The Feasibility of Teaching Communication Strategies from the Standpoint of EFL Teachers and Students

Subject Areas : All areas of language and translation

رضیه  بهروزیان ¹ (گروه زبان انگلیسی، واحد سراب، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، سراب، ایران)
ناصر  غفوری ² (گروه زبان انگلیسی، واحد تبریز، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، تبریز، ایران)
سعیده  آهنگری ³ (گروه زبان انگلیسی، واحد تبریز، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، تبریز، ایران.)

Received: 2022-09-02 Accepted : 2023-01-30 Published : 2023-07-01

Keywords: Speaking strategies, teachability, Communication strategies, Perceptions, Strategy training,

Abstract :

The present study attempted to investigate English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers and students’ perceptions of the possibility of teaching communication strategies (CSs) among pre-intermediate learners. A review of the related literature suggests that the teachability of CSs has been the source of controversy among different researchers. The participants of this study were 20 EFL teachers and their 110 students from three universities and a private Institute in Tabriz. In this mixed methods study, three research tools were used for gathering data: a language proficiency test, a modified questionnaire, and a structured interview. The quantitative phase included the administration of the CSs questionnaire at the beginning and end of the course and instructions on these strategies for 12 weeks. The qualitative phase included the analysis of the teachers’ responses to the interview and coding comments thematically by the researcher. After analyzing the quantitative data by running paired sample t-test, it was found that EFL students confirmed the possibility of teaching communication strategies and suggested that CSs are teachable and useful. The important implication of the study is that strategy training was the factor of progress and the teaching of communication strategies can be pedagogically possible and their instruction is beneficial to students.

References:

Alahmed, K. I. (2017). Developing strategic competence through task-Based language teaching: A comparison of implicit and explicit instruction. UK: Unpublished ph.D. dissertation. University of York Education,. Retrieved from Available at http:// pdfs. Semantic scholar.org/9dd7.

Baker, C. (1992). Attitudes and Language. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Bialystok, E. (1990). Communication Strategies. Oxford: Blackwell.

Brown H. D. (2007). Principles of language learning and teaching (5th ed.). NY: Pearson Education.

Brown, A. V. (2009). Students’ and teachers’ perceptions of effective foreign language teaching: A comparison of ideals. The Modern Language Journal, 93, 46-60.

Bryman, A. (2008). Social research methods (3rd ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Canale M., & Swain, M. (1983). From communicative competence to communicative language pedagogy. In Richards, & Schmid, (Eds.), Language and communication (pp. 2-27). London: Longinat.

Canale, M., & Swain, M. . (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics,(1), 1-47.

Corder, P. (1983). Strategies of communication. In C. Faerch, & G. Kasper, Strategies in interlanguage communication (pp. 15-19.). Essex: Longman Group Limited.

Denscombe, M. (2010). The Good Research Guide for small-scale research project (4th ed.). Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Denzin, N. K. (1989). The Research Act (3rd end). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Dobao A. M. F., & Martínez I. M. P. (2007). Negotiating meaning in interaction between English and Spanish speakers via communicative strategies. Atlantis, 29(1), 87–105.

Dornyei, Z. (1995). On the teachability of communication strategies. TESOL Quarterly, 29(1), 55- 85.

Dörnyei, Z., & Scott, M. (1997). Communication strategies in a second language: Definitions and taxonomies. Language Learning,, 47(1), 173-210.

Dörnyei, Z., & Thurrell, S. (1991). Strategic competence and how to teach it. ELT Journal, 45 (1), 16-23.

Færch, C., & Kasper, G. (1983). Plans and Strategies in foreign language communication. In C. Faerch, & G. Kasper, (Eds.), Plans and strategies in foreign language communication (pp. 20–60). Harlow, England: Longman.

Faerch, C., & Kasper, G. (1983a). Strategies in interlanguage communication. London, England: Longman. January 16th, 2015 from http:// www. raco. cat/ index. php/ linksletters/ article /view file/ 22 707 /22 545.

Faucette, P. (2001). A pedagogical perspective on communication strategies: Benefits of training and an analysis of English language teaching materials. Second Language Studies, 19(2), 1-40.

