TASK 14 -- Communicative approach

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Date Posted: 13:16:11 08/06/03 Wed
Author: Thiago Rodrigues Costa
Subject: TASK 14

Say how we can test communicative competence.

Since the purpose of communicative competence is the capacity to use language appropriately in real life situations, good communicative tests are focused on evaluating the performance of learners in real life situations that they would possibly face in the target language rather than their ability to produce grammatically correct sentences. So, According to Kitao & Kitao (1996), there are two main sets of skills that should be regarded while testing learners. In testing the productive skills, learners should use language appropriately rather than grammatically correct. In receptive skills, learners should understand the messages received, giving appropriate responses to these messages when necessary. These two sets are usually used together and have to take place in real time. Sometimes, it is possible to test different skills at the same time, since in real situations we almost never develop only one of the skills at time. So, at the same time learner�s listening skills are evaluated, the examiner can also test his / her writing skills, using tasks that concern the lestening and taking notes of some information simultaneously. The effectiviness of a communicative competence lies on its closeness to real life situations rather than in its results. Therefore, learners are successful in such test when they are able to use language to solve the problems proposed by the task.

Kitao & Kitao (1996) mention different examples of communicative tests that could be used, always regarding specific contexts, such as Information gap, role play, letter writing and summarizing.

A good example of a communicative test would be the following:
Testees work in pairs.
Student A � You work hard the whole day in an automobile plant and at night you want to sleep. However, your neighbor, who is also your friend has boght a big dog that barks all night long, and lately you have not slept very well because of it. You are going to talk to him/her about the dog and try to convence him/her to give his/her dog away. You have to be very polite and sincere, because you and your neighbors have been good friends for more than ten years and you don�t want to hurt his/her feelings. You have to start the conversation.

Student B � Your house has been robbed recently and you have bought a big dog to take care of it. However, your neighbor, who is also your friend works hard in an automobile plant during the whole day and has had huge difficulty to get to sleep lately because your dog barks all night long. He/She is going to talk to you about the situation and you have to be very sincere and polite with him/her because you have been friends for more than ten years. Remember that you don�t want to give your dog away because it really protects your house.

Source:
Kitao, S. & Kitao, K. �Testing Communicative Competence. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. II, No. 5, May 1996.

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Replies:

Re: TASK 14 -- Vera, 08:13:41 08/07/03 Thu