What is functional competence?

Functional competence refers to the ability to accomplish communication purposes in a language. There are a number of different kinds of purposes for which people commonly use language.

Greeting people is one purpose for which we use language. What we actually say in English could be Good morning, Hi, How ya doin, or Yo, depending on who we are and who we are talking to.

Common Purposes or Functions of Language lists some of the purposes for which people commonly use language.

• Concept module: functional competence
• In overview module: Pragmatic aspects of communicative competence
• In overview module: Aspects of communicative competence
• In overview module: Introduction to guidelines for a language and cult...
• In modular book: Guidelines for a Language and Culture Learning Program, by Carol J. Orwig
• In document collection: Other Resources
• In bookshelf: Language Learning

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 3.5, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 15 September 1998

© 1999 SIL International