components of communicative competence essay

Communicative Competence Definition, Examples, and Glossary

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• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

The term communicative competence refers to both the tacit knowledge of a language and the ability to use it effectively. It's also called  communication competence , and it's the key to social acceptance.

The concept of communicative competence (a term coined by linguist Dell Hymes in 1972) grew out of resistance to the concept of linguistic competence introduced by Noam Chomsky . Most scholars now consider linguistic competence to be a part of communicative competence.

Examples and Observations

"Why have so many scholars, from so many fields, studied communicative competence within so many relational, institutional, and cultural contexts? Our hunch is that scholars, as well as the contemporary Western societies in which most live and work, widely accept the following tacit beliefs: (a) within any situation, not all things that can be said and done are equally competent; (b) success in personal and professional relationships depends, in no small part, on communicative competence; and (c) most people display incompetence in at least a few situations, and a smaller number are judged incompetent across many situations." (Wilson and Sabee)

"By far the most important development in TESOL has been the emphasis on a communicative approach in language teaching (Coste, 1976; Roulet, 1972; Widdowson, 1978). The one thing that everyone is certain about is the necessity to use language for communicative purposes in the classroom. Consequently, the concern for teaching linguistic competence has widened to include communicative competence , the socially appropriate use of language, and the methods reflect this shift from form to function." (Paulston)

Hymes on Competence

"We have then to account for the fact that a normal child acquires knowledge of sentences not only as grammatical, but also as appropriate. He or she acquires competence as to when to speak, when not, and as to what to talk about with whom, when, where, in what manner. In short, a child becomes able to accomplish a repertoire of  speech acts , to take part in speech events, and to evaluate their accomplishment by others. This competence, moreover, is integral with attitudes, values, and motivations concerning language, its features and uses, and integral with competence for, and attitudes toward, the interrelation of language with the other code of communicative conduct." (Hymes)

Canale and Swain's Model of Communicative Competence

In "Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching and Testing" ( Applied Linguistics , 1980), Michael Canale and Merrill Swain identified these four components of communicative competence:

(i) Grammatical competence includes knowledge of phonology , orthography , vocabulary , word formation and sentence formation. (ii) Sociolinguistic competence includes knowledge of sociocultural rules of use. It is concerned with the learners' ability to handle for example settings, topics and communicative functions in different sociolinguistic contexts. In addition, it deals with the use of appropriate grammatical forms for different communicative functions in different sociolinguistic contexts. (iii) Discourse competence is related to the learners' mastery of understanding and producing texts in the modes of listening, speaking, reading and writing. It deals with cohesion and coherence in different types of texts. (iv) Strategic competence refers to compensatory strategies in case of grammatical or sociolinguistic or discourse difficulties, such as the use of reference sources, grammatical and lexical paraphrase, requests for repetition, clarification, slower speech, or problems in addressing strangers when unsure of their social status or in finding the right cohesion devices. It is also concerned with such performance factors as coping with the nuisance of background noise or using gap fillers. (Peterwagner)

Resources and Further Reading

• Canale, Michael, and Merrill Swain. “Theoretical Bases Of Communicative Approaches To Second Language Teaching And Testing.” Applied Linguistics , I, no. 1, 1 Mar. 1980, pp. 1-47, doi:10.1093/applin/i.1.1.
• Chomsky, Noam. Aspects of the Theory of Syntax . MIT, 1965.
• Hymes, Dell H. “Models of the Interaction of Language and Social Life.” Directions in Sociolinguistics: The Ethnography of Communication , edited by John J. Gumperz and Dell Hymes, Wiley-Blackwell, 1991, pp. 35-71.
• Hymes, Dell H. “On Communicative Competence.” Sociolinguistics: Selected Readings , edited by John Bernard Pride and Janet Holmes, Penguin, 1985, pp. 269-293.
• Paulston, Christina Bratt. Linguistics and Communicative Competence: Topics in ESL . Multilingual Matters, 1992.
• Peterwagner, Reinhold. What Is the Matter with Communicative Competence?: An Analysis to Encourage Teachers of English to Assess the Very Basis of Their Teaching . LIT Verlang, 2005.
• Rickheit, Gert, and Hans Strohner, editors. Handbook of Communication Competence: Handbooks of Applied Linguistics . De Gruyter, 2010.
• Wilson, Steven R., and Christina M. Sabee. “Explicating Communicative Competence as a Theoretical Term.” Handbook of Communication and Social Interaction Skills , edited by John O. Greene and Brant Raney Burleson, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003, pp. 3-50.
• Linguistic Competence: Definition and Examples
• Linguistic Variation
• Definition and Discussion of Chomskyan Linguistics
• 10 Types of Grammar (and Counting)
• Learn the Definition of Mental Grammar and How it Works
• Indeterminacy (Language)
• What Is the Lexical Approach?
• Indian English, AKA IndE
• Generative Grammar: Definition and Examples
• 6 Common Myths About Language and Grammar
• Universal Grammar (UG)
• Appropriateness in Communication
• Prescriptivism
• New Englishes: Adapting the Language to Meet New Needs
• English Grammar: Discussions, Definitions, and Examples
• Lexis Definition and Examples

2 Chapter 2: Language Proficiency and Communicative Competence

• Language proficiency is multidimensional and entails linguistic, cognitive, and sociocultural factors.
• As students learn a second language, they progress at different rates along a continuum of predictable stages.
• CAN DO Descriptors depict what students can do with language at different levels of language proficiency.
• Communicative competence involves more than linguistic or grammatical competence.
• Native languages, cultures, and life experiences are resources to be tapped and provide a solid foundation for learning language and content.

As you read the scenario below, think about English language learners (ELLs) you may know. What are their language proficiency levels? How is instruction planned to address their different content and language needs? Reflect on how knowledge of their English language proficiency might help teachers better address their unique needs and tap their strengths.

Scenario Rudi Heinz’s head was swimming: state content standards, national content standards, state English language development standards, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL) English language proficiency standards, WIDA [1] standards, district mandates, mandatory curriculum. It was becoming overwhelming to try to fit all of the different and sometimes conflicting objectives together into a coherent lesson. “How can I possibly teach all of this? Why do I have to worry about English language development standards anyway?” moaned Rudi to himself. “That’s the English department’s job—or the ELL teacher’s job—not mine! I teach history!” Suddenly the picture of a bumbling juggler (with himself in the lead role) trying to add one more item to his routine sprang into his mind. Like many others, Rudi was a creative guy with a passion for teaching. Sure, stress affected his ability to be creative, but he refused to give up. He drew courage, strength, and inspiration from the memory of the smiling and inquisitive faces of Roman, Marina, Yelena, Augusto, Faridah, and Kumar. Rudi turned once again to the history and English language proficiency standards spread out before him. Each one of his English learners was a unique individual with specific strengths and weaknesses in both language and content. These diverse needs made lesson planning challenging, but his ELL kids were counting on him to find a way to communicate with them. Rudi was determined to do just that.

STOP AND DO

To assist you with the pronunciation of many foreign names, visit How to Say that Name.com. Many names are available with audio files by native speakers.

STOP AND THINK

Think about the English learners you know. What information do you already have that would help to inform the strategies you can use to meet their instructional needs? What information do you still need to obtain?

Language Proficiency

Language proficiency can be defined as the ability to use language accurately and appropriately in its oral and written forms in a variety of settings (Cloud, Genesee, & Hamayan, 2000). Kern (2000) developed a broad conceptual framework for understanding language proficiency that includes three dimensions of academic literacy: linguistic, cognitive, and sociocultural. To be proficient in a language requires knowledge and skills using the linguistic components. It also requires background knowledge, critical thinking and metacognitive skills, as well as understanding and applying cultural nuances, beliefs, and practices in context. Finally, being proficient in a language requires skill in using appropriately the four language domains—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—for a variety of purposes, in a variety of situations, with a variety of audiences.

Language Domains

There are four language domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Although these four domains are interrelated, they can develop at different rates and independently of one another. These four domains can be classified as receptive or productive skills and as oral or written. The matrix in Figure 2.1 depicts the four language domains.

Figure 2.1 Language domains. Receptive language refers to the information someone receives through listening or reading activities. Listening. English learners process, understand, and respond to spoken language from a variety of speakers for a range of purposes in a variety of situations. Listening, however, is not a passive skill; it requires the active pursuit of meaning. Reading. English learners process, interpret, and evaluate written words, symbols, and other visual cues used in texts to convey meaning. Learning to read in a second language may be hindered or enhanced by students’ levels of literacy in their native languages. Students who have strong reading foundations in their first languages bring with them literacy skills that can typically be transferred to the process of learning to read in English. Productive language refers to the information produced to convey meaning. The very nature of productive language implies an audience, although not always an immediate audience, as in the case of writing a book or an e-mail. Speaking. English learners engage in oral communication in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes and audiences in a wide array of social, cultural, and academic contexts. Contextual roles for getting and keeping the floor, turn taking, and the way in which children converse with adults are only a few examples. Writing. English learners engage in written communication in a variety of forms for a variety of purposes and audiences. These forms include expressing meaning through drawing, symbols, and/or text. ELLs may come with writing styles and usages that are influenced by their home cultures. Understanding the different demands of each language domain aids educators in addressing the language learning needs of their ELLs. Note that proficiency in a language may vary across the four basic language skills. For example, think about the times we have heard an adult language learner say, “I can read German, but I can’t speak it at all.” Likewise, some ELLs may have stronger listening and speaking skills, while others might be stronger writers but not as strong when it comes to speaking. When assessing the proficiency levels of ELLs, it is important to take into account an individual student’s performances in each domain.

Rudi Heinz has learned that his sixth-grade ELL student, Faridah, scored at a Level 2 on the state’s English language proficiency (ELP) exam. However, this information provides an incomplete and misleading picture of Faridah’s needs and abilities. To address her language needs effectively, to understand the impact of her language proficiencies in the content areas, and to build on her language strengths, Rudi must uncover Faridah’s individual scores in every language domain and in combinations of domains. Faridah’s cumulative file holds a copy of the state’s language proficiency test, which she completed the previous spring. Here are the scores (on a scale from 1 to 4, with 4 being advanced proficiency):

Rudi felt some degree of success at locating the language proficiency information, but he still wondered what to do next. How are these scores helpful? What do they mean in the real-life context of the busy classroom?

English Language Proficiency

As students learn a second, third, or fourth language, they move along a continuum of predictable stages. Careful observation of and interaction with individual students aids educators in identifying each student’s level of language proficiency. This information is pivotal when planning appropriate instruction for ELLs. State English language proficiency (ELP) standards (e.g., Washington state ELPs at http://www.k12.wa.us/MigrantBilingual/ELD.aspx ) or multistate ELPs (e.g., TESOL’s 2006 PreK–12 English language proficiency Standards, or WIDA’s 2012 English language development standards at https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/resource/2012-ELD-Standards.pdf ) provide helpful guidance for teaching content across the four language domains. TESOL’s five preK–12 English language proficiency standards (see Figure 2.2) can guide teachers in helping ELs become proficient in English while, at the same time, achieving in the content areas.

Figure 2.2 PreK-12 Englis Language Proficiency Standards. Source: PreK-12 English Language Proficiency Standards by TESOL. Copyright 2006 by Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL). Reprinted with permission.

English Language Proficiency Levels

Students progress through the stages of language proficiency at different rates: some acquire nativelike competency in 7 years, some may take 10 years, while others may never reach that level. Most students learning a second language follow a similar route; that is, certain linguistic forms and rules are acquired early, whereas others tend to be acquired late, as illustrated in Figure 2.3. In other words, while most students follow the same path in learning English, their pace and rate are different depending on a variety of factors, such as native language, familiarity with the Latin alphabet, competence in the native language, age, previous schooling experiences, aptitude, motivation, personality, and other social and psychological factors.

Figure 2.3 Acquisition of English features While many states have developed their own sets of standards and may use four, five, or six proficiency levels or apply different labels for each stage (e.g., beginning, early intermediate, intermediate, early advanced, and advanced), the standards outline the progression of English language development in the four domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing through each of the different levels from novice to proficient.

Check examples of state English language proficiency standards for K–12 education on the website for the state of California at http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/englangdevstnd.pdf ; Illinois at https://www.isbe.net/Pages/English-Language-Learning-Standards.aspx ; and Texas at http://ipsi.utexas.edu/EST/files/standards/ELPS/ELPS.pdf The English language proficiency (ELP) standards developed by TESOL provide a model of the process of language acquisition that can be adapted by districts and states within the context of their own language leveling system (see Figure 2.4 for these standards).

Figure 2.4 Levels of language proficiency Source: PreK-12 English Language Proficiency Standards by TESOL. Copyright 2006 by Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL). Reprinted with permission. The language proficiency levels are not necessarily connected to cognitive functions. Often students may be able to process advanced cognitive tasks and yet not be able to express those understandings in the second language. For example, Level 1 or Level 2 English language learners can still analyze and classify information if it is presented in small chunks and supported visually.

Take a moment to recall the information Rudi Heinz collected about Faridah’s English language proficiency test scores:

Using the information presented in the preceding section, answer the following questions.

• What are Faridah’s strengths?
• How does this information help Rudi plan instruction for Faridah?
• What can Rudi reasonably expect Faridah to understand and do in his ancient history class?
• Is that all there is to learning a language?

Communicative Competence

Pike (1982), notes that “[l]anguage is not merely a set of unrelated sounds, clauses, rules, and meanings; it is a total coherent system of these integrating with each other, and with behavior, context, universe of discourse, and observer perspective” (p. 44). As early as the 1970s, Dell Hymes (1972) put forward a notion of linguistic competence to mean more than mastery of formal linguistic systems. Communication is not only about oral and written language. When we speak, our speech is often accompanied by nonverbal communications such as facial expressions, gestures, body movement, and sighs. The way we stand, the distance between our listeners and us, the looks on our faces, and our tone of voice all influence the manner and content of our communication. While the ability to correctly form words, sentences, paragraphs, and larger bodies of text is an important expectation by schools and educators, the area of communicative competence can sometimes be overlooked. Briefly, the idea of communicative competence is the communicator’s comprehensive knowledge and appropriate application of a language in a specific context. This knowledge helps the communicator know what to communicate and, more important, how, when, and where to communicate something. For example, the following exchange between a principal and her middle school Honduran student includes appropriate grammatical features but much more information than needed:

While Antonio’s grammatical constructions are acceptable, in U.S. settings this may not be the response expected by a principal or teacher because it contains much more information than needed.

• Can you recall any conversations with English language learners and/or their families that are similar to the example involving Antonio above?
• What did you find inappropriate in the example(s) that you recalled?
• Why was that instance from your student (or from his or her family member) inappropriate? By whose standards?

Elements of Communicative Competence

Communicative competence does not apply only to oral language. Communicative competence means competence in all four language domains—both the productive and the receptive. When talking of communicative competence, we need to consider four important elements: grammatical or linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic. Each will be defined below. Examples are provided in Figure 2.6.

• Grammatical or linguistic competencies involve accuracy of language used (e.g., spelling, vocabulary, sentence formation, pronunciation).
• Sociolinguistic competencies entail the use of language in an appropriate manner or style in a given context. These competencies take into account a variety of factors such as rules and social conventions, the status of participants, and cultural norms.
• Discourse competencies involve the ability to connect correctly formed phrases and sentences into a coherent and cohesive message in a particular style. These competencies involve the ability to be a sender and receiver of messages and to appropriately alternate those roles in conversations or written language.
• Strategic competencies involve the development of strategies such as how to get into or out of conversation, break silences, hold the floor in conversations, and deal with strategies to continue communicating when faced with breakdown in communication.

Figure 2.6 Elements and examples of communicative competence.

How can educators model and teach each facet of communicative competence while simultaneously teaching content? Think of specific examples.

The Role of Native Languages and Cultures

Native language is the primary or first language spoken by an individual. It is also called the mother tongue. The abbreviation L1 refers to someone’s native language. It is generally used in contrast to L2 , the language a person is learning. Native culture is the term often used to refer to the culture acquired first in life by a person or the culture that this individual identifies with as a group member. Norton (1997) claims that, “[t]he central questions teachers need to ask are not, ‘What is the learner’s mother tongue?’ and ‘Is the learner a native speaker of Punjabi?’ Rather the teacher should ask, ‘What is the learner’s linguistic repertoire? Is the learner’s relationship to these languages based on expertise, inheritance, affiliation, or a combination?’” (p. 418). There is an intimate relationship among language, culture, identity, and cognition. Educating ELLs includes not only focusing on language learning but also on building on students’ native languages, cultures, and experiences. Most English language learners are very familiar with at least one other language and have an intuitive understanding of how language and texts work. This knowledge of their first language (L1) will greatly enhance their opportunities to learn English. Research in this area indicates that full proficiency in the native language facilitates the development of the second language (L2) (August & Shanahan, 2017). Native language proficiency can also impact how students learn complex material, such as what is typically encountered in content-area classrooms (Ernst-Slavit & Slavit, 2007). The key is to consider students’ first languages and cultures as resources to be tapped into and built upon. Thinking of our English learners as “having to start from scratch” is the equivalent of denying the many experiences that children have accumulated before coming to the United States and the vast amount of family and cultural knowledge and traditions that have been passed on to students from the moment they were born. The consequences of denying students’ first language can be far reaching because language, culture, and identity are inextricably linked.

