Lecture 10

How have linguistic theories of communicative

competence influenced the development of
communicative approaches to language teaching?

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 Influence of linguistic theories in
language teaching: summary
n Chomskyan theories of the nature of language have very
little influence on language teaching, pedagogical
grammar, the CEFR etc.
n A combination of a Sociological and Functional view of
language underlies the Communicative Approach to
language teaching.
n Cognitive views of language and learning are gaining in
importance; various cognitive categories can be found in
the descriptions of language in the CEFR.

D.Newby 2
 Communicative competence

Theory → Practice
Working definitions for teachers, materials’ writers
and language planners
nCanale and Swain
nJack Richards
 Working definition

Useful definition which can be applied in a

straightforward manner to devising curricula,
and to designing materials and lessons.
Defining communicative competence
Canale and Swain (1980)
1. grammatical competence: “knowledge of lexical
items and of rules of morphology, syntax, sentence-
grammar semantics and phonology”;
2. sociolinguistic competence: the ability to
communicate appropriately in a variety of contexts;
this includes both verbal and non-verbal
communication;
3. discourse competence: the ability to use language
which goes beyond the level of the sentence; this
includes aspects such as cohesion and coherence;
4. strategic competence: appropriate use of
communication strategies to overcome or repair
breakdowns in communication, due perhaps to lack
of linguistic competence.

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Jack C. Richards
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwMii_YtEOw
Linguistic competence:
Ability to create accurate sentences in the target language
(C/S: grammatical competence)
Communicative competence
How we use our knowledge of language in communication
(C/S: sociolinguistic, discourse, strategic)

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Jack C. Richards
What does communicative competence in a
foreign language entail?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpGvWYPL7cU

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Five strands of communicative competence which
are relevant to language teaching (Richards)
n Accuracy (correct grammar/pronunciation)
n Fluency (communication flow)
n Complexity (development)
n Appropriacy (context-related use)
n Communicative capacity (range of topics, depth etc.)

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Influence of theories of communicative competence
on language teaching

1. Language teaching materials

2. “Policy” documents (Threshold level, CEFR)
3. Curricula
4. Communicative methodology
5. Language testing

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1)Teaching materials
Innovations Unit 2: Work and Office Politics Analysis
Accuracy
Conversation 1, 5 (real English)
Fluency
Conversation 2, 7
Reading 1,3,5
Complexity
Conversation 1,3,4,6,7
Reading 2,4,7
Appropriacy
???
Communicative capacity
all exercises/tasks

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Positive features of the unit
n Focus on fluency, complexity, communicative
capacity
n Integrated skills: speaking, reading, listening,
writing (very limited)

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Negative features of the unit
n Very limited focus on writing
n No extended writing
n No focus on appropriacy
n Limited focus on accuracy (structures and/or
pronunciation)

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Conclusion
1. Choosing a textbook or other materials does
NOT substitute for careful consideration of
methodology.
2. Materials are only a starting point.
3. Materials must be chosen depending on
which aspect(s) of communicative
competence the teacher wishes to promote.

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2. “Policy” documents

Threshold Level, 1971/1975

Common European Framework of Reference,
2001

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Council of Europe (est. 1949)
Threshold level project (initiated 1971)
AIM: to investigate feasibility of a European
credit/unit scheme for foreign language
learning by adults
FOCUS: socio-semantic categories and their
grammatical and lexical realisation
Describes language behaviour appropriate to
defined target audiences.

Director: John Trim (Professor of Linguistics,

Cambridge)

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16
Components of model of language learning
objectives: Threshold level (8-9)
1. The situations in which the foreign language will be used,
including the topics which will be dealt with
2. The language activities in which the learner will engage
3. The language functions which the learner will fulfil
4. What the learner will be able to do with respect to each topic
5. The general notions which the learner will be able to handle (e.g.
spatial relations, temporal relations)
6. The specific (topic-related) notions which the learner will be able
to handle (e.g. personal identification, house and home)
7. The language forms which the learner will be able to use
8. The degree of skill with which the learner will be able to perform.

