Communicative Competence in a Second Language

✍ Scribed by Matthew Kanwit, Megan Solon

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2022
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 241
• Series: Second Language Acquisition Research Series
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Communicative competence is an essential language skill, the ability to adjust language use according to specific contexts and to employ knowledge and strategies for successful communication.

This unique text offers a multidisciplinary, critical, state-of-the-art research overview for this skill in second language learners. Expert contributors from around the world lay out the history of the field, then explore a variety of theoretical perspectives, methodologies, and empirical findings, and authoritatively set the agenda for future work.

With a variety of helpful features like discussion questions, recommended further reading, and suggestions for practice, this book will be an invaluable resource to students and researchers of applied linguistics, education, psychology, and beyond.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
Half Title
Series Information
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
Contributors
Acknowledgments
1 Introduction: Historical Overview, Key Constructs, and Recent Developments in the Study of Communicative Competence
Historical Overview
Behaviorism, Universal Grammar, and Cognitive-Functional Approaches
Critical Constructs
Transitional Competence and Interlanguage
Communicative Competence
More Recent Developments
Subsequent Models of Communicative Competence
Links to Communicative Competence in General Guidance for the Field of SLA
Overview of the Volume
Conclusion
Discussion Questions
Note
Suggestions for Further Reading
References
Part I Theoretical Overviews of Communicative Competence
2 Generative Considerations of Communicative Competence
Historical Context
Formal Theories of Language
Adding “Communicative” to Grammatical Competence
Critical Issues Related to Communicative Competence
Second Language Grammatical Competence and Linguistic Performance
The Lexicon
Constraints
The Interaction of Grammatical Competence With Sociolinguistic, Discourse, and Pragmatic Competence
Discourse and Pragmatic Competence
Grammatical Competence in Syntax of Quantification and Contextual Factors
Sociolinguistic Competence and the Generative Lexicon
Main Research Methods
Recommendations for Practice
Conclusion
Discussion Questions
Notes
Suggestions for Further Reading
References
3 Sociolinguistic Approaches to Communicative Competence
Historical Context
Critical Issues in Current Research
Main Research Methods
Recommendations for Practice: Researching L2 Sociolinguistic Competence
Future Directions
Discussion Questions
Notes
Suggestions for Further Reading
References
4 Sociocultural Considerations of Communicative Competence
Historical Context
Critical Issues in Current Research
Main Research Methods and Recommendations for Practice
Future Directions
Discussion Questions
Suggestions for Further Reading
References
Part II Methodological Tools for Researching Communicative Competence
5 Investigating Communicative Competence in Ethnographic Research
Historical Context
Ethnography
Ethnography Within Variationist Sociolinguistics
Research Methods and Current Issues
Participant Observation
Ethnographic Interviews
Sociolinguistic Interviews
Digital Ethnography
Recommendations for Practice and Future Directions
Discussion Questions
Suggestions for Further Reading
References
6 Real-Time Psycholinguistic Measures of Communicative Competence
Historical Context
Main Research Methods
Self-paced Reading
Eyetracking With Text
Visual World Eyetracking
ERPs
Critical Issues in Current Research
Language Processing in Real Time
Compensatory Strategies in L2 Processing
Grammatical Processing
Recommendations for Practice
Future Directions
Discussion Questions
Notes
Suggestions for Further Reading
References
7 Corpus-Linguistic and Computational Methods for Analyzing Communicative Competence: Contributions From Usage-Based ...
Historical Context
Critical Issues in Current Research
Main Research Methods
Level of Resolution 1: a Slot (In a Construction in a Corpus [part])
Level of Resolution 2: a Specific Linguistic Choice in a Concordance Line
Recommendations for Practice
Future Directions
On the Data Side of Things
On the Theoretical Side of Things
On the Statistical Side of Things
Discussion Questions
Notes
Suggestions for Further Reading
References
Part III Applications: How Do Learners Show Communicative Competence?
8 Interlanguage Pragmatics as Communicative Competence
Introduction
Historical Context
Critical Issues in Current Research
Interactional Competence
Pragmatics in Intercultural Communication
Pragmatic Development During Study Abroad
Main Research Methods
Data Collection Methods
Data Analysis Methods
Recommendations for Practice
Future Directions
Discussion Questions
Suggestions for Further Reading
References
9 Applying a Communicative Competence Framework to the Study and Teaching of Second Language Writing
Historical Perspective
Critical Issues
Balancing Language and Genre
Strategic Competence
Assessment
Main Research Methods
Linguistic Competence
Sociolinguistic Competence
Discourse Competence
Strategic Competence
Recommendations for Practice
Recommendations for Further Research
Conclusion
Discussion Questions
Suggestions for Further Reading
References
10 Computer-Assisted Language Learning and Communicative Competence
Historical Context
Current Research
Main Research Methods
Recommendations for Practice
Future Directions
Discussion Questions
Suggestions for Further Reading
References
11 Assessing Communicative Competence
Historical Context
Translating Communicative Competence Into Assessment Practice
The Problems of Performance and Context
Critical Issues
Test-taking Competence as a Type of Communicative Competence
Negotiating the Scope of Communicative Competence
Dismantling Boundaries; Resisting Reified Norms
Research Methods in Assessment
Recommendations for Practice
Future Directions
Sample Test Materials and Discussion Questions
Example Task A
Discussion Questions
Example Task B
Suggestions for Further Reading
References
12 Looking Forward: Future Directions in the Study of Communicative Competence
Theory, Methods, and Applications
Theory
Methods
Applications
Overarching Takeaways
Helpful (New) Framing for Longstanding Questions
Strategic Competence in Many Forms
Centering Identity and Agency
Communicative Competence (And How We Define It) as a Matter of Social Justice
Future Directions for Communicative Competence
Conclusion
Discussion Questions
Suggestions for Further Reading
References
Index