Page 37 - Second language development of newly arrived migrant kindergarteners - Frederike Groothoff

Theoretical perspectives 37 In this dissertation the concept of communicative competence is broken down into four segments based on Canale (1983) because these are the core components of the theory: grammatical competence (although for present purposes the term linguistic competence used by Celce-Murcia et al., 1995, is preferred), sociocultural competence, discourse competence, and strategic competence. Linguistic competence focusses on the skills and knowledge required to accurately express and understand the literal meaning of utterances. It therefore includes features and rules of the language, like for example vocabulary, the formation of words or sentences, pronunciation and spelling. Sociocultural competence refers to the appropriate use of words and sentences. Whether or not something is appropriate depends on many different contextual factors, for example the status of the participants, the purpose of the interaction, and many different conventions of interaction. Whether or not something is appropriate also depends on the cultural context and the different languages the interlocutors speak or know. Discourse competence implies combining grammatical forms and meanings to realize a cohesive and coherent piece of spoken or written text in different genres. Is the order of the sentences logical and can the reader or listener follow the story? Finally, strategic competence concerns how to use verbal and non-verbal communication strategies in an effective way. Strategies can be used to compensate for a breakdown in communication (e.g. overcoming the fact that you do not know a specific word by describing it or acting out) or to enhance the effectiveness of the communication (e.g. slowing down your speech when you want to emphasize something). Accordingly, second language research should approach second language development more holistically. The goal is to assess multiple aspects of language to capture all segments of communicative competence. With a narrative instrument all aspects of communicative competence can be assessed as the narrator needs to use vocabulary and grammar (linguistic competence) to tell a story, but he or she also needs to tell a coherent story (discourse competence). Furthermore, a narrator needs to adjust to the interlocutor and thus show sociocultural competence; finally, strategic competence can help make the communication more effective. 2.4 Second language learning The language used in the schools of the participants in this study was new to them. These pupils are therefore called second language learners of Dutch. However, it has to be said that Dutch was not always the second, but maybe the third or fourth language they have encountered in their young lives. In this section, bilingualism and second language learning are first briefly introduced. Second, more detail is given about how receptive vocabulary and narrative ability develop in a second language.