Competence and performance in learning and teaching:

theories and practices

David Newby
University of Graz
david.newby@uni-graz.at

Abstract: For the past forty years the nature of linguistic competence has been at the
centre of discussions among linguists, both theoretical and applied. This paper examines
the different ways in which both competence and performance have been defined by
linguists and considers how differing interpretations of these concepts have influenced
foreign language learning and teaching. Special consideration is given to the role of two
Council of Europe publications, the Common European Framework of Reference and
the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages.
Key words: communicative competence, performance, communicative event, human
cognition, schematic constructs, discourse

1. Introduction
The publication of Chomskys Aspects of the theory of syntax in 1965 led to a
fundamental change concerning the goals of linguistic analysis. The shift of emphasis
in theory at least - from language structures to the human beings who use language
caused the focus of analysis to fall on the nature of speakers linguistic competence
which steered the generation of utterances.
As far as language teaching is concerned, from the late 1970s onwards, in the early
days of the communicative approach, communicative competence became the slogan
under which various methodological practices which sought to link pedagogy with
language use in the real world were united. More recently, the Common European
Framework of Reference (CEFR) (Council of Europe 2001) extended the purely
language-based scope of competences to include General competences, which are
those not specific to language, but which are called upon for actions of all kinds,
including language activities (CEFR: 9), thus embedding language within human
cognition in general and linking it to human behaviour.
In both linguistics and language teaching, definitions of competence have shown a
continual development from that first proposed by Chomsky. Underlying current
interpretations of the term three general hypotheses can be perceived. The first is the
widespread acceptance that language is essentially a cognitive phenomenon and that the
use of the linguistic code of a language (performance) is steered by tacit rule-based
knowledge stored in the minds of speakers (competence). This view includes both a
Chomskyan modular (language-specific) view of competence and those theories that
can be grouped under the heading of Cognitive Linguistics1; which see language and
cognition in general as an integrated whole sharing similar systems of perception and
categorisation.

I shall use capitals to refer to this school of linguistics to distinguish it from cognitive used as a generic
adjective relating to human cognition in general.

2011. Selected Papers from the 19th ISTAL

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David Newby

The second is the recognition that the subject of linguistic description is not only the
mental processes that steer language but the speech community and culture in which a
particular variety of language is used.
The third is the view that language analysis must include not only the systems and
rules which steer the generation of utterances, but the interactional processes by which
human discourse arises and is maintained; that is to say language use.
2. Language and competence: linguistic reality
In the 1960s and 70s Chomskys description of the terms competence and performance
triggered an intensive debate among linguists, later to be picked up by applied linguists.
Theoretical bones of contention lay within two separate but interconnected areas:
a)
the nature of linguistic competence
b)
the relationship between competence and performance and their respective roles
in linguistic analysis and description.
Before considering the different views, however, it should be stressed that Chomskys
important theoretical standpoint, that it is the goal of linguistics to describe a speakers
mental reality underlying actual behaviour (1965: 4), is one that is shared by all the
theories of competence referred to in the following. This general cognitive view of
language can also be found in the Common European Framework of Reference.
As is well documented, the starting point of the competence-performance debate was
Chomskys famous statement: We thus make a fundamental distinction between
competence (the speaker-hearer's knowledge of his language) and performance (the
actual use of language in concrete situations) (ibid.: 3). He further states that
Observed use of language (...) cannot constitute the actual subject matter of linguistics,
if this is to be a serious discipline (ibid.: 4). It is clear, therefore, that in his view, it is
competence that is to be at the centre of linguistic attention.
Linguistic theory is concerned primarily with an ideal speaker-listener, in a completely homogeneous
speech-community, who knows its language perfectly and is unaffected by such grammatically
irrelevant conditions as memory limitations, distractions, shifts of attention and interest, and errors
(random or characteristic) in applying his knowledge of the language in actual performance. (ibid.: 3)

Given Chomskys goal of describing systematically the grammar of a language, this

statement is perhaps not unreasonable. However, terms such as homogeneous speechcommunity, grammatically irrelevant conditions were soon to produce a backlash
among those whose descriptive goals lay in a different sphere.
In his famous paper On Communicative Competence, Del Hymes criticised
Chomskys view from several directions, the first being sociological: It is, if I may say
so, rather a Garden of Eden view. () The controlling image is of an abstract, isolated
mechanism, not, except incidentally, a person in a social world (1972: 272). The view
of language based solely on grammatical competence also came under attack from
Michael Halliday. Describing language as a social fact and a social reality, he
pointed out that By their everyday acts of meaning people act out the social structure,
affirming their own statuses and roles and establishing and transmitting the shared
systems of value and of knowledge (Halliday, 1978: 2). What is at issue for both
Hymes and Halliday is not necessarily the nature of a Chomskyan view of competence
but its limited scope.
We have 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 (Hymes 1972: 277-278).

