communicative competence

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Under communicative competence or communication skills is the ability to constructively, effectively and to consciously communicate .

definition

Communicative competence is summarized by Ulrich Zeuner according to a definition by Canale and Swain (1980) and is divided into the following areas:

  1. grammatical competence , d. H. mastery of vocabulary, sentence grammar, word formation rules, pronunciation, orthography, etc., i.e. elements of the linguistic code;
  2. sociolinguistic competence , d. H. how speakers produce and understand utterances in different situational and cultural contexts, whereby factors such as the social status of the conversation partners, the role relationships between them, the goal of the interaction and the appropriateness of the utterances in terms of meaning and form play a role.
  3. Discourse competence , d. H. how speakers manage to combine grammatical forms and meanings when speaking and understanding, so that texts and discourses arise and
  4. strategic competence , i.e. the mastery of those verbal and non-verbal communication strategies that speakers use when communication between those involved in the conversation has broken down, e.g. B. due to a lack of competence in one of the other competence areas.

Communicative competence includes the knowledge of important communication concepts and models, but also the mastery of specific communication techniques. In communicative competence, however, not only the ability but also the willingness or the will to communicate plays a significant role.

  • Communication skills mean that one can express oneself in an understandable and recipient-oriented way and
  • Willingness to communicate refers to one's own will to exchange ideas with others, to clarify things verbally and to pass on knowledge through communication.

Efing (2013) shows the limits of the still fuzzy skill concept "communicative competence".

origin

The construct of communicative competence initially only developed in relation to foreign language teaching at the beginning of the 1970s (see Communicative Wende ), which was still very different from today's foreign language teaching due to the lack of it at that time. The emphasis was less on communicating with the newly acquired language than on analyzing it. The student served as a research tool. However, it was seen more as an object than a subject that enriched a text to be interpreted with its own experiences, feelings and thoughts. The student was, so to speak, the empty vessel , which had to be filled. These so-called "instrumental lessons" were by no means intended to establish contact with or to understand other cultures.

With reference to the work of Noam Chomsky , since the 1960s and 1970s, competency development has also become a topic of social science and thus the education for communication and interaction skills emerged in the context of group processes and self-experience (from communicative competence and intercultural learning , seminar paper by Harald Kraus) is the focus of the lesson and thus a strong emphasis on the subjective factor and was mainly disseminated in the German discussion by the interaction theorist Jürgen Habermas and the systems theorist Niklas Luhmann .

Speech act theory, the founders of which John Langshaw Austin and John Searle are considered to be pioneering for this “communicative turn” . In contrast to other areas of linguistics, this one is dedicated to the investigation of human communication and behavior during it and is particularly interested in everyday language and the apparently unimportant phenomenon of small talk . The speech act theory is intended to provide information about the success or failure of a conversation. Jürgen Habermas also provided information about this in 1971 by formulating the requirements for the ideal speech situation . This is characterized by the equality of those involved in the conversation and by their honesty towards others, regarding their own position, which is now known as the maxim of communication. The term communicative competence was finally introduced in 1972 by Dell Hymes , a sociolinguist who sees it not only as grammatical, but also as socio- and psycholinguistic knowledge of a learner or speaker.

In the age of globalization , the concept of communicative competence has largely been replaced by that of intercultural competence , which can, however, also be viewed as a sub-area of ​​the former. Communicative competence would be the ability to communicate in general and intercultural competence would be the ability to communicate specifically with other cultures. It is important to know not only the language but also the traditions and customs of the other culture in order not to bring communication to a standstill through inappropriate behavior or utterance.

introduction

Society is currently confronted with the term “communicative competence” more and more frequently. Even in everyday life, this competence functions as a prerequisite for establishing and promoting social contacts, as well as dealing with everyday situations such as job interviews , conflicts, etc. The ability to communicate competently is expected, especially in top management, as their goals are to convince customers, to act in a goal-oriented manner and to gain respect. Due to globalization, it is also becoming more and more important to be competent in foreign languages ​​in order to be able to act on an international level. These aspects illustrate how much communicative competence is present in everyday life, but society is not aware of what it includes in detail.

Communication - part of communicative competence

Communication is a process in which information is exchanged between individuals; this can be done on a non-verbal or verbal level. Every communication has a content aspect (information, facts, etc.) as well as a relationship aspect (interpersonal relationship). Each person affects his environment through his behavior and thus triggers a reaction in his counterpart. Often there are misunderstandings between the interlocutors because one cannot communicate. Only body language, possibly also silence and inaction, also have the character of communication.

For "smooth" communication, however, both interlocutors must adhere to communication axioms (rules / principles that are obvious to everyone, but cannot be proven) as well as communication / conversation maxims (top rules or guidelines, also as a principle of ethical attitudes). You should let each other finish speaking, listen actively, and keep eye contact. In addition, in conflict situations they should make sure to send I-messages instead of forming you-sentences (you-message: “You are childish” versus I-message: “If you behave like this I get angry, because that means for me, this and that ”).