For a useful article on the value of the native language and culture, see “The Home Language: An English Language Learner’s Most Valuable Resource” in ¡Colorín Colorado!, by Genesee (2012), at http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/home-language-english-language-learners-most-valuable-resource . For ideas about how to find out information about students’ cultures, see the section called “Background” in Chapter 3 of this text.

Translanguaging

Translanguaging affords practitioners and academics alike a different way of conceptualizing bilingualism and multilingualism. This perspective views bilinguals and multilinguals not as possessing two or more autonomous language systems, but as users of a unitary linguistic repertoire where they sort and select whatever resources are needed to make meaning and to communicate with others. The term translanguaging was initially used by Williams (1996) to refer to a pedagogical practice where Welsh students would receive information in one language (e.g., reading) and then use it another language (e.g., writing). Some years later, the use of the term was expanded in the United States by Ofelia Garcia (see, for example, García & Wei, 2014; García & Kleyn, 2016) to refer to the language practices of people who speak more than one language. Translanguaging is not code-switching; it is not just going from one language to another. The notion of code-switching assumes the alternation of separate languages in the context of a single conversation (e.g., “ Maria forgot su bolsa ,” where the child uses Spanish to mean “her bag”). According to Garcia (2011), rather than looking at two separate languages, translanguaging avows that “bilinguals have one linguistic repertoire from which they select diverse features strategically to communicate effectively” (Garcia, 2011). The following example by Ernst-Slavit (2018) showcases how demarcations of languages are difficult to make when several languages are used fluidly in one household: If you attended a gathering at the home of a bilingual family, you might only use English while you were there. However, different family members might have used different languages for multiple purposes. For example, if you visit an Indian family (from southeast Asia), you might find grandma busy in the kitchen pulling pans out of the oven and reading recipes in Hindi while the kids are playing video games in English. Mom, Dad, and guests may be speaking mostly in English. However, when Dad speaks to the children he does so in Urdu. And then there is grandpa, watching a Bollywood movie in Urdu that includes regional variants such as Gujarati and Punjabi (p. 10). The above example of translanguaging in action depicts a family using their many linguistic resources in their everyday lives. While Urdu was the home language mentioned in the census and in the children’s school records, in this household there is not one home language but a full range of language practices used fluidly according to the speaker, purpose, and context (Ernst-Slavit, 2018). The use of translanguaging in educational contexts has brought a wealth of both interest and disagreement. Many educators working on issues of language education—the development of additional languages for all, as well as minoritized languages—have embraced translanguaging theory and pedagogy. Other educators are wary of the work on translanguaging. Some claim that translanguaging pedagogy pays too much attention to the students’ bilingualism; others worry that it could threaten the language separation traditionally posited as necessary for language maintenance and development (Vogel & Garcia, 2017). For a study on translanguaging in a third grade classroom, read “Translanguaging and Protected Spaces in a Dual Language Classroom: Tensions Across Restrictionist Policies and Unrestricted Practice” by Kristen Pratt & Gisela Ernst-Slavit (in press).

While waiting in line for a hot lunch, Rafa, a new teacher in the school, overhears Mrs. Holton telling several native Russian-speaking immigrant students to speak only English. What can he say or do to advocate for the students while at the same time maintaining a good working relationship with Mrs. Holton?

Strategies for using the native language in the classroom

Given the wide variety of languages spoken by immigrant students in the United States today, teachers will not know all of the native languages of their students. Yet teachers can still promote the use of native languages in their classrooms. Below are selected approaches for supporting native language development in K–12 classrooms.

• Organize primary language clusters. Create opportunities for students to work in groups using their primary language. This can be helpful as they discuss new topics, clarify ideas, or review complex concepts.
• Label classroom objects in different languages. Labeling classroom items allows English learners to understand and begin to learn the names of objects around the classroom. Labels also assist educators and other students to learn words in different languages.
• Assign a bilingual buddy to your newcomer student. Having a buddy who speaks the child’s first language can be very helpful as the new student learns how to function in the new school and culture. This buddy provides comfort while at the same time guides the newcomer throughout different activities (e.g., calendar, circle time, journal writing) and settings (e.g., bus stop, science lab, cafeteria).
• Support the use of the native language by using classroom aides or volunteers. By using the preview-review approach (that is, the translation of key concepts before the lesson starts, followed by review of the new content), aides or volunteers can enhance the learning opportunities of ELLs.
• Encourage primary language development at home. In today’s diverse world, bilingualism is highly valued. If students can continue to develop their first language as they learn English, their opportunities as bilingual adults will be enhanced. In addition, when students continue to develop their native language, they can continue to communicate meaningfully in the first language with their parents and relatives.
• Use technology. English learners can benefit from using technology for multiple purposes. The availability of graphical, video and audio resources can provide amazing supports for students. For example, discussion boards can create platform for students to be actively engaged using both academic and everyday English in and outside the classroom context. Likewise, searching for cognates on particular content topics might help your students have a prior of understand of the content. While some students might not be ready to produce a well-crafted five paragraph argumentative essay, they might be able to produce an outstanding PowerPoint presentation. For more ideas about technology use in language learning, see the free OER resource CALL Principles and Practice by Egbert & Shahrokni (available from https://opentext.wsu.edu/call/ ).
• Use bilingual books. An abundance of bilingual books in a variety of languages has been published in the United States since the 1980s. These books provide an effective tool for raising students’ awareness about diversity but also for fostering literacy and biliteracy development. Figure 2.6 provides a list of strategies for using bilingual books in the classroom; the list was developed by Ernst-Slavit and Mulhern (2003).

Figure 2.6 Strategies for using bilingual books in the classroom. Adapted from “Bilingual books: Promoting literacy and biliteracy in the second-language and mainstream classroom” by G. Ernst-Slavit and M. Mulhern. Reading Online, 7 (2). Copyright 2003 by the International Reading Association. Reproduced with permission.

Learning a first language is a complex and lengthy process. While learners follow a similar route in learning a second language, the rate in which they acquire the target language varies depending on a variety of linguistic, sociocultural, and cognitive factors. As students navigate through the process of becoming competent users of English, educators’ awareness of their location along the language learning continuum can help them better address the students’ needs and build on their strengths.

For Reflection

• Speaking a second or third language . Do you speak a second or third language? If you do not, do you have a friend who does? Do you or your friend have equal levels of competence across language domains? Think about why some language domains developed more than others.
• Types of writing systems . Look at some of the different alphabets and writing systems for different languages at Omniglot (http://www.omniglot.com/) or at any other website or text. Based on those writing systems, what language do you think would be easier for you to learn? Which one would be more difficult? Why?
• Linguistic diversity . What native languages other than English are spoken by students in your classroom? In your school, district, and state? Jot down a list of what you believe are the top languages in your area and compare it with information you can find about your school, district and state. (For information about the different languages spoken in your state and across the United States, visit the website for the Office of English Language Acquisition at http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/stats/3_bystate.htm ).
• World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Consortium consists of 40 partner states, all using the same 2012 amplification of the English language development standards. You may find the list of WIDA states at https://wida.wisc.edu . ↵

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Communicative competence assessment for learning: The effect of the application of a model on teachers in Spain

Juan jesús torres-gordillo.

1 Department of Educational Research Methods and Diagnostics, Educational Sciences Faculty, University of Seville, Seville, Spain

Fernando Guzmán-Simón

2 Department of Language and Literature Teaching, Educational Sciences Faculty, University of Seville, Seville, Spain

Beatriz García-Ortiz

Associated data.

All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.

The evolution of the results of Progress in International Reading Literacy Study in 2006, 2011 and 2016, as well as the difficulties found by teachers implementing the core competences, have led to the need to reflect on new assessment models. The objective of our research was to design a communicative competence assessment model and verify its effect on primary education teachers. The method applied was a focus group study. Participants came from four primary education schools in the province of Seville (Spain). The data were gathered through discussion groups. The COREQ checklist was followed. Qualitative thematic analysis of the data was carried out using Atlas-ti. An inductive coding scheme was established. The results have enabled the construction of a communicative competence assessment model and its application in primary education classrooms with HERACLES. The effects of the assessment model and the computer software were different according to teachers' profiles. On the one hand, teachers open to educational innovation remained positive when facing the systematic and thorough assessment model. On the other hand, teachers less receptive to changes considered the model to be complex and difficult to apply in the classroom. In conclusion, HERACLES had a beneficial effect on communicative competence assessment throughout the curriculum and made teachers aware of the different dimensions of communicative competence (speaking, listening, reading and writing) and discourse levels (genre, macrostructure and microstructure).

1 Introduction

Assessments carried out by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) in Spain have provided new evidence for the effects of the educational improvement measures applied in primary education in the last two decades. In particular, the assessment performed in Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) in 2006, 2011 and 2016 has shown how competence in communication in Spanish primary education has not progressed at the rate of that of other European countries [ 1 – 3 ].

The Spanish government and different regional authorities have implemented diverse improvement plans, which have been focused on the modifications of the official curriculum and on educational legislation to reverse this situation [ 4 – 6 ]. However, their results have not been expected in the area of communicative competence. Today, we are familiar with numerous definitions of communicative competence [ 7 – 13 ]. The publication in 2001 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages [ 14 ] has enabled us to describe the skills required for communication and their levels of achievement related to reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Moreover, the development of communicative competence in the educational curriculum must be related to ‘accountability’ within teaching programmes, which leads us to delve deeper into the link had by the school curriculum, based on key competences and their assessment. Training in the assessment of competences in general and of communicative competence in particular presents numerous deficiencies in the initial and continuous training of primary education teachers. Similarly, the difficulty in adapting the communicative competence theoretical concept to assessment in classrooms has led numerous authors to analyse the need to incorporate linguistic, cultural and social elements into the current educational context [ 15 , 16 ]. Consequently, our paper focuses on the design and evaluation of a model for the assessment of communicative competence based on the Spanish curriculum through the use of a custom-designed computer application.

1.1 Assessment for learning

The design of an assessment model of communicative competence in the school context requires prior reflection related to the dimension assessment model, first, and an assessment of communicative competence, second. Our research started with a reflection on which assessment model for learning was the most appropriate for incorporating communicative competence assessment in the primary education classroom. Assessment for learning is considered an assessment that fosters students’ learning [ 17 – 19 ]. Wiliam and Thompson [ 20 ] have developed five key strategies that enable this process to become an educational assessment:

• Clarify and share the learning intentions and criteria for success.
• Conduct effective discussions in the classroom and other learning tasks, which provide us with evidence of students’ comprehension.
• Provide feedback, which allows students to progress.
• Activate the students themselves as didactic resources for their peers.
• Foster the students as masters of their own learning.

The assessment that truly supports learning has two characteristics [ 21 ]: the feedback generated must provide information about learning activities for the improvement of performance, and the student must participate in actions for the improvement of learning based on heteroassessment, peer assessment and self-assessment.

Assessment for learning must set out by gathering information, which enables teachers and learners to be able to use it for feedback; that is, the result of the assessment must be information that both the teacher and the student can interpret for the improvement of the task. Wiliam [ 21 ] proposes an assessment that is incorporated into classroom programming and the information of which is relevant for the improvement of the teaching-learning process. Decision making for the improvement of the task must be based on the information that the assessment indicators contribute to the learning process. In conclusion, the effort that the school makes to emphasise the learning assessment is justified for the following reasons:

• Assessment must not be limited to marking (summative assessment); rather, it has to do with helping students learn [ 22 ].
• Assessment is a key element in effective teaching, as it measures the results of learning addressed in the teaching-learning process [ 21 ].
• Feedback plays a fundamental role and requires the information received to be used by students to improve their learning [ 23 ].
• Instead of being content with solving obstacles in students’ learning, teachers must offer opportunities from the assessment to develop learning strategies [ 24 ].

1.2 Communicative competence in the European educational framework

The theoretical construct on which our research is based has different sources. Since the 1960s, communicative competence has been approached in different ways [ 25 ], from Chomsky’s cognitive focus [ 26 ], followed by Hymes’ social approximation [ 11 , 27 ], to Wiemann’s approximation of relational competence [ 28 ] and the approach based on the development of language of Bloom and Lahey [ 29 ] and Bryan [ 30 ]. Communicative competence in our research is founded on the works carried out by Bachman [ 7 ], Canale [ 31 ], Hymes [ 11 ] and the Common European Framework of Reference for Language : Learning , Teaching , Assessment (CEFR) [ 14 ].

The first allusion to the concept of ‘communicative competence’ came from Hymes [ 11 ]. He defined it as competence that uses the specific knowledge of a language’s structure; usually, there is not an awareness of having such knowledge, nor does one spontaneously know how it was acquired. However, the development of communication requires the presence of communicative competence between speakers [ 25 ].

Consequently, communicative competence not only is linked with formal aspects imposed from the structure of the language itself (grammatical) but also acquires meaning according to the sociocultural context in which it is developed. The incorporation of these sociocultural communication elements became the pillars of the models developed by Canale [ 31 ] and Bachman [ 7 ], which is the framework that the CEFR has adopted. In turn, the educational legislation in Spain has also carried out its particular adaptation to the national and regional context with the state regulation [ 5 ] and the regional law [ 32 ]. The particularity of the adaptation of communicative competence in primary education to national and regional educational legislation has brought about a certain confusion in the Spanish educational panorama. Nevertheless, the diverse conceptualisations of the communicative competence theoretical construct, found in the contributions of Canale [ 31 ] and Bachman [ 7 ] and in the different Spanish legislations (national and regional), maintain the same basic scheme of communicative competences.

Table 1 shows the correspondences between the different competences of the theoretical proposals of Canale [ 31 ], Bachman [ 7 ] and the state [ 33 ] and regional legislations [ 34 ] in Spain. A careful reading of this table highlights how the concept of communicative competence is not affected by the diverse terms used for its designation. Different authors and the legal texts propose the same parameters but present a different degree of specification and depth. The fundamental differences between the theoretical constructs of Canale [ 31 ] and Bachman [ 7 ] and the state [ 33 ] and regional legislations [ 34 ] are based on the creation of new competences, such as ‘personal competence’ (made up of three dimensions—attitude, motivation and individual differences—regarding communicative competence) in the first and ‘literary competence’ (referring to the reading area, the capacity of enjoying literary texts, etc.) in the second.

1.3 Communicative competence assessment

Communicative competence assessment must be considered in the process of the communicative teaching-learning of the language (‘communicative language teaching’ or CLT). This teaching model’s axis is ‘communicative competence’ [ 35 ]. This perspective aligns with that of Halliday’s systemic functional linguistics [ 36 ] and its definitions of the contexts of culture and situation [ 37 ]. Savignon’s CLT model [ 38 ] expands the previous research of Canale and Swain [ 8 ] and Canale [ 31 ] and adapts communicative competence to a school model (or framework of a competential curriculum). This model develops communicative competence regarding the ‘context’ and stresses communication’s functional character and its interdependence on the context in which it is developed. The communicative competence learning process in primary education is related to the implementation of programmes, which foster the participation of students in a specific communicative context and the regulation of the distinct competences to the social context of the classroom where the learning is performed.

Communicative competence assessment in our research expands upon Lave and Wenger’s notion of ‘community of practice’ [ 39 ], the ‘theories of genre’, which underline the use of language in a specific social context [ 36 , 40 ], and the ‘theory of the socialisation of language’ [ 41 , 42 ]. These notions are integrated into the acts of communication [ 11 , 38 , 43 ] and give rise to diverse communicative competences, which are disaggregated to be assessed.

The changes introduced into the curriculum (with the inclusion of key competences) and in the theories of learning (with the cognitive and constructivist conceptions) have forced the rethinking of assessment [ 44 ]. From this perspective, a new evaluation of communicative competence has been constructed from the improvement of the learning processes, not through certain technical measurement requirements [ 45 ]. Assessment based on competences or as an investigation has become an excellent model for solving the problem of communicative competence assessment.

