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061038 Kana Zaima
～ Introduction ～
When we communicate with someone, most of us speak unconsciously. However, there are four communication competences. It’s important to know these competences in learning second language.
1.Grammatical competence （文法能力）
This competence is to understand vocabulary, grammatical meaning and form and express them. This competence requires us to use them correctly.
(e.g.) × I’ll go shopping with Miyako if it will rain tomorrow.
○ I’ll go shopping with Miyako if it rains tomorrow.
When we talk about future and use ‘if’ in the clause, we cannot use ‘will’. Even if we talk about future, we say ‘if it rains’, use the present tense not a future tense.
People who know this rule cannot always use this sentence correctly in the conversation. Knowing these rules and using them with correctness means we have this competence.
2. Socio-linguistic competence （社会言語学能力）
This competence means making correct choices of which expressions to use depending on the situation.
(e.g.) When we ask someone name, there are more than one ways.
1.
What is your name?
2.
Your name, please?
3.
May I have your name, please?
4.
Would you mind if I ask your name?
5.
Hey you, give me your name!
Sentence no.4 is the most polite, on the other hand, sentence no.1 is casual and it may sound cruel in some situations. No.5 is rude. If someone we haven’t met so far talks to us in this way, we will regard him as rude. This competence expects us to use the proper sentences in proper situations.
3. Discourse competence （談話能力）
Discourse is the ability to make a chain of sentences to make sentences that go

well together. There are two different kinds in this competence. One is grammatical and the other one is about meaning. a. Cohesion （文法的結合）
Mike gave me a camera. I really like the camera . (Indication) （指示）
I need an umbrella, but I don’t have one . (Substitution) （代用）
When did you leave? Three days ago . (Omission) （省略）
Here are examples of no cohesion.
・ I met a kind gentleman. I’d like to meet them again.
(‘Them’ is for the plural, so in this ‘them’ should be ‘him’.)
・ Shinji Ikari is so handsome. I wish it were my boyfriend.
(‘It’ is for object, not for person. This ‘it’ should be ‘he’.) b. Coherence （意味的結合）
A: That’s the telephone.
(This sentence doesn’t mean ‘That’s the telephone. Actually, it means ‘You’ve got a phone call.’)
B: I’m in the bath.
(It means ‘ I cannot take the phone call.’)
A: OK.
(It means ‘OK, I’ll get for you.)
～ The example of incoherence ～
A: When did he leave for Nakano in Tokyo?
B: Five meters high.
4. Strategic competence （方略的能力）
Even if we cannot come up with the proper expression or don’t know how to say something, we sometimes have to communicate in a circular way which is called circumlocution. In such situations, we may manage to make ourselves understood by verbal or non-verbal expressions as a way to compensate for not knowing the correct language to use. We call such competence strategic competence.
(e.g.) When we don’t know the word which means ‘dictionary’, we can say…
A: I’d like you to lend me your…
B: What do you need?
A: The thick book we can use when we find the unknown word. We can look up the word in it.

B: Oh, you need ‘dictionary’! OK! Here you are.
In this way, we can make ourselves understood and communication doesn’t break up. Even if we have small vocabulary, we can use body language or gesture.
～ Conclusion ～
There is a huge difference between ‘competence’ and ‘performance’. ‘Competence’ is what we know and ‘performance’ is what we do. It’s not enough to only have knowledge even if we have plenty of it. We need to practice and use what we know, in other words, our ‘competence’. Needless to say, learning something is definitely essential, but at the same time, we should practice to use what we’ve learned. We ought to focus on not only input but also output. Once we input something, it’s time to output them with positive attitude.