scholarly journals Developing Cosmopolitan Communicative Competence Through Online Transnational Encounters

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 110-131
Author(s):  
Zhiwei Wu ◽  
Xinqiang Li
Keyword(s):  
Nous Avons ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
American University ◽  
Google Docs ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Values And Beliefs

This article reports on a study examining the extent to which pedagogical activities can affect students’ cosmopolitan communicative competence (CCC) through online transnational encounters. A total of 58 students from a Hong Kong university and 25 students from an American university were divided into 25 transnational groups. They communicated with each other through Google Docs, sharing culturally rich texts, exchanging views on these texts, and discussing rhetorical and cultural preferences/differences. After analyzing 90,000-word communication transcripts, we found that most of the students demonstrated and developed their cosmopolitan dispositions, skills, and knowledge. Based on these findings, we discuss how the activity contributed to the students’ CCC by addressing four dialectical relations: historicity–modernity, text–context, self–other, and universality–particularity. The participants were challenged to make seemingly culturally irrelevant texts relevant to the transnational peers by moving the (ancient) texts across time scales and sociocultural contexts. The online communication based on the culturally (ir)relevant texts was a valuable site for the learners to enhance understanding about self and other, and examine the intricacies between universal and particular norms, values, and beliefs. The four dialectical relations can function as a set of heuristics for practitioners and researchers to reframe digital English Language Teaching (ELT) practices from the perspective of cosmopolitanism. Cet article est un compte rendu d’une étude menée pour permettre de jeter un regard sur la mesure dans laquelle les activités pédagogiques peuvent affecter la compétence de communication cosmopolite (CCC) des étudiantes et étudiants grâce à des rencontres internationales en ligne. Un groupe d’étudiantes et étudiants dont 58 provenaient d’une université hongkongaise et 25, d’une université américaine, a été subdivisé en 25 groupes transnationaux. Ceux-ci ont communiqué entre eux dans Google Docs pour partager des textes à forte teneur culturelle, échanger des vues sur leurs textes et discuter de préférences/différences en matière de contenu stylistique et de culture. Après avoir analysé des transcriptions d’une longueur globale de 90 000 mots, nous avons été à même de constater que la majorité des étudiantes et étudiants possédaient et développaient des dispositions, des compétences et des connaissances cosmopolites. Sur la base de ces constatations, nous avons cherché à voir ce que l’activité avait apporté à la CCC des étudiantes et étudiants en appliquant quatre relations dialectiques : historicité–modernité, texte–contexte, soi–autre et universalité–particularité. Les participantes et participants ont été mis au défi de prendre des textes en apparence dépourvus de pertinence culturelle et de les rendre pertinents à des pairs transnationaux en transposant les textes (anciens) sur des échelles temporelles et à travers divers contextes socioculturels. La communication en ligne basée sur des textes (non)pertinents a procuré un point de rencontre important pour permettre aux apprenantes et apprenants d’approfondir leur compréhension de soi et de l’autre et de se sensibiliser à la subtilité des rapports qui existent entre les normes, les valeurs et les croyances universelles et particulières. Les quatre relations dialectiques peuvent fonctionner comme un jeu d’heuristiques au niveau de l’enseignement et des recherches en permettant de recadrer les pratiques numériques d’enseignement de l’anglais (ELT) sous l’angle du cosmopolitisme.

scholarly journals The Communicative Approach in English Language Teaching

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 471-475
Author(s):  
S. Azimova
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Language Education ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
The Past ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
The Social ◽  
Curriculum Construction ◽  
Instructional Settings

Today, communities are increasingly facing rapid and profound changes and tensions that affect the social, economic, and political aspects of life. The role of education has also become questionable in the millennial era. A matter of fact, 21st century education requires a gradual shift in curriculum construction focusing on the transferable competencies that learners need to develop in instructional settings. In today’s knowledge–based, types of skills and competencies that students need to gain are different from in the past. Emphasizing the communicative competence is one of the most influential developments in language education. The implementation of communicative activities in EFL/ESL classroom prepares learners to use English in the world beyond based on their own needs, interests and opportunities.

scholarly journals Interculturality in English Language Teaching – A Small Study with Portuguese Teachers

e-TEALS ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-125
Author(s):  
Ana Ponce de Leão
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Intercultural Communicative Competence ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Teachers Perceptions

