COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCES
Ing. Lucia Šimurdová, Ing. Miroslava Bošnáková
Slovak University of Technology Bratislava,
Faculty of Materials Science and Technology Trnava
Institute of Engineering Pedagogy and Humanities
Department of Engineering Pedagogy and Psychology
Abstract
The authors of the article are dealing with theoretical analysis of the key competences
following to the Recommendations of the European Parliament and Council of Europe from
18 December 2006 about key competences for lifelong learning. In the mentioned document
are classified key competences and highlighted two communicative competences:
communication in mother tounge and communication in the foreign language. Consequently
is described comparison of communicative skills utilization in individual age categories,
including university students and adults. In the end the focus is on the Profile of political tools
of language education elaborated by the division of European Council of language politics.
Keywords
key competences, communication in mother tongue, communication in foreign languages,
communicative skills, plurilingualism
The Introduction
Global approach brings still new defiance to the inhabitants of European Union. All the
inhabitants must to dynamically adapt to the high-speed and nearly switch-over world.
Because of this, they all need wide scale of key competences.
In this causality Official reports of Europen Union create THE RECOMMENDATION OF
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 18 December 2006 on
key competences for lifelong learning, which is HAVING REGARD to:
1. The Lisbon European Council conclusions of 23-24 March 2000, which emphasised that
investing in people was crucial to Europe's place in the knowledge economy, and which
called upon Member States to "take steps to remove obstacles to teachers' mobility and to
attract high-quality teachers",
2. The Council Resolution of 27 June 2002 on lifelong learning, which invited the Member
States to improve the education and training of teachers involved in lifelong learning so that
they acquire the necessary skills for the knowledge society.
The recommendation sets out the minimum knowledge, skills and attitudes which all pupils
should have acquired by the end of initial education and training in order to take part in the
knowledge society and which, given their transversal nature, imply a greater degree of
collaboration and teamwork between teachers, as well as an approach to teaching that goes
beyond traditional subject boundaries. European Union entitled his recommendation as „Key
Competences for Lifelong Learning - a European Reference Framework „
Key Competences for Lifelong Learning - A European Reference Framework
This Framework sets out the eight key competences:
1. Communication in the mother tongue;
2. Communication in the foreign languages;
3. Mathematical competence and basic competences in science and technology;
4. Digital competence;
5. Learning to learn;
6. Interpersonal, intercultural and social competences and civic competence;
7. Entrepreneurship; and
8. Cultural expression.
Competences are defined here as a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate
to the context. Key competences are those which all individuals need for personal fulfilment
and development, active citizenship, social inclusion and employment. By the end of initial
education and training young people should have developed the key competences to a level
that equips them for adult life, and they should be further developed, maintained and updated
as part of lifelong learning.
Many of the competences overlap and interlock: aspects essential to one domain will support
competence in another. Competence in the fundamental basic skills of language, literacy,
numeracy and ICT is an essential foundation for learning, and learning to learn supports all
learning activities. There are a number of themes that are applied throughout the Framework:
critical thinking, creativity, initiative taking, problem solving, risk assessment, decision
taking, and managing feelings constructively play a role in all eight key competences.
Communication in the mother tongue
Definition: Communication in the mother tongue is the ability to express and interpret
thoughts, feelings and facts in both oral and written form (listening, speaking, reading and
writing), and to interact linguistically in an appropriate way in the full range of societal and
cultural contexts — education and training, work, home and leisure.
Essential knowledge, skills and attitudes related to this competence
Communication in the mother tongue requires an individual to have knowledge of basic
vocabulary, functional grammar and the functions of language. It includes an awareness of the
main types of verbal interaction, a range of literary and non-literary texts, the main features of
different styles and registers of language, and the variability of language and communication
in different contexts.
Individuals should have the skills to communicate in oral and written forms in a variety of
communicative situations and to monitor and adapt their own communication to the
requirements of the situation. Competence also includes the abilities to write and read
different types of texts, search, collect and process information, use aids, formulate and
express one’s own arguments in a convincing way appropriate to the context.
A positive attitude towards communication in the mother tongue involves a disposition to
critical and constructive dialogue, an appreciation of aesthetic qualities and a willingness to
strive for them, and an interest in interaction with others.
Communication in foreign languages
Definition: Communication in foreign languages broadly shares the main skill dimensions of
communication in the mother tongue: it is based on the ability to understand, express and
interpret thoughts, feelings and facts in both oral and written form (listening, speaking,
reading and writing) in an appropriate range of societal contexts — work, home, leisure,
education and training — according to one’s wants or needs. Communication in foreign
languages also calls for skills such as mediation and intercultural understanding. An
individual’s level of proficiency will vary between the four dimensions, different languages
and according to their background, environment and needs/interests.
Essential knowledge, skills and attitudes related to this competence
Competence in additional or foreign languages requires knowledge of vocabulary and
functional grammar and an awareness of the main types of verbal interaction and registers of
language. Knowledge of societal conventions, and the cultural aspect and variability of
languages is important.
Essential skills consist of the ability to understand spoken messages, to initiate, sustain and
conclude conversations and to read and understand texts appropriate to the individual’s needs.
Individuals should also be able to use aids appropriately, and learn languages also informally
as part of lifelong learning.
A positive attitude involves the appreciation of cultural differences and diversity, and an
interest and curiosity in languages and intercultural communication.
