Applied Pragmatics and Competence Relations in Language Learning and Teaching

The purpose of this paper is to show how a course in language teaching shouldbe designed to help learners develop their pragmatic competence by making use of fourlanguage skills in a communicative way. Listening, writing and reading do not occur inisolation in communicative contexts. Thus, competence is the type of knowledge whichthe learners acquire, develop, learn, use and forget. The purpose of the language teachershould be to provide learners a range of opportunities to experience the use of languagein different socio-cultural contexts by creatively and critically using language in differentinteractional patterns which would make them successful communicators in the targetlanguage.