Communicative performance in the written discourse of undergraduate students: what can literature offer?

Abstract

This study examined two groups of students of the University of Nigeria who were taught using two approaches (literature-based and grammar-based) in order to measure the effect of the approaches on their communicative performance. The data comprised 100 essay scripts (50 for each group) qualitatively analysed based on content, expression, organisation and mechanical accuracy; and also quantitatively analysed using SPSS in order to measure the difference between the two groups. The findings show that there are significant differences in the performance of the two groups in favour of the literature-based approach. The study closes with conclusions and recommendations for SLT pedagogy. The findings of this study supports Krashen's (1982) Naturalist Approach to language learning, which has farreaching implications for the field. Keywords:communicative performance/competence, language teaching/learning, literature, applied linguistics Résumé Cette étude examine deux groupes d'étudiants de l'Université du Nigeria qui ont été enseignés en utilisant deux approches (basée sur la littérature et la grammaire) afin de mesurer l'effet des approches sur leur performance communicative. Les données comprennent 100 scripts d'essai (50 pour chaque groupe) analysés qualitativement en fonction du contenu, de l'expression, de l'organisation et de la précision mécanique; Et également analysées quantitativement en utilisant SPSS afin de mesurer la différence entre les deux groupes. Les résultats montrent qu'il existe des différences significatives dans la performance des deux groupes en faveur de l'approche basée sur la littérature. L'étude se termine par des conclusions et des recommandations pour la pédagogie SLT. Les résultats de cette étude soutiennent l'approche naturaliste de Krashen (1982) à l'apprentissage des langues, qui a des implications de grande envergure dans le domaine. Mots clés:Compétences / compétences communicatives, enseignement / apprentissage des langues, littérature, linguistique appliquée ResumenEste estudio examina dos grupos de estudiantes de la Universidad de Nigeria que fueron enseñados usando dos enfoques (basados en la literatura y en la gramática) para medir el efecto de los enfoques en su desempeño comunicativo. Los datos comprenden 100 guiones de ensayo (50 para cada grupo) cualitativamente analizados basados en el contenido, la expresión, la organización y la exactitud mecánica; Y también se analizó cuantitativamente con SPSS para medir la diferencia entre los dos grupos. Los hallazgos muestran que hay diferencias significativas en el desempeño de los dos grupos a favor del enfoque basado en la literatura. El estudio concluye con conclusiones y recomendaciones para la pedagogía SLT. Los hallazgos de este estudio apoyan el Enfoque Naturalista de Krashen (1982) al aprendizaje de idiomas, que tiene implicaciones de largo alcance para el campo.Palabras clave: Rendimiento / competencia comunicativa, enseñanza / aprendizaje de idiomas, literatura, lingüística aplicada

Reflocutionary Speech/Non-speech Acts

“…Subsequently, according to Ugwuanyi (2017), communicative performance is related to the act of 'doing' which means putting speaker's knowledge into use and virtually Muhammad F. Badr --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- performance includes what is known as competence. Consequently, communicative competence is concerned with the act of knowing that is the starting point in producing utterances or sentences and then comes the role of performance that is concerned with putting such knowledge into existence (p.70).…”

E-Short Story in Extensive Reading: A Survey of English Education Department Students

“…Extensive reading will be focused mainly on students' activities. It is an approach to language education that has shown great promise for foreign language learners to acquire language [1] [2]. Students silently read large quantities of materials.…”