Communicative competence

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Communicative competence

Communicative competence is the knowledge that is necessary for successful communication

The idea of communicative competence started to develop with the construct of "linguistic competence". Linguistic competence is understood as innate knowledge of language. Linguistic competence is only part of what is needed for communication.

Communicative competence encompasses the knowledge of how to use the language in the real world, without which the rules of grammar would be useless.

Communicative competence can be described as including grammar competence (knowledge of grammar rules, lexis and phonetics), pragmatic competence (knowledge of how to express a message), strategic competence (knowledge of how to express a message in a variety of circumstances), social-cultural competence (knowledge of social etiquette, national mind-set and values etc.)

Communicative competence breaks down into the two major components of the knowledge: knowledge of the language and knowledge of how to achieve the goal of communication

Communicative competence
Knowledge of the language	Knowledge of how to use the language

Competence is not the same as ability. In order to be able to communicate, people need psycho-physiological mechanisms, i.e. communicative skills.

Communication is the process of interpersonal interaction and requires the knowledge of social conventions i.e. the knowledge of rules about proper ways to communicate with people.

In accordance with the social conventions, participants in communication perform communicative functions (to socialize, to inform, to persuade, to elicit information, to manipulate behavior and opinions, to perform rituals etc), communicative roles (leader, informer, witness, participant, catalyst, entertainer etc) (. In order to perform these functions a speaker needs more than just the knowledge of the language.

The process of communication is characterized with communicative strategies of achieving a goal through communication (Pollak A. Communicative strategies at work. NJ 1995).

Success of communication depends very much on the knowledge of successful strategies chosen by the speakers. E.g. the Prince (in “The Prince and the Pauper” by M.Twain) was unable “to ask” because he was only competent in how to “give orders”.

Successful strategies are known as the “four maxims” of good communication (Grice, H., 1975. Logic and conversation. Speech Acts. N.Y. Academic Press.) These maxims include quality (say only what is supported by evidence), quantity (say no more and no less than you think is needed), relevance (say what is relevant to the point of communication) and manner (present your ideas clearly an unambiguously) The four maxims of successful communication can be used in teaching how to communicate effectively (Brown, G. and G.Yule. 1983. Teaching the Spoken Language. CUP. P. 71)

Communication strategies can be goal-oriented (having a particular goal in mind), partner-oriented (with the partner and his comprehension in mind, using negotiation of meaning, persuasion, self-correction, repetition, circumlocution etc) and circumstances-oriented (behaving according to the situation) (Wood B. Children and communication. NJ. 1981).

In choosing a strategy the participants in communication can prefer either an achievement strategy (guessing, paraphrasing but achieving the goal) or a reduction strategy (co-operation, avoidance and sometimes giving up one's goal partially or completely) (Bygate, M. 1987. Speaking. OUP).

An integral part of communicative competence (the knowledge of how to communicate with people) is the non-verbal communication. It includes proxemics (physical distance and life space in the process of communication), kinesics (body language, gestures and postures), facial expression (smiles, eye-contact), haptics (the use of touch in communication), clothing and physical appearance in the process of communication (the concept of decency in clothing and physical appearance), oleactics (communication via smell), paralanguage (“um-m”, “uh-huh” etc).

Many non-verbal expressions vary from culture to culture, and it is often the cause of cultural misinterpretation. E.g. a physical distance can be too close or somebody’s private space can be trespassed. Gestures and postures can be inappropriate, there can be a lack of smile and eye-contact. Touching somebody’s body during conversation can be taken as offensive. The dressing habit can be alien. Some smells (e.g. sweat or breath) can be found intolerable. Vocal confirmation of following the conversations (Aha! Etc.) can also be inappropriate. In some cultures humble bows are part of etiquette while others support a proud upright posture.

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1458