By Tom McCormick
Have you ever wondered? Here is an overview designed first of all for helping missionaries plan their language learning. The chart includes the twelve basic components of a well‑rounded language program. By “basic” we mean a language learner really does need to include them all, one way or another, and an ESL program, tutor, or teacher, as many as possible. These can be used as a checklist to diagnose and assess your program. If something is lacking, consider whether you might want to redesign your program. A church-based ESL program may not want or be able to achieve a “Complete & Balanced Language Program”. Still, though, your program would be served by a consideration of the following components. The “soft aptitudes” involve the ethos and ‘pastoral’ component of your program; the “hard aptitudes” involve the details of actually learning a language. Notice that the linguistics components occur to many of us as the nuts and bolts of learning English. Actually, many students (especially those from Asian countries) come with a vast knowledge of the linguistics components, but are unable to use what they know to communicate and live happily and successfully in Canada. In those cases, the gap most likely has to do with the pragmatic components, and also the 4 soft components. Take note that the 8 hard aptitudes actually come in 4 “flavors”: listening, speaking, reading and writing (called “communicative competencies”), and so actually there are 8×4 (=32) + 4 (soft aptitudes) = 36 constituents in total.
A Summary of the 12 components (Inspiration and Adaptations from LinguaLinks 5.0 [1999]; with gratitude.)
The “soft aptitudes”
- Attitude: Displaying childlikeness (in Christ), as a disciple: love, joy, peace; humility; humor.
- Accountability: Meeting on a regular basis with someone to review your activities, progress, goals and plan the next steps in the learning process.
- Energy: Stewarding your physical resources so that you have the stamina necessary for the task.
- Pacing: Taking periodic, planned breaks for rest and relaxation: daily, weekly, etc.
A Spirituality and Resilience Assessment Packet
The “hard aptitudes”
The following 8 components are divided into two types: 4 linguistic components of communicative competence & 4 pragmatic components of communicative competence
The linguistics components of communicative competence are required to internalize the structures and elements of the language; how the language is properly formed. The 4 linguistic components are:
- Sounds & Scripts: hearing & producing the sounds; reading & writing the symbols
- Vocabulary: learning the words: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc.
- Grammar: learning how words fit together to make sentences.
- Discourse: learning how sentences fit together into larger units.
The pragmatic components of communicative competence are required to use the language in real life situations to achieve your purposes; how the forms are properly employed, i.e. ‘filled’ with life through use. The 4 pragmatic components are:
- Functions: accomplishing communication purposes in a language, like greetings.
- Appropriate varieties: interpreting and using the appropriate varieties, like ‘hi’, ‘hey’, ‘hello’, etc.
- Interaction skills: knowing and using the mostly unwritten rules for interaction, including body language, eye contact, and proximity to others.
- Cultural framework: understanding all aspects of a culture, particularly the social structure, the values and beliefs of the people, and worldview assumptions.
The Hidden Side of Language: An Introduction to Pragmatics
An Annotated Literature Review
Both the linguistic components & pragmatic components come in 4 “flavors”: listening, speaking, reading and writing (called “communicative competencies”). Listening and reading are receptive abilities; speaking and writing are productive abilities. So, taken together there are 8 x 4 facets to the “hard aptitudes.”
You will want to provide projects to assist learners in each of these 32 areas.
There are specific activities and techniques available for implementing each of these 36 constituents of a “Complete & Balanced Language Program”. If you want to find out more, contact us at eslministries@gmail.com.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in The ESL Link Volume 5.3.