Moreover, the modalities of heteroassessment and self-assessment [ 25 ] enhance the impact of assessment on children’s cognitive development. Basically, there are three factors that influence communicative competence assessment: (a) the culture and context of observation (the culture of the observers is different and makes use of distinct criteria), (b) standards (they cannot be applied to all the individuals of the same community) and (c) conflicts of observation (the valuations of the observations can apply the assessment criteria with a different measurement). Furthermore, Canale and Swain [ 8 ] previously underlined the differences between the assessment of the metadiscursive knowledge of competence and the capacity to demonstrate correct use in a real communicative situation. In their reflections, they proposed the need to develop new assessment formats and criteria, which must be centred on communicative skills and their relation between verbal and non-verbal elements.

The perspective adopted in this article sets out from the communicative competence assessment of the analysis of Halliday’s systemic functional linguistics [ 36 ] and its adaptation to the School of Sydney’s pedagogy of genres developed by Rose and Martin [ 46 ]. The School of Sydney’s proposal has as its starting point the development of an awareness of the genre in the speaker or writer [ 47 ]. Similarly, the discourse’s adaptation to the social context at which it is aimed (situation and cultural contexts) has to be taken into account.

In summary, communicative competence assessment sets out from the tools supplied by the analysis of the discourse [ 48 ], taking up some elements of diverse discursive traditions, such as pragmatic, conversational analysis and the grammar of discourse (for more information, see [ 49 , 50 ]). These tools will respond to the levels of the genre, register and language (textual macrostructure and microstructure) [ 51 , 52 ].

Setting out from these suppositions, this paper addresses the following aims:

• To design a communicative competence assessment model based on the Spanish primary education curriculum.
• To check the effect of the communicative competence assessment model on primary education teachers using a computer application.

The research design is based on the use of the focus group technique for the study of the same reality, developed through four study groups. Each of these groups represents a school with different characteristics and profiles (see Table 2 ), enabling a multi-perspective approach, where schools represent different opinions and experiences. The COREQ checklist was followed. All the participants were informed of the nature and aim of the research, thus conforming to the rules of informed consent, and signed written consent forms [dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.bd8ei9te]. In addition, this research was approved and adhered to the standards of the Social Sciences of the Ethical Committee of Experimentation of the University of Seville.

2.1 Participants

Twenty teachers from the second, fourth and sixth years, belonging to four primary education centres in the province of Seville, took part in this study. Prior to consent, participants knew the objectives of the research project and the profiles of the researchers and agreed to collaborate voluntarily in the project. Participants were intentionally selected face-to-face for their diversity in school typology. In this way, participants were obtained from public, private and charter schools. Two of the initially contacted schools refused to participate due to technical problems with their Internet connectivity in the school and the staff’s lack of time to attend the training in the evaluation of communicative competence. Participant teachers undertook a training course on communicative competence assessment. The course was developed in the b-learning modality using the Moodle e-learning platform. During the training, teachers learned how to use a computer application to assess communicative competence using tablets. This tool, called the ‘tool for the assessment of linguistic communication competence’ (hereafter, HERACLES), was custom-designed. Later, teachers had the opportunity to implement what had been learned in their classes during a term. The application of the tool took place with 368 students in the experimental group and 285 in the group without the application (see Table 2 ).

After the application of the tool, the teachers were invited to participate in different discussion groups to note the results of the experience and the effect that HERACLES had on their training. The different focus groups were conducted in teachers’ workplaces by the three PhD authors of this paper, one female senior lecturer and two male senior lecturers from the universities of [authors] and experts in educational research. In two of the four schools, members of the management team also attended the focus groups, in addition to participant teachers. The discussion groups were audio-recorded and took place in the educational centres between June and September 2017.

2.2 Instruments

The analysis of the audio recordings of the discussion groups and the field notes taken has generated a system of inductive categories (see Table 3 ). This category system was compiled from the information provided by teachers in the discussion groups. The system of inductive categories was structured through a thematic frame based on the teaching staff’s experience in the use of a computer application to assess competence in communication in the classroom. The indicators focused on the ease of use of the computer tool, its usefulness in classroom evaluation, and teachers' assessment of the tool itself. The coding of the discussion group transcripts was performed by the three authors of the current paper. This system has been applied both in the codification phase and in the later analysis of relations with Atlas-ti. The focus group script was designed by the team of authors of this paper and was evaluated by six experts in educational research. Their analysis relied on input based on the understandability of the interview questions and on questions’ pertinence to the purpose of the research. The duration of the focus groups was approximately two hours. Recordings’ transcriptions were sent to the schools for review. The participants did not make any corrections to the content of the transcripts.

2.3 Data analysis

The first aim was accomplished through a comparative analysis of the communicative competence’s main components gathered in the models of Canale [ 31 ] and Bachman [ 7 ] and their relations with both national legislation [ 33 ] and regional legislation [ 32 ]. This analysis was the basis of the development of a communicative competence assessment model.

The second aim is approached through a qualitative thematic analysis [ 53 , 54 ] of the discussion groups. The data analysis of the discussion groups’ recordings was carried out through Atlas-ti version 6.2. In the operationalisation phase [ 55 ], the system of inductive categories [ 56 ] was elaborated after listening to all the recordings. The codification of each discussion group was performed a posteriori by three researchers, and the coefficient of agreement between codifiers was calculated via the Fleiss’ kappa technique [ 57 , 58 ].

Fleiss’ kappa calculation showed a value of K = 0.91 (see Table 4 ), which can be described as an excellent interjudge concordance [ 57 ]. The disagreement between the different coders was motivated by their interpretation of the application of the transcription categories, which was the result of the inductive process of the creation of the category system. These disagreements were solved through a process of iterative review and clarification of the indicators of the category scheme. After the categorisation of the focal group transcriptions, the three authors of this paper carried out a synthesis and summary of the data. The final report with the results of the research was sent to the different schools for review and feedback.

*p < .05, **p < .01, and

***p < .001.

Finally, we use different analyses of associations and semantic networks [ 59 ]. In the search for relations between the codes, we rely on the Atlas-ti Query Tool option. We similarly use the Network tool to carry out the graphic representation of these associations.

3.1 A new communicative competence assessment model

The communicative competence assessment model proposed by Bachman [ 7 ] established a clear trend to measure competence as an interpersonal communication product. The elements that it proposes are based on an assessment of both the analysis of the environment of the assessment tasks (environment and type of test) and the indicators that differentiate diverse degrees of achievement of communicative competence in primary education (format, nature of the language, facet of response expected and relation between the input and output information).

The assessment model elaborated (see Table 5 ) presents the assessment indicators described generally. However, these indicators must be adapted to each of the tasks and genres evaluated in the classroom. The assessment tool was based on the application of distinct elements of the analysis of the discourse and on the selection and transformation of the elements into assessment indicators in the different dimensions. Table 5 presents examples of the assessment indicators related to the following aspects:

• the levels of discourse (genre, macrostructure and microstructure);
• the four communicative competence dimensions (speaking, listening, reading and writing);and
• the classification of each indicator according to its belonging to various competences (textual, discursive, sociocultural, pragmatic, strategic or semilogical).

The assessment of all these indicators in a school context made the development of the HERACLES computer application for tablets necessary. With this assessment tool (see Figs ​ Figs1 1 and ​ and2), 2 ), it is possible to address not only the broad diversity of assessment indicators but also the heterogeneity of the students themselves, considering their individual variables.

Reprinted from the COMPLICE project under a CC-BY license.

This application enables the carrying out of a learning assessment, providing information concerning the communicative competence teaching-learning process in students during a prolonged period of time. The process assessment can be performed through diverse techniques, such as observation, thinking aloud, or interviews via stimulated recall. Similarly, HERACLES can relate the process’ assessment with that of the product through the analysis tools of the oral and written discourse. It was designed to facilitate students’ daily follow-up work, streamline the registering of students’ communicative competence development, gather information on the teaching-learning process and facilitate decision making for the programming of communicative-competence-related tasks. With this tool, the communicative competence learning assessment process is systematised and allows for the task’s assessment to be carried out efficiently and without excessive resource costs in the performance of the teaching work [ 60 ].

3.2 Effects of the use of the computer application of the communicative competence assessment

The second aim of this research has been addressed from the perspective of the qualitative thematic analysis of the discussion groups. The study of the effect is divided into two perspectives: the positive effects regarding the applicability of HERACLES and teachers’ methodological changes and the negative effects of its use. The positive effects have been characterised through causal relations (‘cause-effect’) or associative relations (‘related to’) (see Fig 3 ). The analyses performed have not shown any significant differences between the cases studied. Consequently, in this section, the different cases have not been described separately.

The positive effects are organised into three groups of relations. The first, composed of the causal relation of the applicability of daily use and methodological changes, tackles the changes detected in the methodology when HERACLES has been used with the tablets. In particular, the application of the communicative competence assessment criteria has enabled the improvement of the teaching-learning process in the centres analysed (‘the criteria of assessment (…) have helped me to focus on teaching’ [GD 1]). The communicative competence assessment has led some teachers to modify the assessment process, incorporating feedback (‘Yes, there are things I have proposed changing in the assessment: different forms of feedback with the students in the oral expositions and in the reading’ [GD 2]) and a process based on the learning assessment and adapted to the context of the classroom (‘Everything that is the theme of oral exposition and everything written (summaries) is something that I have had to introduce changes in to spotlight the assessment of the competence’ [GD 4]).

The second consists of the associative relation between the methodological change and the incorporation of assessment indicators in their daily activity. This has allowed for the evaluation of communicative competence dimensions that were not previously assessed in the classroom (‘I have used the tablet (…) when the children were speaking: if they gesticulated, if they stared, or if they used the appropriate vocabulary’ [GD 1]). In particular, the assessment of oral communication was developed due to the simple use of the tablet as an assessment instrument during the teaching-learning process (‘Not a specific activity or day, but rather, it depends on the tasks of each subject’ [GD 1]. Moreover, the ease of assessing communicative competence in very disparate circumstances within the school day permits this assessment to be extended to different areas of the curriculum (‘It was not specifically in the language class but in the classes in which they carried out a task or an activity’ [GD 1]). Finally, the use of indicators has generated the teaching perception of a more ‘objective’ assessment in the classroom (‘Assessment is an attitude, and it is very subjective. (…) The tool helps me to be more objective’ [GD 4]).

A third associative relation is established between maintaining a positive opinion about the use of HERACLES to assess communicative competence and the application of the daily use of the tablet as an assessment instrument. Teachers perceived the use of the assessment with tablets as simple and intuitive (‘It seemed to me quite simple and intuitive’ [GD 1]). The use of assessment tools and their indicators has led to their use being conceived as something easy and practical for the communicative competence assessment (‘It has been much more practical to assess according to the item they asked you’ [GD 3]). Similarly, the use of tablets relates HERACLES and its assessment with the facilitators of specific techniques, such as assessment through observation in the classroom (‘I would like to use it because it seems handier’ [GD 1]), making them quicker and more efficient in the current educational context.

The negative evaluations of the teachers have concentrated on the mistakes of the computer application. The relation between the mistakes and the methodological change is causal. Some difficulties found in the use of HERACLES have led to fewer effects on the methodological change. On the one hand, they are centred on the lack of a button to cancel the different notes recorded (‘I would have put the Yes/No option, but I missed the delete option’ [GD 1]). On the other hand, the difficulties come from the listing of the students being in an alphabetical order of their first names (and not by their surnames) and of the impossibility of selecting assessment indicators to adapt them to the task assessed and the age of the subjects (‘We did not have the option of marking which indicators we wanted to assess and which we did not’ [GD 1]). Finally, teachers suggest greater flexibility in being able to incorporate data from the group and students in HERACLES. In this sense, the computer application does not allow for an adaptation to a specific context or the modification of the communicative competence assessment model to adapt it to the programming of the classroom (‘I cannot continue using the material because it is closed’ [GD 2]).

4 Discussion

Our research has addressed the design and effect of a communicative competence assessment model through a computer application. The first aim proposed an evaluation design that facilitates a tool that helps teachers solve the complex process of assessment in the primary education classroom context.

The construction of an assessment model for communicative competence was based on the assessment of the learning concept in the context of the primary education curriculum. This model encourages a deeper analysis of communicative competence, incorporating the different competences involved (linguistic, pragmatic, strategic, etc.). Thus, the assessment of communicative competence (considered a formative assessment) requires a complex process of systematic data collection in the classroom, open to the different indicators determined by the model. In this way, teachers can evaluate communicative competence in different school subjects and develop improvement strategies aimed at one competence or another in a specific and personalised way. This proposal enables a clear heightened awareness of how the discourse has to be assessed, irrespective of the particularities of the assessment activities. This model enables the simple and systematic accessing of the analysis of the oral and written discourse, making it accessible to both teachers (in summative assessment) and students (through the feedback of the assessment for learning).

The application of this model as an assessment of communicative competence in primary education poses several problems. One of the problems of teachers in communicative competence assessment is the time cost that individualised attention requires. The proposed model advocates for a sustainable assessment [ 61 ]. The difficulty of communicative competence assessment requires teachers to address the complexity of the communicative competence teaching-learning process from an individualised perspective. This assessment model allows for reducing the time of this assessment and, in turn, addressing diversity respecting the learning rhythms. The learning assessment will only have an effect in the medium and long term when it is maintained over time. That is, both investment in teachers’ training time and handling of the data, which are obtained with computer applications, must be preserved to offer greater rapidity in the feedback and feedforward [ 18 , 62 – 64 ].

The second aim presents the effect of the communicative competence assessment model’s application on teachers through the use of a custom-designed computer application in primary education. The results reveal a polarisation between two profiles of teachers. The first brings together those who have a positive attitude towards the implementation of new assessment tools. For these teachers, the tool has been useful and has helped improve the communicative competence teaching-learning process. The second model groups those teachers who resist changes to the assessment models. For this group, the implementation of the new model presents numerous difficulties. The motives have resided in the conceptual comprehension of technology in general and of tablets in particular and the resistance to changes in an area such as the culture of school assessment. This resistance to the assessment model’s implementation has revealed how primary education assessment processes are the least porous to change in teachers’ continuous training process [ 65 ].

The assessment model’s application has enabled teachers of the first profile to incorporate communicative competence assessment into other curricular areas. The teachers understood that communicative competence assessment must not only be applied to Spanish language and literature. The model’s implementation has helped these teachers raise their awareness of assessment for key primary education competences [ 66 ].

5 Limitations and prospective research directions

The analysis of the research developed in this article has revealed some limitations. The first refers to the communicative competence assessment model. The indicators require teachers to adapt to the different assessment tasks. This possibility must be taken into account in the future development of the HERACLES assessment tool with a view to training the teachers and optimising its use in the classroom.

The effect of the results of the communicative competence model’s implementation in the studied centres showed that the processes of change in assessment require a greater time period. In this sense, some of the teachers did not attain a higher degree of advantage and systematicity in the use of the assessment tool model, as individual variables affected this model’s rhythm of implementation. Future research projects will have to expand upon the rhythms of learning of the teachers themselves when implementing improvements in the evaluation of the associated key competences.

Relatedly, the use of the HERACLES application presented some difficulties motivated by teachers’ scant development of digital competence. Consequently, this has meant a greater investment of time and effort in the adaptation of the assessment model and has brought about a certain dissatisfaction among participants due to their slow progress in the communicative competence assessment model’s changes.

Future works could extend the study to more educational centres that are interested in improving learning assessment. This would give greater potential to the impact it could have on primary education. Similarly, the HERACLES tool must be completed and modified by teachers with the aim of adapting it to each classroom’s teaching-learning processes. HERACLES must provide a model that is adapted later by the teacher to systematically and efficiently undertake the communicative competence assessment.

Supporting information

Funding statement.

This work was supported by the Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness of Spain [grant number EDU2013-44176-P] as an R+D project entitled “Mejora de la Competencia en Comunicación Lingüística del alumnado de Educación Infantil y Educación Primaria” (“Improvement of the Competence in Linguistic Communication of Early Childhood Education and Primary Education”, obtained in a competitive call corresponding to the State Plan of Advancement of Scientific and Technical Research of Excellence, State Subprogram of Generation of Knowledge, of the Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation.

Data Availability

• PLoS One. 2020; 15(5): e0233613.

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PONE-D-19-33902

Communicative competence in assessment for learning: effect of the application of a model on teachers in Spain

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Reviewer #1: The authors of this paper sought to establish a framework for communicative competence (CC) assessment in Spanish classrooms and establish the acceptability of using a tablet-based tool for this assessment. The qualitative methods were appropriate and the authors summarise many useful themes that will be helpful in furthering the design and implementation of their tool and program. However, this manuscript was challenging to read in parts and could benefit from considering the following suggestions for improvement:

* The manuscript requires English editing to improve the clarity. For example the authors state, “This leads is to go deeply into the link…” but it is not clear which linked concepts are being explored. I assume they mean the link between CC in the curriculum and accountability in teaching programs? Phrases such as “Future research projects will have to set out from the rhythms of learning of the teachers themselves when implementing improvements in the evaluation of the key competences” do not quite make sense i.e. it is not clear to an English speaker what “rhythms of learning” means.

