MODULE 1.

COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE Formal Language/English is a type of language resource that is used

in formal or serious academic and professional situations. It is used in
AND IT’S COMPONENTS the following communication contexts or types of texts: research or
1. Communicative Competence scientific journal articles, academic essays, college term papers,
business reports, textbooks, legal papers, school documents, research
Terminology: papers (T and D), minutes of formal meetings, and other formal texts
or discourses.
Competence – the quality or state of having sufficient knowledge,
judgment, skill or strength (for a particular purpose or in a particular Informal Language/English is a language resource which is used to
field) communicate with friends, relatives and on social media. It occurs in
casual situations and informal contexts: family communications,
Linguistics – the study of human speech including the units, nature,
social interactions/gatherings, conversations with friends,
structure, and modification of language
Features of Formal and Informal English
*linguistic – of or relating to language or linguistics
Theory – a plausible/reasonable or scientifically Acceptable general FORMAL
principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena  No contractions
Intuitive – possessing insight, knowledge or  Lack of personal pronouns
 Longer and more complex
LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE – Additional Notes  Use of sophisticated words
Linguistic or Language Competence is the knowledge of the rules that  Observes etiquette
govern the combination of words and phrases to structure sentences  Courtesy / Politeness
(syntax), and the way that meaning is conveyed through language  Use of formal words
(semantics).  Use of passive structures
Focus on: Grammar Proficiency | Sentence Construction / INFORMAL
Standard Pronunciation / Vocabulary Development
 Use of contractions
FORMAL AND INFORMAL LANGUAGE | ENGLISH  Use of personal pronouns
Varieties of English: Formal and Informal (+ Neutral)  Use of slang/idioms/phrasal sentences Presence of fillers (er,
um,
 Shorter/Abbreviated sentences
  Less complicated words
 Less proper and polite
 Use of common/simple words
 Use of short and simple sentences
Components of Communicative Competence
Linguistic competence
 The knowledge of the language code, i.e.
 The grammar component includes the knowledge of the
sounds and their pronunciation (i.e. phonetics)
 Conveyed through language (i.e. semantics).
Sociolinguistic competence
 The appropriateness depends on the setting of the
communication, the topic, and the relationships among the
people communicating.
 Being appropriate depends on knowing what the taboos of the
other culture are, what politeness indices are used in each
case
Discourse competence
 The knowledge of how to produce and comprehend oral or
written texts in the modes of speaking/writing and
listening/reading respectively.
 It’s knowing how to combine language structures into a
cohesive and coherent oral written text of different types.
 Deals with organizing words, phrases and sentences in order
to create conversations, speeches, poetry, email messages,
newspaper articles etc.
Strategic competence
 The ability to recognize and repair communication
breakdowns before, during, or after they occur.
 Speaker plan to either paraphrase or ask what the words is in
the target language.
 During the conversation, background noise or other factors
may hinder communication.
Communicative competence
is a term coined by Dell Hymes in 1966 in reaction to Noam
Chomsky’s (1965) notion of “linguistic competence”. Dell Hymes
was an American linguist, sociolinguist, anthro- pologist, and
folklorist. Noam Chomsky is a 90-year- old American linguist,
philosopher, cognitive scientist, social critic, and political activist.
A theory in communication, it is the intuitive functional
knowledge and control of the principles of language usage.
Communicative Competence
Theory/Framework (Canale and Swain, 1980, 1983)
2. Sociolinguistic Competence
• Possession of knowledge and skills for appropriate language use
in a social context (Appropriacy)
Suggestions:
1. Use proper language forms.
2. Understand similarities and differences of other people’s
cultures.
3. Respect the cultural differences between you and favorite fruit?
others. Person 2: Mango
4. Parallelism
3. Discourse Competence
Ex.: F: Traveling offers some
• Ability to produce coherent and cohesive utterances
interesting benefits, namely:
• Knowledge and skills related to discourse, text types learning other languages, meeting
genres, cohesion and coherence (Fluency) new people and to expand one’s
knowledge.
Discourse competence:
Coherence and Cohesion 5. Consistent point of view
Coherence is the systematic or logical organization 6. Transitional devices
of ideas.
Suggestions:
Techniques:
1. Use coherence and
1. Thematic
cohesion techniques appropriately,
2. Chronological
as needed.
3. Sequential
4. Inductive 4. Strategic Competence
5. Deductive • Knowledge on the use of strategies to avoid communication
6. Spatial breakdowns
• Ability to solve communication problems as they arise
Coherence and Cohesion
• Knowledge and skills on the use of verbal and nonverbal
Cohesion is the connectedness of sentences and happens when
strategies to prevent communication break- downs (Efficacy)
there is a smooth flow of ideas from one to the next.
Techniques: Achievement Strategies:
1. Repetition of key words
A. Circumlocution is essentially a method of explaining a word’s
2. Reference definition in detail while not using that word.
Ex.: My father is in the
car. He is waiting Features:
for us. 1. It is used when the speaker is unable to choose the right words
to express or say something.
3. Ellipsis • the thing you open wine bottles with (corkscrew)
Ex.: Person 1: What is your •small fast military plane (fighter)
•that thing shaped like soap and you click it when you use your 1. To be an effective communicator, one should possess all of the
