On Developing Communicative Competence
On Developing Students' Communicative Competence
Lou Ruijuan Most Chinese students, especially those with low foreign language levels, are used to memorizing the language but reluctant to speak in the target language. They may be familiar with the sentence patterns but do not know how to start and end a conversation and how to express themselves in a particular situation. So it is a main task for a teacher to develop students' communicative competence. I. Obstacles in Communication While it is difficult to enable low-level students to express themselves correctly and fluently in English in the classroom, the following troubles for them to communicate in English are realized. 1. Poor language abilities. Vocabulary is one major problem. New words always stand in their way of communication. Limited grammar knowledge is not enough to make themselves understood. Poor language ability often cause them to fail to understand what the teacher says in the class . They do not know what is introduction; they are confused about how do you do" and "what do you do". They may ask you "where are you come from." etc. 2. Lack of conversational strategies. Low level students have difficulties in conducting a real-life conversation . They hesitate to start and end conversation. They do not know when and what to speak in a particular situation. They are reluctant to express strong emotions such as excitement and surprise. 3. Less pressure on students. For low level students, most of their teachers are Chinese. They are more dependent on their teachers. Very often when they fail to understand and to express themselves, Chinese will be brought in for convenience. Their communication is usually filled with Chinese words and sentences. All these obstacles hamper students in English communication. So in the oral communicative class we teachers should be aware of it and our teaching should be adopted by it. II. Focus in communicative language teaching Today English is becoming a
Lou Ruijuan Most Chinese students, especially those with low foreign language levels, are used to memorizing the language but reluctant to speak in the target language. They may be familiar with the sentence patterns but do not know how to start and end a conversation and how to express themselves in a particular situation. So it is a main task for a teacher to develop students' communicative competence. I. Obstacles in Communication While it is difficult to enable low-level students to express themselves correctly and fluently in English in the classroom, the following troubles for them to communicate in English are realized. 1. Poor language abilities. Vocabulary is one major problem. New words always stand in their way of communication. Limited grammar knowledge is not enough to make themselves understood. Poor language ability often cause them to fail to understand what the teacher says in the class . They do not know what is introduction; they are confused about how do you do" and "what do you do". They may ask you "where are you come from." etc. 2. Lack of conversational strategies. Low level students have difficulties in conducting a real-life conversation . They hesitate to start and end conversation. They do not know when and what to speak in a particular situation. They are reluctant to express strong emotions such as excitement and surprise. 3. Less pressure on students. For low level students, most of their teachers are Chinese. They are more dependent on their teachers. Very often when they fail to understand and to express themselves, Chinese will be brought in for convenience. Their communication is usually filled with Chinese words and sentences. All these obstacles hamper students in English communication. So in the oral communicative class we teachers should be aware of it and our teaching should be adopted by it. II. Focus in communicative language teaching Today English is becoming a