Verbal Communicative Competence In A Foreign Language: A Personal Experience Perspective

After a comprehensive review of the historical and current researches in foreign language (FL)teaching, applied linguistics and second language acquisition, the author concludes that the coreissue in the research of FL learning and teaching is the developmental process of verbalcommunicative competence in a foreign language (DPVCCFL), which has not been systematicallyrevealed and explained. After he presents a new theory, termed "the theory of personal experience(PE)", the author explores how the mechanisms of verbal communication (VC), which is based onPE, generate verbal communicative competence in one's native language (VCCNL), and how verbalcommunicative competence in a foreign language (VCCFL) is developed on the basis of PE and theVCCNL mechanisms.PE refers to whatever a person, who is in a certain situation and condition and possesses certainphysical and mental capabilities, acquires through his interaction with the outside world (natural andsocial-cultural). Native language experience (NLE) and foreign language experience (FLE) areinseparable parts of PE, but identified and separated from PE solely for the sake of research needs.The theory of PE hypothesizes that all PE possesses the same nature, operates and grows in the samemanner. PE is characterized by its uniqueness, organic operation, interaction and continuum. PEgrows in a modular manner, which means that prior experience affects subsequent similar experience.PE has two main working mechanisms: the metaphysical mechanism and the associative mechanism.The former refers to the mechanism of transcending concrete experience to affect subsequent newexperience, and the latter the mechanism of various associations among elements in PE, and amongmental and psychological processes. The sequence of PE, NLE and FLE implies that FLE is basedon the prior two factors and that its growth is affected accordingly.VCCFL is the capability one demonstrates in the process of their social communication in FL.As the FL learner's PE and his mechanism of VC are what he only possesses, DPVCCFL depends onnothing but them. The intrinsic associations between PE, VC in native language (NL) in VC in FLare the key issues in the understanding of VC and VCCFL. VC in FL takes over the mechanisms ofVC in NL, which is based on PE. After a careful study of VC, the author has found that themechanism that facilitates the development of verbal communicative competence (VCC) is theassociative mechanism that operates between the communicative idea (CI) and the verbal expression(VE), which are heterogeneous in nature. As social communication, VC is composed of twoheterogeneous processes, one being responsible for the generation or inference of CI, and the otherfor production or perception of VE. The former (ideas or feelings in nature, i.e. non-verbal) stemsfrom PE and the latter (verbal in nature) originates in language experience. VE that is beingproduced or perceived consists of both verbal form (VF) and verbal meaning (VM). Theheterogeneous association of CI and VE in the two processes is done by means of VM, which isassociated with communicative meaning image (CMI, which is the literal meaning that the speakerintends to express in VC) at one end and with VF at the other. The automatic mechanisms ofassociations that are to be established between them are of great significance in the development ofVCC, and the intelligent automation of the associative mechanisms can only be achieved throughfrequency effects. VCC comprises competencies of PE, CI, CMI, VF, VM and fluency. The authoralso investigates origins of the heterogeneous VC mechanisms in human evolution, and hence theidentity of the world structure, PE and the structure of language is revealed.DPVCCFL, based on PE and the mechanisms involved in VC in NL, is a process that willgradually extricate itself from the mechanisms of VC in NL in terms of the PE meanings, theexpressive ways of VM and verbal communicative behavior, and also a process in which variousautomatic associations will be progressively established through frequent practice of VC in FL.Specifically, four processes have been researched through modular comparative studies of NL andFL. They are the developmental processes of the competence of FL sound forms, the verbalization ofPE by FL, the developmental process of the competence of VE in FL, and the developmental processof verbal communicative behavior.In the last chapter, the author discusses the implications of the theories to foreign languageteaching and research in both China and abroad. A framework for the theory and practice of foreignlanguage teaching is suggested, which is constructed with four key aspects: learner as a subject,interaction, verbal expression and associative mechanisms. The approaches that the author adopts inthe research are also of great importance to national and international researches in foreign languageteaching. Researchers are addressed to contemplate the issues in foreign language teaching so as toconstruct original theories.