Abstract UNESCO and many other organisations worldwide have been working on approaches in education to develop tolerance, respect for cultural diversity, and intercultural dialogue. Particularly, the Council of Europe has laid out guiding principles in several documents to promote intercultural competence, following Byram’s and Zarate’s efforts in integrating this important component in language education. The commitment to developing the notion of intercultural competence has been so influential that many countries, e.g., Portugal, have established the intercultural domain as a goal in the foreign language curricula. However, this commitment has been questioned by researchers worldwide who consider that action is needed to effectively promote intercultural competence. The research coordinated by Sercu, for example, suggests that, although foreign language teachers are willing to comply with an intercultural dimension, their profile is more compatible with that of a traditional foreign language teacher, rather than with a foreign language teacher, who promotes intercultural communicative competence. In this study, I propose to examine teachers’ perceptions and beliefs about intercultural communicative competence in a cluster of schools in Portugal and compare these findings with Sercu’s study. Despite a twelve-year gap, the present study draws similar conclusions.

scholarly journals Teaching Speaking in the Nepalese Context: Problems and Ways of Overcoming them

1970 ◽  
Vol 15 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bal Ram Adhikari
Keyword(s):  
Student Teachers ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Communicative Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Learner Centered ◽  
Speaking Skill ◽  
Meaningful Interaction

Fluency-first approaches such as Communicative Language Teaching and Task-based Language Teaching aim at the development of communicative competence in students by engaging them in meaningful interaction. Ability to speak accurate, appropriate and effective English is vital for meaningful interaction that ensures students' communicative competence in English. Unfortunately, in the Nepalese context, especially in government-aided schools and constituent colleges of Tribhuvan University (TU), speaking skill lies on the periphery of English Language Teaching (ELT) owing to several factors. This article attempts to explore those factors that have been a hindrance in developing speaking skill in Nepalese students in general and the students from the above-mentioned institutions in particular. This article draws on the author's experience as a supervisor of student teachers from B.Ed. and M.Ed. programmes and his teaching experience at a constituent campus of TU. Moreover, the article presents some suggestions that can help English teachers to overcome the hindrances.Key words: Speaking skill; Interaction; Teacher-fronted teaching; Learner-centered activitiesJournal of NELTA Vol. 15 No. 1-2 December 2010Page: 1-9Uploaded date: 3 May, 2011DOI: 10.3126/nelta.v15i1-2.4602

scholarly journals AN INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL FOR ENHANCING EFL LEARNERS’ SPEAKING PROFICIENCY

EDULANGUE ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-97
Author(s):  
Syarifudin Syarifudin
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Communicative Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Grammatical Competence ◽  
Speaking Proficiency ◽  
Speaking Skill

Due to the central role of speaking skill and its escalating demands of instruction in various levels of education in Indonesia, a myriad of teaching approaches and strategies have been applied to equip learners with the competences enabling the development of this skill. As a widespread approach to English language teaching (ELT),  which  gains  its  popularity  within  the context  of  EFL, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is geared towards learners’ communicative competence comprising of grammatical competence, discourse competence, sociolinguistic competence, and strategic competence as the underlying abilities of speaking proficiency. The development of these competences can be better facilitated when learning takes its place both in and outside classrooms as the latter provides potential promises for learners’ speaking proficiency development. For this reason, this paper presents learners’ challenges for learning speaking, the model activities in and outside classrooms, the importance of speaking instruction and the components of communicative competence and speaking proficiency.

scholarly journals Improving Oral Communicative Competence in English Using Project-Based Learning Activities

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Noor Idayu Abu Bakar ◽  
Nooreen Noordin ◽  
Abu Bakar Razali
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Teaching Strategy ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Quasi Experimental

The quasi-experimental study investigated the effectiveness of using project-based learning (PjBL) activities as a teaching strategy in improving the oral communicative competence of Malaysian English language learners. The participants included 44 diploma students enrolled in a Communicative English course at a technical college in the Peninsular Malaysia, who were purposely selected for the study. The intervention comprised a 12-week lessons taught using PjBL teaching strategy and centred on eight PjBL activities. Data were collected using a speaking test and a listening test, which were administered as pre-tests and post-tests, and a student questionnaire which was administered at the end of the study. Data analysis involved the procedure of MANOVA, as well as descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation and percentage. The findings revealed a significant improvement in the learners’ overall oral communicative competence and a high perception of PjBL by the learners. It is concluded that PjBL teaching strategy is effective in improving the oral communicative competence of the English language learners. The study recommends the use of PjBL as a suitable English language teaching strategy for technical students who are generally low proficient English language learners.

scholarly journals Incorporating Communicative Competence in Assessment and English Language Teaching in Multilingual Settings

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-13
Author(s):  
Ella Yuzar
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Test Validity ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
Language Testing ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
English Language Teaching

