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Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching and Testing

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Michael A Canale at University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Michael A Canale
Merrill Swain at University of Toronto
Merrill Swain
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CANALE, MICHAEL, Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to
Second Language Teaching and Testing , Applied Linguistics, 1 (1980) p.1
... However, as perspectives on language learning have evolved, there has been a shift towards a more comprehensive understanding of language competence. The concept of communicative competence, first introduced by Dell Hymes (1972) and later refined by Canale and Swain (1980), emphasizes that effective communication transcends the mastery of syntax and semantics. It incorporates a range of skills that allow individuals to navigate the social, cultural, and contextual nuances of language use, making communication both meaningful and effective in various settings. ...
... This study critically evaluates the communicative competence of English Language Studies (ELS) students, addressing three interconnected dimensions: sociolinguistic, discourse, and literary competences. Building on Hymes' (1972) concept of communicative competence and Canale and Swain's (1980) expanded framework, the research investigates the interplay of these competences and their collective impact on effective communication. By assessing 146 students from a single academic institution through validated survey instruments (Cronbach's alpha > 0.7), the study provides a comprehensive view of the students' proficiency in language attitudes, social experience, textual coherence, cohesion, and engagement with literary texts. ...
... | 52 dividing communicative competence into sociolinguistic, discourse, and literary dimensions, the study offers a detailed and structured analysis, enabling a multifaceted understanding of the students' skills. This approach aligns with established frameworks by Hymes (1972) and Canale and Swain (1980), reinforcing its theoretical validity. ...
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... To begin with, what is fluency in a language? Early on, Canale and Swain (1980) suggested a communicative competency framework comprising grammatical, sociolinguistic, and strategic competency. The Council of Europe (2001) proposed and utilized a similar model, adding pragmatic competency. ...
... Strategic competency was defined in the literature as the ability to deal with "breakdowns" in communication (Canale & Swain, 1980;Negoescu et al., 2019). Various behaviors were noted, including the ability to "backtrack and restructure," "correct slips and errors," "ask for confirmation," and "start again using a different tactic" (Council of Europe 2001, 65). ...
Conversational Regulators in American Sign Language Students
Article
  • Jan 2025
Language proficiency can be framed as grammatical, sociolinguistic and strategic competency. Historically, the grammatical strategies of hearing students who study American Sign Language (ASL) have been emphasized. To address this gap, a Discourse Completion Task was designed to look at a little explored area, conversational regulators, in 14 hearing students who had taken ASL 1 (one semester) as compared to 14 hearing students who reported taking no ASL classes. Participants watched and responded to 11 videotaped contexts in ASL. The findings indicate that the ASL1 students had learned various ASL conversational regulators, such as frowns (* p = .00) and hand waving (the HEY sign in ASL) (* p= .00). They followed Deaf culture norms for not talking and gesturing at the same time (* p = .00). They also demonstrated reduced use of miming compared to the non-ASL students (* p = .00). The findings are discussed within the context of existing literature, and recommendations are offered for future research and practice.
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... 4). In a similar vein, Canale and Swain (1980) maintain that competence involves the "knowledge of grammar and other aspects of language" (p. 3) while performance consists of "the realization of [such] competencies and their interaction in the actual production and comprehension of utterances" (p. 6). In essence, competence has often been understood as a given student's knowledge about the L2, while performance has been conceptualized as the ability to use the language successfully in interpersonal encounters. ...
... In essence, competence has often been understood as a given student's knowledge about the L2, while performance has been conceptualized as the ability to use the language successfully in interpersonal encounters. For example, Canale and Swain (1980) define communicative competence as "the relationship and interaction between grammatical competence, or knowledge of the rules of grammar, and sociolinguistic competence, or knowledge of the rules of language use" (p. 6). These definitions have centered on the notion that competence involves one's awareness and understanding of the essential grammatical rules and linguistic concepts related to the target language to the exclusion of one' ability to utilize this information in actual practice. ...
Embedding L2 Proficiency Pedagogy into ESOL Teacher Education
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2024
This article considers an exploratory study designed to understand the relevancy of a course unit on L2 proficiency to pre-service ESOL teachers’ understanding of the nature of the concept of proficiency and their awareness of strategies for developing multilingual learners’ proficiency in English in their own instructional contexts. The article begins with an exploration of the concept of proficiency and its relevancy for ESOL teacher education and summarizes previous studies concerning the development of L2 proficiency in English among language learners and language educators. The article then describes the logistics of the course unit on L2 proficiency and the data collection and analysis procedures for the study. Finally, the article reviews preliminary findings emerging from the study and proposes avenues for further research along with recommendations for ESOL teacher educators.