Competence and performance in learning and teaching: theories and practices

17

I said earlier that for Chomsky competence represents what he calls mental reality
underlying actual behaviour (1965: 4). It could be said that for Hymes, communicative
competence represents social reality underlying actual behaviour. Various theories have
focused on this aspect of language; for example, those of Leech (1983) and Levinson
(1983) have attempted to explain phenomena such as politeness, an important
sociological aspect of communication.
The second criticism of Chomskys view of competence concerned the functional
dimension of language. For linguists and philosophers such as Halliday (passim), Austin
(1962) and Searle (1969), the very basis of language is of a functional nature. This is
reflected in the title of Austins famous book How to do things with words. Halliday
states this view quite bluntly: Can mean is a realization of can do (1978: 39). Of the
various functional theories proposed, it was Searles concept of illocutionary act
(1969: 23-24) which was to have the most influence on language teaching: it later
became common for communicative textbooks to define teaching objectives in terms
of speech functions. Indeed, in the early days of communicative teaching it was not
uncommon to hear the term notional-functional approach being used synonymously
for communicative language teaching.
The third criticism of Chomsky was levelled at his view that the sentence is the
primary unit of linguistic analysis. Halliday put forward the counterclaim that
Language does not consist of sentences; it consists of text or discourse the exchange
of meanings in interpersonal contexts of one kind or another (1978: 2). A discourse
perspective of competence focuses on the ongoing choices that speakers make while
speaking or writing transmit, adapt and clarify a message, to make language use more
efficient, to show the relevance of one information chunk to another etc. Categories
such as information structure, dialogue structure, co-text, ellipsis, substitution,
reference, deixis and many more reflect the view that language systems operate not only
at utterance level but at discourse level too. Also, the maxims arising from Grices
(1975) co-operative principle, which attempts to explain in a systematic way how
speakers infer and interpret indirect speech acts, sarcasm, humour etc., are an important
aspect of a discourse approach.
Various aspects of a discourse approach were to influence foreign language teaching:
for example, the term utterance tended to replace sentence, recognising that in both
formal and functional terms people do not always speak in grammatical sentences. Also,
the focus of attention expanded beyond single utterances to include stretches of talk or
writing. In his ground-breaking book Teaching Language as Communication, which
provided an important link between linguistics and language teaching, Widdowson
devoted a chapter to discourse categories such coherence, cohesion, propositional
development (1978: 22ff.), which subsequently came to occupy an important place in
the repertoire of language teachers.
It is worth mentioning that whilst the focus of communicative language teaching
tends to be on pragmatic and discourse meaning, rather than on semantic meaning, for
linguists including Hymes - these types of meaning are not mutually exclusive but
complementary. Both in language teaching and in applied linguistics an unfortunate
dichotomy is often promulgated between grammatical meaning and pragmatic and
discourse meaning. This is seen in the quite unjustifiable division between formfocussed and meaning-based teaching often found in applied linguistic research (see,
for example, Spada 1997: 73). Hymes famous statement There are rules of use
without which the rules of grammar would be useless (1972: 278) is often wrongly
interpreted by methodologists as a rejection of grammar. Hymes goes on to say a

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David Newby

normal child acquires knowledge of sentences, not only as grammatical, but also as
appropriate (ibid). Similarly, whilst Searle is best known for the category of
illocutionary act, an intrinsic part of his speech act theory is what he terms
propositional acts, which he describes as referring and predicating (1969: 23).
Hallidays functionally oriented theories include ideational meaning as a core
category. All of these categories point to the importance of grammar and lexis in
conveying meaning.
3. Competence beyond language: non-linguistic reality
For Chomsky, the premise that linguistic reality reflects a specific language module in a
speakers brain and the complementary hypothesis of the existence of a universal
grammar requires linguists to draw a dividing line between linguistic reality and general
cognitive, non-linguistic aspects of mental reality. This separation has been the subject
of strong criticism from linguists who see language and cognition as an interdependent
whole and whose theories can be grouped together under the general term of Cognitive
Linguistics (for example, Langacker 1987, 1991; Heine 1997; Tomasello 2003;
Jackendoff 1983, 2002). In their book on Cognitive Linguistics Croft and Cruse (2004:
1) list three hypotheses which guide this approach:

language is not an autonomous cognitive faculty

grammar is conceptualization
knowledge of language emerges from language use

It follows from the first hypothesis that if language is not separate from, but embedded
within, general aspects of human cognition, then linguists must go beyond linguistic
reality in order to explain how language is stored in the brain and used in actual
contexts.
A cognitive view of language will also have an important impact on theories of
language acquisition since linguists will seek to explain not only how language input is
processed and categorised but how infants process and categorise their experience and
perceptions of the world in general. What is innate in a child at birth is not only what
Chomsky termed a language acquisition device but an experience acquisition device.
As far as foreign language learning is concerned, the growing interest in cognitive
hypotheses has, in recent years, caused theories of second language acquisition to move
away from a Chomskyan universal grammar view (for example, Krashen 1981; Cook
1991) towards a general cognitive view (for example, Johnson 1996; Skehan 1998). The
following three premises of a Cognitive Approach are relevant to the present
discussions:
The processes which steer foreign language learning are considerably different from those which
underlie first language acquisition (Newby 2003: 407).
The L2 learner has considerably greater cognitive abilities and schematic knowledge than the first
language learner (Skehan 1998: 75).
Learning is an active and dynamic process in which individuals make use of a variety of information
and strategic modes of processing (OMalley and Chamot 1990: 217).

