Cambridge

Life Competencies
Framework

Communication
Introductory Guide
for Teachers and
Educational
Managers
 Communication
Introduction to the Cambridge Life Competencies
Framework
There have been many initiatives to address the skills and competencies our learners need for the
21st century – each relating to different contexts. At Cambridge, we are responding to educators that
have asked for a way to understand how all these different approaches to life competencies relate to
English language programmes.

We have set out to analyse what the basic components of these competencies are. This is to help us
create an underlying framework to interpret different initiatives.

We have identified six life competencies, which are linked to three foundation layers of the
Framework.

THE CAMBRIDGE LIFE COMPETENCIES FRAMEWORK

Creative Learning to Collaboration

Thinking Learn

Critical Communication Social

Thinking Responsibilities

Emotional Development

Digital Literacy

Discipline Knowledge

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 The Learning Journey Defining COMMUNICATION
The competencies vary depending on the stage of the learning journey – from pre- Competencies
primary through to learners at work. Communication is an essential professional and life skill, enabling us to share information and ideas, as
well as express feelings and arguments (Cenere et al., 2015). It is also an active process influenced by
the complexities of human behaviour in which elements such as non-verbal behaviour and individual
styles of interpreting and ascribing meaning to events have significant influence. Mastering effective
communication is a skill which can be developed and honed and is distinct from mastering the core
linguistic features of a language.

We have identified three core areas within the area of Communication:

• Using appropriate language/register for context refers to a learner’s understanding that there
are formal and informal contexts/situations which require them to vary language, expressions and
Pre-Primary Primary Secondary adapt their communication style so that they are appropriate to the context they are in. Learners
can use language for effect by employing a variety of language and rhetorical devices to be more
persuasive in an argument, to engage and catch attention and add emphasis or humour.

• Managing conversations is related to a learner’s ability to converse with others effectively and
efficiently by knowing how to initiate, maintain and end conversations appropriately. Learners are
aware of key communication strategies that can help them and their peers convey their messages.
This will ensure that they are also able to support others to communicate successfully.

• Participating with appropriate confidence and clarity refers to a learner’s ability to communicate
effectively with appropriate fluency, confidence and pace. This may include using appropriate tonal
Higher Education At Work and structural variation, facial expression and eye contact, as well as an ability to structure content
to create coherent and cohesive texts.

We are developing Can Do Statements (see page 6) to describe what can be expected of a learner at
each stage of learning for each competency. The Can Do Statements are phrased as what a learner
should be able to do by the end of that stage of learning. We have started to develop Can Do
Statements as descriptions of observable behaviour.

The Framework provides different levels of detail – from the broad Competencies to the specific Can
Do Statement.

