LEXICAL COMPETENCE: DISTINGUISHING COMPETENCE FROM SKILLS IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

Аннотация

This essay explains lexical competence and the difference between lexical competence and language skills. Competence refers to internal, generally unconscious knowledge of words, while skills are the active application of that knowledge in communication. The essay highlights the significance of lexical competence in achieving fluency, comprehension, and communicative efficiency. It also considers pedagogical approaches like context-based learning, repeated exposure, and active vocabulary use to promote competence in addition to skill acquisition. Balanced pedagogy in language instruction is promoted in order to achieve effective and meaningful learning. Key words: Lexical competence, vocabulary, language skills, communicative competence, receptive vocabulary, productive vocabulary, fluency, word formation, contextual learning, language teaching, lexical knowledge, vocabulary development Annotatsiya: Ushbu maqolada leksik kompetensiya tushunchasi va uni til ko‘nikmalaridan farqi yoritib beriladi. Kompetensiya ichki, ko‘pincha ong osti darajasidagi so‘z boyligi haqidagi bilimni anglatsa, ko‘nikma bu bilimni amaliy aloqa jarayonida qo‘llash qobiliyatidir. Maqolada leksik kompetensiyaning ravon so‘zlashish, tushunish va samarali muloqotda tutgan o‘rni ta’kidlanadi. Shuningdek, kontekst asosida o‘rgatish, takroriy uchratish va faol foydalanish kabi pedagogik usullar muhokama qilinadi. Maqola til o‘qitish jarayonida kompetensiya va ko‘nikmani uyg‘un rivojlantirishzarurligini asoslaydi. Kalit so’zlar: Leksik kompetensiya, so‘z boyligi, til ko‘nikmalari, kommunikativ kompetensiya, reseptiv so‘z boyligi, produktiv so‘z boyligi, ravon so‘zlashuv, so‘z yasalishi, kontekstda o‘rganish, tilo‘qitish,leksik bilim,so‘zboyligini rivojlantirish Аннотация: В данной статье рассматривается понятие лексической компетенции и её отличие от языковых навыков. Компетенция означает внутреннее, часто неосознанное знание словарного запаса, тогда как навыки связаны с активным использованием этих знаний в процессе общения. Особое внимание уделяется важности лексической компетенции для достижения беглости, понимания и успешной коммуникации. Также обсуждаются педагогические подходы, включая обучение в контексте, многократное повторение и активное применение слов. Подчеркивается необходимость сбалансированного подхода в обучении языку для обеспечения глубокого и эффективного усвоения. Ключевые слова: Лексическая компетенция, словарный запас, языковые навыки, коммуникативная компетенция, рецептивный словарь, продуктивный словарь, беглость речи, словообразование, контекстное обучение, преподавание языка, лексические знания, развитиесловаря Introduction: In language teaching and learning, vocabulary holds a key position in facilitating effective communication. Without sufficient lexical knowledge, even grammatically accurate 45 INTERNATIONAL MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL FOR RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT SJIF2019:5.2222020:5.5522021:5.6372022:5.4792023:6.5632024:7,805 eISSN:2394-6334 https://www.ijmrd.in/index.php/imjrd Volume12,issue05(2025) sentence might lose its conveyed meaning. Therefore, the concept of lexical competence—a speaker's ability to understand and usewords—has gained significance among linguists, educators, and language learners. But the concept is most generally confused with other, similar terms such as skills or language ability, which are more precisely speaking about using knowledge as opposed to theknowledge itself. he difference between skill and competence lies at the heart of an understanding of how learners acquire and use language. Competence refers to the underlying knowledge of linguistic structures, while skills are the day-to-day ability to use that knowledge in interaction. Being conscious of the distinction is crucial in the development of effective language instruction that encourages lexical consciousness and communicativecompetence. This article examines the idea of lexical competence at great length and illustrates how it differs from language capabilities. By doing so, it attempts to provide instructors and learners with a better road map to acquire words and learn languages. 1). Understanding Lexical Competence: Lexical competence is the ability of the learner to recognize, understand, and employ words correctly in various linguisticand situational contexts. Lexical competence does not amount to the memorization of discrete words but a deeper, hierarchical understanding of the functioning of words in real communication. As one of the elements of communicative competence, lexical competence is also vital to successful language use, especially inword-heavy domains such as academicor professional communication.1 Vocabulary Size (Breadth): This is the number of words a student knows at a basic recognition level. A student must know about 8,000–9,000 word families to be able to read unsimplified texts with ease. Vocabulary breadth is the foundation for reading and participating in ordinary conversation orcomprehension.