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... However, this is considered the most anxiety-provoking of the four skills (Bashori et al., 2020). As Canale and Swain (1980) point out, communicative competence is comprised of four dimensions: the ability to accurately form sentences, words, and incorporate rules of phonology (grammatical competence); the production of coherent and cohesive speech (discourse competence); the use of strategies to compensate deficiencies in oral production (strategic competence), and the ability to use the appropriate language according to the context (sociolinguistic competence). Speaking is then a complex process that requires learners to consider its different elements. ...
Using YouTube Videos to Improve Students’ Speaking Skills: EFL Teachers’ Perceptions
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2024
Speaking is acknowledged as one of the most difficult skills for English learners to develop. For this reason, many strategies have been used to develop this skill and one of which is the use of YouTube videos. Several recent studies have researched YouTube’s effectiveness to develop communicative competence. However, little research has focused on what teachers think about it. This phenomenological study examines teachers’ perspectives regarding the use of YouTube to improve students’ speaking skills. The study was conducted in a master’s program in Teaching English as a Foreign Language at a University School of Languages in the southeast of Mexico. The participants in this study were five in-service Mexican teachers studying at said school. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Content analysis was used to analyse the data obtained through the interviews. Findings seem to indicate that teachers have a positive attitude towards the use of authentic videos to develop students’ speaking skills and understand the benefits of using authentic YouTube videos. However, they are not completely aware of the different activities that can be used with videos.
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... Con la llegada del Enfoque comunicativo en la enseñanza de lenguas, la cultura tomó un papel relevante y pasó de enseñarse como un conjunto de imágenes sobre tipos y costumbres a integrarse dentro de la competencia comunicativa (Byram y Fleming, 2009). Tras los diferentes aportes del análisis de la competencia comunicativa (Chomsky, 1965;Hymes, 1974;Cummins, 1980;Canale y Swain, 1980;Van Ek, 1984, 1986Bachman y Palmer, 1985;Kramsch, 1993;Corbett, 2003;Griffin, 2005), en el MCER (2002) se establecen como competencias generales la pragmática y la lingüística (léxica, gramatical, semántica, fonológica, ortográfica y ortoépica). ...
El español y la enseñanza de su cultura: Interrogantes desde la competencia comunicativa intercultural
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2024
En el siguiente texto intentaremos abordar algunos interrogantes que surgen desde la enseñanza del español como L2/LE y su cultura a raíz del planteamiento globalizador que se extrae de políticas educativas europeas. El objetivo general es arrojar nuevas perspectivas de enseñanza, o puntos de partida, para el profesorado de idiomas, no solo de español, sino de otras lenguas extranjeras que en el aula han de abordar contenidos de tipo cultural.
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... Canale and Swain further divided communicative competence into four components: grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic competence. For philological students, this expanded understanding emphasizes not only language structure but also the ability to navigate cultural nuances and diverse communicative situations [3]; [7]. ...
FILOLOGIYA TA'LIMI TALABALARINING KOMMUNIKATIV KOMPETENTSIYASINI RIVOJLANTIRISHNING AHAMIYATIВАЖНОСТЬ РАЗВИТИЯ КОММУНИКАТИВНОЙ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТИ СТУДЕНТОВ ФИЛОЛОГИЧЕСКОГО ФАКУЛЬТЕТАTHE IMPORTANCE OF DEVELOPING COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE OF STUDENTS OF PHILOLOGICAL EDUCATION
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2024
Thе аrticlе deals with the development of communicative competence is a fundamental component in the training of philological education students, as it equips them with the skills necessary for effective verbal and non-verbal communication across diverse contexts. This study explores modern approaches and methods to enhance communicative competence among students majoring in philology. Drawing on both theoretical frameworks and practical research, the paper identifies key strategies that foster linguistic, sociocultural, and pragmatic aspects of communication. These include task-based language teaching, interactive learning, and digital tools designed to simulate real-life communication scenarios.