One category that has attracted considerable attention in Cognitive Linguistics and
increasingly in foreign language learning and teaching is the role and nature of what is
usually referred to as schematic knowledge. Reflecting a constructivist view of
language, I shall refer to this as schematic constructs. These constructs, or mental
representation of knowledge, interact with systemic knowledge of a language to
facilitate the processing, interpretation and comprehension of language. Schematic

Competence and performance in learning and teaching: theories and practices

19

constructs have, on the one hand, a personal element to them: human beings interpret
one and the same event or one and the same utterance in differing ways. However,
schematic knowledge is also to a considerable extent conventional in that speakers of a
speech community will share a common mode of perceiving an event or utterance.
Schematic constructs take different forms, ranging from categories which need little
theoretical explanation such as factual knowledge or remembrance of past experiences,
largely of a declarative nature, which may or may not be shared by interlocutors, to
abstract perceptional categories, such as mental generalisations about how human
experience is structured, shortly to be described.
The exchange of messages between people requires the constant application of both
systemic (language code) and schematic knowledge structures. It should be added that
there is some disagreement concerning schematic categorisation, terms and definitions
of schematic knowledge among linguists. The following show my own usage of
categories and terms:
Schemata: a set of ideas, associations, expectations which an individual speaker or listener may have
in connection with a concept, an object, person, place, action, event etc.
Scenario: a speakers internal mental representation of a state of affairs, event etc. in the external
world.
Frame: a commonly occurring, generalisable scenario with which a speaker and a hearer are familiar;
a remembered framework (see Minsky 1975, cited in Brown and Yule 1983: 238); lexical,
grammatical and pragmatic meaning are to a certain extent predictable in a specific scenario.
Script: a frame that extends beyond single utterances; a remembered framework of coherent chains of
utterance forms, speech functions, topics etc., in which specific discourse patterns tend to occur and
are generalisable (see Schank and Abelson 1977 cited in Brown and Yule 1983: 241; Hoey 1991).
Adjacency pairs (for example, thank you youre welcome) can be defined as highly predictable,
prototypical scripts.

Conventionalised schemata play an important role in communication and in the

encoding, decoding and interpretation of utterances, yet their importance in language
teaching is not generally recognised. Exceptions to this are the receptive skills of
reading and listening: methodologists often stress the importance of activating learners
schematic knowledge, for example in pre-reading tasks.
Various types of schematic knowledge comprise what might be termed a speakers
schematic competence, a competence which should be incorporated in any model which
aims at describing general competence. In discussions of the CEFR, its references to
schemata and their role in language processing and use, are seldom quoted, though, as
we shall see, schematic knowledge is given a degree of prominence. To cite one
example: The availability of routinised schematic knowledge frees the learner to deal
with content and, in the case of interaction and spontaneous production activities, to
concentrate on more accurate use of less well established forms (p.162).
As far as general competences are concerned, text books on FL methodology tend to
focus on what might broadly be called personality factors. One aspect of Hymes
theories which is seldom quoted by applied linguists is his extension of the notion of
competence not only in a sociological direction but also to incorporate aspects which
the CEFR describes as selfhood factors (p.105), as the following quotation shows:
This competence, moreover, is integral with attitudes, values, and motivations concerning language,
its features and users, and integral with competence for, and attitudes toward, the interrelation of
language with the other code of communicative conduct. (Hymes 1972: 278)

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David Newby

It is interesting to note that in the category existential competence of the CEFR the
first three sub-categories bear the headings attitudes, values, and motivations (CEFR:
105); in other words, exactly the same terms as those used by Hymes.
4. The nature of performance
Whilst the focus of attention of both linguists and applied linguists has been on
competence, the nature and role of performance has also been the subject of debate. As
stated above, Chomsky dismissed performance as an imperfect manifestation of
competence and not worthy of being incorporated into a serious discipline. For
Hymes, performance is of interest since it is the product of social interaction (1972:
271). In order to describe performance, however, it is necessary to provide some kind of
theoretical framework in which it can be embedded.
In attempting to describe performance Hymes recognises the following ambiguity in
the use of the term:
When one speaks of performance, then, does one mean the behavioral data of speech? or all that
underlies speech beyond the grammatical? or both? () The difficulty can be put in terms of the two
contrasts that usage manifests:
1. (underlying) competence v. (actual) performance;
2. (underlying) grammatical competence v. (underlying) models/rules of performance (1972: 281).

It seems to me, however, that whilst Hymes rightly identifies different senses of the
term, his statements are somewhat ambiguous. Sense 2 points to models of
performance but surely this should be contrasted not only with grammatical but with
communicative competence too.
In his definition, Halliday (1978: 38) makes the performance element more
explicit by speaking of a behavioural potential. When I say can do, I am specifically
referring to the behaviour potential as a semiotic which can be encoded in language, or
of course in other things too. It is interesting that he uses the phrase can do,
heralding a formulation which has now become widespread across Europe since the
publication of the CEFR.
However, whilst introducing a behavioural element, it could be argued that reference
to potential means that this definition still lies in the area of communicative
competence. A further statement by Hymes does come closer to describing
performance: It [performance] takes into account the interaction between competence
(knowledge, ability for use), the competence of others, and the cybernetic and emergent
properties of events themselves (1978: 283).
The key words here are interaction and cybernetic. These suggest that
performance is more than a behavioural potential; it is the actual using of language.
An analysis of the various definitions and descriptions of performance show the
following three usages:
a)
b)
c)

the behavioural potential to perform (knowledge-based grammatical competence, pragmatic

competence, discourse competence, etc.)
the act of performing
the product of performance (output)

In order to disambiguate these uses I shall use the following terms: a) competence,
meaning both knowledge and behaviour potential; b) performance c) output.

