Communicative Competence

COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE
INTRODUCTION
Many of a teacher’s choice spring from
established principles of language teaching and
learning in this lesson you will dwell on (12)
overarching principles of sound language
teaching. Connect your practice in the
classroom with theory research base language
teaching.
•Brown’s principle of language learning are
grouped into 3 domains’
1. Cognitive Principles
2. Linguistic Competence
3. Socioaffective Domain
COGNITIVE PRINCIPLES
Anticipation of reward learners are motivated

to perform by the thought of a reward,
Tangible or intangible. Long or short term
From B.F. Skinner’s operant conditioning
theory
1. Provide genuine praise, encouragement and compliments.
2. Remind student of long term rewards in learning the target
language.
3. Encourage students to compliment and support one another.
4. Enable them to make noticeable progress on difficult tasks.
For poorly motivated students, external rewards such gold
stars and stickers or issuing certain privileges may spark
some interest.
5. Infect them with your enthusiasm for language learning.
• Meaningful Learning. Providing a realistic context to the use of
language is thought to lead to better long term retention, as
opposed to rote learning.
- Students learn language faster by associating sounds, words structures

and discourse elements with that which is meaningful in their daily life
Here are some classroom implications:

1. Make lesson meaningful by appealing to students’ interests, academic
and career goals.
2. Link new topic or concept to something the students know to make the
topic meaningful. This was cited in MTB-MLE.
3. Avoid the pitfalls of rote learning such as:
• Too much grammar explanation
• Too many abstract principle and theories
• Too much drilling and or memorization-thus the learn
“drill-to-kill”
• Activities whose purposes are not clear
• Activities that do not contribute to accomplishing the
goals of the lesson, unit or course
• Techniques are so mechanical or tricky that students
get centered on the mechanics instead of the language
or meanings.
( Brown, 1994) in others words, observe these
Don’ts:
Too much grammar explanation
Abstract principle and theories
Too many drills and memories
Activities with unclear purposes
Extraneous activities
Distractions that take the focus off of meaning.
3.automaticity. This is subconscious processing of language for
fluency.
It can only be achieve without overanalyzing or without giving too much attention to
language forms. Automaticity is the road to fluency.
Here are some implications of this principle to the classroom ( Brown, 2002)
1. Automaticity isn’t gained overnight. You have to patient with your students as you
slowly help them to achieve fluency. Speaking the target language is like playing the
guitar, if you do not practice it you will forget it.
2. Don’t overwhelm your students with grammar. It can block pathways to fluency
3. A large proportion of your lessons are focused on the used of language in genuine and
natural context.
4. Strategic Investment. Success in learning is independent on the time
and effort learners spend in mastering the language.
The methods that the learner employs to internalize and to perform in the
language are even as important as the teachers methods are even more so
considering that learning is an active process. Successful mastery of the
2nd language will be due to a large extent to the learner’s own personal
"investment” Of time, effort, and attention to the second language
5. Intrinsic Motivation. The most potent learning “rewards” to enhance

performance are those that stem from the needs. Wants and desires
within the learner.
( Brown, 1994) Learning a new language itself is rewarding therefore
extrinsic reward should not be necessary at all.
LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE
1. Native Language Effect. A learner’s native language creates
both facilitating and interfering effects on learning.
• Acquaint the learner with the native language cause of the

error.
• Help your students to understand that not everything about
their native language will cause error.
• Coax students into thinking directly in the target language
and to resort the transitions as they comprehend and
produced language.
2. Communicative Competence. Fluency and use are just as
important as accuracy and usage.
For language teachers, this means

3. Give grammar attention but don’t neglect the other components of
communicative competence ( sociolinguistic, strategic, discourse competence
4. Usage language that students will actually encounter in the real world and
provide genuine techniques for the actual conveyance of information not just
rote techniques. In the lesson on MTB-MLE. We learned that we teach for
fluency. Accuracy and meaning not fluency only.
5. Interlanguage. In second language learning. Learners manifest a systematic
progression of acquisition of sounds and words and structures and discourse
features
• What does this imply for language teachers?
Language teachers must strike a balance between positive and

negative feedback. Avoid too much negative feedback to shut
off students’ attempt at communication and too much positive
cognitive feedback to reinforce and fossilize errors, when you
point out interlanguage errors, assure students that these
errors mean that their brain is in “language learning mode”
SOCIOAFFECTIVE DOMAIN
1. Language –culture connection
Learning language also involves learning a complex system of cultural

customs, values and ways of thinking, feeling or acting ( Brown 2000)
• Setting of the communication
• Topic
• Relationship among the people communicating
• Knowing what the taboos are
• What politeness indices are used
• What the politically correct term for something
• How a specific (authority, friendliness, courtesy) is expressed
2.Self-Confidence.
This is self-esteem or “I can do it” principle. Success in learning
language requires that the learner believe that they can learn it.
• Give ample verbal and non-verbal assurance to students

affirming students ability helps a lot. Sequence techniques
from easier to difficult to build confidence. This means
building confidence of students by beginning with what they
can easily do them bringing them up to something that
continuously challenge their ability.
3.Risk taking.
4. Carefully sequence techniques to ensure learner success

5. Create an atmosphere in the classroom that encourage
students to try out language, venture a response
6. Provide a reasonable challenge.
7. Return students’ risky attempts with positive affirmation
LANGUAGE EGO
In this instances, what should the language teacher do?
1. Display supportive attitude to students. Explain that confusion of

developing that second self in the second culture is a normal and natural
process. Patience and understanding on your part will also ease the
process choice of techniques need to be cognitively challenging but not
overwhelming
2. Considering learners’ language ego states know whom to call on, whom
to ask volunteers information, when to correct a student’s speech error
Whom to place in small groups or pairs and how taught you can be to
student.
THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS!

Communicative Competence

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COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

Anticipation of reward learners are motivated

- Students learn language faster by associating sounds, words structures

Here are some classroom implications:

5. Intrinsic Motivation. The most potent learning “rewards” to enhance

• Acquaint the learner with the native language cause of the

For language teachers, this means

Language teachers must strike a balance between positive and

Learning language also involves learning a complex system of cultural

• Give ample verbal and non-verbal assurance to students

4. Carefully sequence techniques to ensure learner success

1. Display supportive attitude to students. Explain that confusion of

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