There has been a high level of agreement among scholars that communicative competence should be integrated within language learning and assessments. The study attempts to unravel the issues of how communicative competence can be assessed and measured in multilingual environments and how communicative language testing can be promoted. Using the content analysis approach as the qualitative method, it begins with the historical review of communicative competence that started at the beginning of 1970s to the most current concept involving intercultural communicative competence. Then, some practical models of communicative competence that can be used to propose a measurement of communicative competence are presented. Later, this article argues that there is an upsurge need to shift the paradigm of language testing and language assessment towards communicative competence. Moreover, the nature of language testing should not only concern linguistic or knowledge competence but also recognize the different varieties of English. This study implies that, in the field of language testing, language test designers should encompass the concept of communicative competence in the test construct to include real-life language use, and by extension, to increase test validity. As for teachers, a reform integrating communicative competence in classroom language assessment has become essential within the scope of language teaching.

scholarly journals REVIEWING DIFINTIONAL AMBIGUITIES AND SIGNIFICANCE OF TEXT AUTHENTICITY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 01-09 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamdi Ahmad ◽  
Robert McColl Millar
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Authentic Materials ◽  
Authentic Texts ◽  
Learner Motivation ◽  
Need Analysis ◽  
Language Classrooms

Purpose of the study: The premise of this paper is to define and address the ambiguities surrounding the concept of text authenticity in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT). Methodology: It represents a critical review of a series of research studies aimed at defining the concept of text authenticity and investigating the effect of text authenticity on ESL/EFL learners’ individual differences, namely ESL/EFL learner motivation and communicative competence. However, wherever possible, for the purpose of maintaining criticality, data associated with pedagogic/contrived materials are also discussed. Main Findings: The aspects of text authenticity may be situated in the text itself, the participants, social or cultural situations and purposes of the communicative act, or some combination of these elements. In addition, deficiency in learners’ overall communicative competence in the English language can be attributed to teachers’ exclusive reliance on contrived text materials presented in the form of textbooks. Applications of this study: It is strongly recommended that teacher training courses aim to develop classroom teachers’ practical knowledge and skills necessary for designing and evaluating TESOL materials. Reaching a consensus among researchers on the issue of the effects of authentic materials on ESL/EFL students’ motivation and overall communicative competence can have fundamental implications not only for developing language curricula but also for promoting learner autonomy. Novelty/Originality of this study: This study addressed the ambiguities surrounding the concept of text authenticity by proposing a typology encompassing eight possible inter-related definitions of text authenticity emerging in the ELT literature. More importantly, the paper structured a triangulation framework for introducing authentic materials into language classrooms:1) careful implementation of learner need-analysis, 2) criteria-based selection of authentic texts in the light of learner need-analysis, 3) utilization of task-based learning approach stressing the importance of activating learner schemata, awareness-raising activities, and task differentiation. This triangulation methodology is likely to reduce the difficulty of text authenticity and realize comprehensible input.

Teaching English as a Second Language to develop communicative competence of ESL Learners

2022 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Harun Rashid ◽  
Wang Hui
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Sociocultural Development ◽  
Methodological Principles ◽  
High Level ◽  
Esl Learners

The article discusses issues concerning the development of future English teachers' communicative competence. It considers the idea that developing communicative competence benefits not only the learner's interactive abilities from an educational standpoint, but also the learner's psycho-emotional characteristics and sociocultural development as a person. As previously stated, communicative competence refers to the ability to interact effectively with others, and competence is defined as a collection of language skills an individual possesses in order to learn a foreign language. This potential contributes to his/her ability to perform at a high level. This paper discusses the theory of communicative competence and several of its models; the significance of developing communicative competence in future English teachers; and the implications of communicative competence in English language teaching and learning. Additionally, the work suggests fundamental methodological principles for developing future English teachers' communicative competence.

Teachers’ beliefs and students’ experiences

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 177-186
Author(s):  
Jana Beresova
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Choice Response ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
Intercultural Communicative Competence ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Response Formats ◽  
Teachers Beliefs

The article is based on the preliminary results of an ongoing research project that seeks to explore intercultural communicative competence of language teachers and university students. The article reports teachers’ beliefs and students’ experiences concerning intercultural communicative competence teaching and learning, gained by means of questionnaires. As Likert-type scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure attitudes and opinions, they were used in the measurement of students’ statements that were asked to be evaluated in a survey, carried out in three different periods (steps). Teachers’ beliefs result from a long questionnaire, focused on data about how teachers perceive the cultural dimension of English language teaching and learning. The conclusions are based on data collected in a five-year study that need further investigation in the currently run project. Several recommendations for pre-service and in-service teacher training are commented on in the end.   Keywords: teaching English, learning English, acquiring target culture, intercultural communicative competence.

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