Competence and performance in learning and teaching: theories and practices

21

5. Speech events
I said earlier that both Hymes and Halliday see language not only as what Chomsky
terms mental reality but also as social reality. It follows from this that in order to
describe this social reality, it is the task of linguists not only to analyse aspects of the
language code but to explain how language functions and is acquired as a
communication system. Since this analysis is of both a psycholinguistic and
sociolinguistic nature, it must be embedded in theories of extra-linguistic variables
which steer this social reality; for example, a theory of context. As Widdowson says
(1998: 8), Context ... is no longer apart from language but a part of it. Moreover, it
needs to incorporate the dynamic aspect of language performance. To this end, Hymes
proposes the concept of a speech event, which he defines as ... activities, or aspects
of activities, that are directly governed by rules or norms for the use of speech. An event
may consist of a single speech act, but will often comprise several (1986: 56). It is
interesting to note that this use of activities can be found in the same sense in the
Common European Framework of Reference.
The importance of speech events is twofold. First, it can provide a specification of
important contextual variables which constrain the use of language. According to
Hymes (1972: 26) some of these variables are:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)

a code or codes in terms of which the message is intelligible to

participants, minimally an addressor and addressee (who may be the same person), in
an event constituted by its transmission and characterized by
a channel or channels,
a setting or context,
a definite form or shape to the message, and
a topic and comment, i.e., that it says something about something - in other words, that the
concept of message implies the array of components previously given.

This type of specification was an important factor in the sudden expansion of categories
and objectives in curricula and FL textbooks which followed a communicative
approach. It was a categorisation incorporated in the two important Council of Europe
publications: the Threshold Level (van Ek 1975 and van Ek and Trim 1991) and the
Common European Framework of Reference.
The second important implication of the speech or communicative event I shall use
the latter term so as to include both spoken and written language - is that it sees
language not only in terms of communicative competence but as a process and system
of use. In order to describe language it is therefore necessary not only to list
competences and to specify contextual variables but to model the communication
process. Such a model can be found in figure 1.
Figure 1: Model of a communicative event
Communicative
Competence 
Addressor +
activity
 Schematic 
constructs

Context: setting, channel genre, topic, key, etc.




Perceptions
Purpose




Notions
Functions

Form

Message/
Outcome

    Performance: Processes and Strategies    

Communicative
Competence 
Addressee +
activity
 Schematic 
knowledge

This simple model attempts to stress the following aspects of communication:

language consists of speech events arising from the desire or need to carry out an activity: i.e. to
encode perceptions into spoken or written language for a specific purpose (addressor); or to decode
perceptions (addressee);

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David Newby

language is a reflection of a human beings mental reality, which consists, among other things, of
communicative (including cultural) competence and schematic constructs;
all language use takes place in a context;
language is a process in which perceptions of the world are encoded into language (see left-to-right
arrows in figure 1);
language is used for a purpose and has an outcome
the act of performance requires the speaker and listener to apply various processing and
communication strategies;
language is both a knowledge-based and a skill-based phenomenon.

Two important advantages of making a communication model analysis are that, first, it
makes explicit and transparent individual though interrelated components of an act of
communication, and, second, it has the potential to provide a framework for describing
not only competence but performance too. For language teaching, this means that
language learning can be seen as skill development rather than merely the accumulation
of knowledge; thus, whether we are setting objectives or assessing language
proficiency, this can be done in terms of the dynamic use of language i.e.
performance. This is what the CEFR refers to as an action-oriented approach (p.9).
6. From linguistics to pedagogy
Although most of the theories referred to so far were not developed with foreign
language teaching in mind, they have had, since the 1970s, a considerable effect on
pedagogy. In the 1970s the Council of Europe document, the Threshold Level
(1975/1991), provided a taxonomy of significant elements of the communication
process, both linguistic and non-linguistic, such as language-functions, general and
specific notions, verbal exchange patterns, language skills, sociological competence and
competence strategies. Wilkins (1976) and Munby (1978) attempted to compile
categories of linguistic competence based on a semantic and pragmatic, notionalfunctional axis, though interest in notional aspects of grammatical competence soon
faded (see Newby 2000). In 1980 Canale and Swain provided a description of
competence based on four categories:
1.
2.
3.
4.

grammatical competence: knowledge of lexical items and of rules of morphology, syntax, sentencegrammar semantics and phonology;
sociolinguistic competence: the ability to communicate appropriately in a variety of contexts; this
includes both verbal and non-verbal communication;
discourse competence: the ability to use language which goes beyond the level of the sentence; this
includes aspects such as cohesion and coherence;
strategic competence: appropriate use of communication strategies to overcome or repair
breakdowns in communication, due perhaps to lack of linguistic competence.