* One focus of English editing should be more consistent use of tense. It is not always clear if the authors are describing something that was done or found in their study (past tense) or something that currently occurs in classrooms (present tense).

* The rationale of the study is not clear from the first two paragraphs. The authors clarify this somewhat later, however this rationale should be clear from the beginning of the paper, as should clear definitions of key concepts, particularly CC.

* It is not clear why the learning assessment framework is being introduced where is appears, or what its role is. Is this an established framework for integrating CC into curriculums? Or is this a framework the authors proposed might be useful for achieving this?

* The definition of Learning assessment is circular and should be expanded upon.

* It is not clear to a reader not familiar with this area what the term “Denomination” refers to specifically in this context. Please clarify this.

* I’m not sure what the source “own elaboration” for Table 1 refers to?

* More detail is required regarding how the themes were established and categorised. What established thematic framework was used? Who specifically were the raters? How were disagreements addressed? Who synthesised and summarised the data once it was categorised?

* I am not clear what “ad hoc designed computer application” means. Custom-designed?

Reviewer #2: Overall, this is an interesting and worthwhile area of research, with implications for improving assessment of primary school students. Further review of the paper by the authors is recommended prior to publication, to ensure that all important terms are clearly explained, the rationale for the research is more clearly outlined at the outset, the methodology is clearly linked to the data analysis, and both aims are clearly defined. Please note that the "no" comment to the manuscript being presented in an intelligible fashion is referring to the clarity of writing overall. There are many strong aspects to this paper, but also important areas that could be written more clearly.

Please see below for comments about each section of the paper.

Introduction

The Introduction could be clearer in providing an orientation to the topic and key questions to be addressed. It mentions PIRLS without explaining this, and while this might be common knowledge for those working in education, some brief explanation of PIRLS would be helpful for other readers. Furthermore, it is not quite clear what is being said in regard to improvements or changes in primary school students – when saying, “The results of the improvement in reading of Spanish students in Primary Education (hereafter, PE) present a slight improvement on the PIRLS assessment (2006; 2011; 2016)”, it is not clear what improvements are being discussed, what is meant by a “slight improvement”, and over what time period this is being mentioned (i.e. is it since the last PIRLS assessment?). This slight improvement appears to be discussed as an area of concern, but again, it is unclear why this is of concern, so more background and context here would be helpful.

There is good discussion of what is meant by Communicative Competence; however, it would be helpful to more clearly outline earlier what was meant by the results of CC not being what was expected, so as to clarify how they were not what was expected.

Generally clear, but Aim 1 could be more specific – given you are discussing PE teachers, it would be good to specify here whether the CC assessment model was based on PE curriculum development.

In this section, please briefly clarify why a multiple case study design has been chosen as the methodological framework, so there is a sound rationale for this.

More detail is needed here to conform to the Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies (COREQ): 32-item checklist, in all domains listed in that checklist. Please review this checklist and add in missing information.

While it appears that participants were teachers rather than students, students are mentioned as if they are part of the sample. It is important to clarify whether they were participants, and if so, what procedures were used for informed consent.

As with the Method, this does not conform to all domains of the COREQ, so further review of these is recommended.

The chosen methodology is a multiple case study design; however, the results do not appear to be written in this manner. You may wish to either reconsider whether the multiple case study approach is appropriate (I would suggest it is not, given it typically involves multiple sources of information for each case), and rewrite this section with a different methodology as appropriate.

Generally clear, with the second aim of the study being discussed well. Writing more clearly about the first aim of the study would be helpful here – it is discussed, but could be clearer.

Limitations

Good discussion of limitations, such as potential lack of digital competence within teachers, which is an important area for further education and research.

6. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article ( what does this mean? ). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

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Reviewer #2: Yes: Alana Howells

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Author response to Decision Letter 0

25 Mar 2020

Dear reviewers,

1. The authors have incorporated substantial improvements in the text aimed to increase the research rigour of this paper. These modifications have affected all sections of the paper, especially the introduction, methodology and discussion.

2. The authors have not conducted a statistical analysis in this manuscript, as the research design was geared towards the analysis of qualitative data. In the case of Fleiss’ kappa calculation, calculations are correct.

3. The authors have completed the information required by the reviewers throughout the text, and have incorporated new complementary documents related to the development of the research. However, this research must guarantee the anonymity of the participants, as well as the educational institutions to which they belong. These criteria were part of the commitment made by the researchers to the participants before the start of the research.

4. The authors have conducted a thorough review of the academic writing of this paper. To this end, the authors have carefully reviewed the text of the paper and, subsequently, the paper was submitted to the AJE for the review of its academic style. As a result of both revisions, the authors consider that the text is now clearer and more accurate.

Reviewer #1

1. The authors have carried out a profound revision of the academic style of the paper. The modifications to the text have been recommended by AJE and highlighted in the text in grey.

2. The authors have reviewed the use of the paper's verb tenses. The modifications to the text have been recommended by AJE.

3. Rationale of the study:

The authors have modified the rationale of the research and have reviewed the definitions of key concepts (such as communicative competence and assessment for learning). The modifications to the text have been highlighted in the text in grey. The authors have incorporated the following texts into the main paper:

“Assessments carried out by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) in Spain have provided new evidence for the effects of the educational improvement measures applied in primary education in the last two decades. In particular, the assessment performed in Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) in 2006, 2011 and 2016 has shown how competence in communication in Spanish primary education has not progressed at the rate of that of other European countries [1-3]”.

“Today, we are familiar with numerous definitions of communicative competence [7-13]. The publication in 2001 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages [14] has enabled us to describe the skills required for communication and their levels of achievement related to reading, writing, listening and speaking”.

“Consequently, our paper focuses on the design and evaluation of a model for the assessment of communicative competence based on the Spanish curriculum through the use of a custom-designed computer application.”

4. The authors have reviewed the relationship between communicative competence and assessment for learning throughout the paper. The modifications of the text have been highlighted in the text in grey. The authors have incorporated the following texts to the main paper document:

“The design of an assessment model of communicative competence in the school context requires prior reflection related to the dimension assessment model, first, and an assessment of communicative competence, second. Our research started with a reflection on which assessment model for learning was the most appropriate for incorporating communicative competence assessment in the primary education classroom. Assessment for learning is considered an assessment that fosters students’ learning [17-19].”

5. The authors are not drawing on the "learning assessment" concept, but on the “assessment for learning”. The misunderstanding was provoked by a mistake in the translation. In the revision, the authors have applied this later concept throughout the text.

6. The authors have rephrased the paragraphs indicated by the reviewer. The authors have incorporated the following texts into the main paper:

“Nevertheless, the diverse conceptualisations of communicative competence theoretical construct, found in the contributions of Canale [22] and Bachman [21], and in the different Spanish legislations (national and autonomous), maintain the same basic scheme of communicative competences.”

“A careful reading of this table highlights how the concept of communicative competence is not affected by the diverse names used for its designation. The different authors and the legal texts propose the same parameters but present a different degree of specification and depth.”

7. The authors have removed this comment “own elaboration” for better understanding of the text.

a.How the themes were established and categorised.

The category scheme was developed in an inductive way. That is, the categories emerged directly from the analysis of the information provided by the teachers in the focus groups. The following sentence has been added to the main document: "This category system was compiled from the information provided by teachers in the discussion groups".

b. What established thematic framework was used?

The authors incorporate the following text into the main document:

"The inductive system of categories was structured through a thematic frame based on the teaching staff’s experience in the use of a computer application to assess competence in communication in the classroom. The indicators focused on the ease of use of the computer tool, its usefulness in classroom evaluation, and teachers' assessment of the tool itself".

c. Who specifically were the raters?

" The coding of the discussion group transcripts was performed by the three authors of the current paper".

d. How were disagreements addressed?

"The disagreement between the different coders was motivated by their interpretation of the application of the transcription categories, which was the result of the inductive process of the creation of the category system. These disagreements were solved through a process of iterative review and clarification of the indicators of the category scheme".

e. Who synthesised and summarised the data once it was categorised?

" After the categorisation of the focal group transcriptions, the three authors of this paper carried out a synthesis and summary of the data".

9. The authors have rephrased these paragraphs:

“To check the effect of the communicative competence assessment model on primary education teachers using a computer application.”

“This tool, called the ‘tool for the assessment of linguistic communication competence’ (hereafter, HERACLES), was custom-designed.”

“The second aim presents the effect of the communicative competence assessment model’s application on teachers through the use of a custom-designed computer application in primary education. The results reveal a polarisation between two profiles of teachers.”

Reviewer #2

1. The authors have incorporated clarifications regarding international PIRLS assessments. The authors have rewritten this section as follows:

“However, their results have not been expected in the area of communicative competence. Today, we are familiar with numerous definitions of communicative competence [7-13]. The publication in 2001 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages [14] has enabled us to describe the skills required for communication and their levels of achievement related to reading, writing, listening and speaking.”

"Consequently, our paper focuses on the design and evaluation of a model for the assessment of communicative competence based on the Spanish curriculum through the use of a custom-designed computer application.”

"The design of an assessment model of communicative competence in the school context requires prior reflection related to the dimension assessment model, first, and an assessment of communicative competence, second. Our research started with a reflection on which assessment model for learning was the most appropriate for incorporating communicative competence assessment in the primary education classroom. Assessment for learning is considered an assessment that fosters students’ learning [17-19]."

2. Aims: The authors have rewritten the aims of this study as follows:

(1) To design a communicative competence assessment model based on the Spanish primary education curriculum.

(2) To check the effect of the communicative competence assessment model on primary education teachers using a computer application.

The authors have reviewed the 32-item checklist and modified the main text when necessary. The following information has been incorporated:

a. The different focus groups were conducted in teachers’ workplaces by the three PhD authors of this paper, one female senior lecturer and two male senior lecturers from the universities of [authors] and experts in educational research.

b. Prior to consent, participants knew the objectives of the research project and the profiles of the researchers and agreed to collaborate voluntarily in the project.

c. Participants were intentionally selected face-to-face for their diversity in school typology. In this way, participants were obtained from public, private and charter schools.

d. Two of the initially contacted schools refused to participate due to technical problems with their Internet connectivity in the school and the staff’s lack of time to attend the training in the evaluation of communicative competence.

e. In two of the four schools, members of the management team also attended the focus groups, in addition to participant teachers.

f. The focus group script was designed by the team of authors of this paper and was evaluated by six experts in educational research. Their analysis relied on input based on the understandability of the interview questions and on questions’ pertinence to the purpose of the research.

g. The analysis of the audio recordings of the discussion groups and the field notes taken has generated a system of inductive categories (see Table 3).

h. The duration of the focus groups was approximately two hours.

i. Recordings’ transcriptions were sent to the schools for review. The participants did not make any corrections to the content of the transcripts.

j. The final report with the results of the research was sent to the different schools for review and feedback

4. Results:

The authors have revised the methodology to conform to the reviewers' recommendations. The text that clarifies this issue is as follows:

"The research design is based on the use of the focus group technique for the study of the same reality, developed through four study groups. Each of these groups represents a school with different characteristics and profiles (see Table 2), enabling a multi-perspective approach, where schools represent different opinions and experiences. The COREQ checklist was followed. All the participants were informed of the nature and aim of the research, thus conforming to the rules of informed consent, and signed written consent forms".

5. Discussion:

The authors rewrite the Discussion section clarifying those aspects related to the first aim. Thus, the authors incorporate the following fragment to the main text:

“The construction of an assessment model for communicative competence was based on the assessment of the learning concept in the context of the primary education curriculum. This model encourages a deeper analysis of communicative competence, incorporating the different competences involved (linguistic, pragmatic, strategic, etc.). Thus, the assessment of communicative competence (considered a formative assessment) requires a complex process of systematic data collection in the classroom, open to the different indicators determined by the model. In this way, teachers can evaluate communicative competence in different school subjects and develop improvement strategies aimed at one competence or another in a specific and personalised way. This proposal enables a clear heightened awareness of how the discourse has to be assessed, irrespective of the particularities of the assessment activities. This model enables the simple and systematic accessing of the analysis of the oral and written discourse, making it accessible to both teachers (in summative assessment) and students (through the feedback of the assessment for learning)”

“The application of this model as an assessment of communicative competence in primary education poses several problems. One of the problems of teachers in communicative competence assessment is the time cost that individualised attention requires. The proposed model advocates for a sustainable assessment [61]. The difficulty of communicative competence assessment requires teachers to address the complexity of the communicative competence teaching-learning process from an individualised perspective. This assessment model allows for reducing the time of this assessment and, in turn, addressing diversity respecting the learning rhythms. The learning assessment will only have an effect in the medium and long term when it is maintained over time. That is, both investment in teachers’ training time and handling of the data, which are obtained with computer applications, must be preserved to offer greater rapidity in the feedback and feedforward [18, 62-64]”.

6. Limitations:

Submitted filename: Response to Reviewers5.docx

Decision Letter 1

11 May 2020

Communicative competence assessment for learning: the effect of the application of a model on teachers in Spain

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Language and Communicative Competence

• First Online: 01 January 2010

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• Marissa Rollnick 2  

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In this chapter, language issues and students’ level of communicative competence are examined. Two predominant theoretical models are examined, relying on cognitivist and situated approaches, respectively. The situated approach, supported by the discourse work of Gee (2005, Establishing scientific classroom discourse communities , pp. 19–45) is found to be better aligned to the notion of epistemological access which is linked to the notion of academic literacies and is recommended as an approach to assisting students with academic reading and writing. The chapter also examines models of language support offered in access programmes, which range from being integrated into the academic discipline to a separate generic language course. Various research findings are reviewed on improvement of students’ reading and writing. This chapter concludes by emphasising the centrality of writing and communication to the academic enterprise and the need for a holistic approach.

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Rollnick, M. (2010). Language and Communicative Competence. In: Identifying Potential for Equitable Access to Tertiary Level Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3224-9_8

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• Gerdi Quist
• University College London via Ubiquity Press

Hymes’ view of communicative competence (cf. 1967; 1972) brought an anthropological understanding to language, as it provides a model for analyzing a communicative event in its socio-cultural context. His model indicates the various parameters that govern communication in terms of what to say, when, to whom, and how to say it, and with what intention. This set of parameters in its pragmatic, goal-oriented, and functional aspects has served as a guide for language teaching since the 1980s. It formed the basis of the functional approach to language teaching (cf Wilkinson, 1976), which was developed further in the Threshold Levels (Van Ek, 1991) of the Council of Europe, the precursor to the Common European Framework, which I discussed earlier in the chapter.

This approach focused on language functions in a few specific domains of language use such as shopping, travel, house and home, food, and drink. Language teaching for communicative competence reduced Hymes’ notion of communication to a limited and fixed set of situational topics, through which the learner would encounter and practice communicative acts such as giving a warning, inviting someone or asking for help, within set domains using set phrases. Its focus became a goal-oriented view of language where limited features of the situational context were the principal determinants of the linguistic choices to be made.

Reducing language teaching predominantly to the context of situation limits the learners’ understanding of the role that our social and cultural environment has to play in our language use. Considering the context according to set parameters assumes that the rules for social communication used in one situation are the same in all situations of that kind. Like the Saussurean tradition, it assumes stability of meaning. It ignores the unpredictability of communicative events and the individual choices we might make in our utterances to respond to the context. It could be argued that learners would at least need to learn the conventions used in certain communicative settings, but even in situations governed largely by conventions we have the freedom to act in accordance with those conventions or not. As Kress (1994: 176) argues, even a decision to conform is an act of choice, and as such involves a ‘new production of the meaning of conformity’.

However, it is not only the limited interpretation of Hymes’ (1967; 1972) formulation of communicative competence view of language which is the problem. I believe that his model, whilst helping us to understand the very important role of the immediate context, or the context of the situation, does not fully address the idea of the complexity of culture. Even though cultural conventions are addressed through the parameters of ‘norm’ (social rules) and ‘genre’ (arguably a social view of text), it does not question or consider the wider view of ‘context of culture’, which consists of wider societal influences and ideological forces and discourses (Halliday, 1985). Hymes did consider ideology in his later work, which I will refer to in the next chapter, but that work did not have an impact on language teaching.

