On the Improvement of Middle School students’ English Communicative Competence

陳二茹

【Abstract】The objective of English teaching is mainly to cultivate students communicative competence in English.However， during the real teaching， teachers always place great emphasis on students test ability and ignore their communicative competence.Thus， “dumb English”

【Key words】problems； communicative competence； improve

1.Introduction

Motivations and Objectives

This paper first makes clear the definition and importance of communicative competence.It is mainly about Hymes definition of communicative competence and Littlewoods theory of communicative competence And then it points out the problems in improving middle school students English communicative competence.For example， students still have difficulty in speaking English with native speakers or advanced English learners though having learned English for ten years or so.The acquisition of first language and the learning of a foreign language are not exactly the same， or even very different.In this part， we will study the problems of English teaching and learning in middle school and the reasons to cause these problems.In the last part of this paper， the author concludes several methods of improving middle school students communicative competence： the use of authentic materials and the organization of improving students communicative competence.

2.The Definition of Communicative Competence and the Importance of Improving Students Communicative Competence in Middle School

2.1 The Definition of Communicative Competence

In the early 1970s， the theory of communicative competence was hotly discussed overseas， while our English teaching and learning were still focused on grammar and translation rather than oral communication mainly due to the overall situation at that time.Later the notion of communicative competence in language teaching and learning was introduced to China.With the deepening of the reform and opening-up policy of our country， more and more people of various professions， from officers to common people， from linguists to teachers， have reached a consensus that communicative competence especially during oral interactions has become a competitive factor in everyday work and study.Thus the need to improve communicative competence in oral English is popular in China through the years.However， before we are able to discuss how to cultivate communicative competence， the concept of it needs to be made clear in case any controversial issues arise.endprint

2.1.1 Hymes Definition of Communicative Competence

Communicative competence is a term proposed first by the American anthropologist and linguist Dell Hymes in his famous paper On Communicative Competence.In this book， he wrote “communicative competence not only means having a command and understanding of a language， but also having the ability to actually use the language with contextual appropriateness and sociocultural acceptance.Communicative competence is a complex gist concerning language， rhetoric， society， culture， psychology and so on.It also includes one person uses language method （spoken and written language） and sub-language （body language） to reach a certain communicative aims ability”.

2.1.2 Littlewoods Theory of Communicative Competence

Littlewood， who is a linguist， divides the communicative competence into four sectors：

The first， master the language knowledge and apply language to express thought clearly.

The second， not only master language knowledge but also know its function in communication.

The third， learners should consider their social position and communicative environment when using the language， judging whether the language is appropriate from listeners reflection.

The fourth， learners must know social meaning of language and make it become a widely accepted language.

From above four points， we can see that communicative competence mainly refers to express speaks meaning clearly and say appropriate words in different situations.Unfortunately， a large number of students cant reach this requirement.

With the increasing attention of communicative competence， a new teaching theory also advocates to improve students communicative competence.It is communicative approach， which is now especially concerned in middle school English teaching.Communicative approach is a teaching method that teachers cultivate students daily communicative competence using the learned language knowledge in the social life.Knowledge of the language mentioned here includes daily communication language， social and cultural background knowledge， the differences between different languages and different pragmatic functions.Communicative language focuses on teaching-oriented process and emphasizes the ultimate nature of the target language， that is， students use the language in a real social environment for communication and exchange.As Alan Maley had pointed out， the communicative language teaching approach aimed at improving the“communicative competence” of learners.The definition of communicative language teaching in Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistics is： “Communicative language teaching is defined as communicative approach， which is an approach to foreign or second language teaching and emphasize the goal of language learning in communicative competence”.endprint

2.2 The Importance of Improving Students Communicative Competence in Middle School

Firstly， “dump English” cant adapt the development of time.In China， some existing problems， of which “dump English” and “low efficiency” are most evident， have gained increasing attention from various circles.Generally the learners have spent at least six years or so studying English before entering college and universities.During such long “rote” learning and accumulation of English knowledge， such as the mastery of usage words and grammatical rules， many students with many years experience in English learning still have considerable difficulty coping with English in its normal communicative use.However， with China's successful accession to the WTO and the advent of global economic integration， international communication become more and more frequent， more and more spoken English information at all levels have the talent market and increased demand for English communication skills.Therefore， improving students communicative competence is the demand of time.

3.Conclusion

This thesis has been an attempt to find optional means to develop students oral communicative competence by first reviewing some of the scientific theories of communicative competence.Some issues and reasons of low English communicative competence in middle school have also been discussed .Communicative language teaching approaches are thought to be effective in improving middle school students communicative competence.

I hope that with the implications gained from defining the meanings of communicative competence and communicative language teaching approaches， combined with effective teaching and learning， students will develop their communicative competence gradually.

References：

[1]Harmer，J..How to teach English[M].北京：外語教學與研究出版社，2000.

[2]Kramsch， C .Context and Culture in language teaching[M].上海外語教育出版社，1999.

[3]Littlewood， W.Communicative Language Teaching[M].北京外語教學與研究出版社，2000.endprint