Lecture 04 (Communication Competence Theory).pdf

Lecture 04

1. 1
Funcional English
HU-114
National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST)
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS)
Department of Humanities & Sciences
Course Instructor: Dr Samia Tair
Week 2:
Lecture # 1

2. Today’s Lecture
•Communication Competence
•Key Points
•Aspects of communication competence
•Communication competence model
•Six criteria for assessing communication
competence

3. Concept Chomsky (1965)
Hymes (1972)
Communicative Competence
Competence
Knowledge of the language system
(grammar, vocabulary, syntax). Purely
linguistic and mental.
Broader: not only linguistic knowledge but
also knowing how, when, where, and with
whom to use language appropriately.
Performance
The actual use of language in real
situations, affected by memory limits,
errors, distractions, etc.
Not the main focus—Hymes emphasized 
competence in real communication rather
than idealized performance.
Focus
Idealized, abstract speaker-hearer;
language as a formal system.
Real speakers in real social contexts;
language as communication.
Limitation
Ignores context, appropriateness, and
social rules.
Addresses those gaps by including social,
cultural, and pragmatic aspects.
Educational Implication Traditional grammar-based teaching.
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT),
task-based learning, focus on fluency +
appropriateness.
Chomsky vs. Hymes on Competence and
Performance

4. Communication
competence
•Function of communication is to
maximize the achievement of “shared
meaning”.
•A concept given by renowned linguist
Dell Hymes in 1972.
•According to Hymes:
“Speakers of a language have to have
more than grammatical competence in
order to be able to communicate effectively
in a language; they also need to know how
language is used by members of a speech
community to accomplish their purposes”

6. Key Points
•The ability to use a language well involves knowing
how to use language appropriately in any given
context.
•The ability to speak and understand language is not
based solely on grammatical knowledge.
•What counts as appropriate language varies according
to context and may involve a range of modes – for 
example, speaking, writing, singing, whistling,
drumming.
•Learning what counts as appropriate language occurs
through a process of socialization into particular ways
of using language through participation in particular
communities.

7. Aspects of Communication Competence
Linguistic Aspects:
(a) Phonology and orthography
(b) Grammar
(c) Vocabulary
(d) Discourse
Pragmatic Aspects:
Function
Variation
Interactional Skills
Cultural awareness

8. Communication Competence
Communication competence is the ability to choose a communication behavior
that is both appropriate and effective for a given situation.
•Interpersonal competency allows one to achieve their communication goals
without causing the other party to lose face.
•To be competent:
we must not only 'know’ 
and 'know how,’ 
we must also ‘do’ and
'know that we did'.   

9. Communication Competence Model

10. Six Criteria for Assessing
Communication Competence
1.Adaptability
2.Conversational involvement
3.Conversational management
4.Empathy
5.Effectiveness
6.Appropriateness

11. Home Task!
Think of a person you know who you think
possesses a high level of communication
competence. What makes you think this?
What communication characteristics do they
have that you might want to have yourself?