The two notions of context come from the anthropologist Malinowski (1884-1942). Kramsch glosses Malinowski’s idea of ‘context of situation’ as the ‘immediate physical, spatial, temporal, and social environment in which verbal exchange takes place’ (1998: 126). Indeed, this is similar to Hymes’ parameters governing communicative competence. But in order to understand meaning more fully, one also had to take account of the context of culture, Malinowski argued, which, as Kramsch quotes Malinowski, means taking account of ‘tribal economics, social organization, kinship patterns, fertility rites, seasonal rhythms, concepts of time and space’ (ibid. p. 26). Whilst this relates to a traditional anthropological and static view of culture, the idea of context of culture can include a poststructuralist view of culture. The aim of achieving communicative competence in language learning has now been replaced by the notion of Intercultural Communicative Competence (Byram, 1997). I discuss this in Chapter 3.

application letter with heading

Cover Letter Heading: 10 Best Examples for 2024

A cover letter is an essential document that accompanies a resume when applying for a job. It serves as an introduction to the candidate and provides an opportunity to showcase their skills and qualifications. While the resume lists the candidate’s experience, education, and achievements, a cover letter allows the candidate to explain why they are the best fit for a particular position.

A well-crafted cover letter can make a difference in a hiring manager’s decision to invite a candidate for an interview. A cover letter allows the candidate to personalize their application and demonstrate their interest in the company and position they are applying for. It is an opportunity to highlight specific skills and experiences that make the candidate a strong fit for the job.

Purpose of Cover Letter Heading

The heading of a cover letter is the first thing that the hiring manager will see. It should include the candidate’s contact information, the date, and the recipient’s name and address. The purpose of the heading is to make the cover letter look professional and informative.

The Basics of a Cover Letter Heading

When it comes to writing a cover letter, one of the crucial parts to pay attention to is the heading. In this section, we will discuss the definition of a cover letter heading, where to place it, what should be included, and tips for creating a strong cover letter heading.

A. Definition of Cover Letter Heading

The cover letter heading is the section that appears at the top of the cover letter. It contains important information that introduces the letter and provides context about the applicant. Typically, the heading includes the applicant’s name, address, phone number, and email address. The employer also expects the date they received the letter to be present.

B. Where to Place Cover Letter Heading

The cover letter heading should be placed at the beginning of the cover letter, right at the top of the page. It should appear aligned to the left-hand margin of the document.

C. What Should be Included in Cover Letter Heading

As previously mentioned, the cover letter heading should include essential personal information such as the applicant’s name, address, phone number, and email address. If the letter is being sent via email, including the applicant’s HTML email signature (if they have one) may be an additional, more professional touch. Additionally, it’s important to include the date the letter was written, as well as the employer or hiring manager’s name and address.

D. Tips for Creating a Strong Cover Letter Heading

A strong cover letter heading should be easy to read and contain all the necessary information. Here are some tips to guide you:

Use a legible font: choose a font that’s easy to read, popular examples include Arial or Times New Roman.

Keep it brief: the cover letter heading doesn’t need to be too long. Just include the essentials and keep it concise.

Use appropriate spacing: ensure there’s enough spacing between each line that will make the heading clear, easy to read, and navigate.

Add a personal touch: consider adding a professional-looking personal logo or design to your header that visually elevates the heading and makes it stand out.

Proofread: Finally, review and confirm that all information is correct and up-to-date, this helps avoid any errors that might distract attention from what should be communicated in the letter.

By following these tips and best practices, you can make sure that your cover letter heading stands out from the rest and provides the employer with the information they need. This will increase your chances of getting the hiring manager’s attention and landing the job you want.

Best Examples of Cover Letter Heading

One of the most important aspects of a cover letter is the heading, as it sets the tone for the entire document. Here are 10 examples of the best cover letter headings:

Example 1: Traditional Heading

A traditional heading includes your name, contact information, and the date of the application. It’s a classic and professional option that never goes out of style.

Example 2: Modern Heading

A modern heading can incorporate a bold font, unique design, or color to grab the reader’s attention. It shows off your creativity and attention to detail.

Example 3: Minimalist Heading

A minimalist heading uses simple and clean lines to convey a sense of sophistication and professionalism. It’s a great option for industries like finance or law.

Example 4: Creative Heading

A creative heading incorporates elements like graphics or images to showcase your personality and stand out from the competition. It can work well in artistic or design-related fields.

Example 5: Unique Heading

A unique heading can include a catchy tagline, quote, or reference to the job you’re applying for. It captures the reader’s attention and makes a memorable impression.

Example 6: Professional Heading

A professional heading includes your name, job title, and contact information. It’s straightforward and highlights your experience and qualifications.

Example 7: Personalized Heading

A personalized heading references the company or position you’re applying for, and shows that you’ve done your research and know what the company values.

Example 8: Industry-Specific Heading

An industry-specific heading includes relevant keywords and phrases that align with the industry or job you’re applying for. This shows that you have a strong understanding of the field.

Example 9: Keyword-Optimized Heading

A keyword-optimized heading uses specific keywords and phrases from the job posting to ensure that your application doesn’t get overlooked by applicant tracking systems.

Example 10: Eye-catching Heading

An eye-catching heading uses a bold font, color, or unique design to catch the reader’s attention and make a lasting impression. It’s a great option for creative fields.

Your cover letter heading should be a reflection of your personal style and the job you’re applying for. Use these 10 examples as a starting point to create a heading that stands out and sets you apart from the competition.

How to Choose the Best Cover Letter Heading for Your Application

When it comes to crafting a cover letter heading that will catch a potential employer’s eye, there are several factors to consider. These include the job requirements and company culture, your personal brand and industry, and the purpose and tone of your cover letter. By tailoring your heading to the job and employer, you can increase your chances of standing out among other applicants.

A. Analyze the Job Requirements and Company Culture

Before crafting your cover letter heading, carefully analyze the job requirements and company culture. Look for keywords and phrases that are frequently used in the job description, as well as any specific company values or mission statements mentioned on the company website. This will give you a better sense of what the employer is looking for in a candidate and how you can position yourself as a strong fit for the role.

B. Consider Your Personal Brand and Industry

Your personal brand and industry should also play a role in choosing the best cover letter heading. If you work in a more creative industry, for example, you may want to use a more colorful and unique heading that reflects your personality and design skills. On the other hand, if you work in a more traditional or conservative industry, a more straightforward and professional heading may be more appropriate.

C. Determine the Purpose and Tone of Your Cover Letter

The purpose and tone of your cover letter should also guide your choice of heading. If you are applying for a job with a specific company, you may want to use the company name in your heading to show your interest and attention to detail. If you are hoping to convey a more personal or passionate tone, you may want to use a heading that highlights your motivation for applying to the job.

D. Tailor Your Heading to the Job and Employer

Ultimately, the key to choosing the best cover letter heading is to tailor it to the job and employer. This means taking into account the job requirements, company culture, your personal brand and industry, and the purpose and tone of your cover letter. By doing so, you can create a heading that stands out from the competition and captures the attention of your potential employer.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Cover Letter Heading

Your cover letter heading is the first thing that recruiters and hiring managers see when they open your application. It’s essential to make a great first impression, and avoid the following mistakes:

A. Using Unprofessional or Offensive Language

Your cover letter heading should be professional and free of any offensive language. Avoid using slang or phrases that may be inappropriate in a professional setting. Make sure to spell check and double-check your wording before submitting.

B. Creating a Bland or Generic Heading

Avoid using a generic heading that does not give any information about the specific job or industry you are applying to. Customize your heading to fit the job that you are applying for, and make sure it stands out among other applications.

C. Failing to Customize the Heading for Each Application

Every job posting is different, and your cover letter heading should reflect that. Make sure to customize your heading for each job you apply to, including any specific requirements or qualifications listed in the job posting.

D. Making Spelling or Grammar Errors in the Heading

Spelling and grammar errors are a red flag for recruiters and hiring managers. Make sure to proofread your heading carefully, and have someone else check it as well. A second set of eyes can catch mistakes that you may have missed.

E. Including Irrelevant Information in the Heading

Your cover letter heading should be concise and relevant to the job you are applying for. Avoid including any unnecessary or irrelevant information, such as your address or personal information. Stick to the job title and any relevant qualifications or skills.

By avoiding these common mistakes, you can create a professional and effective cover letter heading that will grab the attention of recruiters and hiring managers. Remember, your cover letter heading is the first impression you make, so make it count!

Frequently Asked Questions about Cover Letter Heading

When it comes to crafting a cover letter, one of the most important elements is the heading. A well-written heading can grab the attention of the hiring manager and make your application stand out. However, there are several questions that often arise when it comes to creating a cover letter heading. Below are some frequently asked questions and their answers.

A. Should I Use the Same Heading for Every Cover Letter?

While it may be tempting to use the same cover letter heading for every application, it’s important to customize your heading for each job you apply for. This can include using the company name, position title, or other relevant information to make your application more tailored to the specific job.

B. How Long Should My Cover Letter Heading Be?

Your cover letter heading should be brief and to the point. Generally, it should not exceed two lines. This ensures that it doesn’t take up too much space on the page and keeps your application looking clean and professional.

C. Can I Include a Tagline or Slogan in my Heading?

Including a tagline or slogan in your heading can be a great way to showcase your personal brand and make your application stand out. However, it’s important to ensure that the tagline is relevant to the job you are applying for and that it doesn’t detract from the main content of your cover letter.

D. Is it Okay to Use a Colored or Graphic Header for My Cover Letter?

While a colored or graphic header can add visual interest to your cover letter, it’s important to use them sparingly and appropriately. If you’re applying for a creative role, a colored or graphic header may be appropriate, but for most jobs, a simple and professional heading is the way to go.

E. Should I Include My Contact Information in the Heading or Body of My Cover Letter?

Including your contact information in the heading of your cover letter can make it easier for the hiring manager to reach out to you. However, it’s also okay to include your contact information in the body of your cover letter, either at the top or bottom of the page. Just be sure to double-check that you’ve included all the necessary information, including your phone number and email address, so that the hiring manager can easily reach out to you if necessary.

Crafting a strong cover letter heading requires attention to detail and careful consideration. By customizing your heading for each job, keeping it brief and to the point, and ensuring that it’s relevant and professional, you can create a great first impression with your application.

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How to Write a Cover Letter in 2024 + Examples

After weeks of heavy job search, you’re almost there!

You’ve perfected your resume. 

You’ve short-listed the coolest jobs you want to apply for.

You’ve even had a friend train you for every single interview question out there.

But then, before you can send your application and call it a day, you remember that the job ad requires a cover letter.

Now you’re stuck wondering how to write a cover letter ...

Don’t panic! We’ve got you covered. Writing a cover letter is a lot simpler than you might think. 

In this guide, we’re going to teach you how to write a cover letter that gets you the job you deserve.

• What’s a cover letter & why it’s important for your job search
• How to write a convincing cover letter that gets you the job (step-by-step!)
• How to perfect your cover letter with the Novoresume free checklist
• What excellent cover letter examples look like

New to cover letter writing? Give our resumes 101 video a watch before diving into the article!

So, let’s get started with the basics!

What is a Cover Letter? (and Why It’s Important)

A cover letter is a one-page document that you submit as part of your job application (alongside your CV or Resume). 

Its purpose is to introduce you and briefly summarize your professional background. On average, your cover letter should be from 250 to 400 words long .

A good cover letter can spark the HR manager’s interest and get them to read your resume. 

A bad cover letter, on the other hand, might mean that your application is going directly to the paper shredder. So, to make sure this doesn’t happen, it’s essential to know how to write a convincing cover letter.

How does a good cover letter look, you might ask. Well, here’s an example:

Keep in mind, though, that a cover letter is a supplement to your resume, not a replacement. Meaning, you don’t just repeat whatever is mentioned in your resume.

If you’re writing a cover letter for the first time, writing all this might seem pretty tough. After all, you’re probably not a professional writer.

The thing is, though, you don’t need to be creative, or even any good at writing. All you have to do is follow a tried-and-tested format:

• Header - Input contact information
• Greeting the hiring manager
• Opening paragraph - Grab the reader’s attention with 2-3 of your top achievements
• Second paragraph - Explain why you’re the perfect candidate for the job
• Third paragraph - Explain why you’re a good match for the company
• Formal closing

Or, here’s what this looks like in practice:

How to Write the Perfect Cover Letter (And Get Hired!)

Now that we’ve got the basics out of the way, we’re going to guide you through the process of writing a cover letter step by step. 

Step #1 - Pick the Right Cover Letter Template

A good cover letter is all about leaving the right first impression.

So, what’s a better way to leave a good impression than a well-formatted, visual template?

You can simply pick one of our hand-picked cover letter templates , and you’ll be all set in a jiffy!

As a bonus, our AI will even give you suggestions on how to improve your cover letter on the go.

Step #2 - Start the Cover Letter with a Header

As with a resume, it’s important to start your cover letter with a Contact Information section:

Here, you want to include all essential information, including:

• Phone Number
• Name of the hiring manager / their professional title
• Name of the company you’re applying to

In certain cases, you might also consider adding:

• Social Media Profiles - Any type of profile that’s relevant to your field. Social Profiles on websites like LinkedIn, GitHub (for developers), Medium (for writers), etc.
• Personal Website - If you have a personal website that somehow adds value to your application, you can mention it. Let’s say you’re a professional writer. In that case, you’d want to link to your blog.

And here’s what you shouldn’t mention in your header:

• Your Full Address 
• Unprofessional Email - Make sure your email is presentable. It’s pretty hard for a hiring manager to take you seriously if your email address is “ [email protected] .” Whenever applying for jobs, stick to the “[first name] + [last name] @ email provider.com” format.

Step #3 - Greet the Hiring Manager

Once you’ve properly listed your contact information, you need to start writing the cover letter contents.

The first thing to do here is to address the cover letter to the hiring manager .

That’s right, the hiring manager! Not the overly popular “Dear Sir or Madam.” You want to show your future boss that you did your research and are really passionate about working with their team.

No one wants to hire a job seeker who just spams 20+ companies and hopes to get hired in any of them.

So, how do you find out who’s the hiring manager? There are several ways to do this. 

The simplest option is to look up the head of the relevant department on LinkedIn. Let’s say you’re applying for the position of a Communication Specialist at Novoresume. The hiring manager is probably Head of Communications or Chief Communications Office.

So, you do a quick lookup on LinkedIn:

And voila! You have your hiring manager.

Or let’s say you’re applying for the position of a server. In that case, you’d be looking for the “restaurant manager.”

If this doesn’t work, you can also check out the “Team” page on the company website; there’s a good chance you’ll at least find the right person there.

Here are several other greetings you could use:

• Dear [Department] Hiring Manager
• Dear Hiring Manager
• To whom it may concern
• Dear [Department] Team

Step #4 - Write an Attention-Grabbing Introduction

First impressions matter, especially when it comes to your job search.

Recruiters get hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of applications. Chances are, they’re not going to be reading every single cover letter end-to-end.

So, it’s essential to catch their attention from the very first paragraph .

The #1 problem we see with most cover letter opening paragraphs is that they’re usually extremely generic. Most of them look something like this..

• Hey, my name is Jonathan and I’d like to work as a Sales Manager at XYZ Inc. I’ve worked as a sales manager at MadeUpCompany Inc. for 5+ years, so I believe that I’d be a good fit for the position.

See the issue here? This opening paragraph doesn’t say pretty much anything except the fact that you’ve worked the job before.

Do you know who else has similar work experience? All the other applicants you’re competing with.

Instead, you want to start off with 2-3 of your top achievements to really grab the reader’s attention. Preferably, the achievements should be as relevant as possible to the position.

So now, let’s make our previous example shine:

My name’s Michael and I’d like to help XYZ Inc. hit and exceed their sales goals as a Sales Manager. I’ve worked with Company X, a fin-tech company, for 3+ years. As a Sales Representative, I generated an average of $30,000+ in sales per month (beating the KPIs by around 40%). I believe that my previous industry experience, as well as excellence in sales, makes me the right candidate for the job.

See the difference between the two examples? If you were the hiring manager, which sales manager would you hire, Jonathan or Michael?

Now that we’ve covered the introduction, let’s talk about the body of your cover letter. This part is split into two paragraphs: the first is for explaining why you’re the perfect person for the job, and the latter is for proving that you’re a good fit for the company.

So, let’s get started...

Step #5 - Explain why you’re the perfect person for the job

This is where you show off your professional skills and convince the HR manager that you’re a better fit for the job than all the other applicants.

But first things first - before you even write anything, you need to learn what the most important requirements for the role are. So, open up the job ad and identify which of the responsibilities are the most critical.