Competency Core Area Can Do

Statement

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 COMMUNICATION Can Do Statements Practical Guidelines for Teaching
In this section, we have provided some examples of Can Do Statements which detail what learners can
be expected to do for each competency by the end of that stage of the learning journey. These Can Do
Communication Competencies
Statements will vary in their suitability for learners in different contexts, and so are provided as a starting In an increasingly interconnected world, communication is an essential skill that enables us to get our
point in the development of a curriculum, programme or assessment system. ideas, needs and feelings across to others in meaningful, useful ways. It allows us to access information,
The Can Do Statements at each level generally assume that the learners have developed the skills at a opportunities and develop relationships. In the language classroom, learners need extensive practice
previous stage of learning, although this is not true of the Higher Education and At Work stages, which are and feedback in order to use new language confidently and fluently. This is often facilitated through
treated as being in parallel. productive, communicative activities like asking and answering drills, role-plays and the multitude of
activities that require learners to engage with one another in order to get or share information. Due
STAGE OF CORE AREAS CAN DO STATEMENTS to their communicative nature, these activities also present an opportunity to work with, and develop,
LEARNING communication competencies.
Learners reach for communication strategies during many classroom activities because of an inherent
PRE-PRIMARY Using appropriate • Understands and carries out basic instructions for class/school.
need for them. Not having these strategies to draw upon may result in learners hitting communicative
language and • Expresses basic likes/dislikes and agreement/disagreement.
register for • Uses simple, polite forms of greetings, introductions and farewells (i.e. saying blocks more frequently and being less able to benefit from time spent in the classroom. Communication
context hello, please, thank you and sorry). strategies have a broad range of benefits for language learners within the classroom and beyond.
• Adjusts language for playing different roles (e.g. a teacher, an animal or a For example, being able to continue with a speaking task despite not knowing key vocabulary, avoid
character from a story).
misunderstandings by checking what has been said, or tell more engaging stories.
Managing • Listens while others are talking. Learners and teachers benefit from developed communication skills by:
conversations • Shares and takes turns when speaking.
• Responds appropriately to questions. • expressing themselves appropriately and enabling a positive, productive learning environment;
• Uses basic communication strategies, such as asking for repetition or making
a self-repair, in a very simple way. • being more able to collaborate effectively with others;
• Speaks with clarity when participating in group activities.
• being more able to take more responsibility for their learning, articulate their needs, access
Participating • Asks and answers simple questions. information and support;
with appropriate
confidence and • being more able to engage in and benefit from communicative language practice activities;
clarity

PRIMARY Using appropriate • Talks about their day, their family, their interests, and other topics suitable for • experiencing increased motivation as a result of success in communicative activities.
language and primary school.
register for • Appropriately asks for permission, apologises, makes requests and agrees or
context disagrees.
• Uses polite forms of greetings and address and responds to invitations,
suggestions, apologies, etc.
• Changes sound levels and pitch of voice when doing drama or acting a role in
a play to communicate different emotions. Ben,
Managing • Takes turns appropriately in a conversation. Director for
conversations • Interrupts others politely. Language
• Tries to use alternative words or expressions if they are not understood. Research,
• Asks for clarification when they have difficulties in understanding what others Cambridge
have said. University Press
• Shares ideas with a peer before writing and speaking tasks in order to
improve the quality of their work, where necessary.

Participating • Contributes in lessons by asking questions, attempting responses and

with appropriate explaining understanding.
confidence and • Shares their thoughts with others to help further develop ideas and solve
clarity problems.
• Can tell a story or describe something in a simple way.
• Uses simple connectors such as ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘because’ to link groups of
words.

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 Suggestions for classroom practice
The ideas presented here are intended as a general indication of the types of activity that might develop
this competency in the classroom, and are not a definitive list.

GENERAL SUGGESTIONS
Communication skills are so inherently embedded within language teaching and learning; the question is
not so much whether they have a place in the language classroom, but rather, the extent and ways in which
teachers provide an overt focus on them.

Familiarisation with communication strategies

It should be noted that before spending significant amounts of time practising particular communicative
strategies within classroom activities, it is helpful for learners to understand what these strategies are.
This understanding is important as it informs and supports subsequent attempts to use them. It can help
learners become more able to independently practise and reflect on their performance – rather than
relying on teacher feedback.

Allowing time
Once a strategy is established (what it involves, its potential benefits) and practised, learners will be better
placed to use it in later lessons, with increasing independence. This is a key point; time and effort may
need to be invested in developing learner recognition of communicative strategies which can initially
distract from other teaching and learning aims.

Including communication skills in everyday practice

It is important to note that existing learning activities and procedures can be adapted to accommodate
the development of communication skills. This is an approach and a process; one that needs to be
incorporated within communicative activities, with specific strategies revisited, honed and built upon;
doing so leaves learners better equipped for success in both the language classroom and the real world.