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HUMANISM and TESOL
Article
  • Jan 2025
The humanistic approach in language teaching emphasizes the importance of emotional and social aspects, alongside cognitive development, to create a holistic learning environment. This study aims to explore the application of humanistic methods, particularly Community Language Learning (CLL) and Suggestopedia, in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Using a literature analysis method of academic articles and documents, this research identifies the applications, benefits, and challenges of these approaches. The findings reveal that CLL enhances learners' fluency and confidence through community-based interaction and the teacher’s role as a facilitator. Suggestopedia, on the other hand, frees learners from psychological barriers, fostering creativity, motivation, and emotional well-being. In the context of TESOL, the integration of humanistic principles has been proven to support effective, meaningful, and learner-centered language learning by addressing both emotional and cognitive needs.
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Grammar in Language Teaching and Education
Chapter
  • Jan 2025
The concept of “grammar” has shifted in meaning from an initial focus on writing to its current reference to the rules of language, or language form. Throughout history, issues have persisted regarding the best approach to teaching and learning grammar, and such issues have been reflected in the various methodological approaches that have been introduced as well as in the research carried out on the ways grammar has been and can be taught. This entry presents a chronology of grammar teaching in second and foreign language education. It also discusses technological innovations that teachers and learners have at their disposal to hone their second and foreign language grammar skills.
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Investigación en grabado. De la Universidad a otras instituciones educativas
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2024
En la actualidad, las interrelaciones e interconexiones entre los diferentes niveles del sistema educativo español son prácticamente inexistentes al actuar cada uno de ellos de manera aislada. El presente texto expone el marco teórico y las diferentes fases del proyecto: Investigación en grabado. De la Universidad a otras instituciones, desarrollado dentro del postdoctorado Margarita Salas de la Universitat Politècnica de València y financiado por la Unión Europea-Next Generation EU. Promueve la difusión de la investigación que lleva por título: La Estampa Líquida. El Tensioactivo como Medio de Expresión Artístico a otras instituciones de carácter no universitario, como Escuelas de Arte e Institutos de Educación Secundaria y Educación Especial. Dicha tesis doctoral recoge una aproximación a lo que fue una revolución en las Vanguardias en el mundo de la gráfica: La técnica de la simultaneidad del color. PALABRAS CLAVE: Grabado calcográfico, técnica Hayter, transferencia de conocimiento, universidad, escuela de arte.
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Testing Language Proficiency
Book
  • Jan 1975
This publication is a compilation of the papers presented at the 1974 Washington Language Testing Sumposium. The volume also includes much of the discussion that followed each paper. The participants were an international group of language testing specialists from academic institutions, research centers, and government agencies. The primary focus of the symposium was language proficiency testing, especially as it relates to the use of foreign languages on the job. The papers are organized under four headings: (1) Testing Speaking Proficiency--"Testing Language Proficiency in the United States Government," R. L. Jones; "Theoretical and Technical Considerations in Oral Proficiency Testing," J. L. D. Clark; "The Oral Interview Test," C. P. Wilds; (2) Testing Listening Comprehension--"Testing Communicative Competence in Listening Comprehension," P. J. M. Groot; "Reduced Redundancy Testing; A Progress Report," H. L. Gradman and B. Spolsky; "Dictation: A Test of Grammar Based Expectancies," J. W. Oller, Jr. and V. Streiff; (3) Testing Reading Comprehension--"Contextual Testing," J. Bondaruk, J. Child, and E. Tetrault; "Some Theoretical Problems and Practical Solutions in Proficiency Test Validity," C. R. Petersen and F. A. Cartier; "Two Tests of Speeded Reading," A. Davies; (4) Other Considerations--"Problems of Syllabus, Curriculum, and Testing in Connection with Modern Language Programmes for Adult Europe," G. Nickel. The concluding statement, by B. Spolsky, and a list of contributors to the conference are also provided. (Author/AM)
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On the Biological Basis of Language Capacities
Chapter
  • Jan 1976
My title, of course, is taken from Eric Lenneberg’s major study of language and biology, now recognized as a classic in the field (Lenneberg, 1967, pp. 393-394). He set himself the task of studying language as “an aspect of [man’s] biological nature, to be studied in the same manner as, for instance, his anatomy.” The purpose of this study was “to reinstate the concept of the biological basis of language capacities and to make the specific assumptions so explicit that they may be subjected to empirical tests.” Adopting this point of view, we may regard the language capacity virtually as we would a physical organ of the body and can investigate the principles of its organization, functioning, and development in the individual and the species. Personally, I feel that this is just the right way to approach the study of human language. I would like to make a few remarks on the program that Lenneberg outlined and developed, concentrating on two theses that seem to me of particular significance.
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