Communicative Competence

1. BACKGROUND
1.1 Grammatical and communicative approaches: It explains the differences between the grammatical approach, the communicative approach and also integrates a thirs approach that is called the situational syllabus.
1.2 Competence and performance: it discusses the differences between competence and performance and introduces the the concept of communicative competence, which integrates the knowledge (competence) and the use of the language (performance).

2. SOME THEORIES OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE:
2.1 Theories of basic communication skills: it explains that those theories should be focused on meaning and oriented to develop the basic level of communicaton.
2.2 Sociolinguistic perspectives on communicative competence: it shows the importance of knowing how to use the language in context. That is called analysis of the ethnography of speaking.
2.3 Integrative theories of communicative competence: it explains that those theories must integrate the grammatical knowledge, the use of language in different contexts and how communicative functions can be combined.
2.4 General comments: it reflects about aspects that haven't been discussed about the theories of communicative competence.

3. TOWARD AN ADEQUATE THEORY OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE:
3.1 Guiding principles for a communicative approach: there are 5 principles that a communicative approach must have: 1. Integration of grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence and communication strategies. 2. Based on the learners' communication needs. 3. Meaningful communication interaction. 4. Basic communication aspects. 5. Teach about language and about the culture.
3.2 A proposed theoretical framework for communicative competence: integration of grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence and strategic competence.
3.3 Implications fo a communicative approach to teaching: The activities must be meaningful and the teacher must have an activating role.
3.4 Implications for a communicative testing programme: the objective is to evaluate if the learner can demonstrate his communicative knowledge in a meaningful communicative situation.