Galo R Mejía. UTPL. Ciencias de la Educación, mención Inglés.
Introduction to Applied Linguistics
- What is the role of Communicative Competence for Education?
Communicative competence refers to a learner's ability to use language to
communicate successfully. This concept applied to education affects teachers and
students. Dell Hymes (1927 -2009) is recognized as the first sociolinguistics expert to
establish the connection between speech and human relations and to use the term
communicative competence which basically means that in order to speak a language
correctly it is not sufficient to only learn vocabulary and grammar but also is
indispensable to know the context in which words are used. The entire dynamic in the
classroom must be altered to effectively use a method that not only concentrates on
teaching/learning grammar but that also must introduce the cultural background of the
idiom being used. This signifies an entire change of attitude towards teaching for the
teachers who need to become more proactive at introducing the new language and its
use, and for the students who at the same time will learn how and why words are used
and therefore helping them to study and learn.
Reference:
https://linguisticator.com/communicative-competence/
- Explain why it had a long - lasting effect on foreign language teaching.
This theory –Communicative Competence- left an indelible mark on the teaching
methods being used before and after this concept was developed and applied.
Nowadays communicative competence is a substantial part and a main goal which also
has become mandatory for efficient classroom practice. There are several
characteristics of the communicative competence that prove how indispensable it is to
use it: Meaning is more important than structure and form; language learning does not
imply learning structures, sounds and words but learning to communicate; effective
communication is emphasized; instead of linguistic competence, communicative
competence is the desired objective. The communicative competence theory also
influenced the field of pragmatics which studies how the context contributes to the
meaning of words and how context influences the interpretation of meaning. To express
these concepts in more simple terms people are more interested to communicate and
be understood and understand on the day to day activities of life speaking a foreign
language.
Reference:
Cook G; Oxford Introductions to Language Study Applied Linguistics. Textbook.