Part 2: Communicative competence at school
Let's look at some examples from real-world classes:
Geography lesson:
Per il testo completo di questo video, apritelo nel repositorio dei video di questo sito.
Per il testo completo di questo video, apritelo nel repositorio dei video di questo sito.
These are communication choices that benefit everyone, not just newly arrived or neurodivergent students.
Per il testo completo di questo video, apritelo nel repositorio dei video di questo sito.
In this short video, we see a teacher preparing her students for their first geography test with her. She explicitly explains not only how she wants the students to approach this specific test on Spain (e.g., you have one hour), but also how tests are generally conducted in her class (e.g., don’t limit yourselves to the information in the textbook), as well as the general rules for tests (e.g., tests are taken in silence).
But why do we have to explain even the most “obvious” things?
Do the students really not know that tests are taken in silence? Don’t they know that high grades are awarded not only for correct answers, but also for the most complete answers? Do they really not know that they’re supposed to raise their hands if they have a question?
It’s true, sometimes students don’t know that! And sometimes what works in your own class doesn’t work in a colleague’s.
It is important to remember that what seems completely natural and “obvious” to us is actually cultural and “learned.” In the school setting, it is our responsibility to explain and model for students the communication skills appropriate for the school context: that is, not only which language to speak and write in, but also how much, when, and how to express themselves in various school situations.
Math Lesson:
German lesson:
As time goes on, however, the students and teachers gradually build a sense of community and begin to understand exactly what to expect from one another.
In this short video, we see a math teacher with a lively class eagerly awaiting recess. When they return from recess, however, they’ll have to get back to the lesson. This interaction is part of a routine that repeats itself every week.
Here, the teacher employs three very effective strategies:
Explain slowly and clearly to the students what they can expect after recess
Use the whiteboard to create a timeline and outline general objectives for the next class
She maintains—with a calm demeanor, without yelling—the rules she established during the year with this class (e.g., she will respect their time if they respect hers.)
It may not seem like it, but these actions are linguistic choices—communication choices! (1) She enunciates clearly and speaks slowly, (2) writes on the board what she has explained verbally, and (3) makes sure that what she says isn’t drowned out by the students’ chatter.
Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a new student or someone learning a second language: here we are in a German class.
In this video, we see the teacher (of German as a second language) explaining to the students how their presentations on the topic of “travel” will be graded. In doing so, she uses the same strategies for “explaining the obvious” that we saw in the first video. As in the previous video, here too the teacher explains her expectations slowly and clearly, and uses the board to outline the grading criteria.
Here we also see another technique: the use of body language and gestures to emphasize the meaning of what is being said. While this technique may come naturally to some teachers, and is often used by language teachers, it is a very simple technique that can be used in all subjects.
These three examples are meant to show that there are no non-linguistic subjects!
Opening and closing moments like those shown in the three videos can be found in every lesson, in every subject. They do not necessarily consist of complex discussions about “content,” but these interactions activate students’ prior knowledge, preview the lesson’s content, and thus prepare students for engagement.
Preparing students for oral interaction increases participation and creates richer opportunities for the co-construction of meaning. Studies on linguistic socialization, communicative repertoires, and communicative competence show that participation in classroom discourse is a social and relational process, mediated by school norms and the opportunities for interaction provided by teachers. This applies to all students, but especially to those who need additional language support.
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Hymes, D. (1972). On communicative competence. In J. B. Pride & J. Holmes (Eds.), Sociolinguistics: Selected readings (pp. 269–293). Penguin.
Ochs, E., & Schieffelin, B. B. (1984). Language acquisition and socialization: Three developmental stories and their implications. In R. A. Shweder & R. A. LeVine (Eds.), Culture theory: Essays on mind, self, and emotion (pp. 276–320). Cambridge University Press.
Blommaert, J., & Backus, A. (2011). Repertoires revisited: “Knowing language” in superdiversity (Working Papers in Urban Language & Literacies No. 67). King’s College London.