Abstract
Reaching communicative competence in a foreign language is one of the key objectives of the foreign language education policy of multiple European countries, including Slovakia. The unified concept of communicative competence provides learners with equal opportunities for mastering languages at their best and enables its development from the very beginning of learners' studies. In low proficiency levels (A1) in primary education teachers play a crucial role in developing communicative competence of their learners. Research in the field reveals that although teachers are aware of their great influence and importance in the development of communicative competence, they often do not provide sufficient circumstances for learners to reaching it. A qualitative inquiry conducted with a number of in-practice English teachers working in Slovak primary schools presents the importance of having balanced development in all the components of communicative competence in TEFL, its implementation into the lessons of English, as well as an overall view of teachers’ standpoints towards its development at the primary level. The results show the tendencies of teachers to concentrate more on certain (especially linguistic) elements of communicative competence, whereas other competences (mainly of pragmatic character) are often neglected.
Highlights
TEFL has gone through vast changes in the past several decades
The development of communicative competence generally is a very complex process, which is dependent on various factors
The study was concerned with in-service teachers' standpoints towards this complex process at the primary level of education
Summary
TEFL has gone through vast changes in the past several decades. A great variety of theories, approaches, and teaching methods have emerged, which led to the formation of an endless resource inventory, FLE, which can be made use of. We ought to be technically advanced, have excellent ICT skills, and be outstanding communicators. Due to these standards, many countries in the world are setting their philosophy on language policies in such a way that learners develop communicative competence in at least one or two foreign languages (Tandlichova, 2008). Many countries in the world are setting their philosophy on language policies in such a way that learners develop communicative competence in at least one or two foreign languages (Tandlichova, 2008) English, even though it is not the largest language by speakers and geographic spread, is the language of the 'global village' (Romaine, 2007). Even though curricular documents in their frameworks and guidelines for teaching portray the objectives of education without giving stepby-step instructions of how exactly teaching should be done (Harmer, 2012), reaching communicative competence is one of the most important objectives in them all
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