Brown's discussion of communicative competence highlights many points important to language learning. He states that there is more of a focus on the cultural aspects of language learning than just learning grammatical concepts. This means that to demonstrate communicative competence one can't just use rote memorization of vocabulary or grammar rules, but must be able to apply what they've learned in the social context of the language he or she is learning. (For example, various languages have differences in how differntiates between individuals, or phrases that are only used in certain situations.) Brown states that language is used as an interactive communication between individuals, and takes Chomsky's ideas about language even further. Our relationship to language is relative.
I thought Canale and Swain's descriptions of the four different linguistic competencies made a lot of sense (more so than Bachman's reinterpretation which came later). These competencies included grammatical competence, discourse competence, sociolinguistic competence, and strategic competence. Grammatical competence is the most basic level, indicating an understanding of a language's grammar rules. Discourse competence is the next step, the ability to take all of those grammar rules and use them to connect sentences together to "form a meaningful whole." Next, sociolinguistic competence allows language speakers to understand the social and cultural implications behind saying a particular thing. Finally, strategic competence is a "compensatory strategy" that takes place when verbal and nonverbal communication is needed to fill in a breakdown in a conversation. I was able to think of all of these competencies in terms of speaking Italian. First I learned grammar rules, syntax, and constructs. Then I was able to begin forming sentences on my own and speaking to people. As time wore on, I got better at speaking with more nuance. I could use specific idioms to describe situations, and I could recognize different relationships. However, my communication would still break down sometimes and I'd have to use body language to fill in the gaps.
I also really appreciated the part of the article that lists Halliday's many examples of language functions. It's suggested that teachers of second languages design syllabi around these different functions, and I think it's an important way to learn in keeping with the host language's culture. When I studied in Rome the different levels of Italian classes had field studies that took part in these type of activities. The 100 level courses, who were just starting out, learned essentials like how to introduce themselves, how to greet people, and how to order. They were tasked with going out into the neighborhood behind our school to order gelato and interact with the shopkeepers (we were jealous that they got this task!). My 300 level class had to practice different types of skills. We'd spent a lot of time studying different neighborhoods in Rome. One day we visited one of those neighborhoods, interviewed residents, identified certain features, and had to follow complicated navigational directions (almost like an elaborate scavenger hunt). These activities could be difficult, but they were really beneficial. All of the Italian classes each had a cooking class with their teacher in which different levels of Italian were required to be maintained throughout.
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