Later, Bachmann (1990: 87) provided a tree-diagram of linguistic competence with

two nodes: organisational competence, subdivided into grammatical and textual
competence, and pragmatic competence, subdivided into illocutionary and
sociological competence.
These categorisations largely focus on different kinds of competence; one exception
being those of compensational strategies (Threshold Level) and strategic
competence (Canale and Swain), which refer to the aspect of performance.
The focus on communication competence had various important effects: school
syllabuses often included the type of categorisation advocated by the Threshold Level;
teaching objectives tended to be formulated as notions and functions, rather than as
grammatical forms, thus broadening the aims of language teaching beyond formally
specified grammar and lexis. This in turn caused a shift of focus in learning aims from

Competence and performance in learning and teaching: theories and practices

23

knowledge to use; from the beginnings of the communicative approach to teaching there
was considerable interest in performance aspects of language. Widdowson (1978: 3)
made the important distinction between usage and use, stating that we are
generally called upon to produce instances of language use: we do not simply manifest
the abstract system of the language, we at the same time realize it as meaningful
communicative behaviour. To explain this he refers to relevant linguistic theories:
This distinction between usage and use is related to de Saussures distinction between
langue and parole and Chomskys similar distinction between competence and
performance (ibid.: 3). He further states:
Usage, then, is one aspect of performance, that aspect of performance which makes evident the extent
to which the language user demonstrates his knowledge of linguistic rules. Use is another aspect of
performance: that which makes evident the extent to which the language user demonstrates his ability
to use his knowledge of linguistic rules for effective communication. (3)

It was this question of demonstrating his [sic] ability to use his knowledge of linguistic
rules for effective communication that was later addressed by the CEFR, which was to
provide not only a comprehensive categorisation and description of competences, but a
specification of language performance.
7. The Common European Framework of Reference
The publication of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages in
2001 was a major milestone in foreign language learning and teaching. Its main aim is
to
... describe[s] in a comprehensive way what language learners have to learn to do in order to use a
language for communication and what knowledge and skills they have to develop so as to be able to
act effectively. The description also covers the cultural context in which language is set. The
Framework also defines levels of proficiency which allow learners progress to be measured at each
stage of learning and on a life-long basis. (1)

Building on the work of the Threshold Level and adopting its taxonomic nature it
addresses all aspects identified in the communication model of figure 1. In order to
illustrate this and to show the coherence that exists between the descriptive categories, I
shall return to the concept of a communicative event.
7.1. Communicative events
Although not defined explicitly, the term communicative event occurs eleven times in
the CEFR. A common collocation is participate in, stressing the dynamic, actionoriented aspect of language which underlies the whole of the document. Various aspects
of communicative events identified in figure 1 are referred to, examples being:
the nature and role of external contexts;
the nature and role of mental contexts (p.50) (schematic knowledge, intercultural perceptions (p.12),
internal representations)
the nature of communicative competence;
the activity or language acts carried out by language users what I earlier termed the act of
performing and, by implication, the outcome of performance;
processes and strategies employed by users of a language in the act of performing

In the following I shall comment on some of these categories and briefly explain how
they are dealt with in the CEFR.

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David Newby

7.2. External Contexts

I have already referred to the importance of context in linguistic description, both in
linguistics and language teaching. In this connection I quoted Widdowson (1998: 8):
Context ... is no longer apart from language but a part of it. Like the Threshold Level,
the CEFR provides examples of variables of external context: domains, instructions,
persons, operations, texts are some examples. It also adds what might be termed a
contextual processing category: conditions and constraints, which includes
psychological aspects such as time pressure, sociological, such as relative status of
participants, and physical, poor lighting (when reading) (147). This third example
illustrates how the CEFR often wanders quite far into non-linguistic territory.
Depending on ones theoretical standpoint, such an example could be regarded as a
rather trivial irrelevance or my standpoint, and I assume that of the authors of the
CEFR that there is no clear dividing line between perceptions related to language and
perceptions of external reality in general. And this leads to the next category.
7.2.1. Mental contexts
One topic that is dealt with extensively in the CEFR is that of what was earlier referred
to as the mental reality of the user of a language. On page 50 we can read a statement
which can be interpreted as a basic tenet of a Cognitive Approach to language
description:
The external context is filtered and interpreted through the users: perceptual apparatus; attention
mechanisms; long-term experience, affecting memory, associations and connotations; practical
classification of objects, events, etc.; linguistic categorisation. These factors influence the users
observation of the context.

A further statement: the communicative event is further determined by consideration of

relevance (to the user) points to the relevance theories outlined by, amongst others,
Sperber and Wilson (1986). In an interesting section entitled the mental context of the
interlocutor(s) (51), the information gap between interlocutors is explained not only
in terms of different knowledge but of different internal representations. Thus,
communication is described not only on a linguistic level but on a schematic one.
Various other important terms from cognitive psychology and Cognitive Linguistics are
given extensive coverage by the CEFR. Among these, some of which I referred to in an
earlier section, we can find reference to:
Schemata relevant schemata are used to build up a representation of the meaning being expressed
and a hypothesis as to the communicative intention behind it;
Framing selecting mental set, activating schemata, setting up expectations;
Hypothesis testing: matching cues to schemata;
Inferring (Grice is one of the few theorists to be mentioned explicitly in the CEFR) (72).

Also categories from a cognitive view of discourse can be found. In the section on
Interaction Strategies (84) reference is made to what I earlier termed scripts,
described in the CEFR as interaction schemata, verbal exchange patterns and
praxeograms - a diagram representing the structure of a communicative interaction.
As stated earlier, this cognitive aspect is one of the least-known elements of the
CEFR. One reason for this is, no doubt, that these categories are hardly represented in
the illustrative scales which contain explicit descriptors. It seems, regrettably, to be the
case that for many teachers and teacher trainers a knowledge of the CEFR does not
extend beyond the competence descriptors and their levels.

