Conventionalized Language Forms and the Development of Communicative Competence.

Both the objectives and the kind of competence that is needed in order to satisfy those objectives vary greatly. The notion of competence then needs to be defined in relation to each learner or group of learners. Furthermore, whatever kind of competence our students need must incorporate the notion of use: Learners want or need to be able to use competence A, or competence B, etc. This notion of competence which incorporates use and appropriateness of use in a linguistic situation has been called communicative competence. For speakers to have communicative competence, they must be able to use the language grammatically, appropriately, and effectively. Grammaticality refers to formal correctness; appropriateness and effectiveness are related to sociolinguistic correctness, that is, the ability of speakers to say the right thing, in the right situation, in order to get what they want. The issues to be discussed