For the sake of the example, let’s say you’re applying for the position of a Facebook Advertiser. You scan the job ad and see that the top requirements are:

• Experience managing a Facebook ad budget of $10,000+ / month
• Some skills in advertising on other platforms (Google Search + Twitter)
• Excellent copywriting skills

Now, in this section, you need to discuss how you fulfill these requirements. So, here’s how that would look for our example:

In my previous role as a Facebook Marketing Expert at XYZ Inc. I handled customer acquisition through ads, managing a monthly Facebook ad budget of $20,000+ . As the sole digital marketer at the company, I managed the ad creation & management process end-to-end. Meaning, I created the ad copy , images, picked the targeting, ran optimization trials, and so on.

Other than Facebook advertising, I’ve also delved into other online PPC channels, including:

• Google Search

Are you a student applying for your first internship? You probably don’t have a lot of work experience to show off in this section. Learn how to write an internship cover letter here.

Step #6 - Explain why you’re a good fit for the company

Once you’ve written the last paragraph, you might be thinking - I’m a shoo-in for the job! What else do I need to write? I’ll just wrap up the cover letter and hit that sweet SEND button.

Well, no. You’re not quite there yet.

The HR manager doesn’t only look at whether you’ll be good at the job or not. They’re looking for someone that’s also a good fit for the company culture.

After all, employees that don’t fit in are bound to quit, sooner or later. This ends up costing the company a ton of money, up to 50% of the employee’s annual salary . 

Meaning, you also need to convince the HR manager that you’re really passionate about working with them.

How do you do this? Well, as a start, you want to do some research about the company. You want to know things like:

• What’s the company’s business model?
• What’s the company product or service? Have you used it?
• What’s the culture like? Will someone micro-manage your work, or will you have autonomy on how you get things done?

So, get to Googling. Chances are, you’ll find all the information you need either on the company website or somewhere around the web.

Then, you need to figure out what you like about the company and turn that into text.

Let’s say, for example, you’re passionate about their product and you like the culture of innovation / independent work in the organization.

You’d write something like:

I’ve personally used the XYZ Smartphone, and I believe that it’s the most innovative tech I’ve used in years. The features such as Made-Up-Feature #1 and Made-Up-Feature #2 were real game changers for the device. 

I really admire how Company XYZ thrives for excellence for all its product lines, creating market-leading tech. As someone that thrives in a self-driven environment, I truly believe that I and Company XYZ will be a great match.

What you don’t want to do here is be super generic for the sake of having something to write. Most job seekers tend to mess this one up. Let’s take a look at a very common example we tend to see (way too often):

I’d love to work for Company XYZ because of its culture of innovation. I believe that since I’m super creative, I’d be a good fit for the company. The company values of integrity and transparency really vibe with me.

See what’s wrong here? The example doesn’t really say anything about the company. “Culture of Innovation” is something most companies claim to have. 

The same goes for “values of integrity and transparency” - the writer just googled what the values for the organization are, and said that they like them.

Any hiring manager that reads this will see through the fluff.

So, make sure to do a lot of research and come up with good reasons why you're applying.

Step #7 - Wrap up with a call to action

Finally, it’s time to finish up your cover letter and write the conclusion.

In the final paragraph, you want to:

• Wrap up any points you couldn't in the previous paragraphs. Do you have anything left to say? Any other information that could help the hiring manager make their decision? Mention it here.
• Thank the hiring manager for their time. It never hurts to be courteous, as long as you don’t come off as too needy.
• Finish the cover letter with a call to action. The very last sentence in your cover letter should be a call to action. You should ask the hiring manager to take some sort of action.

And now, let’s turn this into a practical example:

So to wrap it all up, thanks for looking into my application. I hope I can help Company X make the most out of their Facebook marketing initiatives. I'd love to further discuss how my previous success at XYZ Inc. can help you achieve your facebook marketing goals.

Step #8 - Use the right formal closing

Once you’re done with the final paragraph, all you have to do is write down a formal “goodbye” and you’re good to go.

Feel free to use one of the most popular conclusions to a cover letter:

• Best Regards,
• Kind Regards,

And we’re finally done! Before sending off the cover letter, make sure to proofread it with software like Grammarly, or maybe even get a friend to review it for you.

Does your cover letter heading include all essential information?

• Professional email
• Relevant Social Media Profiles

Do you address the right person? I.e. hiring manager in the company / your future direct supervisor

Does your introductory paragraph grab the reader's attention?

• Did you mention 2-3 of your top achievements?
• Did you use numbers and facts to back up your experience?

Do you successfully convey that you’re the right pro for the job?

• Did you identify the core requirements?
• Did you successfully convey how your experiences help you fit the requirements perfectly?

Do you convince the hiring manager that you’re passionate about the company you’re applying to?

• Did you identify the top 3 things that you like about the company?
• Did you avoid generic reasons for explaining your interest in the company?

Did you finalize the conclusion with a call to action?

Did you use the right formal closure for the cover letter?

5+ Cover Letter Examples

Need some inspiration? Read on to learn about some of the best cover letter examples we’ve seen (for different fields).

College Student Cover Letter Example

Middle Management Cover Letter Example

Career Change Cover Letter Example

Management Cover Letter Example

Senior Executive Cover Letter Example

Want to discover more examples AND learn what makes them stand out? Check out our guide to cover letter examples .

Next Steps in Your Job Search - Creating a Killer Resume

Your cover letter is only as good as your resume. If either one is weak, your entire application is for naught. 

After all, a cover letter is just an introduction. Imagine going through all this effort to leave an amazing first impression, but flopping at the end because of a mediocre resume.

...But don’t you worry, we’ve got you covered on that end, too.

If you want to learn more about Resumes & CVs, we have a dedicated FREE guide for that. Check out our complete guide on how to make a resume , as well as how to write a CV - our experts will teach you everything you need to know in order to land your dream job.

Or, if you’re already an expert, just pick one of our resume templates and get started.

Key Takeaways

Now that we’ve walked you through all the steps of writing a cover letter, let’s summarize everything we’ve learned:

• A cover letter is a 250 - 400 word document that convinces the hiring manager of your competence
• A cover letter goes in your job application alongside your resume
• Your introduction to the cover letter should grab the hiring manager’s attention and keep it all the way until the conclusion
• There are 2 main topics you need to include in your cover letter: why you’re the perfect candidate for the job & why you’re passionate about working in the company you’re applying to
• Most of the content of your cover letter should be factual , without any fluff or generalizations

At Novorésumé, we’re committed to helping you get the job you deserve, every step of the way! Follow our blog to stay up to date with the industry-leading advice. Or, check out some of our top guides…

• How to Write a Motivational Letter
• How to Write a Resume with No Work Experience
• Most Common Interview Questions and Answers

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How to Write an Application Letter

Last Updated: June 29, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed. . Alexander Ruiz is an Educational Consultant and the Educational Director of Link Educational Institute, a tutoring business based in Claremont, California that provides customizable educational plans, subject and test prep tutoring, and college application consulting. With over a decade and a half of experience in the education industry, Alexander coaches students to increase their self-awareness and emotional intelligence while achieving skills and the goal of achieving skills and higher education. He holds a BA in Psychology from Florida International University and an MA in Education from Georgia Southern University. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 165,807 times.

Application letters are typically written to accompany school or job applications. The purpose of the letter is to introduce yourself to the decision committee, and to outline your qualifications in a specific way. It can be the only time other than an interview that you have a chance to really stand out in an application, so it's important to get it right. You can learn what to include in your letter, how to style it, and how to format it to give yourself the best chance.

Application Letter Templates

Writing a Job Application

• A good example would be: "I'm writing to apply for the Chimney Sweep position advertised in Rolling Stone. I think my experience in the heating industry makes me uniquely qualified for this position. Please find my application materials and a brief description of my qualifications below."
• Don't write your name until the signature. It'll be in the header and in the sign-off, so there's no reason to put it in the body of the letter itself.

• Be specific. Who are you? Where do you come from? What's your story? These details are important. HR screeners read hundreds of these.
• Describe your ambitions. Where do you want to go? How will this opportunity help you get there?
• What skills and experiences make you the right fit? Be as specific as possible and avoid vague language. It's better to describe a time you solved a specific problem at your last job than to just write, "I'm a good problem solver at work."

• Tailor it to the business. If you're applying to work at a record store, you need to talk about music. If you're applying to work at a tech company that writes, "Tell us something totally rad about yourself!" it's probably ok to be a little more informal.

• Don't over-promise. Telling someone that you can guarantee that you'll be able to turn around their sales figures in six months or less is a good way to get fired in six months.

• Any kind of job requires this type of research. If you apply to a restaurant, you need to be familiar with the menu and the kind of customers the restaurant attracts. Consider eating there a few times before you apply.
• Don't show you're familiar by criticizing a business and telling them what you can do better. Not the time to offer a harsh criticism of a business plan that you don't really know anything about.

Writing a School Application

• Common prompts include things like, "Outline your qualifications for this position" or "In writing, explain how this position would affect your career goals." Sometimes, the prompt will be as short as, "Tell us something interesting about yourself."
• If there is no prompt, but you still feel the need to introduce your application with a letter, it's usually best to keep it as short as possible. Explain what you're applying for, why you're applying, and thank the contact for their consideration. That's it.

• Often, college prompts will ask you to describe a time you struggled, or a time you overcame some obstacle. Write about something unique, a time that you actually failed and dealt with the consequences.
• The board will get thousands–literally, thousands–of letters about someone's first mission trip, and letters about the time someone's sports team was beaten, then overcame the odds, and won again. Avoid these topics.

• Be specific. If you're writing to a college board, don't say, "I want to go to this college because I need a degree." That's obvious. What do you want to do with it? Why? If you're applying to a business, don't say, "I just need a job." That's obvious. Why this specific job?

• If you're applying to schools, what do you like about the school? What faculty are you interested in? Why this school, instead of another?

Formatting Application Letters

• If you don't get a word-count guideline, just focus on making one or two good points about yourself, and keeping it at that. No need to drone on four several pages.

• Instead of a salutation, write, "Letter of Application" at the top left corner of the page, or put it in the header on the left side at the top.
• If you do have a contact, address it to them, making sure the name is spelled correctly. Then space down and start the body of the letter. [10] X Research source

• Sometimes, it's appropriate to type your name, then print out the letter and sign it in pen. That can be a nice touch.

• Mailing address
• Telephone and/or fax number

Expert Q&A

• Remember to be formal at all times. Do not use abbreviations anywhere. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/how-to-write-an-application-letter
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/professional_technical_writing/tone_in_business_writing.html
• ↑ Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed.. Educational Consultant. Expert Interview. 18 June 2020.
• ↑ https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/types-of-writing/admission-letters/
• ↑ https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/personal-statements-and-application-letters.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/job_search_writing/job_search_letters/cover_letters_1_quick_tips/quick_formatting_tips.html
• ↑ https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/assignments/coverletters/

About This Article

To format an application letter, start by including your name and contact details in the document header. When choosing a greeting, only use one if you know the person's name your writing to. Otherwise, give the document a title, like "Letter of application" at the top of the page. For the body of the letter, aim to write no more than 1 page of single-spaced paragraphs using a standard font. Finally, conclude your letter with a formal greeting like "Sincerely yours." For tips on how to write a job application letter, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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What do I include in my cover letter heading?

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"Writing Your Cover Letter" is a series of short documents that walks you through the creation of a cover letter. Here you can see the information in the "Quick Tips for Cover Letters" and "Preparing to Write a Cover Letter" pages put to use. This page guides you through adapting your experiences to the content in your cover letter and its different sections.

The heading provides your contact information, the date you are writing, and the address of the company to which you are applying.

For your contact information, you will want to include the following:

• The address where you can be reached ( if you live at college, will it be more accessible to include the local address or your permanent address? )
• Phone number
• Fax number (if applicable)
• E-mail address

Then, you will skip a line and write the full date ( month, day, year ). Follow this by skipping a space and writing the contact information for the person to whom you are writing:

• Name of the specific person
• Title of that person (if available)
• Address of the company

Craig M. Leroix 2987 W. Taylor Dr. Portland, OR 45720 890-372-1262 [email protected]

February 2, 2005

Amy Kincaid, Human Resource Director Western Electric, Inc. 387 Collier Lane Atlanta, Georgia 30051

Job seekers at Purdue University may find value in the Purdue career Wiki here .

The following are additional Purdue OWL resources to help you write your cover letter:

• Cover Letter Workshop- Formatting and Organization
• Example Employment Documents
• Cover Letters 1: Quick Tips
• Cover Letters 2: Preparing to Write a Cover Letter
• Cover Letter Presentation
• Job Search Documents for Working Class Positions
• Search Search Please fill out this field.
• Career Planning
• Finding a Job

Sample Cover Letter for a Job Application

What is an Application Letter?

What to include in your application letter, tips for writing a cover letter, cover letter sample and template, email cover letter sample.

• How to Send an Email Application

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Alex Dos Diaz / The Balance

What's the best way to write a letter to apply for a job? Your letter should detail your specific qualifications for the position and the skills you would bring to the employer. What’s most important is to show the employer that you’re a perfect match for the job.

Your job application letter is an opportunity to highlight your most relevant qualifications and experience. An effective cover letter will enhance your application, showcase your achievements, and increase your chances of landing an interview.

Review what to include in a job application letter, tips for writing a letter that will get your application notice, and examples of letters and email messages sent to apply for a job.

• An application letter accompanies a resume and may be uploaded to a job portal, sent via email, or even sent by postal mail, depending on the employer’s requirements.
• Application letters are an ideal way to show your interest in a job and highlight your most relevant skills.
• It’s important to match your letter to the job description and show the employer that you have the qualifications they are seeking.

A   letter of application, also known as a  cover letter , is a document sent with your resume to provide additional information about your skills and experience to an employer. Your letter of application is intended to provide detailed information on why you are an ideal candidate for the job.

Your application letter should let the employer know what position you are applying for, what makes you a strong candidate, why they should select you for an interview, and how you will follow up.

Effective application letters explain the reasons for your interest in the specific organization and identify the most relevant skills that qualify you for the job.

Your application letter should let the employer know what position you are applying for, explain your qualifications for the job, why you should be selected for an interview, and how you will follow up.

Unless an employer specifically requests a job application letter sent by postal mail, today most cover letters are sent by email or attached as a file in an online application tracking system.

As with all cover letters, a job application letter is divided into sections:

• The heading includes your name and contact information.
• A  greeting  addressed to a specific person, if possible.
• The introduction includes why the applicant is writing.
• The body discusses your relevant qualifications and what you have to offer the employer.
• The close thanks the reader and provides contact information and follow-up details.
• Your  signature to end the letter .

Here’s how to ensure that your application supports your resume, highlights your most relevant qualifications, and impresses the hiring manager.

Get off to a direct start.  In your first paragraph, explain why you are writing. Mention the job title and company name, and where you found the job listing. While you can also briefly mention why you are a strong candidate, this section should be short and to the point.

Offer something different than what's in your resume. You can make your language a bit more personal than in your resume bullet points, and you can tell a narrative about your work experience and career.

Application letters typically accompany resumes, so your letter should showcase information that your resume doesn't.

Make a good case.  Your first goal with this letter is to progress to the next step: an interview. Your overarching goal, of course, is to get a job offer. Use your application letter to further both causes. Offer details about your experience and background that show why you are a good candidate. How have other jobs prepared you for the position? What would you bring to the position, and to the company? Use this space to  emphasize your strengths .

Close with all the important details.  Include a thank you at the end of your letter. You can also share your contact information and mention how you will follow up.

This is a sample cover letter.  Download the cover letter template  (compatible with Google Docs and Word Online) or see below for an email sample.

The Balance

John Donaldson 8 Sue Circle Smithtown, CA 08067 909-555-5555 john.donaldson@email.com

September 6, 2022

George Gilhooley LTC Company 87 Delaware Road Hatfield, CA 08065

Dear Mr. Gilhooley,

I am writing to apply for the programmer position advertised in the Times Union. As requested, I enclose my certification, resume, and references.

The role is very appealing to me, and I believe that my strong technical experience and education make me a highly competitive candidate for this position. My key strengths that would support my success in this position include:

• I have successfully designed, developed, and supported live-use applications.
• I strive continually for excellence.
• I provide exceptional contributions to customer service for all customers.

With a BS degree in computer programming, I have a comprehensive understanding of the full lifecycle of software development projects. I also have experience in learning and applying new technologies as appropriate. Please see my resume for additional information on my experience.

I can be reached anytime via email at john.donaldson@email.com or by phone at 909-555-5555.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to speaking with you about this employment opportunity.

Signature  (hard copy letter)

John Donaldson

The following is a sample email cover letter to send as part of a job application.

