Communicative Competence. What is it?

Until the early 60s, the idea of competence was always regarded as a matter of grammatical and structural knowledge when the issue was language acquisition. Among many linguists of his time, Hymes brings to light out the idea of cultural interference. He states that structure is not enough to define a speaker’s competence in the process of language learning. Knowing what to say, to whom, when, where and in what circumstances plays a very important role in a communicative process.
Later, Savignon suggested that communicative competence employs different levels or degrees which classify competence in the process as relative, not absolute and depending on different contexts involving mutual cooperation of participants in the communication process. It is played out in specific contexts in a infinity variety of situations and success will depend on one’s understanding of the context. Competence requires adequate choices of register and style in terms of the situation the interaction involves.
All these features may be applied to both written and spoken language and it was Canale and Swain in the early 80s who came up with a framework which tells us about the notions of communicative competence relating it to four areas of knowledge and skills. According to them, competence can be: grammatical, sociolinguistic, discursive and strategic. These four features of communicative competence will help us enhance our views over the process of language learning in different contexts of ESL and EFL classes. So what are these competences?
The Grammatical Competence works our structural knowledge and linguistic comprehension of a language. It deals with the recognition of vocabulary, the rules of word and sentence formation, verb tenses, pronunciation and spelling. Hymes would say that the rules of grammar are useless without the rules of language, whereas Canale and Swain would state the opposite is also truth; language rules may be useless without grammar.
The Sociolinguistic Competence brings the idea of production and appropriacy. It enables the speakers to vary their language according to the context and addressee. It points out different levels of politeness and formality or informality to establish credibility. It works the learner’s language repertory in different situations.
The Strategic Competence is about strategies the learner can use in order to compensate for possible breakdowns in communication which may occur due to limiting factors such as insufficient skill in one or another component of communicative competence. It allows, for example, speakers to keep the interaction and communication flow in order to satisfy interlocutors at a given situation.
All these aspects of communicative competence should vary according to a function of the particular learners. For instance, vocabulary may be more important for ESL beginners than grammar is. However, accuracy and grammar structure may become more important as students gain proficiency in English. Teachers should take into account a number of learners’ variables such as motivation, interests, age, learning style and the students’ personality. These may shape which communicative teachers should stress with different classes. A way to do it is to create activities that promote students’ exposure and use of diverse components of the communicative competences discussed here.

Professores realizam ato em frente ao campus I em Marabá.

UM DIA DE PARALISAÇÃO.
Na tarde desta quarta-feira, professores e alunos da Ufpa realizaram ato em frente ao campus I. O ato faz parte de uma mobilização dos docentes das universidades federais em todo Brasil. O arrocho do governo aos servidores públicos faz com que a cada dia mais servidores federais em todo o Brasil paralisem suas atividades diante do descaso do governo Dilma. Já são mais de 16 Universidades Federais paralisadas pelo páis. No decorrer da semana, diversas assembléias estão ocorrendo em vários campi por todo o estado do Pará. Aguarda-se agora a assembléia geral dos docentes em Belém que será decisiva para a greve.

Prof. Wanderley em entrevista a TV e alunos da Ufpa com faixa na pista.

À noite, no Tapiri, concentração e discussão com a comunidade academica, alunos e professores.

THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF DISCOURSE ANALYSIS FOR ELT (English Language Teaching).

