Assessing the Communicative Competence of Advanced EFL Students at the Faculty of Education in Hodeidah University

Abstract

Communicative competence is one of the major goals which learners of English language seek to achieve. The aim of the present study is to explore the level of communicative competence among English majors in the Faculty of Education in Hodeidah University in Yemen. The participants in this study are third and fourth year students in the English department of the Faculty of Education. The data collection instrument was an Informal ESOL Speaking Assessment Test by Susan Bubp (2007) a coordinator in Adult Education Mini-Grant Projects. The findings of the study reveal that the students in the advanced levels in the Faculty of Education have a very poor degree of communicative competence in English language. Based on the findings the study suggests some pedagogical implications to improve the communicative competence of English majors. Introduction As early as 1972, Hymes defined communicative competence as the ability to use appropriate and socially acceptable language, knowing when to speak, what to speak about and what manner should one adopt at a certain time, in a certain place and with a certain person. Today, in times of rapid globalization of culture, science, economy and education in the 21 century, English has become entrenched as an international tool. Communicative competence in English is more needed than ever, and is considered as one of the necessary qualifications which college students in Yemen need to develop to confront the demands of the society. In the Faculty of Education in Hodeidah University the English majors in their training program as teachers take four courses in spoken English. These courses end in the second semester of the second year. So in the advanced levels i.e., in the third and fourth year, students do not take any courses in spoken English. However students feel that without a sound knowledge of grammar, which is the major component of linguistic competence, they cannot effectively complete the task of interacting with people in English. Therefore the assumption that after taking different courses in the English language the students' communicative competence will empower them to attain their goals as teachers is false, because many students in the English Department in the Faculty of Education graduate with low degree of communicative competence. The purpose of the present study is to provide an assessment of the communicative competence of the students in the advanced levels of the Faculty of Education in Hodeidah University. The Informal ESOL English Speaking Assessment Test by Susan Bubp an ALS coordinator was conducted by the researcher. The researcher skipped some questions and added someto match with the culture and nature of Yemeni Students. The number of participants was 60 students from third and fourth year English majors in the Faculty of Education. Students were very enthusiastic to have an oral test as this was a new experience for them. Usually their performance in English is measured through written tests. The aims and significance of the study The present study aims to investigate the level of communicative competence in English among the third and fourth year English majors in the Faculty of Education in Hodeidah University and to find out whether they are competent users of English or not. Also to know their capability of relating what is learnt in the classroom to the outside world to attain their goals as English language teachers?