Academic literacy and communicative competence in higher education

Abstract

Reading and writing are not only some kind of tools used to transfer information, but are also cognitive and socio-cultural processes which contribute to the acquisition of knowledge in any educational level in which they may develop. In this sense, the aim of this article is to drawn the attention to the importance of the reading and writing in the university and its relation with the academic literacy and communicative competence. Furthermore, it makes a review of how the Latin-American community has seized these two concepts, and also how it was done by the international bodies, such as the European Union and UNESCO. Finally, it highlights the need to continue carrying out investigations in this field and encourage the academic literacy politics. This material is the result of the inaugural conference provided during the IV Day of Educational Innovation “Students of the XXI century: learning, competences and innovation” of the Autonomous National University of Honduras. Briefly, it responds to two questions which correspond to the two sections of the article: “why the academic literacy?” and “what significance is given by the international bodies in the higher education to the communicative competence?”.

UNAH INNOV@ No.3 2014: 16-20