Learners Competences A teacher should know learners competences

Learner’s Competences

�A teacher should know learners’ competences because their competences affect their ability to communicate. � Learners’ competence can be considered under two main topics: � General Competences � Communicative Language Competences

I- General Competences � A) Declarative knowledge � Knowledge of the world � Socio-cultural knowledge � Intercultural awareness � B) Skills and Know-how � C) Existential competence � D) Ability to Learn

A) Declarative Knowledge � Knowledge of the World: � Knowledge gained from experience and formal education � Language teachers should not assume that learners have knowledge of the world sufficient for the purpose: Knowledge of the world includes too many things

� Related to declarative knowledge, teachers can ask these questions while considering their objectives (using CEFR) � What knowledge of the world will the learner be required to possess? � What new knowledge of the world will be needed?

� Sociocultural Knowledge: � Knowledge of the society and culture of the community in which the language is spoken. � Some of the features of this knowledge are: Everyday living (food and drink, hobbies…) � Living conditions (housing conditions…) � Interpersonal relations (relations at work…) � Values, beliefs and attitudes (social class, traditions…) � Body language � Social conventions (punctuality, dressing…) � Ritual behavior (birth, marriage, death, celebrations…) �

� Intercultural Awareness: � Knowledge of the similarities and differences between the two cultures (origin and target). � Related to declarative knowledge, teachers can ask these questions while considering their objectives (using CEFR) � What previous sociocultural experience is the learner required to have? � What knowledge and awareness of the relation between home and target cultures will the learner need to develop?

B) Skills and Know-How (Ability) � The practical skills and know-how that the learner needs to communicate effectively in the target culture � Social skills � Living skills � Professional/vocational skills � Leisure skills

C) Existential Competence � Selfhood factors that affect learners � Attitudes � Motivations � Values � Beliefs � Cognitive styles � Personality types

D) Ability to Learn � Ability to observe and participate in new experiences and to make connections between the new and existing knowledge � Language and communication awareness (principles, the language…) � General phonetic awareness and skills (pronunciation…) � Study skills (using the learning opportunities effectively) � Heuristic skills (creativity, problem solving…)

II- COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE COMPETENCES � Mainly has three components � A) Linguistic competence � B) Sociolinguistic competence � C) Pragmatic competence

A) Linguistic Competence � Knowledge � Linguistic of diverse language systems competence has several classifications. � a) Lexical Competence: knowledge and ability to use the vocabulary of a language � CEFR p. 112

� b) Grammatical Competence: knowledge of and ability to use the grammatical resources of a language. � !!! Grammatical competence is the ability to understand express meaning by producing and recognizing wellformed phrases and sentences (not memorizing and reproducing them as fixed formulae)! � CEFR, p. 114

� c) Semantic Competence: learners’ awareness and control of the organization of meaning � e. g. � References � Connotation � synonym/antonym � Collocation (differences with the use of “do” and “make”

� d) Phonological Competence: perception and production of sounds � For CEFR, p. 117 � e) Orthographic and Orthoepic Competence: knowledge of writing conventions (spelling, punctuation, paragraphing, etc)

B) Sociolinguistic Competence � Knowledge and skills required to deal with the social dimension of language use. � a) Linguistic Markers of Social Relations: e. g. saying “Hello! Good Morning!” when you see someone � b) Politeness Convention: e. g. appropriate use of “Please”

� c) Expressions of Folk Wisdom: e. g. proverbs, idioms � d) Register Differences: e. g. knowledge of formal/informal language � e) Dialect and Accent: recognizing different accents of different groups � CEFR, p. 122

C) Pragmatic Competence � Learners’ knowledge of the principles of the language � a) Discourse Competence: ability to arrange sentences and produce coherent language. � CEFR, p. 124 -125

� b) Functional Competence: use of spoken discourse and written text for a particular function. � CEFR, p. 129