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Sociolinguistic competence Knowledge of sociocultural rules and rules of
discourse Strategic competence
Verbal and non-verbal strategies
Table 2.3 Components of Communicative Competence Fulcher Davidson, 2007, pp. 206-207
Fulcher and Davidson summarize those components of communicative competence
into three
competences called
grammatical competence,
sociolinguistic competence, and strategic competence 2007, pp. 206-207. Grammatical competence includes knowledge of lexical items and rules of
morphology, syntax, sentence-grammar semantics, and phonology. Sociolinguistic competence includes knowledge of sociocultural rules and rules of discourse to
help the speakers to understand the social meaning of the utterances and the speakers‟ intentions. Strategic competence helps to build the speakers‟ verbal and
non-verbal strategies to perform communication.
3. Construct of Speaking
Compared to writing, due to the nature and characteristics, speaking is regarded as a more complex process of thinking Hughes, 2002, p.10. In terms of
the production itself, there are some features of speaking that differentiate it from written language. Speaking is auraloral, transient, dynamic, context dependent,
and unplanned. It is delivered and maintained through audio and oral media which require listening and speaking skills. In terms of interaction, speaking is transient
because it is conducted during a temporary moment and within a short period of time in oral communication, meaning that the communication and the process of
exchaning information end as the speakers part. Speaking is also dynamic because
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each speaker can come up with and respond to ideas to let the speaking flow. Related to the ideas, speaking should be context dependent to carry out the
effective communication. Each speaker should speak as relevant as possible to the context. Last, speaking is unplanned. Most communication occurs without plan,
such as when running into a friend in a market and or when speaking about any topics randomly.
Different from speaking, writing is visualmotoric, non-transient, static, decontextualized, and planned. Writing requires visual and motoric activities
which require the language users to use their reading and writing skills.Writing is non-transient because as written language, it can be traced back at anytime, hence
long lasting. Considering the nature of writing, written language is static because it should refer to a main idea which is followed by the supporting sentences.
Writing itself is also decontextualized because it is one-way communication where the context is determined by one participant. Last, writing is planned
because the ideas and the topics should be arranged and planned before the texts are written. It also needs careful planning, starting from brainstorming of ideas
until revising the text. Considering the social aspects, spoken discourse is primary, rhetorical,
and inter-personal, while written discourse is secondary, logical, and contractual. As a mean of communication, spoken language is considered as the primary form
of interaction followed by written language. In terms of the function, spoken language is delivered to influence people, while written language is presented to
give logical argument and derive a conclusion. The last, spoken communication is
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maintained within relationships between the participants, whereas written language is maintained through the agreement and commitment to write.
Goh and Burns mention form or structure and meaning or content as cognitive aspects of speaking 2012, p. 36. The cognitive process itself includes
conceptualization of topic or knowledge, formulation and organization of ideas in speaker‟s mental lexicon, and articulation. During speaking, the cognitive process
is also carried out in the form of self-monitoring on metalinguistic knowledge such as the accuracy of grammar and pronunciation as well as rapid speech
production. Therefore, speaking is considered as a complex process of communication because when the speakers communicate ideas, they also monitor
their speech production at the same time. Adding to the cognitive components of speaking, the speakers should be able to communicate the message precisely,
accurately, and coherently with few pauses and hesitations. Failure to do so can cause communication breakdown.
In addition to the grammatical structures of language which consist of the morphological forms, syntactic patterns, and lexical items, communicative
competence also requires knowledge on the phonological forms Fulcher Davidson, 2007, p. 203. Therefore, the speakers should be able to pronounce the
words correctly. Fulcher also mentions that speaking is constructed by the knowledge of the vocabulary in addition to the structure of the target language
2003, p.21. Hence, proficient language users should be able to produce grammatically correct as well as meaningful sentences.
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4. Spoken English Proficiency Test TKBI
