Abstract
This paper proposes a new theory of communication incorporating next generation media and its application to English education at the university level. Recently in Japan, need for so-called communicative English education is growing stronger, in correspondence with which there have been some interesting theories of communication. However, such theories are far from being functionally adequate, because they are confined to language alone without realizing the limitation of the role of language in communication. This paper attempts to correct these existing theoretical frameworks for a more functional model of communication. When applied to English education, this new theory should bring forth an adequate assessment methodology together with an effective teaching methodology. There are several important issues highlighted in this paper including "meta-communicative dimension", which is considered essential for the conceptualization of communication thus defined. This paper is to be contributed as one applicable education in general, although it focuses on English education.
