skanowanie0013 (49)

of a theory of communication. These theories, together with humanistic psychology, gave rise to new hypotheses, methods, approaches, and techniąues. Attention to semantics gave the leamer a variety of behavioural, linguistic, and paralinguistic ałternatives (gestures, sounds, stance, etc.) to convey a message. Attention to communicative theory enabled the leamer to realise that sińce every speech act takes place in a specific social situation, he/she must be aware of the people (number, age, sex, roles, status, personality, etc.), the place, the time, and the topie, in order to determine whether he/she will need to use a colloąuial, informal, or formal variety of English in communicating. Moreover, appropriateness and acceptability of speech in the particular social situation are as important as accuracy of pronunciation or grammar.

2.5.2. A new objective offoreign language teaching

The objective of foreign language teaching has become the development of communicative competence.

Communicative competence is the ability not only to apply the grammatical rules of a language in order to form grammatically correct sentences but also to know when and where to use these sentences and to whom. Communicative competence includes:

-    knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary of the language,

-    knowledge of rules of speaking (e.g. knowing how to be gin and end conversations, knowing what topics may be talked about in dijferent types of speech events, knowing which address forms should be used with dijferent persons one speaks to and in dijferent situations,

—    knowing how to use and respond to dijferent types of speech acts, such as reąuests, apologies, thanks, and invitations,

—    knowing how to use language appropriately. (Richards 1992: 65)

In order to achieve communicative competence, a functional-notional approach has been adopted by language teachers. It

integrates communication theory, attention to grammar, to semantics, to situation, and to humanistic psychology.

As the communicative approach encourages the speaker to sort out the soęiological situation through the selection of lexical and grammątical units, its approach to grammar and vocabulary is ąuite different when compared to traditional teaching. It is different not only as far as the content of teaching is ćoncemed but also in the form óf teaching.

The communicative teaching of a foreign language is directed to a situation of everyday practieal life where language is used as a tool for communication, a tool mąking possible our existence in a given language environment

The communicative approach is manifested mainly in the teaching/learning process and teaching materials. The syllabus underlying communicative language teaching is notional or notional -functional syllabus. Here, the language content is arranged according to the meanings a leamer needs to express through language, and the functions the leamer will use the language for.

2.5.3. Basic principles of Communicative Language Teaching

•    Learners recognize and know the aim and objectives of all exercises and activities in which they are involved.

•    Classroom work is aimed at the situational and contextualized use of particular language.

•    All learners according to their knowledge, ability, and skill are actively involved.

•    The content of imagined aętivities are presented and madę real to the learner through pictures, sketches, diagrams, etc.

•    Content and methodology depend on the previous age-determined and socially-determined knowledge of the leamer.

•    Acąuired techniąueś of leaming and practising are prereąuisites for the development in learners of self-sufficiency, security, ęooperation, and initiative.

•    The teaching/leaming process is marked by the variety of means of-leaming.

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