ESL EFL Communicative competence: categories. Difference with performance.

1. COMMUNICATIVE
COMPETENCE

2. • Communicative Competence
is the ability to use the
language correctly and
appropriately in the context
where it is used to
accomplish communication
goals
• The desired outcome of the
language learning process is
the ability to communicate
competently, not the ability to

3. • The linguist Noam Chomsky introduced
the notion of competence and
performance as part of his foundations for
his Generative Grammar (1965)
• Hymes referred to communicative
competence as that aspect that enables us
to convey and interpret messages and to
negotiate meanings interpersonally within
specific contexts (1967)
• Savignon noted that communicative
competence is relative, and depends on
the cooperation of all the participants
involved .

5. In the 1970 s, research on communicative competence distinguished
between linguistic and communicative competence: it highlights the
difference between knowledge "about language forms” and the knowledge
that enables a person to communicative functionally and interactively .
In similar vein, James Cummins proposed a distinction between cognitive /
academic language proficiency and basic interpersonal skills.

6. competence involves “knowing”
the language and performance
involves “doing” something with
the language. In order to focus
learners more on the “doing” part
of learning, which allows a more
accurate measure of learners’
language proficiency, a more
communicative approach to
teaching can be used. This type
of approach concentrates on
getting learners to do things with
the language.

7. In Canale and Swain's, and later in Canale`s (1983)
definition , there are four different components , or
subcategories that make up the construct of
communicative competence
GRAMMATICAL
COMPETENCY
DISCOURSE
COMPETENCY
SOCIOLINGUISTIC
COMPETENCY
STRATEGIC
COMPETENCY

8. Furthermore, the division
is more detailed by Guy
Spiel Mann (2006). As
noted on the picture, the
three rings are connected
and deeply specified.

9. GRAMMATICAL COMPTENCE
It is that aspect of
communicative competence that
encompasses Knowledge of
lexical ítems and of rules of
morphology, syntax, sentence –
grammar semantics, and
phonology

10. It is knowing how to use the
grammar, syntax, and
vocabulary of a language.
Linguistic competence asks:
What words do I use? How
do I put them into phrases
and sentences?

11. DISCOURSE
It is the ability we have to connect sentences in
stretches of discourse and to form a
meanigfulwhole out of a series of utterance .
Discourse means everything from simple spoken
conversation to lenghty written texts.

12. It is knowing how to interpret the
larger context, and how to construct
longer stretches of language, so that
the parts make up a coherent whole.
In a discourse (oral form), two
aspects play an important role:
fluency and accuracy. The goal is to
communicate and build on both, so
that in the long run, the two are
developed and do not hinder the
process of communication aimed.

13. SOCIOLINGUISTIC COMPETENCY
It is the Knowledge of the sociocultural
rules of language and of discourse.
This type of competence requires an
understanding of the sociql context in
which language is used: the roles of the
participants, the information they share
and the function of the interaction.

14. It is knowing how to use
and respond to language
appropriately, given the
setting, the topic, and the
relationships among the
people communicating.
Sociolinguistic competence
asks:
“Which words and phrases
fit this setting and this topic?
How can I express a specific
attitude (courtesy, authority,

15. STRATEGIC COMPETENCY
It describes the nonverbal
communication strategies that may be
called into action to compensate for
breakdowns in communication due to
perfomance variables, or due to
insufficient competence.

16. Strategic competency is knowing how to recognize
and repair communication breakdowns, how to
work around gaps in one’s knowledge of the
language, and how to learn more about the language
and in the context.
Strategic competence asks: How do I know when
I’ve misunderstood or when someone has
misunderstood me? What do I say then? How can I
express my ideas if I don’t know the name of
something or the right verb form to use?