Email Application Letter Example

Subject: Colleen Warren - Web Content Manager Position

Dear Hiring Manager,

I'm writing to express my interest in the Web Content Manager position listed on Monster.com. I have experience building large, consumer-focused, health-based content sites. While much of my experience has been in the business world, I understand the social value of this sector, and I am confident that my business experience will be an asset to your organization.

My responsibilities have included the development and management of website editorial voice and style, editorial calendars, and the daily content programming and production for various websites.

I have worked closely with health care professionals and medical editors to provide the best possible information to a consumer audience of patients. I have also helped physicians to use their medical content to write user-friendly and easily comprehensible text.

Experience has taught me how to build strong relationships with all departments in an organization. I have the ability to work within a team, as well as cross-team. I can work with web engineers to resolve technical issues and implement technical enhancements. 

I am confident working with development departments to implement design and functional enhancements, monitor site statistics, and conduct search engine optimization.

Thank you for your consideration.

Colleen Warren colleen.warren@email.com 555-123-1234 www.linked.com/colleenwarren

How to Send an Email Application Letter

If sending your cover letter via email, list your name and the job title you are applying for in the  subject line  of the email:

Colleen Warren - Web Content Manager Position

Include your contact information in your email signature but don't list the employer's contact information.

Do you have to write a cover letter when you apply for a job?

Some employers require cover letters. If they do, it will be mentioned in the job posting. Otherwise, it’s optional but it can help your chances of securing an interview. A cover letter gives you a chance to sell yourself to the employer, showcase your qualifications, and explain why you are a perfect candidate for the job.

How can you use a cover letter to show you’re a qualified candidate?

One of the easiest ways to show an employer how you’re qualified for a job is to make a list of the requirements listed in the job posting and match them to your resume. Mention your most relevant qualifications in your cover letter, so the hiring manager can see, at a glance, that you have the credentials they are looking for.

CareerOneStop. " How Do I Write a Cover Letter ?"

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Letter Headings, or How to Head a Letter 

In these fast-paced days of emailing and texting, most people may feel that the practice of writing letters (whether formal or personal) has gone by the wayside. However, it’s still important to know how to write a letter, as well as how to format one. One of the most important parts of showing people you understand how to create a formal letter is knowing how to head a letter.  

A letter heading is the part of the letter that introduces you to your recipient as well as gives them some important information about you, such as your address. The art of writing the heading of a letter is specific to different types of letters, but more than simply being protocol, knowing how to write the heading of a letter also  

• conveys professionalism to your reader;  
• makes it easy to reply to your message, as there is no need to keep the envelope when all the information is on one piece of paper; and  
• often ensures you will get a prompt reply, which is very important in today’s world of instant communication.  

So now that you understand why it is necessary, it’s time to learn how to write the heading for a letter.   

Business Letters

Writing a business letter heading is not the same as writing the heading for a personal letter. Business letters are usually very formal, and you’ll want yours to be as well, especially since you’re choosing to send a letter rather than an email. The business letter heading format, like the format of a business letter itself, is specific and must get across certain information to be considered formal.   

1. If you have letterhead, use it!

Some businesses—big or small—already have paper with letter heading formats built in. As a formal letter heading example, this can’t be beat! It’s also done the work of introducing you and giving your reader all the pertinent information, including the name of the company and its address. Sometimes, the letterhead will contain your name as well. Usually, before you start writing the letter itself, the only piece of information you will need to add is the date.  

Unfortunately, though, not everyone has letterheads already created for their needs, especially today—when writing formal letters isn’t quite as common. If you don’t have letterhead, it’s still easy to create the proper letter heading format.  

2. If you don’t have letterhead, include your address.

The first thing you’ll include when writing a business letter heading is your address. This means your formal address with your street number, name, city, state, and zip code.   

If you have a PO (short for “post office”) box number, skip writing your street number and name and simply write “PO Box” followed by the number. Then, follow the number with your city, state, and zip.   

If you live in an apartment, make sure to include your apartment number under the first line of your address.   

After the full address, many people include a phone number or email address, although this isn’t mandatory. After all, you’ve written a letter to this person, so don’t you expect a letter in return?  

Make sure that when you write the address and any additional information that you block all the text to the right side of your letter. This is the expected way to format your own address when writing the heading of a letter.  

3. Write the date.

Next, professional letter heading format dictates that you include the date. You don’t want people to forget when they received your letter, so make sure to remind them. Leave a line between the address and the date. You’ll find that leaving this space makes the letter look cleaner and more formal—plus it makes the date easier to pick out.  

4. Write the recipient’s address.

Always include the recipient’s address when you’re writing a formal or business letter heading. You’ll need to include all the same information you included when you wrote your own address. Here are some rules for what to include and how to format the recipient’s address:  

• Do not indent the recipient’s address, but do leave two spaces below the date.  
• Block this address to the left instead of the right.   
• Always address the letter to someone specific within the company if possible.   
• If applicable, include the name of the company beneath the name of the individual but before the address.   

5. Leave a space before writing the salutation.

You’re almost done! Leave a space before the salutation to finish your heading. Then, write the salutation. Of course, you’ll want to use a formal salutation rather than a casual one, but that’s a completely separate issue. In fact, it’s one we discuss at length in another post.  

Personal Letters

As you may have already guessed, how to write the heading of a letter changes when you’re writing a personal letter. For one thing, you’re bound to be much closer to the recipient, so some information may not be necessary. And for another, you already know how to write the heading for a letter for business, and this is a much more casual, laid-back alternative.   

Finally, personal letters tend to be handwritten. This means your heading might be handwritten too, which can affect letter heading spacing, letter heading format, as well as simply how to write the heading for a letter.  

1. Begin with your address unless you’re certain the recipient knows it.

You may not need to include your address the way you did in a formal letter heading example. In fact, your recipient may already know your address well. You may even swap letters with them often. If this is the case, you won’t need to include an address like you would in a formal letter heading format.  

However, you may not be sure if your recipient knows your address. If you’re not positive they do, include it in the upper right-hand corner like you would when writing a business letter heading. Furthermore, if you have stationery with this already printed on it, great! If not, write it out yourself, either typed or handwritten.   

2. Add the date.

Letter heading spacing is still important in a personal letter, but it’s a bit different. Leave two spaces between your address and the date. If you didn’t include your address, include just the full date in the upper right-hand corner of the letter.   

3. Go directly to the salutation.

Unlike when you were learning how to head a letter for formal or business correspondence, you won’t need to include the recipient’s address. Instead, you can skip forward to the salutation. This can be gentler and more familiar than one you would use when writing a business letter heading. And for this one, you’ll also need to leave two spaces between the date and the salutation.   

Hybrid Letters

Of course, not all types of letters fall into one of these categories. These can include formal letters that are handwritten, such as fan mail to movie stars or letters of complaint to a company. You’ll still want to include the recipient’s address in this case.   

Other times, you may be writing your first personal letter to someone, so you don’t want to seem too familiar right off the bat. In this situation, a formal letter heading example may be better. However, you still won’t necessarily need to include the recipient’s address.  

Why Write Letters in the Age of Email

If you’ve come here hoping to learn more about how to head a letter or letter heading spacing or to see some formal letter heading examples, we hope we’ve been able to assist. However, some people may still be wondering why they might ever need to write letters when emails are so much easier—not to mention instant.  

The art of letter writing has been around a long time. Knowing how to write a proper letter allows you to communicate with people in a number of ways. Those who know how to write the heading for a letter can correspond with people properly, based on the situation and their relationship. There will always be times when writing a letter is more efficient, effective, or appropriate to the situation than sending an email. Thus, it’s important to know how to do so when these times come.

Like this post? Check out some more about writing letters:

How to Write an Official Letter

How to Write a Killer Query Letter

Ten Key Elements to Writing an Effective Business Letter

9 Awesome Online Writing Resources

Other Resources You Might Like

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How to Start a Cover Letter—Introduction, 20 Examples. 1. Sample Cover Letter Header Template. To start things off, here's a simple cover letter heading for you to reference or copy-paste into your job application: [Your First and Last Name] [Your Job Title or Branding Statement] (optional) [Phone Number]

Cover letter heading template. If you want a no frills cover letter template, you could copy and paste our template below—we won't tell anyone. (If your cover letter is going into an email, just paste this at the end rather than the beginning.) Feel free to play with the formatting—for example, by making your name larger, combining some ...

Follow these steps to compose a compelling application letter: 1. Research the company and job opening. Thoroughly research the company you're applying to and the specifications of the open position. The more you know about the job, the better you can customize your application letter. Look for details like:

Heading: A letter of application should begin with both your and the employer's contact information (name, address, phone number, email) followed by the date. If this is an email rather than an actual letter, include your contact information at the end of the letter, after your signature.

If you decide to put your address on your cover letter header, write your full mailing address. Here's an example of an applicant's mailing address on their header: 1444 Burton Avenue, Memphis, TN 38117. Alternatively, you can write down only your city and state, like this: Memphis, TN.

A. Definition of Cover Letter Heading. The cover letter heading is the section that appears at the top of the cover letter. It contains important information that introduces the letter and provides context about the applicant. Typically, the heading includes the applicant's name, address, phone number, and email address.

Complicated fonts can make it harder for the software to read your letter, which might prevent your application from moving forward. Use 10- and 12-point sizes for easy reading. In general, you should use the same font and font size that you used in your resume. Read more: How To Choose Cover Letter Font and Font Size Spacing within your cover ...

Proper Cover Letter Heading Format: Two Main Rules. Actually, all you need to know is this—. 1. What to include in the cover letter header: Your full name. Your job title (optional) Home address (optional) Phone number. Email address.

Header - Input contact information. Greeting the hiring manager. Opening paragraph - Grab the reader's attention with 2-3 of your top achievements. Second paragraph - Explain why you're the perfect candidate for the job. Third paragraph - Explain why you're a good match for the company.

2. Modern cover letter heading. Download Free Header Template. Here's another great cover letter header for all types of applicants. Because of its modern formatting, we like this heading for applying to forward-facing tech companies. 3. Creative cover letter header. Download Free Header Template.

Here are some tips for formatting your cover letter: Use a standard font: Choose a standard font such as Times New Roman or Arial, and use a font size of 10-12 points. Use a professional tone: Your cover letter should be written in a professional tone, with correct grammar and punctuation.

5. Add the date of writing. The date of writing is usually just below your address on the cover letter header. Add the exact date with the day, full month name, and year. This information is crucial to assure hiring managers that the application is recent and valid. 6. Write the hiring manager and company details.

Include your contact information, date, recipient name and address in your header. Greet your recipient by name, for example, "Dear Suzanne J. Phillips" or "Dear Hiring Manager.". Introduce yourself and share one or two relevant achievements to hook the reader in the opening paragraph.

Don't copy your resume: Your job application letter is a sales pitch. Don't regurgitate your resume; instead, use this document to sell the hiring manager on your skills. Tailor your application letter to the job: Match your skills and qualifications to the job description, highlighting those that make you an ideal candidate.

When writing a cover letter (as you should do each time you submit a resume as part of a job application), the layout of your letter is very important. Layout refers to the way the words are set up on the page, including headings, spacing, and font. You want to use a layout that makes your letter both easy to read and professional.

Format of an Application Letter. Create enough spacing: 1-1.15 between lines, 1-inch margins, double space between paragraphs. Choose the font: Garamond, Helvetica, or Arial in 11-12 points in a font size. Align the content to the left. Pick the file format: PDF, unless the recruiter requested a Word file specifically.

In a nutshell, this is how to format a cover letter: Use one-inch margins, single line spacing, and 11 to 12-pt font. In the top-left corner, put your contact details, city and date, and the employer's contact details. Open with a personal salutation.

Use a formal closing. When you get to the end of your letter, add a space, then include a closing, like "Sincerely" and sign your name. [11] Sometimes, it's appropriate to type your name, then print out the letter and sign it in pen. That can be a nice touch. 5. Put your contact information in the header.

Portland, OR 45720. 890-372-1262. [email protected] . February 2, 2005. Amy Kincaid, Human Resource Director. Western Electric, Inc. 387 Collier Lane. Atlanta, Georgia 30051. Job seekers at Purdue University may find value in the Purdue career Wiki here.

4. Address the letter to the right person. Find out the name of the recruiter or the hiring manager and address the application letter to them. You could write "Hello, Mr./Mrs./Ms." or "Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms." and follow that with their surname. If you can't find their name, use "To the Hiring Manager" or "Sir/Madam."

Sample Cover Letter for a Job Application. By. Alison Doyle. Updated on September 13, 2022. In This Article. View All. Photo: Alex Dos Diaz / The Balance. Review a sample letter to send with a job application, plus more examples of letters of application for jobs, and what to include in your letter or email.

Add the recipient's contact details. Below the date of writing, you can write the recipient's personal information. This may include their name, address, contact details, job title and company name. Write a topic header. You may include a header to inform the recipient of the letter topic.

Make sure that when you write the address and any additional information that you block all the text to the right side of your letter. This is the expected way to format your own address when writing the heading of a letter. 3. Write the date. Next, professional letter heading format dictates that you include the date.

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8.4 Intercultural Communication Competence

Learning objectives.

• Define intercultural communication competence.
• Explain how motivation, self- and other-knowledge, and tolerance for uncertainty relate to intercultural communication competence.
• Summarize the three ways to cultivate intercultural communication competence that are discussed.
• Apply the concept of “thinking under the influence” as a reflective skill for building intercultural communication competence.

Throughout this book we have been putting various tools in our communication toolbox to improve our communication competence. Many of these tools can be translated into intercultural contexts. While building any form of competence requires effort, building intercultural communication competence often requires us to take more risks. Some of these risks require us to leave our comfort zones and adapt to new and uncertain situations. In this section, we will learn some of the skills needed to be an interculturally competent communicator.

Components of Intercultural Communication Competence

Intercultural communication competence (ICC) is the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately in various cultural contexts. There are numerous components of ICC. Some key components include motivation, self- and other knowledge, and tolerance for uncertainty.

Initially, a person’s motivation for communicating with people from other cultures must be considered. Motivation refers to the root of a person’s desire to foster intercultural relationships and can be intrinsic or extrinsic (Martin & Nakayama, 2010). Put simply, if a person isn’t motivated to communicate with people from different cultures, then the components of ICC discussed next don’t really matter. If a person has a healthy curiosity that drives him or her toward intercultural encounters in order to learn more about self and others, then there is a foundation from which to build additional competence-relevant attitudes and skills. This intrinsic motivation makes intercultural communication a voluntary, rewarding, and lifelong learning process. Motivation can also be extrinsic, meaning that the desire for intercultural communication is driven by an outside reward like money, power, or recognition. While both types of motivation can contribute to ICC, context may further enhance or impede a person’s motivation to communicate across cultures.

Members of dominant groups are often less motivated, intrinsically and extrinsically, toward intercultural communication than members of nondominant groups, because they don’t see the incentives for doing so. Having more power in communication encounters can create an unbalanced situation where the individual from the nondominant group is expected to exhibit competence, or the ability to adapt to the communication behaviors and attitudes of the other. Even in situations where extrinsic rewards like securing an overseas business investment are at stake, it is likely that the foreign investor is much more accustomed to adapting to United States business customs and communication than vice versa. This expectation that others will adapt to our communication can be unconscious, but later ICC skills we will learn will help bring it to awareness.

The unbalanced situation I just described is a daily reality for many individuals with nondominant identities. Their motivation toward intercultural communication may be driven by survival in terms of functioning effectively in dominant contexts. Recall the phenomenon known as code-switching discussed earlier, in which individuals from nondominant groups adapt their communication to fit in with the dominant group. In such instances, African Americans may “talk white” by conforming to what is called “standard English,” women in corporate environments may adapt masculine communication patterns, people who are gay or lesbian may self-censor and avoid discussing their same-gender partners with coworkers, and people with nonvisible disabilities may not disclose them in order to avoid judgment.

While intrinsic motivation captures an idealistic view of intercultural communication as rewarding in its own right, many contexts create extrinsic motivation. In either case, there is a risk that an individual’s motivation can still lead to incompetent communication. For example, it would be exploitative for an extrinsically motivated person to pursue intercultural communication solely for an external reward and then abandon the intercultural relationship once the reward is attained. These situations highlight the relational aspect of ICC, meaning that the motivation of all parties should be considered. Motivation alone cannot create ICC.

