Communicative Competence Acquisition in English Language Teaching

Posted on Oct 16, 2025 in Other civil servant exams

Methods and Techniques for Communicative Competence Acquisition

Specific Methodological Foundations in English Language Teaching

This essay aims to analyze the methods and techniques dealing with the acquisition of communicative competence in a foreign language. For this purpose, we will review the main methods and approaches used to teach a foreign language communicatively.

Secondly, we will deeply consider the concepts of Approach, which deals with the theory of language learning, including objectives, syllabus, teaching and learning activities, the roles of the learners, the teacher, the materials, and the procedure. The third part of the essay will focus on Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and the Task-Based Approach (TBA), which are the two primary methods followed when teaching English at school. Finally, we will compile the main conclusions and the bibliography used.

Legal Framework for Foreign Language Learning

The legal framework governing foreign language learning includes:

The Organic Law 2/2006 of Education (May 3rd), modified by the Organic Law 8/2013 for the Improvement of Educational Quality (December 9th). Section XII of its preamble establishes that “the command of a second or third language has become a priority in the Education field, as a consequence of the globalization process we live in.”
The Order ECD/65/2015 (January 21st), which establishes the relationship among the key competences, contents, and evaluation criteria in Primary Education.
The Royal Decree 126/2014 (February 28th), which establishes the Minimum Teaching Requirements for Primary Education. Article 7, Objective F, states: “to acquire basic communicative competence, in at least, one foreign language to enable expression and comprehension of simple messages and survive in everyday situations.”
The Order EDU/519/2014 (June 17th), modified by the Order EDU 278/2016 (April 8th), which establishes the minimum contents for Primary Education in the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León.

1. Methods Focusing on Communicative Competence Acquisition

1.1. The Communicative Approach (CLT)

The Communicative Approach was born in the 1970s as a reaction to the Audiolingual Method, which paid more attention to structure than to function. It was influenced by Chomsky’s generative grammar and Michael Halliday’s functional grammar. Dell Hymes emphasized communicative competence, and Canale and Swain established four subcompetences:

Grammatical competence
Discursive competence
Sociolinguistic competence
Strategic competence

These four skills are complemented by socio-cultural competence.

Goal and Principles

The goal of the Theory of Learning is for the learner to acquire communicative competence. Its main principle is that meaningful activities involving real communication promote learning.

Syllabus and Activities

The Communicative Approach is based on a functional-notional syllabus, which has a strong situational element. Functions must be presented contextualized in situations. Moreover, CLT believes that the practice of communicative activities will produce an unconscious learning of the language structures. Activities must be interactive, unpredictable, contextualized, and authentic.

Teacher and Learner Roles

The teacher must be a facilitator, participant, and monitor, whereas the learner has a higher degree of involvement in their own learning process. Learners’ opinions, feelings, and motivation are taken into account, and they have greater autonomy from the teacher. Children are encouraged to work independently.

Materials

Materials could include:

Text-based materials: Textbooks.
Task-based materials: Games or role-play.
Realia materials: Magazines or maps.

Above all, we must take advantage of new technologies, which are essential in every English lesson, offering a great variety of visual and aural resources that are highly motivating for students. The CLT procedure handles the presentation, practice, and production stages, aiming at accuracy, fluency, and appropriacy.

1.2. The Natural Approach

Its main goal is to promote subconscious acquisition of the language. The main principles are:

It emphasizes acquisition rather than learning.
Acquisition takes place when learners have understood comprehensible input.
The learner’s emotional state (affective filter) is important.

The procedure requires the teacher to maintain a constant flow of comprehensible input and then devise activities focused on students’ interests and needs to develop basic communicative skills. Materials help to understand the input and often come from realia rather than from textbooks. The teacher is the primary source of comprehensible input and should create an interesting and friendly atmosphere.

On the other hand, as we are in an era of globalization, integrated learning is becoming a modern strategy to equip students with the adequate skills to manage in the global age.

1.3. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)

CLIL embraces different approaches in which some school subjects are covered through a foreign language, with goals and outcomes related to both content and the foreign language.

2. Techniques Focusing on Communicative Competence Acquisition

The techniques described next are typically used in the fluency practice stage and encourage real communication.

2.1. Pair and Group Work

These techniques improve students’ amount of talking time and encourage cooperative learning because communicative situations are multiplied. Advantages include:

More practice opportunities.
Improved personal relationships.
Similarity to real-life interaction.
Increased self-confidence.

2.2. Total Physical Response (TPR) Activities

Students learn the language through physical activity. Its principles are:

Comprehension abilities precede productive skills.
Teaching should focus on meaning.
It reduces learner stress.
The verb in the imperative is the central linguistic form.

Activities include classroom instructions, listen-and-do exercises, or TPR songs such as “Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes.”

2.3. Functional Communication Activities

These are activities in which students look for information (e.g., following directions on a map) or solve problems (e.g., comparing sets of pictures or discovering missing features).

2.4. Social Interaction Activities

These activities practice social abilities and encourage oral production. Examples include dialogues and role-plays.

2.5. Humanistic Activities

These use the students’ lives, feelings, and opinions for interpersonal exchange. Activities can involve describing personal experiences, giving opinions, discussions, exchanging letters, or reaching a consensus.

2.6. Projects

Projects ensure communicative uses of spoken and written English. They help students develop good study skills, provide opportunities for skill integration, link the classroom with the real world, and encourage social skills. Projects must be carefully planned, and the role of the teacher is crucial. Examples include a class magazine with articles or a presentation about traditions in English-speaking countries.

3. Methodological Principles in Foreign Language Teaching

These principles influence the Foreign Language Teaching context and have shaped the design of the current curriculum in Primary Education:

Language is an instrument of communication, and the goal is the students’ communicative competence.
Contextualization of language is more relevant than grammar.
Emphasis should be placed on cooperative learning and comprehensible input.
Errors must be seen as natural and logical in the learning process.
Teachers should respect a learner’s natural silent period until they demonstrate a desire to communicate and feel ready for it.
The classroom atmosphere must be interesting and friendly.
Oral skills precede written ones.
Simple language elements that focus on students’ interests should be taught before others that are complex and more distant from the students’ real life.

4. Conclusion

The goal of current Foreign Language Teaching is for the student to achieve communicative competence. Therefore, the teacher must be aware of the principles and procedures of the Communicative Approach, which incorporates the social dimension of language and the ability to use language effectively. This awareness has important implications for establishing the syllabus, activities, and language teaching techniques.

Bibliography

COUNCIL OF EUROPE. (2003). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
EMMER, E.T. & GERWELS, M.C. (2002). Cooperative Learning in elementary classrooms: Teaching practices and lesson characteristics. The Elementary School Journal.
GARDNER, H. (2001): Reformulated Intelligence. Multiple Intelligences in XXI Century. Buenos Aires: Paidós.
HARMER, J. (2008). The Practice of English Language Teaching (4th ed.). London: Longman.
NUNAN, D. (2010): Language Teaching Methodology. University Press.