolinguistic or discourse
difficulties, such as the use of reference sources, grammatical and lexical paraphrase, requests
for repetition, clarification, slower speech, or problems in addressing strangers when unsure
of their social status or in finding the right cohesion devices. It is also concerned with such
performance factors as coping with the nuisance of background noise or using gap fillers.
4-Importance of communication
Communication plays a powerful role in the nation building and development and contributes
significantly to bringing about social changes. Communication has led to development in a
community. Below are other major reasons as to why we communicate:-
. We communicate in order to educate and give instruction to the people we are
communicating with
. To provide knowledge for instance in school, church, political rallies etc
. To give expertise and skills for smooth functioning by people in society
. To create awareness and give opportunity to people to actively participate in public life.
. We communicate for Information ± in case you want to know something you have to ask
and be told
. We listen for entertainment
. We listen for discussion and to persuasion
. We listen for understanding and insight - we depend on communication for selfawareness.
Communication helps us to understand ourselves and others
. To develop meaningful relationships - it is through communication contacts that human
beings basic and social needs are met. Psychology has it that people need each other
. Influence and persuasion - human beings spend most of their time trying to influence each
other to think as they do, act as they do and like what they like.

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M1 Lit Communicational Skills

Lecture 2 : Communicative Competence

2- Communication vs. Language

3- Communicative Competence (Definition and examples)

Examples and Observations

 "Why have so many scholars, from so many fields, studied communicative

In "Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching and

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