Competence and performance in learning and teaching: theories and practices

25

7.2.2. Communicative competence

The CEFR defines competences as the sum of knowledge, skills and characteristics
that allow a person to perform actions (9). By including skills, this definition goes
beyond mere knowledge and reflects the behaviour potential of Halliday, which was
discussed earlier. Communicative language competences are described in the
following sub-categories:
Table 2: Communicative language competence in the CEFR
Communicative language competence (CEFR 2.1.2, p.13)
Linguistic competences:
lexical, phonological, syntactic knowledge and skills and other
(subdivided into)
dimensions of language as system (13).
Lexical competence (CEFR
knowledge of, and ability to use, the vocabulary of a language,
5.2.1.1)
consists of lexical elements and grammatical elements (110)
Grammatical competence (CEFR
knowledge of, and ability to use, the grammatical
5.2.1.2)
resources of a language (112)
Phonological competence (CEFR
a knowledge of, and skill in the perception and production of: the
5.2.1.4)
sound-units (phonemes) of the language and their realisation in
particular contexts (allophones), etc. (116)
Orthographic competence (CEFR
a knowledge of and skill in the perception and production of the
5.2.1.5)
symbols of which written texts are composed (117)
Sociolinguistic competences
refer to the sociocultural conditions of language use () rules of
politeness, norms governing behaviour between generations, sexes,
classes and social groups, linguistic codification of certain
fundamental rituals in the functioning of a community (13)
Pragmatic competences:
(subdivided into)
Functional competences, (p.123)
relating to the communicative function of utterances (production
of language functions, speech acts)
Discourse competences
the mastery of discourse, cohesion and coherence,
the identification of text types and forms (13) relating to the
organising and structuring of texts () drawing on scenarios or
scripts of interactional exchanges (123).

A further category, semantic competence which deals with the learners awareness
and control of the organisation of meaning (115) relates to both lexis and grammar.
These categories are reminiscent of those of Canale and Swain (1980); however, the
more general term linguistic competences replaces their grammatical competences,
the latter reflecting Chomskys use of the term to refer to what is rule governed and
systematic. This frees up the label grammatical to refer to meaning and relations
expressed through grammatical morphemes and syntax.
7.3. Competences and education
The Council promotes policies which strengthen linguistic diversity and language
rights, deepen mutual understanding, consolidate democratic citizenship and sustain
social cohesion (Internet 1) [14.11.09]).
In keeping with the aims of the Council of Europe expressed above, the scope of
competences described in the CEFR extends beyond the merely cognitive, linguistic and
functional to include general competences which are based on the potential of a school
language learning environment to provide a framework in which personal, social and
culture competences can be enhanced. It thus has an ideological, educational dimension
that is not addressed by linguists who seek to define competences from a purely
mentalist or sociological perspective. This dimension is summed up in a question posed

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David Newby

by the CEFR (44): How can language learning best contribute to their personal and
cultural development as responsible citizens in a pluralist democratic society?
Two areas of competences fall into this educational category. The first is the
category ability to learn or savoir apprendre, which is defined as is the ability to
observe and participate in new experiences and to incorporate new knowledge into
existing knowledge, modifying the latter where necessary (106). The second is that
part of existential competence which deals with personal aspects such as values, e.g.
ethical and moral (105).
It should be stressed that this category is not separate from those previously
described above but an extension of specific competences in an educational direction.
The following chart shows some of the competences that fall into this educational
category.
Table 3: General language competence in the CEFR (examples)
Sociocultural knowledge (CEFR,
5.1.1.2)
Intercultural awareness (CEFR
5.1.1.3)

Intercultural skills and know-how

(CEFR 5.1.2.2)

Existential competence (CEFR

5.1.3)
Ability to learn
(CEFR 5.1.4)

knowledge of the society and culture of the community or

communities in which a language is spoken (102)
knowledge, awareness and understanding of the relation
(similarities and distinctive differences) between the world of
origin and the world of the target community produce an
intercultural awareness. (103)
- the ability to bring the culture of origin and the foreign culture
into relation with each other;
- cultural sensitivity and the ability to identify and use a variety of
strategies for contact with those from other cultures (104)
The development of an intercultural personality involving both
attitudes and awareness is seen by many as an important
educational goal in its own right. (106)
the ability to observe and participate in new experiences and to
incorporate new knowledge into existing knowledge, modifying
the latter where necessary. Language learning abilities are
developed in the course of the experience of learning. They enable
the learner to deal more effectively and independently with new
language learning challenges, to see what options exist and to
make better use of opportunities. (106)

7.4. Processes and strategies

Language descriptions based on a communicative event view of language must
include not only underlying competences and the output of language activities but also
the act of performing these activities. The CEFR distinguishes two categories that refer
to the encoding (and decoding) of language: strategies and processes, defined as
follows:
Language processes refer to the chain of events, neurological and physiological, involved in the
production and reception of speech and writing. A strategy is any organised, purposeful and
regulated line of action chosen by an individual to carry out a task which he or she sets for himself
or herself or with which he or she is confronted (10).

It could be stated that processes are an inherent part of human cognition and behaviour
whereas strategies are - often conscious - attempts by users and learners of language to
optimise processing. The former can be activated by pedagogy; the latter can be
developed through pedagogy.
Although more attention is given by the CEFR, and by applied linguists in general, to
strategies, it is, in my view, the process aspect which is of more interest since it is at the
very core of both language use and of language learning. The recent sudden growth in

Competence and performance in learning and teaching: theories and practices

27

publications on Cognitive learning theory and pedagogical applications are indicative of

this increasing interest in this area. Examples are: Robinson (2001); DeKeyser (2007);
De Kop and De Rycker (2008); Robinson and Ellis (2008); Holme (2009). The CEFR
gives several examples of communicative language processes (90); for example:
To speak, the learner must be able to:
plan and organise a message (cognitive skills);
formulate a linguistic utterance (linguistic skills);
articulate the utterance (phonetic skills).

