Communication is the main goal

Learners of English in Norwegian basic education are expected to learn how to use English to communicate, and the main aim for any English teacher is to help learners develop their intercultural communicative competence. The purpose of this book is to facilitate this language learning process.

When we communicate, we have all kinds of means at our disposal, not just linguistic ones. Often, a smile or a hug (or an angry look) may convey our message better than any word can. In this book, however, we will focus on verbal communication, oral and written. But there are many choices here, too. Obviously, we express ourselves quite differently when we are addressing a large audience from when we are upset with a close friend, and the language we use in a letter to the tax authorities is different from a letter to a loved one.

We want our messages to be understood the way they were intended. Therefore, we consider which words and phrases to use, and we think about the effect they will have on the people we are communicating with. Our utterances must be precise, so that our interlocutors, listeners or readers, can understand what we want to convey. The utterances must be appropriate, so that they fit the context and the situation we are in. But do they need to be accurate or “correct”? Not necessarily. Just think of how you simplify your sentences when you speak to a baby, or how youngsters deliberately twist a language in order to create a special effect in their status updates on social media. Popular culture provides many examples of language that functions well precisely because it is non-standard or unusual. Moreover, communication may be quite successful even among people who do not master the language very well.

In an educational situation, however, it is natural to work towards a good command of the language, and to speak and write as accurately as possible. Accuracy has to do with the correctness of word forms, the correct spelling of words in written texts and the right pronunciation of words when you speak. But what does this mean? You have probably experienced how English sounds quite different in different parts of the world. So when people speak – and even write – English quite differently, how do we decide what “correct” English sounds and looks like? In fact, when English varies so much, how do we even define what English really is?

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