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 Further Reading
YOUNG LEARNERS
Learners at this age tend to be more communicative generally – they can be confident and motivated to
speak – but often lack the skills to work more effectively together in groups. Raising learners’ awareness of
effective communication strategies, and engaging in tasks that promote these skills, are key to supporting Here are a number of books or articles that you could also look at:
young learners in this area. Young learners can be introduced explicitly to these communication strategies
Canale, M. (1983). From communicative Council of Europe. (2001). Common Hymes, D. (1972). Models of the
as outlined in the Cambridge Life Competencies Framework. This could involve useful language and competence to communicative European Framework of Reference interaction of language and social life.
phrases for different contexts. language pedagogy. In J. C. for Languages (CEFR). Available In J. J. Gumperz & D. Hymes (Eds.),
Richards & R. W. Schmidt (Eds.), at https://www.coe.int/en/web/ Directions in sociolinguistics: The
Ground rules Language and communication common-european-framework- ethnography of communication. New
(pp. 2–27). London: Longman. reference-languages/home York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
An example is setting some ‘ground rules’ for classroom communication amongst peers or between
learners and teachers, such as: Cenere, P., Gill, R., Lawson, C., & Dörnyei, Z. (1995). On the teachability Kellerman, E. (1991). Compensatory
Lewis, M. (2015). Communication skills of communication strategies. strategies in second language research:
for business professionals. Victoria, TESOL Quarterly, 29(1), 55-85. A critique, a revision, and some (non-)
Australia: Cambridge University Press. implications for the classroom, in R.
Dörnyei, Z., & Scott, M. L. (1997).
Phillipson, E. Kellerman, L. Selinker, M.
Ground rules for classroom communication Celce-Murcia, M., Dornyei, Z., & Thurrell, Communication strategies in a second
Sharwood Smith, & M. Swain (Eds.),
S. (1995). Communicative competence: language: Definitions and taxonomies.
Foreign/second language pedagogy
A pedagogically motivated model Language Learning, 47(1), 173–210.
1. Speak clearly with content specifications. Issues
research: A commemorative volume
Halliday, M. A. K. (1973). Explorations for Claus Færch, (Multilingual matters).
2. Listen carefully in Applied Linguistics, 6(2), 5-35.
in the functions of language. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
3. Ask questions London: Edward Arnold.

4. Show you’re interested – nod, smile, keep eye-contact

5. Say if you don’t understand something – use phrases like:
a. Sorry, could you please repeat that?
b. I’m
 sorry, I don’t understand. Could you explain, please?
c. 
Could you speak more slowly/loudly, please?
6. Wait for your turn to speak

These ‘ground rules’ can be made more meaningful to learners if they are decided together as a whole
class.

Storytelling
For promoting communication in the classroom, storytelling is a useful method that can be exploited in
numerous ways. For example, introducing young learners to greetings, making polite requests or asking
for permission. The context provided by a well-chosen story can help convey the meaning of useful
phrases. Further questions can establish the situations in which they are used, supporting the child’s
developing awareness of language function and register.
Primary learners could also practice retelling the story to develop their communication skills. By adding
a self- and peer-assessment element to this activity, learners are more motivated to retell the story
accurately and clearly. This type of assessment can also help to develop receptive skills and learner
independence. The success of this approach depends upon the establishment of clear, appropriate and
achievable success criteria and the ability to review learner output. The ability to record and listen back to
their answers using digital tools (e.g. tablets) can support this.

Over to you…
1. Choose one of the example activities in this section and try it out with your class.
-- When planning the activity, you may find the ‘General suggestions’ guidance above helpful.
-- Following the activity, reflect on what worked well and what could be improved next time,
particularly focusing on the extent to which learners were able to develop their communication
skills.
2. Using your course book or other materials, choose a few activities that you may be using in your
classes in the next week or so. Consider how you could make these activities more communicative.
Claire,
Principal Research Manager,
Cambridge University Press

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You can find information about the other
competencies in the Cambridge Life
Competencies Framework at
cambridge.org/clcf

✓ Collaboration
✓ Communication
✓ Creative Thinking
✓ Critical Thinking
✓ Emotional Development
✓ Learning to Learn
✓ Social Responsibilities

© Cambridge University Press 2019