Knowledge supplements motivation and is an important part of building ICC. Knowledge includes self- and other-awareness, mindfulness, and cognitive flexibility. Building knowledge of our own cultures, identities, and communication patterns takes more than passive experience (Martin & Nakayama). As you’ll recall from Chapter 2 “Communication and Perception” , on perception, we learn who we are through our interactions with others. Developing cultural self-awareness often requires us to get out of our comfort zones. Listening to people who are different from us is a key component of developing self-knowledge. This may be uncomfortable, because we may realize that people think of our identities differently than we thought. For example, when I lived in Sweden, my Swedish roommates often discussed how they were wary of befriending students from the United States. They perceived US Americans to be shallow because they were friendly and exciting while they were in Sweden but didn’t remain friends once they left. Although I was initially upset by their assessment, I came to see the truth in it. Swedes are generally more reserved than US Americans and take longer to form close friendships. The comparatively extroverted nature of the Americans led some of the Swedes to overestimate the depth of their relationship, which ultimately hurt them when the Americans didn’t stay in touch. This made me more aware of how my communication was perceived, enhancing my self-knowledge. I also learned more about communication behaviors of the Swedes, which contributed to my other-knowledge.

The most effective way to develop other-knowledge is by direct and thoughtful encounters with other cultures. However, people may not readily have these opportunities for a variety of reasons. Despite the overall diversity in the United States, many people still only interact with people who are similar to them. Even in a racially diverse educational setting, for example, people often group off with people of their own race. While a heterosexual person may have a gay or lesbian friend or relative, they likely spend most of their time with other heterosexuals. Unless you interact with people with disabilities as part of your job or have a person with a disability in your friend or family group, you likely spend most of your time interacting with able-bodied people. Living in a rural area may limit your ability to interact with a range of cultures, and most people do not travel internationally regularly. Because of this, we may have to make a determined effort to interact with other cultures or rely on educational sources like college classes, books, or documentaries. Learning another language is also a good way to learn about a culture, because you can then read the news or watch movies in the native language, which can offer insights that are lost in translation. It is important to note though that we must evaluate the credibility of the source of our knowledge, whether it is a book, person, or other source. Also, knowledge of another language does not automatically equate to ICC.

Developing self- and other-knowledge is an ongoing process that will continue to adapt and grow as we encounter new experiences. Mindfulness and cognitive complexity will help as we continue to build our ICC (Pusch, 2009). Mindfulness is a state of self- and other-monitoring that informs later reflection on communication interactions. As mindful communicators we should ask questions that focus on the interactive process like “How is our communication going? What are my reactions? What are their reactions?” Being able to adapt our communication in the moment based on our answers to these questions is a skill that comes with a high level of ICC. Reflecting on the communication encounter later to see what can be learned is also a way to build ICC. We should then be able to incorporate what we learned into our communication frameworks, which requires cognitive flexibility. Cognitive flexibility refers to the ability to continually supplement and revise existing knowledge to create new categories rather than forcing new knowledge into old categories. Cognitive flexibility helps prevent our knowledge from becoming stale and also prevents the formation of stereotypes and can help us avoid prejudging an encounter or jumping to conclusions. In summary, to be better intercultural communicators, we should know much about others and ourselves and be able to reflect on and adapt our knowledge as we gain new experiences.

Motivation and knowledge can inform us as we gain new experiences, but how we feel in the moment of intercultural encounters is also important. Tolerance for uncertainty refers to an individual’s attitude about and level of comfort in uncertain situations (Martin & Nakayama, 2010). Some people perform better in uncertain situations than others, and intercultural encounters often bring up uncertainty. Whether communicating with someone of a different gender, race, or nationality, we are often wondering what we should or shouldn’t do or say. Situations of uncertainty most often become clearer as they progress, but the anxiety that an individual with a low tolerance for uncertainty feels may lead them to leave the situation or otherwise communicate in a less competent manner. Individuals with a high tolerance for uncertainty may exhibit more patience, waiting on new information to become available or seeking out information, which may then increase the understanding of the situation and lead to a more successful outcome (Pusch, 2009). Individuals who are intrinsically motivated toward intercultural communication may have a higher tolerance for uncertainty, in that their curiosity leads them to engage with others who are different because they find the self- and other-knowledge gained rewarding.

Cultivating Intercultural Communication Competence

How can ICC be built and achieved? This is a key question we will address in this section. Two main ways to build ICC are through experiential learning and reflective practices (Bednarz, 2010). We must first realize that competence isn’t any one thing. Part of being competent means that you can assess new situations and adapt your existing knowledge to the new contexts. What it means to be competent will vary depending on your physical location, your role (personal, professional, etc.), and your life stage, among other things. Sometimes we will know or be able to figure out what is expected of us in a given situation, but sometimes we may need to act in unexpected ways to meet the needs of a situation. Competence enables us to better cope with the unexpected, adapt to the nonroutine, and connect to uncommon frameworks. I have always told my students that ICC is less about a list of rules and more about a box of tools.

Three ways to cultivate ICC are to foster attitudes that motivate us, discover knowledge that informs us, and develop skills that enable us (Bennett, 2009). To foster attitudes that motivate us, we must develop a sense of wonder about culture. This sense of wonder can lead to feeling overwhelmed, humbled, or awed (Opdal, 2001). This sense of wonder may correlate to a high tolerance for uncertainty, which can help us turn potentially frustrating experiences we have into teachable moments. I’ve had many such moments in my intercultural encounters at home and abroad. One such moment came the first time I tried to cook a frozen pizza in the oven in the shared kitchen of my apartment in Sweden. The information on the packaging was written in Swedish, but like many college students, I had a wealth of experience cooking frozen pizzas to draw from. As I went to set the oven dial to preheat, I noticed it was strange that the oven didn’t go up to my usual 425–450 degrees. Not to be deterred, I cranked the dial up as far as it would go, waited a few minutes, put my pizza in, and walked down the hall to my room to wait for about fifteen minutes until the pizza was done. The smell of smoke drew me from my room before the fifteen minutes was up, and I walked into a corridor filled with smoke and the smell of burnt pizza. I pulled the pizza out and was puzzled for a few minutes while I tried to figure out why the pizza burned so quickly, when one of my corridor-mates gently pointed out that the oven temperatures in Sweden are listed in Celsius, not Fahrenheit! Despite almost burning the kitchen down, I learned a valuable lesson about assuming my map for temperatures and frozen pizzas was the same as everyone else’s.

Discovering knowledge that informs us is another step that can build on our motivation. One tool involves learning more about our cognitive style, or how we learn. Our cognitive style consists of our preferred patterns for “gathering information, constructing meaning, and organizing and applying knowledge” (Bennett, 2009). As we explore cognitive styles, we discover that there are differences in how people attend to and perceive the world, explain events, organize the world, and use rules of logic (Nisbett, 2003). Some cultures have a cognitive style that focuses more on tasks, analytic and objective thinking, details and precision, inner direction, and independence, while others focus on relationships and people over tasks and things, concrete and metaphorical thinking, and a group consciousness and harmony.

Developing ICC is a complex learning process. At the basic level of learning, we accumulate knowledge and assimilate it into our existing frameworks. But accumulated knowledge doesn’t necessarily help us in situations where we have to apply that knowledge. Transformative learning takes place at the highest levels and occurs when we encounter situations that challenge our accumulated knowledge and our ability to accommodate that knowledge to manage a real-world situation. The cognitive dissonance that results in these situations is often uncomfortable and can lead to a hesitance to repeat such an engagement. One tip for cultivating ICC that can help manage these challenges is to find a community of like-minded people who are also motivated to develop ICC. In my graduate program, I lived in the international dormitory in order to experience the cultural diversity that I had enjoyed so much studying abroad a few years earlier. I was surrounded by international students and US American students who were more or less interested in cultural diversity. This ended up being a tremendous learning experience, and I worked on research about identity and communication between international and American students.

Developing skills that enable us is another part of ICC. Some of the skills important to ICC are the ability to empathize, accumulate cultural information, listen, resolve conflict, and manage anxiety (Bennett, 2009). Again, you are already developing a foundation for these skills by reading this book, but you can expand those skills to intercultural settings with the motivation and knowledge already described. Contact alone does not increase intercultural skills; there must be more deliberate measures taken to fully capitalize on those encounters. While research now shows that intercultural contact does decrease prejudices, this is not enough to become interculturally competent. The ability to empathize and manage anxiety enhances prejudice reduction, and these two skills have been shown to enhance the overall impact of intercultural contact even more than acquiring cultural knowledge. There is intercultural training available for people who are interested. If you can’t access training, you may choose to research intercultural training on your own, as there are many books, articles, and manuals written on the subject.

Reflective practices can also help us process through rewards and challenges associated with developing ICC. As we open ourselves to new experiences, we are likely to have both positive and negative reactions. It can be very useful to take note of negative or defensive reactions you have. This can help you identify certain triggers that may create barriers to effective intercultural interaction. Noting positive experiences can also help you identify triggers for learning that you could seek out or recreate to enhance the positive (Bednarz, 2010). A more complex method of reflection is called intersectional reflexivity . Intersectional reflexivity is a reflective practice by which we acknowledge intersecting identities, both privileged and disadvantaged, and implicate ourselves in social hierarchies and inequalities (Jones Jr., 2010). This method brings in the concepts of dominant and nondominant groups and the privileges/disadvantages dialectic we discussed earlier.

While formal intercultural experiences like studying abroad or volunteering for the Special Olympics or a shelter for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and asexual (LGBTQA+) youth can result in learning, informal experiences are also important. We may be less likely to include informal experiences in our reflection if we don’t see them as legitimate. Reflection should also include “critical incidents” or what I call “a-ha! moments.” Think of reflection as a tool for metacompetence that can be useful in bringing the formal and informal together (Bednarz, 2010).

“Getting Competent”

Thinking under the Influence

Communication and culture scholar Brenda Allen coined the phrase “thinking under the influence” (TUI) to highlight a reflective process that can help us hone our intercultural communication competence (Allen, 2011). As we discussed earlier, being mindful is an important part of building competence. Once we can become aware of our thought processes and behaviors, we can more effectively monitor and intervene in them. She asks us to monitor our thoughts and feelings about other people, both similar to and different from us. As we monitor, we should try to identify instances when we are guilty of TUI, such as uncritically accepting the dominant belief systems, relying on stereotypes, or prejudging someone based on their identities. She recounts seeing a picture on the front of the newspaper with three men who appeared Latino. She found herself wondering what they had done, and then found out from the caption that they were the relatives of people who died in a car crash. She identified that as a TUI moment and asked herself if she would have had the same thought if they had been black, white, Asian, or female. When we feel “surprised” by someone different, this often points to a preexisting negative assumption that we can unpack and learn from. Allen also found herself surprised when a panelist at a conference who used a wheelchair and was hearing impaired made witty comments. Upon reflection, she realized that she had an assumption that people with disabilities would have a gloomy outlook on life. While these examples focus on out-groups, she also notes that it’s important for people, especially in nondominant groups, to monitor their thoughts about their own group, as they may have internalized negative attitudes about their group from the dominant culture. As a black woman, she notes that she has been critical of black people who “do not speak mainstream English” based on stereotypes she internalized about race, language, and intelligence. It is not automatically a bad thing to TUI. Even Brenda Allen, an accomplished and admirable scholar of culture and communication, catches herself doing it. When we notice that we TUI, it’s important to reflect on that moment and try to adjust our thinking processes. This is an ongoing process, but it is an easy-to-remember way to cultivate your ICC. Keep a record of instances where you catch yourself “thinking under the influence” and answer the following questions:

• What triggers you to TUI?
• Where did these influences on your thought come from?
• What concepts from this chapter can you apply to change your thought processes?

Key Takeaways

• Getting integrated: Intercultural communication competence (ICC) is the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately in various cultural contexts. ICC also has the potential to benefit you in academic, professional, personal, and civic contexts.
• A person with appropriate intrinsic or extrinsic motivation to engage in intercultural communication can develop self- and other-knowledge that will contribute to their ability to be mindful of their own communication and tolerate uncertain situations.
• We can cultivate ICC by fostering attitudes that motivate us, discovering knowledge that informs us, and developing skills that enable us.
• Identify an intercultural encounter in which you did not communicate as competently as you would have liked. What concept(s) from the chapter would have helped you in this situation and how?
• Which of the following components of ICC—motivation, mindfulness, cognitive flexibility, and tolerance for uncertainty—do you think you are most competent at, and which one needs the most work? Identify how you became so competent at the first one and some ways that you can improve the second one.
• Choose one of the three ways discussed to cultivate ICC and make a list of five steps you can take to enhance this part of your competence.

Allen, B. J., Difference Matters: Communicating Social Identity , 2nd ed. (Long Grove, IL: Waveland, 2011), 9, 65, 186–87.

Bednarz, F., “Building Up Intercultural Competences: Challenges and Learning Processes,” in Building Intercultural Competencies: A Handbook for Professionals in Education, Social Work, and Health Care , eds. Maria Giovanna Onorati and Furio Bednarz (Leuven, Belgium: Acco, 2010), 39.

Bennett, J. M., “Cultivating Intercultural Competence,” in The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence , ed. Darla K. Deardorff (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2009), 127–34.

Jones Jr., R. G., “Putting Privilege into Practice through ‘Intersectional Reflexivity’: Ruminations, Interventions, and Possibilities,” Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping 16, no. 1 (2010): 122.

Martin, J. N., and Thomas K. Nakayama, Intercultural Communication in Contexts , 5th ed. (Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2010), 465.

Nisbett, R. E., The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently…and Why (New York: Free Press, 2003), 44–45.

Opdal, P. M., “Curiosity, Wonder, and Education Seen as Perspective,” Studies in Philosophy and Education 20 (2001): 331–44.

Pusch, M. D., “The Interculturally Competent Global Leader,” in The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence , ed. Darla K. Deardorff (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2009), 69.

Communication in the Real World Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Communicative Competence Essay Example

• Pages: 3 (603 words)
• Published: December 13, 2016
• Type: Essay

The notion of communicative competence, origins, communicative competence vs. linguistic competence, components of communicative competence Communicative competence – the ability to understand and use language effectively to communicate in authentic social and school environments. The idea was originally derived from Chomsky’s distinction between competence (shared knowledge of ideal speaker-listener set in a completely homogenous speech community) and performance (process of applying underlying knowledge to actual language use).

According to Dell Hymes (1972), Chomsky’s view was too narrow to describe language behaviour as a whole.He concludes that a linguistic theory must be able to deal with heterogeneous speech community, differential competence and the role of sociocultural features. He referred to CC as that aspect of our competence that enables us to convey and interpret messages and to negotiate meanings interperson

ally within specific contexts. Savignon (1983) noted that “communicative competence is relative, not absolute, and depends on the cooperation of all the participants involved”. There are two kinds of competence:

* linguistic competence – deals with producing and understanding grammatically correct sentences./ is one of the communicative competence components. It is the innate system of linguistic knowledge possessed by native speakers of a language. It is the 'ideal' language system that makes it possible for speakers to produce and understand an infinite number of sentences in their language, and to distinguish grammatical sentences from ungrammatical sentences. Linguistic competence asks: What words do I use? How do I put them into phrases and sentences? * communicative competence – deals with producing and understanding sentences that are appropriate and acceptable to a particular situation/ is a group of abilities that enable people to transfer and

interpret messages and to negotiate meanings interpersonally within specific contexts

The main difference between linguistic competence and communicative competence is that the first is focused on knowledge about language forms and correct usage of it, and the second- communicative competence is focused on the knowledge that enables to communicate functionally and interactively. Seminal work on defining CC was carried out by Canale and Swain in 1980. They divided CC into 4 main components:

* Grammatical competence – includes knowledge of lexical items and of rules of morphology, syntax, sentence – grammar semantics and phonology * Discourse competence – the complement of grammatical competence; the ability we have to connect sentences in stretches of discourse and to form a deep whole out of a series of utterances. Discourse means everything from simple spoken conversation to lengthy written texts./It’s knowing how to interpret the larger context and how to construct longer stretches of language so that the parts make up a coherent whole.

* Sociolinguistic competence – the knowledge of the sociocultural rules of language and discourse. They believe that the knowledge of these rules will be crucial in interpreting utterances for social meaning./It’s knowing how to use and respond language appropriately given the setting, the topic, and the relationships among the people communicating. * Strategic competence – it is made up of verbal and non verbal communication. The competence underlying our ability to make repairs, to cope with imperfect knowledge and to sustain communication through paraphrase, repetition, hesitation, avoidance etc. It is knowing how to recognize and repair communication breakdowns, how to work around gaps in one’s knowledge of the language, and how

to learn more about the language and in the context.

Communicative competence components: 1. Linguistic competences: * Lexical competence- knowledge of, ability to use the vocabulary of a language, consists of lexical elements and grammatical elements; * Grammatical competence- may be defined as the knowledge of, and ability to use the grammatical resources of a language; * Semantic competence- deals with the learner’s awareness and control of the organization of meaning * Phonological competence

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