Enhancing multimodal communicative competence in ESP: the case of job interviews

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Inmaculada Fortanet-Gómez ◽  
Vicent Beltrán-Palanques
Keyword(s):  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Functional Approach ◽  
Previous Literature ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Business English ◽  
Multimodal Literacy ◽  
Job Interviews ◽  
Learning By Design ◽  
Discourse Practices ◽  
Pedagogical Approaches

Abstract ESP teaching has traditionally centred on the discourse practices of specific genres to develop students’ discursive competence in the target language. However, with the advent of studies on multimodality, there has been a growing recognition that new pedagogical approaches are required in ESP teaching. In this study, we discuss a research-informed pedagogical proposal to deal with job interviews, a highly routinised spoken genre that is typically addressed in Business English courses. Drawing on previous literature (Cope, B. and Kalantzis, M. (2015). The things you do to know: an introduction to the pedagogy of multiliteracies. In: Cope, B. and Kalantzis, M. (Eds.), A pedagogy of multiliteracies. Learning by design. Palgrave MacMillan, Hampshire, pp. 1–36; Lim, F.V. (2018). Developing a systemic functional approach to teach multimodal literacy. Funct. Ling. 5: 1–17), we present a pedagogical proposal that aims to promote students’ awareness of the multimodal nature of job interviews and develop their multimodal communicative competence through instruction, practice and feedback.

scholarly journals Do not give up! The importance of mistakes in the process of teaching and learning foreign languages

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 244
Author(s):  
Eduardo Dias da Silva ◽  
Romar Souza-Dias ◽  
Juscelino Francisco do Nascimento
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Learning Programs

This paper aims to highlight the importance of errors and mistakes as an essential part in the process of teaching and learning foreign languages (FL). We understand that, while trying to produce meanings in the foreign language, learners, through some errors and mistakes, can develop the mental structures necessary for the consolidation of the target language. In this way, mistakes can e a strong tool indicator for teachers to assess and also to understand how far learners are in relation to the intended knowledge, according to objectives outlined in learning programs. The theoretical approach that orients our way of thinking is based on the point of view of some theorists, such as: Brito (2014); Corder (1967; 1985), Cavalari (2008); Richards and Rodgers (2004); Silva (2014); Simões (2007), among others. The results have demonstrated that the teacher, as a mediator of knowledge, must have a balanced attitude towards the students’ learning needs in order to help the learners to reach their best in the learning process. So, with this study, we expect that, in Teacher Education, mistakes could not be seen as something negative, but positive and necessary for the development of the student’s communicative competence.

Communication networks of Japanese language learners in their home country

2004 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Kurata
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Communication Networks ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Home Country ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Japanese Language ◽  
Language Play ◽  
The Relationship

This paper deals with communication networks of four upper-intermediate level Japanese language learners with in-country experience who are studying at an Australian university, and it also examines the relationship between the learners’ networks and language learning. Utilizing Boissevain’s criteria for network analysis, I compared the characteristics of the informants’ current networks with those that existed prior to their in-country experiences. In addition, this study applied the framework of communicative competence developed by Hymes and Neustupny to analyse the informants’ language learning that occurred within their networks. The study found that a number of characteristics of the informants’ networks, such as their multiplex social roles and the variety of backgrounds of their Japanese network interactants, were probably related to the raising of the learners’ non-linguistic as well as linguistic awareness. It therefore appears that learners’ out-of-class communication networks with native speakers of the target language play an important role in terms of language learning.

Toward a Modified Structural Syllabus

1982 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Valdman
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Target Language ◽  
General Context ◽  
Teaching Materials ◽  
Rhetorical Devices ◽  
Functional Orientation ◽  
Linguistic Means

This paper argues for an integration of the notion of communicative competence in the elaboration of syllabuses and the preparation of teaching materials for beginning and intermediate generalforeign languagecourses. A distinction is made between such courses and the teaching of English as a medium of wider communication on an international basis. In FL instruction, as opposed to the teaching of a MWC, metalinguistic, epilinguistic, or cultural objectives may be more highly valued than the use of language for daily communication. In addition, the general context of FL instruction precludes the authentic use of the target language in the classroom, a prerequisite for the attainment of communicative competence. The integration of the notion of communive competence in FL instruction, including the inclusion of notions and functions, involves the grafting of these last mentioned considerations onto a structural-situational-functional base. That base would be modified by moving in five directions: (1) adopting a functional orientation, i.e., providing learners with linguistic means to express notions and functions rather than the teaching of structures for their own sake; (2) focus on semantic notions; (3) cyclical progression; (4) aiming for discursive authenticity by identifying rhetorical devices) providing stylistic manoeuver by the recognition of the role of variants.

