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TOPIC 1

Language as Communication: Oral and Written Language. Factors that Define a Communicative Situation: Sender, Receiver, Functionality and Context.

1. Introduction

"Words, once they are printed, have a life of their own." — Carol Burnett

In order to introduce this topic, we should firstly ask ourselves: what is language? Language is the main means by which people communicate. Communication is inherent in humans. But it is more than just a means of communication; as Halliday (1978) argues, language is a social semiotic — it can influence our culture, our way of thinking and even our thought processes. As Trager (1949) states, language is the arbitrary choice of symbols used by humans to communicate needs, feelings or information within a cultural context, while Sapir (1921) describes it as a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas through voluntarily produced symbols. Thus, communication can be understood as the exchange of information between at least two individuals through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols (Canale & Swain, 1980).

Traditional Foreign Language Teaching (FLT) focused on teaching items of language in isolation. Due to the influence of the Communicative Approach — championed by Hymes (1972) and later developed by Canale and Swain (1980) — our current education system has incorporated the functional and communicative potential of language. The acquisition of communicative competence has become the main objective within foreign language learning, as reflected in the CEFR (Council of Europe, 2001).

From a legislative perspective, the LOMLOE (Organic Act 3/2020) introduces eight Key Competences, the first of which — Linguistic Communication — focuses on the effective use of language as a tool for communicating. The Royal Decree 157/2022 further develops this framework. At the regional level, Decree 101/2023 establishes the curriculum for Primary Education in Andalusia, and the Order of May 30th, 2023 develops it in detail.

2. Language as Communication: Oral and Written Language

2.1. What is Language?

Language is generally considered the hallmark of human intelligence. It can broadly be defined as a system of signs combined with conventional rules to transmit a message:

• "Language is purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily-produced symbols" (Sapir, 1921).
• "A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which the members of a society interact" (Trager, 1949).
• "A language is a set of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements" (Chomsky, 1957).
• "Language is the institution whereby humans communicate and interact by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols" (Hall, 1964).

2.2. Oral and Written Language

According to Harmer (2001), oral language always precedes its written form. Halliday (1976) argues that spoken and written language are two distinct modes of meaning-making. Humans are genetically prepared for oral language, but writing is a cultural invention that must be explicitly taught. Krashen (1982) reinforces this through his Input Hypothesis (i+1).

2.3. Characteristics of Oral and Written Language

Feature	Oral Language	Written Language
Medium	Air pressure (vocal organs)	Graphs / marks on a surface
Time/Space	Time-bound, dynamic, ephemeral	Space-bound, static, permanent
Participants	Usually present (face-to-face)	Usually distant / unknown reader
Construction	Looser, simpler sentences	Careful organisation, complexity
Extra-linguistic	Gestures, facial expression, prosody	Punctuation, capitalisation, layout
Error handling	Cannot erase spoken errors	Errors can be eliminated before reading
Feedback	Immediate (real-time)	Delayed or absent

Figure 1. Comparison between Oral and Written Language (based on Crystal, 1997).

2.4. Pedagogical Implications

• Oral language should be introduced earlier, mirroring natural acquisition. RD 157/2022 and Decree 101/2023 prioritise oral skills in the first cycle.
• Written language demands greater accuracy, but the communicative function should take precedence over formal accuracy at early stages (Hymes, 1972; Canale & Swain, 1980).
• Errors in oral language are natural. Focus on fluency and meaning before accuracy (Underwood, 1989).
• Writing should be scaffolded progressively (Order of May 30th, 2023).

3. Factors that Define a Communicative Situation

According to Jakobson (1960), six fundamental factors intervene in every communicative situation:

• Sender (addresser): produces and transmits the message.
• Receiver (addressee): the person the message is directed to.
• Context (referent): the external reality the message refers to.
• Message: the content and form of the information.
• Channel (contact): the connection between sender and receiver.
• Code: the linguistic system shared by both.

Factor	Function	Focus	Example
Context	Referential	External world	"The cat is on the mat."
Sender	Expressive	Speaker's emotions	"I'm so excited!"
Receiver	Conative	Influencing listener	"Please close the window."
Message	Poetic	Form and aesthetics	"The red rose whispers of love."
Channel	Phatic	Establishing contact	"Are you still there?"
Code	Metalinguistic	Language about language	"When I say 'dog'..."

4. The Communicative Approach to FLT

Chomsky (1965) distinguished between competence and performance. Hymes (1972) introduced communicative competence. Canale and Swain (1980) identified four sub-competences:

• Linguistic/grammatical: correct use of syntax, morphology, phonology and vocabulary.
• Sociolinguistic: appropriate use of language according to social context.
• Discourse: producing coherent and cohesive texts.
• Strategic: strategies to compensate for communication difficulties.

CLT emphasises interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal. Errors are tolerated. Vygotsky's (1978) ZPD and Bruner's (1983) scaffolding provide key theoretical underpinnings.

5. Andalusian Cultural Connection

The Andalusian curriculum promotes integration of cultural heritage as a meaningful context for language learning. Andalusia's linguistic landscape — with traces of Arabic, Mozarabic and Romani — provides authentic material. Oral traditions such as flamenco exemplify Jakobson's poetic and expressive functions in action.

6. Attention to Diversity and Universal Design for Learning

The UDL framework (CAST; Rose & Meyer, 2002) proposes three core principles:

• Multiple Means of Representation: varied input formats — oral, written, visual, kinaesthetic.
• Multiple Means of Action and Expression: different channels for demonstrating competence.
• Multiple Means of Engagement: choice, authentic contexts and calibrated tasks. Supported by Krashen's (1982) Affective Filter Hypothesis.

7. Didactic Transposition: Learning Situations

LS 1: "Andalusian Flavours" (5th Grade) — Students explore communication through Andalusian gastronomy: planning a healthy menu, writing a recipe for gazpacho, practising referential, conative and expressive functions.

LS 2: "Our Town Speaks" (6th Grade) — Students investigate communicative factors in their town through a mini-ethnographic project, identifying sender, receiver, channel, code, context and dominant function.

8. Conclusion

We have examined language as a communicative phenomenon, distinguishing oral and written dimensions, and analysed the factors and functions of every communicative situation (Jakobson, 1960). Through CLT, UDL and the Andalusian curriculum, the aim of every FL teacher should be to promote communicative competence by creating authentic, inclusive and culturally grounded communicative situations.

9. Legal Framework and References

9.1. Legal Framework

• Organic Act 2/2006 (LOE) & Organic Act 3/2020 (LOMLOE)
• Royal Decree 157/2022 — Basic curriculum for Primary Education
• Decree 101/2023 — Curriculum for Primary Education in Andalusia
• Order of May 30th, 2023 — Development of the Andalusian curriculum

9.2. References

Bruner, J. (1983). Child's talk. OUP. · Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Applied Linguistics, 1(1). · CAST. (2018). UDL Guidelines 2.2. · Chomsky, N. (1957). Syntactic structures. · Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the theory of syntax. MIT. · Council of Europe (2001). CEFR. CUP. · Crystal, D. (1997). Cambridge encyclopedia of language. · Halliday, M. (1976). Spoken and written language. · Halliday, M. (1978). Language as social semiotic. · Harmer, J. (2001). The practice of ELT. · Hymes, D. (1972). On communicative competence. · Jakobson, R. (1960). Linguistics and poetics. · Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in SLA. · Rose, D. & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student: UDL. · Sapir, E. (1921). Language. · Saussure, F. (1916). Cours de linguistique générale. · Trager, G. (1949). The field of linguistics. · Underwood, M. (1989). Teaching listening. · Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society. Harvard UP.