Communication rules allow communicative competence

A conversation that is dominated by characteristics such as falling into a word or ambiguity often causes resentment in at least one of the participants, so that he resigns and breaks off the conversation as a result. This course of communication is obviously not shaped by competence. It becomes clear that the mastery of "rules" is advantageous and thus they form a component of communicative competence. The ability to communicate also strengthens self-confidence and thus enables a confident appearance.

After learning through upbringing and social competence , the norms are initially internalized unconsciously. In every individual, however, the unconscious rules can all too often be trumped by emotions. Has one z. B. Fear of being verbally attacked by a sender, one tends to disregard rules and maxims by interrupting, averting attention etc. in order to protect oneself. Certain training courses, which are supposed to make the rules aware, make it easier to control emotions and to subordinate them to the rules. A conversation that is frantically determined by rules, however, often seems artificial and forced (excessive eye contact can unsettle and irritate). Training alone is not a free ticket for perfect communication, as the constantly changing communication technology overwhelms people. Communication skills can be learned to a certain extent and are based on rules that have to be weighed up and used according to the situation. Conversational linguistics also emphasizes that, within the framework of the generally accepted rules of communication, it is both socially and individually, i.e. H. for whole groups as well as for individual speakers, there is definitely scope for developing their own "conversation style" (cf. Neuland 2009).

Communicative competence in German lessons

With regard to German lessons in all school types, the acquisition of communicative competence has been recognized as fundamental since the 1970s ("communicative turn" in German didactics) (cf. Kochan 1975, Portmann 1981): Curricula have long emphasized this interdisciplinary mandate of German. In the context of the "competence orientation" also in language teaching, German didactics emphasizes a principle of "reflexive speaking" (cf. Abraham 2016), because oral communication is on the one hand (in all school subjects) a medium of teaching, on the other hand (especially in German) also to make the subject matter accessible and as such for reflection, what teaching methods such as B. the role play and various media presentations suggests.

Teucher (ed.) 2015 emphasizes that this point of view ties in with the old teaching of rhetoric : Acquiring and developing skills in the field of oral communication is of fundamental importance in school and at work.

See also

Literature and Sources

  • Ulf Abraham : Speaking as a reflexive practice. Oral use of language in a competence-oriented German class. Klett-Fillibach, Stuttgart, 2nd, updated. u. exp. 2016 edition. ISBN 978-3-12-688069-5
  • Dieter Baacke: Communication and Competence. Foundation of a didactic of communication and its media. Juventa, Munich ,. 2nd edition 1975.
  • Christian Efing: Communicative competence - a meaningful term? In: Grabowski, Joachim (ed.): Sense and nonsense of competencies. Skill concepts in the field of language, media and culture. Budrich, Opladen 2014, 93 - 113.
  • John Langshaw Austin: On the theory of speech acts , Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-15-009396-1
  • Hartwig Kalverkämper: Communicative competence . In: Gert Ueding (ed.): Historical dictionary of rhetoric . Darmstadt: WBG 1992ff., Vol. 10 (2011), Col. 458-480.
  • Wolfgang J. Linker: Communicative competence: less is more! , 2009, GABAL Verlag
  • Bernd LeMar: Communicative Competence , 1997, 2nd edition 2001, Springer-Verlag Berlin / Heidelberg
  • Detlef C. Kochan: Language and Communicative Competence , 1975, Ernst Klett Verlag, Stuttgart
  • Viewpoints of Ethics, 2000, Schöningh: Paderborn
  • Heinz Göhring: Intercultural Communication , 2002, Stauffenburg-Verlag
  • Siegfried Jäger : Critical Discourse Analysis , 2001, Duisburg
  • Eva Neuland: styles of conversation. Varieties of oral communication in German lessons. In: ide. Information on German Didactics 33 (2009), no. 4, 62 - 71.
  • Paul R. Portmann: Communication as a problem of language didactics. Investigations on the integration of models of communication theory in some recent theories of language teaching. Niemeyer, Tübingen 1981.
  • Brigitte Teucher (ed.): Teaching and learning oral communication. Facets of rhetoric in school and at work. Schneider Verlag Hohengehren, Baltmannsweiler 2015. ISBN 978-3-8340-1468-9

Web links

Wiktionary: communicative competence  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dr. Ulrich Zeuner: Theses on intercultural regional studies Discussion material for the colloquium on "Intercultural regional studies in the theory and practice of foreign-language German teaching at universities and colleges." Dresden October 9 and 10, 1997 ( Memento of the original from April 27, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tu-dresden.de
  2. ↑ McDonough, Jo & Shaw, Christopher: Materials and Methods In ELT: a teacher's guide. -2nd ed., 2003, Blackwell Publishing
  3. ↑ ( Dieter Baacke 1999b: 32)
  4. ↑ Paul Watzlawick , Janet H. Beavin / Don D. Jackson: Human communication - forms, disorders, paradoxes. Huber, Bern 1969, ISBN 3-456-83457-8