Competence and Performance

Competence refers to a person’s underlying knowledge of a language—how well they understand grammar, vocabulary, and rules. Performance, on the other hand, is how that knowledge is actually used in real-life situations, including speaking, writing, and listening. While competence is about the ideal mastery of language, performance reflects how that knowledge is expressed in practice, which can be influenced by factors like memory, attention, or social context. In essence, competence is what someone knows about a language, and performance is how they use it in everyday communication.