Name: Lita Agusniasari Dewi

NIM : 178820300014/ B1

3. What do you think is the importance of the concept of communicative

competence in ESP?

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The Importance of Communicative Competence in ESP

Communicative language teaching involves the development of language skills through

interactions that are embedded in meaningful contexts. This teaching approach provides an
authentic opportunity for learning that goes beyond repetition and memorization of grammar
patterns separately. The main concept of the communicative approach to language teaching is
communicative competence. The need and insistence on the need to develop communication
competencies encourage language users to no longer pay attention to the mastery of the structure
of language, but rather focus on the language functions being learned. This emerges the term
communicative competence. The definition of communicative competence is the ability to
understand and use language effectively to communicate in an authentic social and school
environment. English for specific purposes (ESP) in general is a learner-centered approach to
teaching and learning English, focusing on developing communicative competence in specific
fields such as academics, engineering, business, to achieve communicative competence, learners
would require both linguistic and pragmatic knowledge in the target language which can be
developed and acquired through exposure and use of the target language. The communicative
language approach, when used in language classes, provides a platform for students to be
exposed to the structured and practical use of English. In the context of ESP, communicative
competence refers to the ability of the learners to communicate using registers appropriate to
their field of study in given situations in workplace-based settings. By implementing
communicative language approaches in the ESP classrooms, teachers are able to facilitate
students 'learning through authentic - like meaningful communication by increasing language
input and expecting students' to produce more output. The importance of communicative
competence in terms of communication competencies that are interrelated with one another and
become an integrated communication relationship. These competencies are sociocultural
competence, discourse competence, linguistic competence, formulaic competence, interactional
competence, and strategic competence. Therefore, we can think that communicative competence
in ESP is very important because the study of the language should not just look at the "syntax" of
the language but in all different communicative forms, such as non-verbal communication e.g.
(gestures, postures and eye contact) it all varies depending on each different culture. But above
all, language is used to communicate, so students don't want to learn a second language to
analyze it but to use it. In addition, Communication competence is needed in order to understand
communication ethics, to develop cultural awareness, to use computer-mediated communication,
and to think critically. Competence involves knowledge, motivation, and skills.

References:
 Hutchinson, Tom. Waters, Alan. 1987. English For Specific Purposes: A learning-
centred approach Cambridge University Press.
 Shona Whyte. Revisiting Communicative Competence in Teaching and Assesment of
language for Specific Purposes. Language Education & Assessment, 2019, 2 (1), pp.1-19.
10.29140/lea. V2n1.33. hal-02120612
 Vesna Bagaric. 2007. Defining Communicative Competence. Vol 8: 94-103.