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Notions
Definition: semantico-grammatical categories

General: e.g., spatial, quantitative,

past/present
Specific: e.g., location, motion,
frequency

David Wilkins (1976) Notional Syllabus

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19 19
D. Newby
20
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The Common European Framework
(2001: 1)
l provides a common basis for language
syllabuses curriculum guidelines,
examinations, textbooks, etc. across Europe.
l describes in a comprehensive way what
language learners have to learn to do in order
to use a language for communication and
what knowledge and skills they have to
develop so as to be able to act effectively.
l defines levels of proficiency which allow
learners’ progress to be measured at each
stage of learning and on a life-long basis.
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The Common Reference Levels
Basic User
n Breakthrough – A1
n Waystage – A2
Independent User
n Threshold – B1
n Vantage – B2
Proficient User
n Effective Operational Proficiency – C1
n Mastery – C2

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 The Common Reference Levels in
Austria

Unterstufe
n Breakthrough – A1
n Waystage – A2
Oberstufe
n Threshold – B1
n Vantage – B2 Matura

University
n Effective Operational Proficiency – C1
n Mastery – C2

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CEFR: Communicative competences p.13

n Linguistic
n Sociolinguistic
n Pragmatic

Compare Canale and Swain:

grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, strategic

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Linguistic competences p.13
- lexical, phonological, syntactical knowledge and skills
and other dimensions of language as system,
independently of the sociolinguistic value of its
variations and the pragmatic functions of its
realisations. This component…relates not only to the
range and quality of knowledge (e.g. in terms of
phonetic distinctions made or the extent and precision
of vocabulary) but also to cognitive organisation and
the way this knowledge is stored (e.g. the various
associative networks in which the speaker places a
lexical item) and to its accessibility (activation, recall
and availability).

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Sociolinguistic competences p.13
Through its sensitivity to social conventions
(rules of politeness, norms governing relations
between generations, sexes, classes and
social groups, linguistic codification of certain
fundamental rituals in the functioning of a
community), the sociolinguistic component
strictly affects all language communication
between representatives of different cultures,
even though participants may often be unaware
of its influence.

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Pragmatic competences p.13
- (includes) the functional use of linguistic resources
(production of language functions, speech acts), drawing
on scenarios or scripts of interactional exchanges. It also
concerns the mastery of discourse, cohesion and
coherence, the identification of text types and forms, irony,
and parody.” For this component even more than the
linguistic component, it is hardly necessary to stress the
major impact of interactions and cultural environments in
which such abilities are constructed.

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Performance and the CEFR

a) Performance is explicitly specified through

metalanguage ‘can-do’ descriptors
b) Performance can be scaled according to the
proficiency of the language learning

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Examples of CEFR descriptors

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 3. Curricula
Categories from the CEFR have been incorporated into
rewritten Austrian curricula.

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Kompetenzen: (Lehrplan, AHS-
Unterstufe)
Ziel des Fremdsprachunterrichts ist die
Entwicklung der kommunikativen Communicative competence
Kompetenz in den Fertigkeitsbereichen
Hören, Lesen, an Gesprächen teilnehmen, 5 skills
Zusammenhängend Sprechen und
Schreiben. Sie soll die Schülerinnen und
Schüler befähigen, Alltags- und Context
Unterrichtsituationen in altersgemäßer und
dem Lernniveau entsprechender Form Competence level

situationsadäquat zu bewältigen. Register

D.Newby 31
Kompetenzen: (Lehrplan, AHS-
Oberstufe) p. 3
n linguistischer Kompetenzen
(e.g.pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary
n pragmatischer Kompetenzen
(e.g. functions, non-verbal communication)
n soziolinguistischer Kompetenzen
(e.g. register, varieties

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 Lehrplan HAK 2014, p.30
Englisch einschließlich Wirtschaftssprache

Didaktische Grundsätze:
Der Unterricht ist so zu gestalten, dass die Schülerinnen und
Schüler sowohl in den rezeptiven als auch in den produktiven
Fertigkeiten das Niveau des Independent Users B 2 gemäß GERS
erreichen. Der Sprachunterricht ist darauf auszurichten, dass die
fünf Fertigkeiten des GERS ausgewogen trainiert werden und
jegliche sprachliche Kommunikation im Rahmen der privaten,
öffentlichen und beruf-lichen Domäne (Lebensbereich) stattfindet.
Der Bezug zur Übungsfirma findet sich in der beruflichen Domäne.
Es ist zu beachten, dass trotz einer guten Beherrschung der
grammatischen Strukturen gelegentlich Fehler vorkommen können

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