Communicative competence:A pedagogically motivated model with content specifications

Competence in Literature has many meanings and as ESL teachers we must be aware of this fact in order to be successful in the teaching of language. Chomsky,Dell Hymes,Canale and Swain all of different views of the concept "competence" we must become familiar with these types of Competence and how they relate to each other.

Community Language Learning

also called Counseling Language Learning was created in the 70's by Charles A Curran, a Jesuit priest and professor of psychology and Paul La Forge.  Inspired by the humanistic psychology of Carl Rogers, it aimed to remove the anxiety from learning by changing the relationship between the teacher and student.  In Community Language Learning the teacher is the "knower", the one who knows the language is seen as being in the same relationship to the student as the counselor is to a client.  The client has a problem(in this case not knowing the language)which is causing confusion and problems.  The counselors role is not to tell the client what to do, but to help him or her to explore and resolve the problem while retaining personal autonomy.  In Community Language Learning, the learner is the one who decides what is happening. Students are free to determine content.  A typical Community Language Learning lesson using this technique is as follows:
Stage one-Inverstment- The students sit in a circle with a tape recorder in the middle.  The knower is outside the circle.  The first student who wants to say something calls the knower over, and quietly says what she wants to say in his or her own language.  The knower repeats this in English, using an encouraging tone of voice.  The student has the chance to repeat and practice the utterance, with help if necessary from the knower, before finally recording it on the tape.  Another student who wishes to reply then repeats the process.Stage two-Analysis-Between one session and the next (or possibly immediately, on the board)the knower transcribes the complete conversation, and the students then listen again to the tape while following the transcript.  They then have the chance to ask for any explanation they want, and if they wish, to ask for practice activities on specific points.Stage three-Reflection-The students then have the chance to reflect on the whole experience, and to decide how useful it was, if the students could have done things differently and so on.

 

 

The Whats, Whys, Hows and Whos of Content-Based Instruction in Second Language Education

The use of the Content-Based approach in the teaching of English as a second language can be quite useful.  In content-based language teaching, teachers use content topics rather than grammar rules as the framework for instruction.  Ever since I can remember, throughout my student life, I was mainly taught grammatical rules in my English classes.  Content-based approaches suggest that the best conditions for learning a second/foreign language occur when both the target language and some meaningful content are integrated in the classroom.  By applying Content-based instruction in the teaching of English as a second language learning a second language becomes more meaningful.  The target language is a medium of communication rather than an object of analysis.

Article #1

As Hymes theory establishes, I believe that Communicative language teaching will only be successful if we are able to distinguish between two kinds of competence: linguistic competence(grammatical knowledge)and communicative competence(producing and understanding sentences that are appropriate and acceptable to a particular situation).  Communicative abilities have to be developed at the same time as the linguistic skills.  If language grammar is taught in an isolated manner, communication will not be effective.

journal #1

What is the difference between use and usage?
"Usage" refers more to how something is used, and "use" pertains to the act or the practice of making that something to function in everyday activities
What is the difference between fluency and accuracy?
Accuracy is the ability to work or perform without making mistakes.
Fluency is the ability to speak a foreign language easily and effectively
What is the difference between a functional syllabus and a structural one?
Functional syllabus:Language programs with functions being the primary organizing feature.
Structural syllabus: a syllabus in which grammatical structures form the central organizing feature.

Article #3

I believe that Paul Overland is able to explain clearly the benefits and strategies of communicative learning.  As Overland points out knowledge of grammatical rules is not sufficient to become an effective communicator.  In order to obtain communicative competence students must be able to manipulate a language to express their own ideas or opinions.  An immersion environment is a significant asset to achieve communicative competence.  In order to help student's retention of the language, instructional songs should be used.  Finally, as a teacher, I must have in mind that Overland's theory does not eliminate the need for explicit training in grammatical structures.  Grammatical structure should be taught with the purpose of getting students to communicate effectively.