Student-Student Interaction Review of Related Theories
communication is spontaneous. Speakers need to negotiate meaning based on what is unclear to them. To achieve communicative competence, students need
to be competent in four aspects: linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic competence Canale in Savagnon 1998.
According to Canale cited in Savagnon 1998 linguistic competence which is also called grammatical competence concerns students
’ use of lexis, syntax, and structures. Sociolinguistic competence concerns student
s’ appropriate use of language in different situations and settings. Discourse
competence refers to the speakers’ ability to form oral and written language appropriately and meaningfully. As suggested by the term itself, strategic
competence relates to the use of strategies that can be used to make up for the inadequate abilities in other aspects of competence.
Richards 2006:3 states that communicative competence includes the following aspects of language knowledge:
1 Knowing how to use language for a range of different purposes and
functions 2
Knowing how to vary our use of language according to the setting and the participants e.g., knowing when to use formal and informal
speech or when to use language appropriately for written as opposed to spoken communication
3 Knowing how to produce and understand different types of texts
e.g., narratives, reports, interviews, conversations 4
Knowing how to maintain communication despite having limitations in one’s language knowledge e.g., through using different kinds of
communication strategies
Wesche and Skehan cited in Savagnon 2002 describe CLT as: 1
Activities that require frequent interaction among learners or with other interlocutors to exchange information and solve problems.
2 Use of authentic non-pedagogic texts and communication activities
linked to “real-world” contexts, often emphasizing links across written and spoken modes and channels.
3 Approaches that are learner centered in that they take into account
learners’ backgrounds, language needs, and goals and generally allow learners some creativity and role in instructional decisions.
Berns in Littlewood 1981 points out the summary of eight principles of CLT: 1
Language teaching is based on a view of language as communication. It means that language is seen as a social tool that
speakers use to make meaning and to communicate about something to someone for some purpose.
2 Diversity is recognized and accepted as part of language
development and use in second language learners and users, as it is with first language users.
3 A learner’s competence is considered in relative, not in absolute,
terms. 4
More than one variety of a language is recognized as a viable model for learning and teaching.
5 Culture is recognized as instrumental in shaping speakers’
communicative competence, in both their first and subsequent languages.
6 No single methodology or fixed set of techniques is prescribed.
7 Language use is recognized as serving ideational, interpersonal, and
textual functions and is related to the development of learners’ competence in each.
8 It is essential that learners be engaged in doing things with language.
They use the language for a variety of purposes in the teaching and learning process.
CLT puts the focus on the learners. The student s’ expectations and
attitudes play a role in advancing or impeding curricular change.