Communication in the mother tongue

Articol postat la 8 December 2009.

1. Communication in the mother tongue

Communication is the ability to express and interpret thoughts, feelings and facts in both oral and written form in the full range of societal and cultural contexts — work, home and leisure.

The competence consists of the following elements of knowledge, skills and attitudes as appropriate to the context:

Knowledge

Sound knowledge of basic vocabulary, functional grammar and style, functions of language.
Awareness of various types of verbal interaction (conversations, interviews, debates, etc.) and the main features of different styles and registers in spoken language.
Understanding the paralinguistic features of communication (voice-quality features, facial expressions, postural and gesture systems).
Awareness of different types of literary text (fairy tales, myths, legends, poems, lyric poetry, theatre, short stories, novels) and their main features as well as types of non-literary text (CVs, applications, reports, editorials, essays, speeches, etc.) and their main features.
Understanding the main features of written language (formal, informal, scientific, journalistic, colloquial, etc.).
Awareness of the variability of language and communication forms over time and in different geographical, social and communication environments.

Skills

Ability to communicate, in written or oral form, and understand, or make others understand, various messages in a variety of situations and for different purposes. Communication includes the ability to listen to and understand various spoken messages in a variety of communicative situations and to speak concisely and
clearly. It also comprises the ability to monitor whether one is getting one’s message across successfully and the ability to initiate, sustain and end a conversation in different communicative contexts.
Ability to read and understand different texts, adopting strategies appropriate to various reading purposes (reading for information, for study or for pleasure) and to various text types.
Ability to write different types of texts for various purposes. monitor the writing process (from drafting to proof-reading).
Ability to search, collect and process written information, data and concepts in order to use them in study and to organise knowledge in a systematic way. Ability to distinguish, in listening, speaking, reading and writing, relevant from irrelevant information.
Ability to formulate one’s arguments, in speaking or writing, in a convincing manner and take full account of other viewpoints, whether expressed in written or oral form.
Skills needed to use aids (such as notes, schemes, maps) to produce, present or understand complex texts in written or oral form (speeches, conversations, instructions, interviews, debates).

Attitudes

Development of a positive attitude to the mother tongue, recognising it as a potential source of personal and cultural enrichment.
Disposition to approach the opinions and arguments of others with an open mind and engage in constructive and critical dialogue.
Confidence when speaking in public.
Willingness to strive for aesthetic quality in expression beyond the technical correctness of a word/phrase.
Development of a love of literature.
Development of a positive attitude to intercultural communication.

Source:

Key competences for lifelong learning – A European Reference Framework