Language teachers should always worry about the reasons why someone would like to learn a second or a foreign language. Teachers should ask themselves – what is teaching a language after all? Who is my student? What are they learning actually?
One might say these are far too basic questions to sustain any relevance, but it’s exactly here that they get their importance; these questions are essential and they can enable teachers to have a second thought over their practices.
The disciplines of Pragmatics and Discourse analysis have their influence in several ELT approaches and methodologies, particularly in pragmatics with the theories of acts of speech. Many textbooks were designed under the belief that the acts of speech represent acts of use; for instance: how to ask for something, how to apologize, how to deny, alert or express a judgment. According to Austin (1992),” men act by speaking”. For Fiorin (2002),”the studies of language use are absolutely necessary because there are words and sentences whose interpretation can only occur at a concrete speaking utterance.” Many mistakes committed by the students should not be considered or understood simply as a transgression to some structural or grammatical rules, but mistakes may also occur when the learner is not aware to the social implications in the usage of certain words at a specific context, which may cause different effects of meaning in interactions.
The underlying theories in Pragmatics, as well as in Discourse Analysis studies may become an important tool for those engaged in the studies of language teaching.
Once in contract with the French branch of Discourse Analysis and to the conceptions pointed out by Michel Pêcheux, we can be able to make use of this theoretical background which involve aspects of history, ideology, psychoanalysis and philosophy in order to see the richness of knowledge inserted to a language learners’ utterances. It is a way to study the learners’ unconscious dimensions which according to Jacqueline Authier(1990) says that “the individual is more the result of spoken acts than the speech itself.” So it is indeed very important for teachers to have a broader view of the diverse contexts in which learners are inserted and how that implies different effects into the relevance of their teaching practices. Discourse Analysis may also contribute to the development of teachers’ works especially in terms of deeper thoughts towards issues related to the complexity of different voices or discourses preceding one’s position over teaching and learning processes and a possible commitment of practices influenced historically, ideologically or even philosophically. By getting to know Discourse Analysis, language teachers may apprehend now and in the future theoretical support, guidance or directions to improve comprehension and overcome the challenges of language learning.

PROFESSORES CONVOCAM COMUNIDADE ACADEMICA NESTA QUARTA 24/08.

Em assembléia realizada nesta segunda 22/08, os professores da Ufpa Campus Marabá decidiram paralisar suas atividades por 1 dia; nesta quarta-feira, dia 24/08.
Por esta razão, os professores convocam toda a comunidade acadêmica para um ato que busca uma socialização do movimento grevista que já ocorre em todo o Brasil.

CONVOCATÓRIA A TODOS
DIA 24/08 ÀS 16:00h NO CAMPUS I

Trata-se de uma concentração nesta quarta no campus I para que todos possam participar desta luta que NÃO É SÓ DOS PROFESSORES, MAS DE TODA A SOCIEDADE.
PARTICIPEM!

Na foto, professores em votação para enviar indicativo de greve para Belém.

Going Beyond the 4 Skills.

The EFL and ESL classes have been traditionally applied through a process of separating the skills along the classes. We would have classes which students practice reading and writing, speaking and listening in a segregated way as if it was possible to keep these features of language apart from each other all the time. In this segregated-skill approach, the mastery of discrete language skills such as reading and speaking is seen as the key to successful learning, and language learning is typically separate from content learning (Mohan, 1986). This is contrary to the integrated way that people use language skills in normal communication, and it clashes with the direction in which language teaching experts have been moving in recent years. A possible explanation for this practice is that classes were always seen as instructional activities, so language classes fit into a previous notion of what the setting for a class should be; or because traditional teachers believe that it is instructionally impossible to concentrate on more than one skill at a time. Also the textbooks tended to follow the same logistical segregated content which reinforced for many years the practices of ESL/EFL learning all over the world. The main problem with this practice was that it would compromise students’ autonomy and confidence due to fragmented sequels of classes and structuralized practices.
A way to change all this should be to integrate the skills in the teaching and learning processes. Two types of integrated-skill instruction are content-based language instruction and task-based instruction. The first of these emphasizes learning content through language, while the second stresses doing tasks that require communicative language use. Both of these benefit from a diverse range of materials, textbooks, and technologies for the ESL or EFL classroom.
In content-based instruction, students practice all the language skills in a highly integrated, communicative way while learning content such as science, mathematics, and social studies. Content-based language instruction is valuable at all levels of proficiency, but the nature of the content might differ by proficiency level. It bring s to the classroom a more realistic approach because students will relate their classes to their lives not thinking about language all the time.
In task-based instruction, students participate in communicative tasks in English. Tasks are defined as activities that can stand alone as fundamental units and that require comprehending, producing, manipulating, or interacting in authentic language while attention is principally paid to meaning rather than form (Nunan, 1989). It is a progressive process in which students will be able to develop their skills according to a range of different tasks according to a given situation. It requires different levels of proficiency which should be applied as challenges progressively according to the learner’s level of accuracy and fluency.
The advantages of such approach is that students may be seen as a real learner due to real content experience rather than experiencing language as a form or set of rules to be digested through traditional tests. Exposures to real tasks make students aware to their needs and stage of learning. With careful reflection and planning, any teacher can integrate the language skills and strengthen of language teaching and learning.

ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA

Never before has there been a time when so many nations needed to talk to each other so much or so many people wished to travel to so many places. These are definitely common features of our times. The presence of English language in the lives of peoples around the world nowadays represents for everyone, a time in human history with no precedents. More and more people bring the English language to their lives every day and words like bilingualism, multilingualism, and diversity constitute our world scenario.
We may point out that English language has become a lingua franca or world language for several reasons which were established historically; and that its strength has been constructed along the years due to the role played by the nations which speak this language. If we look a bit back in time, we will be able to perceive that English was the language of the leading colonial nation – Britain, in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Also it was Britain, the leader of the industrial revolution and obviously one of the most powerful countries of that time. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, English was then the language of another leading economic power – The United States of America. So in recent history, English has repeatedly found itself in the right place at the right time and became part of significant changes in the world historically, socially or economically.
Back in the 1960s, social movements, fights for political independence, the human rights’ cause and the revolution in electronics’ industry found their way to make a stand throughout the world in English. All these aspects contributed to the expansion of this power and affected societies all over the world. Also, these facts established different networks of international alliances – in politics, the press, the advertising, businesses, tourism, broadcasting, motion pictures production, sound recording, education, culture, etc. Some of the consequences were the increasing contact of people from different countries with different first languages who started making use of English to communicate or interact socially.
The latest advances in communication and technology which comes with the global use of the Internet is another way to realize how powerful the presence of English language has become along the years. The internet has also established a new chapter to the history of the English language use in the world – websites, weblogs and social networks. It is definitely the language of the World Wide Web. The internet user will make use of English in order to reach a larger number of interlocutors whenever he or she is willing to send a message across the world. Scholars and other people from different scientific backgrounds contact each other in English as way to open their discussions internationally.
So in this sense, the number of people using English as a second or a foreign language has increased significantly bringing up “new englishes” or what we may call international English. It has become the “contact language” of several people independently of their nationality – a lingua franca.
Nevertheless, traditional views over the use of language following the british and american standard remain strongly present in the speech of many speakers,teachers and institutions. Think about that.
Jairo Souza.

PARÁ, GREAT PROJECTS GREAT POVERTY.

http://chargesdojornalpessoal.blogspot.com/
The future of Pará is intrinsically associated to mining. Because of this, its undergrounds is very rich.However, the exploiting of all this natural resource has never brought about any development for the people from the north of Brazil. On the contrary, each day our people gets poorer and poorer. It's like a curse. It's like winning a lottery, but never have a chance to enjoy the prize. Each project brings back the feeling of hope and expectation which soon comes out as another frustration for the people of this region. Thousands of people have moved from their original towns to the south and southeast of Pará over the last decades looking for a job that never comes. The only development anyone can easily see is the growth of slums and areas which the locals name as "invasões". In these areas, people live in terrible conditions, They lack proper food, water, education, health and everything else we could call the basics.
So the question remains; when will Pará break free from this situation? Maybe never.
People from Pará still dream of the day all the riches grabbed and stole from their grounds will return in form of a life with dignity and respect. For now, it's just a dream. Wake up Pará, before it is too late. They have been taking away all our riches and what have done? Simply nothing.

O Pará cresce que nem rabo de cavalo, cada vez mais pra baixo." Lucio Flavio.