Greene, J. C., Caracelli, V. J., & Graham, W. F. (1989). Toward a conceptual framework for mixed-method evaluation designs. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 11, 255- 274.

Hmaid, Y. (2014). The Impact of Teaching Oral Communication Strategies on English Language Learners in Libya. De Montfort University Leicester UK. A Doctoral thesis. Available at http://hdl.handle.net/2086/10947.

Kalebic, C. S. (2005). Towards the Development of Standards in Foreign Language Teacher Preparation. 30th Annual Conference ATEE. Retrieved December 15, 2012, from www. Atee 2005.nl/download/papers/05_ab.pdf.

Kellerman, E. (1991). Compensatory strategies in second language research: A critique, a revision, and some (non) - implications for the classroom. In R. Phillipson, E. Kellerman, L. Selinker, M. S. Smith, & M. Swain, (Eds.), Foreign/second language pedagogy research (pp. 142-161). Clevendon, UK: Multilingual Matters Ltd.

Kongsom, T. (2009). The effect of teaching communication strategies to Thai learners of English. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. University of Southampton, UK. Retrieved from http:// eprint. soton. ac.uk/id/eprint/69653.

Kongsom, T. (2016). The impact of teaching communication strategies on English speaking of engineering undergraduates. PASAA, 51, 39-69.

Lam, W. (2006). Gauging the effects of ESL oral communication strategy teaching: A multi- method approach. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 3(2), 142-157.

Lafford, B. A. (2004). The effect of the context of learning on the use of communication
strategies by learners of Spanish as a second language. Studies in Second Language
Acquisition, 26(2), 201–225.

Lightbown, P. M., & Spada, N. (2008). How languages are learned. 2 uppl. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

MacIntyre, P. D., & Charos, C. (1996). Personality, attitudes, and affect as predictors of second language communication. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 15(1), 3–26.          

MacIntyre, P. D., Dörnyei, Z., Clément, R. Z., & Noels. K. A. (1998). Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in a L2: situational model of L2 confidence and  affiliation. Modern Language Journal, 82(4), 545–562.

Maleki, A. (2007). Teachability of communication strategies: An Iranian experience. System, 35(4), 583-594.

Manchón, R. M. (1999). Fostering the Autonomous Use of Communication Strategies in the Foreign Language. Classroom, Links & Letters 7, 2000 Journal, 13-27. Retrieved from January 16th, 2015 from http:// www. raco. cat/ index. php/ linksletters/ article /view file/ 22 707/22545.

Mariani, L. (2010). Communication strategies: Learning and teaching how to manage oral interaction. lulu.com.

Nakatani, Y. (2005). The effects of awareness-raising training on oral communication strategy use. Modern Language Journal, 89( 16), 76–91. doi:10.1111/j.0026-7902.2005.00266. x.

Nakatani, Y. (2006). Developing an Oral Communication Strategy Inventory. The Modern Language Journal, 9(2), 151-168.

Nakatani, Y. (2010). Identifying Strategies That Facilitate EFL Learners' Oral Communication: A Classroom Study Using Multiple Data Collection Procedures. The Modern Language Journal, 94 (1), 116-136.

O'Malley, M., & Chamot, A. (1995). Learning strategies in second language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Pallant, J. (2007). SPSS survival manual. Sydney: Open University Press.

Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Richards, J. C., & Renandya, W. A. (2002). Methodology in Language Teaching: An Anthology of Current Practice (1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Selinker, L. (1972). Interlanguage. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 10(3), 209-231

Skehan, P. (1989). Individual differences in second-language learning. London: Edward Arnold.

Tarone, E. (1977). Conscious Communication Strategies in Interlanguage: A Progress Report. TESOL, 77, 194-203.

Tarone, E., Cohen, A. D., & Dumas, G. (1983). A closer look at some interlanguage terminology: a framework for communication strategies. In &. G. C. Faerch, Strategies in interlanguage communication (pp. 4-14). New York, USA: Longman

Tarone, E., & Yule, G. (1987). Communication strategies in East-West interactions. In L. E. Smith (Ed.), Discourse across cultures: Strategies in world English (pp. 49–65). Hemel Hempstead, UK: Prentice Hall.

Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (2003). Dissertations. 155. https: //digital com mons. usu.edu/etd/155