computer (mouse) four competencies/skills.
2. It is used for social purposes in order to avoid using offensive
words. INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE
Euphemisms Intercultural competence is the ability to interact effectively and
appropriately in intercultural situations. It is supported by specific
- are expressions used in place of words or phrases that might attitudes and affective features, (inter) cultural knowledge, skills
other- wise be considered harsh or unpleasant. and reflection.
• physically challenged handicapped/disabled) The following are dimensions of intercultural competence:
• mentally challenged (stupid) 1. MINDSET is intercultural awareness and refers to a person’s
•termination of pregnancy (abortion) ability to understand similarities and differences of others’
•embarking on a journey of self- discovery (jobless) cultures. It includes self-awareness and cultural awareness.
•economical with the truth (liar) 2. HEARTSET is acknowledging, appreciating and accepting the
Achievement Strategies: cultural differences between you and others. The following are
components of mindset: self-esteem, self- monitoring, empathy,
B. Approximation open-mindedness, reserved judgement, and social relaxation.
• pipe (water pipe) 3. SKILLSET refers to intercultural agility. It is an individual’s
• fish (carp) ability to reach communication goals while interacting with
• ship (sailing boat) people from other cultures.
C. All-Purpose Words
Gestures Around the World (An Excerpt)
• ...and all this “stuff ”
Greetings differ depending on cultures.
Stalling/Time-Gaining Strategies:
In Mali, West Africa, they kiss each other’s hand. In Turkey, it’s
1. Fillers/Hesitation Devices a way of bargaining, and in America, a firm classic handshake is
important. A strong firm handshake is important in Western
• Ah...uh...hmm...er...
Countries and in business situations.
• Well; I mean; Actually; You know
• As a matter of fact; To be quite honest; Now let me think
• I’ll tell you what; I see what you mean
Kissing is another form of greetings in countries in Latin
America, the Middle East and Europe. The common greeting
among friends is hugging in America and other English speaking
countries. In Asia, bowing is a form of formal greeting.
The thumbs up in many countries means great or good job.
However, in the Middle East, it is equivalent to the middle
finger.
The V-sign has many different meanings. In Asia, they use it
when taking pictures. In many countries, it means peace or
victory. However, in UK, it’s an insult.
The horns can mean ‘Rock and Roll’ but in Italy, it is an insult
that means your wife is unfaithful.
The gesture ‘come here’ in Asia, the palm points down while in
many English speaking countries, the palm points up. Go away
is the same.
Using one finger to call a woman over in Australia can be a
serious insult. The gesture that means okay in America means
worthless in France and money in Korea and Japan.
Pointing with one finger in many countries is considered rude. In
the Philippines, they point with their lips. Pointing with the full
hand is a good option.
The gesture for ‘yes’ is often thought to be universal. However,
in India, they wobble their head side to side to say yes.
There are also varieties for saying ‘no’. In Greece, they toss
their heads up. In Japan, they wave their hand in front of
their nose like the gesture of stinky in America.
In Finland, crossing your arms means arrogance. In America,
pushing your nose up shows that someone’s snobby. Both of
these gestures mean naughty in America. In Korea, when
accepting money, gifts or drinks, always use both hands
MODULE 2: COMMUNICATION IN VARIOUS PURPOSES
COMMUNICATION IN FAKENEWS
- The communicative purpose of fake news is to publish false
information in order to destroy a person’s or an organization’s
reputation.
- The language of fake news is the language of sensationalism,
falsity, malicious deception or dishonesty.
- Ethical Journalism Network (EJN) defines fake news as
“information deliberately fabricated and published with the
intention to deceive or mislead others into believing
falsehoods or doubting verifiable facts”.
COMMUNICATION IN BLOGS
- A blog is a regularly updated website or web page, typically
one done by an individual or group that is usually written an
informal style ,
BLOGS – informal articles written to show thought leadership
and expertise on a topic. Contains online personal reflection,
comments videos and photographs.
- A communication tool that anybody can use to express
anything or create their own content
 ONLINE DIARY – where people would keep a running account - A reaction or response paper requires the writer to analyze a
of their personal lives text, then develop commentary related to it. It is a popular
academic assignment because it requires thoughtful reading,
COMMUNICATIVE PURPOSE – is to inform educate, share
research, and writing.
information related to one’s experience or expertise
COMMUNICATION IN BLOGS
COMMUNICATION IN TED TALKS
- Blog is another type of communication that happens in a
- Oral text/ discourse; a public speaking event (context)
different context. It is a communication tool that anybody can
- A video presentation of a TED (Technology, entertainment,
use to express anything because the internet allows anybody
design)
to freely create their own content
- Maximum length of 18 minutes
- You should consider the following in analyzing this kind of
SELECTION CRITERIA communication: THE WRITER, THE TEXT, and THE
CONTEXT
HOW TO OPEN YOUR TALK
Donovan suggest his three best options for opening your speech:

 Tell a personal story

 Make a shocking statement
 Ask a powerful question
HOW TO BUILD YOUR SPEECH BODY AND
TRANSISTIONS
Donovan suggest using one of the three frameworks to build the body
of your speech.

 Situation-complication-resolution
 Chronological narrative
 Idea-concepts descriptions
COMMUNICATION IN REACTION PAPER