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Good morning, my names is… and the topic I’ve chosen to develop for this exposition is
1. Introduction
2. Language as communication
context.
5. Conclusion
7. Legislation
1. INTRODUCTION
speaking, listening, reading and writing. According to the LOMCE 8/2013, December 9th,
and more specifically the Decree 108/2014, July 4th, the main aim of English Language
the ability to use the language, but also to aspects related to the communicative context.
Moreover, learning English make our students able to perceive the diversity of our
analyse the main characteristics of oral and written language as well as the factors and
2. LANGUAGE AS COMMUNICATION
Firstly, communication and language are two concepts that must be defined.
system of verbal and non-verbal symbols. And we could analyse the definition of
language as a complex system of sounds, words and sentences with meaning. So we
could say that language as communication is a form of social interaction with a high
According to Saussure’s theory language is constituted of two parts: langue and parole.
And the linguistic communication is just not possible if these two don’t work together.
The langue represents the abstract system of language having signs, rules, and patterns;
and the parole is the language in use, which varies depending on the region. Saussure
argues that the goal of linguistics should be to identify the elements of a language, to
classify them and finally describe their combination rules in a synchronic structure.
Throughout the centuries three views of language have been distinguished: language-
Chomsky’s theory competence. For Chomsky, competence simply implied the knowledge
of the language system. Hymes maintained that Chomsky’s theory was incomplete, and
not only need the ability to use grammatical structures, but also to learn how to use them
in a community.
strategies.
completely.
system. The LOMCE highlights the importance of developing oral and written skills in
Primary Education; and the Decree 108/2014 establishes four blocks of contents for the
Now, let’s move on into another important aspect of this unit, which deals with the main
According to Lidfords, oral language is a complex system that relates sound to meaning,
o And the syntactic component consist of the rules that enable people to combine
oral language provides expressive possibilities: when speaking we can vary the tone,
the accent, the speed to underline the most important word of our speech or to show an
attitude, our interest, irony or scorn, like when we say great! or grate!
Oral language also let us use gestures and body language, which are an important
Besides, the spontaneity of oral language make a person build simple constructions and
rephrasing.
Finally, oral language includes many incomplete sentences, with more frequent active
symbols. The fact that writing is permanent allows more time for its preparation,
The participants in a written interaction are not usually present. Therefore, there is an
writing can be modified and it displays several unique features as punctuation, spelling,
space organization, capitalization and calligraphy, all this make the learning of this skill
more difficult. Lastly, written language tend to be more formal than oral language and
The knowledge of the characteristics of oral and written language allows teachers to
program activities which will develop each one of them in an appropriate way. The
practice of the oral and written communication can be provide through a combination
When they have to give instructions answering where is the supermarket on a map, they
are doing a meaningful practices, and if they are using language in a real communicative
Today, the FLT has incorporated the functional and communicative potential of language
into teaching. Language teaching now focuses on communicative proficiency rather than
on mastery structures. To practice the oral communication and ensure the skills of
o Language games, where students need to use language to achieve and objective.
o Reciting and singing, songs provide an amusing way to fix “chunks” of language.
find.
Regarding to the written communication, in the English class different activities could
o Writing instructions.
reinforcement. It will encourage them to practice both oral and written language, taking
After analysing some of the main aspects of the oral and written language, we should
take a look at the factors that take part in a communicative act and the pedagogical
implications derived from them. The components that make communication possible are
the addresser, the addressee, the message, the context, the purpose, the medium, the
The addresser and the addressee are the participants in the communicative act. The
addresser is the author of the massage and the addressee is the person or people to
try to change the traditional pattern teacher-students and create several interaction as
The context is the circumstances surrounding a message. In the English class the student
should not only be able to communicate a massage, but also learn how to select the
language form in a certain context. Role-plays are very useful to create different
situations.
The propose is the intention of a message, what the addresser wants to happen as a
result of what he or she says or writes. Communication in an English class will have always
an objective.
The medium is the means by the message is transmitted (speech or writing), and the
The code is the communication system. Language is the most frequent code, but there
are others extralinguintic codes like facial expressions. Non-verbal communication is very
Finally, the register is the style of the language and it could be formal, consultative,
casual, intimate or frozen. In the English classroom the registers used correspond to
students.
And what do we use language for? According to the linguist Roman Jakobson, there are
six general functions: the emotive function, the conative function, the referential function,
the poetic function, the phatic function and the metalingual function.
The emotive function is the expression of feeling and attitudes (wow!). It is directed to
the addresser.
The conative function is used to draw the addressee’s attention (excuse me!). It is
The referential function consist of the communication of ideas or facts, for example the
The poetic function is the language used for aesthetic purposes like a poem or as a
The phatic function is used to establish or maintain a social relationship like when we
say good morning or nice to meet you. It is directed toward the channel.
Lastly, metalingual function is used when language refers to itself. For example this is a
5. CONCLUSION
To conclude, in this topic we have analysed the main characteristics of the oral and
written skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Knowing the differences between
the oral and written language allows the English teachers to design programmes which
During the learning process we need to create a friendly environment in the class and
use positive reinforcement to encourage students to use the language, facing mistakes
communicate real meaning, because as Benjamin Franklin said: tell me and I forget, teach
Press.
o www.liguapress.com
7. LEGISLATION
o Organic Law 8/2013, December 9th, for the improvement of quality in education.
o Royal Decree 126/2014, February 28th, which establishes the basic curriculum for
Primary Education.
o Decree 108/2014, July 4th, which establishes the curriculum and develops the
o Law Decree 3/2017, September 1st, the current law in force which regulates