The second and third categories are reminiscent of Searles propositional and phonic
act respectively (1969: 23-24). In the CEFR, the description of processing stages is of
a macro-functional nature. However, certain Cognitive Linguists (for example, Doughty
2001) pursue the important question of the micro-processes that contribute to
language processing.
As with the references to schematic knowledge, this category tends to be ignored by
readers of the CEFR since it is not directly reflected in descriptors. Yet, it is of great
importance for the design of teaching materials.
7.5. Language activities
Of the categories discussed in this section it is the ability to put these competences into
action (131), which is no doubt the most accessible for language teacher and also that
for which is best known. Moreover, it is the one which is most readily transmittable into
competence descriptors. Teachers all over Europe and beyond are now familiar with
categories such as those found in the global scale (24) or the self-assessment grid
(26). It would in fact be more accurate to refer to such descriptors as performance
descriptors since it is the output/outcome category of the communication model of
figure 1 that is being described and assessed. The CEFR refers to this as observable
behaviour and performance (14).
8. From communicative events to descriptors
Having identified the components of communicative events, the CEFR is then in a
position to identify and describe through metalanguage what learners must have learnt
or acquired in order to participate with full effectiveness in communicative events
(131). The illustrative scales of descriptors contained in the CEFR refer to three
metacategories in the descriptive scheme (25):
the necessary competences/communicative language competences
the ability to put these competences into action/ communicative activities (what I have termed
performance)
the ability to employ the strategies necessary to bring the competences into action.

In order to put these three categories into relation with each other we could say that
performance = competence + processes & strategies.
Whilst the enormous contribution that the formulation of explicit and transparent
descriptors has made to language learning, teaching and assessment is beyond doubt,
one negative result of this is that for many teachers and teacher educators, too, their
knowledge of the CEFR goes hardly beyond the language-activity descriptors and
corresponding levels. As a result the underlying communicative and cognitive rationale
of the CEFR tends to get lost.

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David Newby

9. Teachers competences: the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of

Languages
If it is one of the principal goals of language teaching to develop the communicative and
general competences of learners, it follows that teachers should possess pedagogical and
didactic competences which support the development of learners competences. It was
this belief that led to the development of the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of
Languages (EPOSTL) (Newby et al. 2007).
9.1. The aims and structure of EPOSTL
EPOSTL is a document intended for students undergoing their initial teacher education
which encourages them to reflect on the didactic knowledge and skills necessary to
teach languages, helps them to assess their own didactic competences and enables them
to monitor their progress and to record their experiences of teaching during the course
of their teacher education. The EPOSTL was developed for the European Centre for
Modern Languages of the Council of Europe by a team of teacher educators from five
different countries (Armenia, Austria, Norway, Poland, UK). The EPOSTL builds on
existing documents already developed by the Language Policy Division of the Council
of Europe - Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and the European
Language Portfolio (ELP) as well as the European Commission-financed project
European Profile for Language Teacher Education A Frame of Reference (European
Profile).
At the heart of the EPOSTL are the 196 descriptors of competences related to
language teaching which comprise the self-assessment section. These descriptors may
be regarded as a set of core competences which language teachers should strive to
attain.
The overall aims and much of the rationale of the EPOSTL is closely linked to the
CEFR. This can be illustrated by examining a statement taken from the introduction to
the CEFR (1):
The Common European Framework [ ] describes in a comprehensive way what language learners
have to learn to do in order to use a language for communication and what knowledge and skills they
have to develop so as to be able to act effectively.

This statement can be adapted to show what the EPOSTL aims to do, as follows: the
EPOSTL describes in a comprehensive way what language teachers have to learn to do
in order to teach a language for communication and what knowledge and skills they
have to help learners to develop so as to be able to act effectively.
9.2. EPOSTL descriptors
Whilst the descriptors of EPOSTL are of a taxonomic nature, the form of organisation
does not correspond to that of the CEFR. Whereas the CEFR categorisation derives
from an analysis of language and general competence, the chapter headings in the
EPOSTL derive from seven educational domains in which teachers require
competences: Context (of learning and teaching), Methodology, Resources, Lesson
Planning, Conducting a Lesson, Independent Learning, Assessment of Learning.
In order to understand the system underlying the EPOSTL descriptors, it is useful to
distinguish between those which relate to a teachers general competences and those
which relate specifically to the development of competences, both general and
communicative, specified in the CEFR. The first category - the minority of descriptors can be analysed and exemplified using headings found in CEFR as follows:

Competence and performance in learning and teaching: theories and practices

29

9.3. Teachers general competences

Knowledge (savoir)

I can understand the principles formulated in relevant European documents (e.g. Common European
Framework of Reference, European Language Portfolio). (Context, Curriculum, p.15)

Skills (savoir-faire)

I can identify and investigate specific pedagogical/didactic issues related to my learners or my

teaching in the form of action research. (Context, The Role of the Teacher, p.18)

Existential competence: (savoir tre)

I can appreciate and make use of the value added to the classroom environment by learners with
diverse cultural backgrounds. (Context, The Role of the Teacher, p.17)

9.4. Didactic competences linked to the CEFR descriptors

Most didactic descriptors in the EPOSTL concern the development of the competences,
both communicative and general, described in the CEFR. A few illustrative examples
will be shown.
The illustrative scales of the CEFR refer to three metacategories: Communicative
activities, Strategies and Communicative language competences (25ff.). I shall use these
categories to exemplify the relationship between language-related descriptors taken
from the CEFR and corresponding didactic descriptors in the EPOSTL
9.4.1. Communicative activities
CEFR: Overall spoken interaction (74)

B2: Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction, and
sustained relationships with native speakers quite possible without imposing strain on either party.
Can highlight the personal significance of events and experiences, account for and sustain views
clearly by providing relevant explanations and arguments.