scholarly journals Deconstructing the Bully and Victim Dichotomy

2010 ◽  
Vol IV (2) ◽  
pp. 22-43
Author(s):  
Eucharia Donnery
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
English Education ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
University Student ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Process Drama ◽  
Communicative Skills ◽  
Japanese University ◽  
Test Taking

Although steps have been taken to address the issue of ijime or bullying, it remains is a serious social problem within the Japanese educational system. The main focus of this pilot study was to ascertain how beneficial process drama could be in developing oral communicative skills in the target language of English as well as to build social awareness through the deconstruction of the bully and victim dichotomy. Process drama in language acquisition is unique in its aim to fuse language learning and personal development. The average Japanese university student has had six years of compulsory English education, with an emphasis on grammar-translation and accuracy. This means that, while the average student excels at translation and test-taking, s/he has had little experience with communicative English and has no sense of ownership of the language. Because of this lack of oral communicative skills, process drama is an ideal means to build the bridge to communicative competence. This paper is part of a larger tri-semester process drama project and the data accumulated from all three will be used as evidence in a final PhD dissertation. Although steps have been taken to address the issue of ijime or bullying, it remains is a serious social problem within the Japanese educational system. The main focus of this pilot study was to ascertain how beneficial process drama could be in developing oral communicative skills in the target language of English as well as to build social awareness through the deconstruction of the bully and victim dichotomy. Process drama in language acquisition is unique in its aim to fuse language learning and personal development. The average Japanese university student has had six years of compulsory English education, with an emphasis on grammar-translation and accuracy. This means that, while the average student excels at translation and test-taking, s/he has had little experience with communicative English and has no sense of ownership of the language. Because of this lack of oral communicative skills, process drama is an ideal means to build the bridge to communicative competence. This paper is part of a larger tri-semester process drama project and the data accumulated from all three will be used as evidence in a final PhD dissertation.

scholarly journals Developing Students’ Communicative Competence in Business English

2016 ◽  
Vol 0 (28) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giedrė Klimovienė ◽  
Raminta Barzdžiukienė ◽  
Nijolė Račkauskaitė
Keyword(s):  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Business English

scholarly journals The Tourism Students’ Awareness of Communicative Competence in an English as a Foreign Language Context

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 184
Author(s):  
Ercilia Loera Anchondo
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Ciudad Juarez ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Language Context

The present research aimed to find out the students’ awareness towards the concept of communicative competence and to discover if exposure serves as a tool in the development of the latter. Applying a mixed-method research design, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered with three different instruments: a face-to-face questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, and a structured observation. The subjects consisted of forty-six English as a Foreign Language learners in the intermediate and advanced levels in the Tourism major at the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. Eleven questions were designed to find out the students’ awareness on communicative competence and its components. The interview was based on the elements of communicative competence and the activities related to exposure to the target language. The observation considered details in regards to the students’ performance in the linguistic and pragmatic components of communicative competence. Results indicated that participants are aware of the concept under study and its components. Their answers to the interview and their performance in the observation proposed that exposure to the target language have been used towards the development of certain elements in their communicative competence. Recommendations derived from the present study include making students comprehend what the acquisition of a communicative competence encompasses, which is to manage the target language through the use of the four skills. Secondly, it is of great importance to promote in students the habit of practicing the target language outside the classroom. Finally, it is necessary to pay attention to phonological features such as word stress, pitch, and intonation to improve pronunciation.

scholarly journals Impact of Integrating Task-Based Learning and Functional Approach to Empower Learners’ Communicative Competence

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-54
Author(s):  
Tri Nguyen ◽  
Trang Xuan Phuong Dao
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Functional Approach ◽  
Traditional Teaching ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Communicative Functions ◽  
Post Test ◽  
The Impact

Enhancing EFL learners’ communicative competence is a time-taking process to reach certain levels of interacting with different communication participants. However, in the tertiary education in Vietnam, traditional teaching approach with the task-based learning does not thoroughly focus on the language use but on the strategies to perform the tasks. Hence, the functional approach has been applied to boost learners’ awareness of their language delivery thanks to communicative functions and notions. The new mode of teaching concentrates on what communication participants desire to convey and why they make use of those speech acts. This paper aimed to explore the impact of the integration of task-based learning and the functional approach, and learners’ perspective towards the implementation of such approach combination. With the application of the mixed method of qualitative and quantitative approaches, the data were collected via a pre-test and a post-test, survey, and 32 interviews with the participation of 100 students whose major is Business Administration at a university. The findings reveal that adding the functional approach to the existing teaching method could enhance students’ overall speaking competence, especially their fluency and discourse management. Additionally, the application of the functional approach received positive feedback from the learners.  

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