Communicative competence

1. COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE
Jessica Sarabia

2. Communicative competence: Enables us to
convey and interpret messages and to negotiate meanings interpersonally within specific
context.
Aspects of
Communicative
competence
Discourse: the ability to
connect sentences in
stretches discourses and to
form meaningful whole out
a series of utterances
Grammatical: aspect of
competence that encompasses
knowledge of lexical items
and of rules of morphology,
syntax, sentence grammar
semantics, and phonology
Strategic: the strategy that one uses to
compensate for imperfect knowledge
of rules. The ability to make repair, to
cope with imperfect knowledge and to
sustain communication through
communicative skills
Sociolinguistic: the
knowledge of sociocultural
rules of language and of
discourse, the understanding
of the social context in
which language is used

3. Language
functions
Instrumental function: serves to manipulate the environment, to cause certain
events to happen. (Communicative acts that have a specific perlocutionary force)
Regulatory function: the control of events, (regulations among people like:
approval, disapproval, behavior control, setting laws and rules)
Representational function: function to make statements, convey facts and
knowledge, explain or report.
Interactional function: ensure social maintenance (slang, jokes politeness and
formality expressions, among others)
Persona function: allows speaker to express feelings, emotions, personality, and
gut-level reaction (cognition affect and culture interact.)
Heuristic function: language used to acquire knowledge, to learn the
environment, the forms of question that will lead to answers.
Imaginative function: serves to create imaginary system of ideas (telling fairy
tales, joking, or writing novels, tongue twisters, puns among others.)

4. FUNCTIONAL SYLLABUSES
Notional -
functional syllabuses
• (syllabus is used
to refer to a
curriculum)
is the classroom
application of
functional
descriptions of
language.
• Notions refers both to abstract
concepts ( time, quantity, quality. etc. )
and context or situations (travel,
health, education, free time, etc.)
attend to functions
as organizing
elements of a
foreign language
curriculum.
• Structural
syllabus.-
secondary
focus of
notion

5. The functional
part of notional-
functional
syllabuses
corresponded to
what we have
defined above as
language functions
Curricula may be
organized around
such functions as
identifying,
reporting, denying,
declining asking
permission,
apologizing, etc.
• Giving commands
• Apologizing and thanking
• Asking for information, etc.
Functional
syllabuses modified
form.
Communication is qualitative
and infinite; a syllabus is
qualitative and finite.

6. Conversation Analysis
Is the analysis of the
relation between
forms and functions
of language
cover the notion that
language is more than a
sentence-level
phenomenon.
Discourse analysis Conversations are
examples of the
interactive and
interpersonal
nature of
communication
• Attention
getting is the
first and
essential rule
of
conversation
Once the speaker
have secured the
learner’s attention,
their task becomes
one of topic
nomination.
• By interactional
functions such as a
glance at a watch, a
polite smile, or a “well,
etc.
Once a topic is
nominated participant
embark on topic
development using
convention of turn-
taking
• Topic development
involves: clarification,
shifting, avoidance,
interruption
Topic
termination
verbal
and
nonverbal
H.P Grice Conversational
“maxims”
1. Quantity: say only as much as is
necessary for understanding the
conversation
2. Quality: say only what is true
3. Relevance: say only what is
relevance
4. Manner: be clear

7. Pragmatics
• Is the way in which context contributes to meaning.
• It studies how the transmission of meaning depends not only on structural
and linguistic knowledge (e.g. grammar, lexicon, etc.) of the speaker and
listener, but also on the context of the utterance, any pre-existing
knowledge about those involved.
• It could be a positive or negative transfer from L1.
• Deals with speaker meaning rater than sentence meaning.
“The art of the analysis
of the unsaid”

8. LANGUAGE AND GENDER
• Produce more “standard”
language
• Express more uncertainty
(hedges, tag questions,
rising intonation on
declaratives)
• Suggest less confidence in
what they say.
• Females value connection
and rapport talk,
• Their role is more
“cooperative and
facilitative
conversationalist”
• Interrupt more
• Use stronger
expletives
• Use more polite forms
• Place more value in
conversational
interaction on status
and report talk.

9. Caribbean Islands
Males and females must use
entirely different gender
marking for abstract nouns
Women´s and men´s
language is differentiate by
formal(syntactic) variants,
intonation patterns ans
nonverbal expressions
In English, another twist on the language and gender issue has
been directed toward “sexist” and the terms or phrases as
metaphors goes on and on.

10. CASUAL STYLE
Martin Joose provides a list of five of
formality of language
People use language in different ways and contexts
• is defined as the most formal style and elegant variety that reserved for very
important or symbolic moments. It is used in public speaking before a large
audience
ORATORICAL style
• is defined as the style of language that be used for important or serious
situation. It is used in addressing audience
DELIBERATIVE style
• is used in the most orally conducted everyday business transactions. it is
typically a dialogue, though formal enough that words are chosen with some
care. A mix of formal and casual register
CONSULTATIVE
STYLE
•Language used between friends, or colleagues or sometimes members of a family;
which comes out of the oral tradition.
INTIMATE STYLE
•Private language shared between two individuals, such as lovers or twins. Intimate style
is also a completely private language developed within families, and the closest of
friends.

11. NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
Silent way
Process of
communicating
through
sending/receiving
wordless messages.
Convey: body
language, gestures,
eye contact, physical
distance, etc.

12. Kinesics
• Interpretation of body language facial expressions/gestures.
• Movements may convey specific meanings.
• May be culture bound.
Eye contact
• Important nonverbal channels you have for communication and connecting
with other people.
• Intercultural interference ---- misunderstanding.
• The cheapest, most effective way to connect with people is to look them into
the eye.
Proxemics
• Acceptable distances for communication
• Comfortable distances: depends on culture, social situation, gender, and
individual preferences.
• Varies according to culture.

13. Artifacts
• E.g.: clothing & ornamentation.
• Signal a person´s self-esteem, socioeconomic class & general mood and
personality character. E.g.; jewelry, accessories.
Kinesthetic
• Related to the act of touching----how and where.
• Touching can be very personal, intimate style or extensive touching.
• Knowing the limits is important for unambiguous communication.
Olfactory Dimensions:
• Sensory system – vary for different cultures.
• Smell allows organisms with receptors to identify food, mates, sensual pleasure
flowers/perfumes or warnings of danger spoiled food/chemical dangers.
• Natural human odors especially perspiration is acceptable in some cultures.