EPOSTL: Methodology. Spoken interaction (21)

I can evaluate and select a range of meaningful speaking and interactional activities to develop
fluency (discussion, role play, problem solving, etc.).

9.4.2. Strategies
CEFR: Reading for orientation (.70)

B1. Can scan longer texts in order to locate desired information, and gather information from different
parts of a text, or from different texts in order to fulfil a specific task.

EPOSTL: Methodology, D. Reading (26)

I can set different activities in order to practise and develop different reading strategies according to
the purpose of reading (skimming, scanning etc.).

CEFR: Co-operating (86)

B1: Can exploit a basic repertoire of language and strategies to help keep a conversation or discussion
going.

EPOSTL: Methodology: A. Speaking/spoken interaction (21)

I can evaluate and select various activities to help learners to identify and use typical features of
spoken language (informal language, fillers etc.).

CEFR: Identifying clues and inferring (72)

B1. Can identify unfamiliar words from the context on topics related to his/her field and interests. Can
extrapolate the meaning of occasional unknown words from the context and deduce sentence meaning
provided the topic discussed is familiar.

EPOSTL: Methodology: C. Reading (25)

I can help learners to develop different strategies to cope with difficult or unknown vocabulary in a
text.

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David Newby

9.4.3. General competences

Intercultural awareness (CEFR 5.1.1.3): knowledge, awareness and understanding of
the relation (similarities and distinctive differences) between the world of origin and
the world of the target community produce an intercultural awareness. (103)
EPOSTL: (Methodology, G. Culture p. 29)

I can evaluate and select a variety of texts, source material and activities which help learners to reflect
on the concept of otherness and understand different value systems.

Ability to learn (CEFR 5.1.4)

EPOSTL: (Independent Learning, A. Learner autonomy p.45)

I can evaluate and select a variety of activities which help learners to identify and reflect on individual
learning processes and learning styles.

9.4.4. Communicative language competences

Grammatical competence (CEFR 5.2.1.2) CEFR: Grammatical accuracy (114)

B2. Shows a relatively high degree of grammatical control. Does not make mistakes which lead to
misunderstanding.

EPOSTL: Methodology, E. Grammar

I can evaluate and select grammatical exercises and activities, which support learning and encourage
oral and written communication.

Sociolinguistic Appropriateness (CEFR p.122)

B2. Can express him or herself confidently, clearly and politely in a formal or informal register,
appropriate to the situation and person(s) concerned.

EPOSTL: Methodology, F. Vocabulary

I can evaluate and select activities which enhance learners awareness of register differences.

Discourse competence (CEFR 5.2.3.1) - Coherence and cohesion (125)

Can use a variety of linking words efficiently to mark clearly the relationships between
ideas.
EPOSTL: Methodology, B. Writing/written interaction

I can use a variety of techniques to help learners to develop awareness of the structure, coherence and
cohesion of a text and produce texts accordingly.

10. Conclusion
As has been seen, the road to defining and describing competence and performance has
been long and circuitous and paved with a variety of theories from both theoretical and
applied linguistics. Within language teaching, they are concepts which lie at the core of
activities ranging from curriculum design to language assessment. As far as its
description of communicative competences is concerned, it seems to me that the CEFR
scarcely breaks new ground. Indeed, my own school textbook (Heindler et al. 1985),
developed in the late 1970s, included many of its innovative elements: a notionalfunctional syllabus, exercises to practise register, extensive use of what the CEFR refers
to as praxeograms, self-assessment descriptors at the end of each unit etc. etc.
However, in other respects the CEFR certainly can be regarded as innovative. I
would identify four features of the CEFR which have moved language learning and
teaching forward considerably. These are:
a) The indivisibility of, and complementarity between, general and communicative competences,
applied, on the one hand, to the various culture-related categories - intercultural awareness;
intercultural skills and know-how; existential competence etc.; on the other to cognitive categories
of schematic knowledge listed above under non-linguistic reality.
b) The action-oriented view of language provides a strong focus on the process of encoding and
decoding; i.e. how competence becomes performance.
c) Its can-do descriptors of communicative activities, describe not only competence but also
performance.

Competence and performance in learning and teaching: theories and practices

31

d) Despite its claim to be non-dogmatic: not irrevocably and exclusively attached to any one of a
number of competing linguistic or educational theories or practices (8), clearly, both a
communicative approach to learning and teaching and a cognitive, constructivist view of language and
of learning are strongly represented. With the recent rise of interest in Cognitive theory among applied
linguists and methodologists, the mentalistic, sociological and cognitive framework of the CEFR
could serve as an important theoretical basis for teachers and methodologists wishing to teach and
design materials according to communicative and cognitive principles.

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