Sociolinguistic competence: An often neglected and de-emphasized aspect of foreign language teaching

Abstract

Sociolinguistic competence is an indispensable aspect of communicative competence. Studies have shown that the misunderstandings normative speakers face in cross-cultural realization of communicative acts often arise from their failure in this competence. Based on data collected from classroom observations, the present study investigated how EFL classes in Taiwan were instructed in sociolinguistic competence and how the teaching practices might affect students` learning outcomes. The results indicated that whereas the classes observed were indeed communicative in approach, the instructors devoted very little time to activities oriented to a better understanding of sociolinguistic competence. The findings may contribute to a better understanding of how EFL learners can be assisted in improving their communicative competence.