Communicative skills
Communicative skills are integrated skills, because they are all each other dissolved and
complemented. According to K. Šebesta (1999, s. 61) communication is realising in
accordance with teaching goals by acoustic and visual medium. Following this he classifies
communicative skills:
Table no 1Dividing of communicative skills
Acoustic medium
listening
speaking
Visual
reading
writing
medium
empirical
skills
productive
skills
.
Correct learning to learn support all the educational movements. Average human remember
(according to R.Hrmo, I.Turek,2003, s.71) circa:






10 % from reading,
20 % from listening,
30 % from visual form,
70 % from visual form and listening,
80 % from visual form,listening and speakig,
90 % from we practise themselves
Child in stage of language vindicated start look like the listener. He/she listen and starts
understand language earlier, then he/she can talk, read or write. Listening is the first
communicative skill, which the child practises. It is the bases for all the skills and also for
effective and cultural communication. Intensity of listening skills development belong to
fundamental condition of school readiness. And adults stay listener throught their whole life.
In the year 1926 P.T. Rankin with his colleagues from the Mitchigens´ University (according
to R.J. Tierney, 1990, s.318) measure quantity of the time, which people spend by using
diferent communicative skills during the day. He recognize, that around 70% people spend its
watchful time by communication, 42% by listening, 32% by talking, 15% by reading and 11%
by writing.
In the year 2002 was realisated the similar survey (according to J. Palenčárová, K. Šebesta,
2006), which showed bigger share of listening like in front of years.The results from the
research sample, which comprise 178 participants from diferent profession and whit diferent
ages (18 - 94 year) was showed, that 50% people spend its time by listening, 25% by
speaking, 15% by reading and 10% by writing. So we can say that adults spend more time by
listening, then by using other communicative skills. It is Interesting, that this results point to
the upthrow of the time, which people spend by speaking in compare with results from the
year 1926.
60%
50%
50%
42%
40%
32%
30%
25%
15% 15%
20%
10%
11% 10%
0%
Listening
1926
Speaking
Reading
Writing
2002
Figure no.1:Exploitation of communicative skills byadults during the day
In the year 1981 Barker with his collective (according to Z.Vybíral, 2000, s.101) published
results of his survey, which showed, that university students in the time, when they are
communicating, use 53% by listening, 16% by speaking, 17% by reading and 14% by
writing. These investigations were about six years later confirm.
The survey from the year 2002 (according to J.Palenčarová, K.Šebesta, 2006), with
participants from various types of Slovak university students (together 574 students), brought
following results. Average17-hours running day (from 600 to 2300 hours) consists of 45%
listening, 20% speaking, 18% reading and 17% writing. The time of listening in comparison
with results of survey from the year 1981 decrease, but it still stays the most used
communication ability. Positive is that, speaking has raising share. Raising of quantity time,
which students use to writing and reading, is probably caused by actual development of
electronic media, computers and mobile communication (popular SMS news).
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
53%
45%
16%
Listening
1981
20%
Speaking
17% 18%
14% 17%
Reading
Writing
2002
Figure no.2: Exploitation of communicative skills by university students during the day
According to survey (J.Palenčárová, K. Šebesta, 2006) we can formulate the proportion of
four basic communicative skills(listening,speaking, reading and writing) 8:4:3:2. The graph
number 3 shows the relative time, which uses individual age rank to the various
communicative activities.
50
40
30
20
10
0
Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing
adult
university student
1.level elementary school
2.level elementary school and secondary school
Figure no.3: Proportion of communicative skills
Profile of political tools of language education
Language politics division of European Council CE offers all his state members co-operation
and own collective experience and forms from them possibility to analyze and revaluate their
orientation in teaching languages. This division receives for state members possibility to
better score their own language political tools in a dialogue with expert from CE with
reference to aditional development of language politics in several countries.
Working-out of language educate profile is not evaluation, but it is a process of reflection
between representatives of citizens society and experts from CE are middle fingers in
dialogue, which they carry on.
This convention is diferent from other international conventions about language, because it
deals with languages in relation with teaching in the frame and also out of the frame of
national institutions. It study teaching of foreign languages, also national, public languages
and regional and minorities languages.
Magistracy of commision of control training and education CE reconciles request of
working-out the profile for the Slovak Republic. The Slovak Republic worked-out and
transfer the report in January 2005. It contains analysis element of the present stage, which
go out from Administration of The Slovak Republic and from perspective sketching of
politics language educational development in the Slovak Republic for purpose of
plurilingualism support and develop.
Conclusion
Communicative competence covers wide semantic field. It is bound up with communication
process and it reckons with all relevant objective and subjective components of the
communication situation. Communicative competence also implies that knowledges, which
select and use language and above-language facilities in diferent communication situation. In
communicative competences are included too further knowledges, which help talker to
communicate language and sociable abreast. It is not only language, but also sociable
problem.
My work is focused to this wide theme and it is aimed as theoretical survey of solving
problem. It consists of knowledge systematization and it is instrumental to starting point for
processing of language curiculum and also for possible needs analysis and it is a base for
working-out list of questions. In my work I point out, that key competences produce
unthinkable component of lifelong learning. I suggest solving problem in the future apply in
frame on-comming project VEGA dealing with key language competences.
References:
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