Developing Students Communicative Competence from a Stylistic Perspective
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【Abstract】With the development of internationalization， English plays an increasingly significant role in people's daily life and work. Using English to transmit information and exchange ideas has become an indispensable means of communication. Therefore， developing students' ability to use language has gradually become the main purpose of oral English teaching. Stylistics studies how to use language appropriately in appropriate situations so that we can achieve the best effect of expression in verbal communication. It provides a new way of teaching English. This paper trying to analyze how to improve college students’ communication competence by using stylistics theories from the aspects of teaching English culture， role relationship and communicative strategies.
【Key words】stylistics； communication competence； oral English teaching
Stylistic theory can facilitate EFL teaching in developing students' communicative competence. Teaching from a stylistic perspective， we have to bear in mind that mastering a language can not be achieved by only knowing the linguistic knowledge， but can only be achieved by combining linguistic knowledge and extra-linguistic context. Here we will study how to develop students' oral communicative competence from a stylistic perspective.
1. Correctness and Appropriateness in Communication
As we know， the ultimate goal of EFL teaching and learning is to equip our students with “communicative competence”. It consists of “linguistic competence” and “pragmatic competence”. Linguistic competence finds expression in the correctness of language form， while pragmatic competence finds expression in the appropriateness of language performance in specific context （which is the main concern of stylistics）.
Correctness and appropriateness in language use are two interrelated notions. Appropriateness， which is used as a standard to see whether the language in use is appropriate or not， is the maximum principle in communication. Correctness is an important basis for appropriateness. However， we must bear in mind that in communication only appropriate language in use can achieve effective communication. If the users do not know the rules of language use， no matter how correct his language is， he will find himself at a loss in social interactions. As Hymes put it about the relationship between correctness and appropriateness， “there are rules of use without which the rules of grammar would be useless.” It is possible for someone to have learned a large number of words and sentence patterns without knowing how they are actually used. This means that language teacher should be concerned with the teaching of both kinds of knowledge. The past teaching tendency concentrates on the usage of language on the assumption that learners will eventually pick up the necessary knowledge of use on their own. Which seems to be too optimistic. Evidence seems to be that learners who have acquired a good deal of linguistic knowledge find themselves at a loss when they are confronted with actual instances of use. As EFL teachers， we should not only make our students have a good foundation in linguistic competence， but also develop in students communicative competence. Only in this way can our students learn to communicate effectively.
2.3 Teaching Communicative Strategies
As an English learner， having linguistic competence， extra-linguistic competence does not necessarily mean that he can keep the conversation going smoothly. It is accepted that strategic competence plays an important part in communicative competence. However， whether teaching strategies is a controversial issue. Some teachers think that learners can form this competence consciously in the process of communication， so it is unnecessary for teachers to train. But Faerch and Kasper hold a different view， “If by teaching we mean passing on new information only， there is probably no need to teach strategies ...but if by teaching we also mean making learners conscious about aspects of their （already existing） behavior， it is obvious that we should teach them about strategies， in particular how to use communication strategies most appropriately.” According to the existing problems of our students in communication， it is significant to teach communicative strategies to develop students' adaptability to ever-changing situations.
Communicative strategies can be divided into three kinds： achievement strategies （strategies to maintain or restore the conversation）； reduction strategies （strategies to avoid speaking what you cannot speak or what you are not willing to speak）； non-linguistic strategies （facial expressions， gestures and body language to accompany a particular language）. This thesis will focus on the achievement strategies which are the most difficult among these three for our students to grasp.
Some commonly used achievement strategies are listed in the following：
1. Asking for repetition： Could you say that again？ Pardon me.
2. Demanding clarification： Did you say you would collect the papers？ Where will you be？ Usual place？
3. Interruption： Sorry to interrupt you， but could you explain this？
4. Changing topic： Talking of going somewhere， what about going for a coffee.
Teachers should encourage them to take advantage of these strategies.
Conclusion
Stylistics is not an approach to EFL teaching， nor does it claim to be. However， through thorough description and study of natural language in use， stylistics has presented us with a different way of looking at language. This knowledge can be valuable to EFL teaching. If EFL teaching aims to turn learners into good and competent language users， there seems to be no reason to detach itself from the teaching of real language to achieve the goal. Therefore， there must be much close interplay between stylistics and EFL teaching.
It is clear that in EFL teaching， the adoption of stylistic theory can help improve students' oral communicative competence. It is unavoidable that some of the discussion or analysis may fall into subjectivity. Still， I hope this thesis can lead teachers to a greater understanding of the existing problems that students have in their communication and perhaps assist teachers in the development of students' oral communicative competence. It is also pertinent to note that teaching speaking cannot rely only on stylistics. It is such an involving field that it also needs the contribution and insights from other disciplines.
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