SPECIFIC PURPOSE LANGUAGE ABILITY

The goal of specific language ability is to work toward a clearer understanding of the construct of specific purpose language ability. That especially considers the relationship between language ability and specific purpose background knowledge. The framework communicative ability combines Bachman and Palmer’s formulation of the contents of language knowledge with of modified formulation of strategic competence (chapelle and Douglas:1993).

Strategic competence serves as a mediator and interpreter between the external situational context and the internal language and background knowledge required to respond to the communicative situation.

Between context and language knowledge, strategic competence is assumed to operate in all communicative situations. However, it may not be necessary for certain testing purposes to measure strategic competence.

As Hymes (19971, 19972) originally formulated the concept, communicative competence involves judgment about what is systemically possible (in other words, what the grammar will allow), psycholinguistically feasible (what the main will allow), and socioculturally appropriate (what society will allow) about the probability of occurrence of a linguistic event and what is entailed in the actual accomplishment of it.

A final aspect in the definition of specific purpose language ability is that the construct contain, by definition, specific purpose background knowledge.  The very essence of specific purpose language test is that they requiring the test takers to engage themselves authentically in test task that are demonstrablying related to the target language use situation, and, therefore, relevant background knowledge will necessary be called upon in the interpretation of the communicative situation and the formulation of a response.