COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES: PRACTICAL AIDS FOR STUDENTS ORAL PRODUCTION
T. Ikawati
PPS State
Background
By the end of twentieth century English was already well on its way to becoming a genuine lingua franca, that is a language used widely for communication between people who do not share the same first (or even second) language (Harmer, 2003:13). In addition, he also confirms that the numbers of many people in the world who use English as their mother tongue are increasingly out-numbered by those who have English as their second or foreign language and use it for international communication. The phenomena above reveal the insistence of augmenting demand on the need of English as means of world-wide communication. This conception is ground-worked by the thought that places language in its prominent position on human interaction.
Cherry (1970) states of all of means of communication, language plays the most important role. Language, either spoken or written, is used in such away to support meaningful and influential communication. While communication has been developed to multi different systems, its essence is social affairs because most prominent among all these systems of communication is human speech and language. When one learns a new language, he-in the most logic pragmatic perception-doesn’t only struggle to acquire a set of linguistic rules, intensive pronunciation training, as well as never ending list of foreign vocabularies. He, ideally, also struggles to reach beyond the confines of his first language and into a new language, a new culture, a new way of thinking, feeling, and acting (Brown, 1987). Thus, learning a new language involves some ways to use the target language in its real function. Mastering linguistic features of the target language will be efficiently useful when it is supported by gratifying strategies to communicate.
There has been a great deal of attention in recent years to the role of communication strategies in second language acquisition. Some experts, moreover, state that the field of second language acquisition has distinguish two type of strategy: learning strategy and communication strategy. The former relates to input, processing, storage, and retrieval. The later has more to do with the output or how to express meaning in target language, how to act upon what already known or presume to know (Brown, 1987:91).
Brown also asserts that there are four source of error in the process of mastering the target language, namely (1) interlangual transfer, (2) intralingual transfer, (3) context of learning, and (4) communication strategies. In interlangual transfer, the phase of learning target language is characterized by a good deal of interlangual transfer from the native language before the system of target language is familiar. Intralingual transfer, as the following phase of the previous one, shows overgeneralization within the target language. The context of learning refers to the classroom with its teacher and its material. Teacher or text book can lead learner to make false concept about the language because of misleading explanation or faulty presentation of a structure or a word in the text book. Communication strategy includes the previously mentioned phases as a learner tries to get a message across to a hearer or reader.
William (2006) states that communication strategies are strategies that learners employ when their communicative competence in L2 is insufficient. Learners use communication strategies to offset any inadequacies they may have in grammatical ability and vocabulary. Communication strategies aid learners in participating and maintaining conversations as well as in improving the quality of communication.
Therefore, communication strategies play significant role in the process of mastering the target language. However, in most cases of formal English instruction, the emphasis is given more on the teaching of language elements than on how students convey all those items in meaningful communication. As a result, the readiness of the students to use the target language in oral communication is delayed. These phenomena urge the need to include communication strategies as part of L2 learning.
In order develop students’ communication strategy, teachers should be familiar with (1) what communication strategies are needed for facilitating students’ oral production, and know (2) how to help students developing their communication strategies through the classroom activities, as well as aware of (3) what beneficial effect of developing communication strategies on students’ oral production.
Communication strategies facilitating students’ oral production
The well-organized typology of communication strategy is presented by Tarone (1977) cited in Bailystock (1990). They are presented in five major strategies with subcategories for three of them. Each category reflects different kind of decision about how to solve the communication problem.
1. Avoidance
Avoidance strategy is commonly done by L2 learners in which they decide not to contribute to a conversation simply because some aspects of vocabulary or grammar are not known. Topic avoidance and massage abandonment are sub-category of avoidance strategy. The first refers to the learners’ effort to prevent the occurrence of topics that potentially raise difficulty they cannot cope with. The second deals with the situation in which the learners are trapped in difficult topic to cope with so they simply give up and go on to another topic.
2. Paraphrase
Paraphrasing strategy is a strategy of conveying the message using different and acceptable target language construction because the appropriate form is not yet known. There are three sub-categories under the paraphrase, namely approximation, word coinage, and circumlocution. Approximation is defined as the use of inappropriate single target language vocabulary or grammar as a substitution of a certain item the learners not yet acquire because it shares semantic feature of the intended item. Word coinage is the strategy to create new word to convey the intended concept. Circumlocution is the strategy to communicate an unknown item by giving the description of the intended item.
3. Consious Transfer/ Borrowing
Conscious transfer is manifested in literal translation and language switch. Literal translation refers to the direct translation of a certain item to the target language instead of using the appropriate term in the target language. Language switch is simply the use of other language (mostly native language) to communicate the item the learners do not know well in target language.
4. Appeal for Assistance
This strategy refers to the learners’ effort to get help to communicate what they have in their mind by verbally asking or checking the dictionary.
5. Mime
Mime covers nonverbal strategy used to conceal the missing items in target language. Bialystock and Frolich (1980) cited in Bialystock (1990) also purposed the communication strategy taxonomy similar to Tarone’s work. However, they are somewhat more helpful for teachers to identify the strategy as they are organized based on the source of information that the learners done to solve the problem in their communication. The taxonomy is organized around the three categories: L1 Based Strategies, L2 Based Strategies, and Parlinguistic Strategies. L1 Based Strategies consist of Language Switch, Translitration, and forignizing (the first two are somewhat the same as Tarone’s literal translation and language switch.). L2 Based Strategies covers semantic contiguity dscription, and word coinage (they correspond to Tarone’s approximation, circumlocution, and word coinage). A Paralinguistic strategy refers to nonverbal communication strategy which is similar to Tarrone’s appeal for assistance and mime. By understanding the source of strategy teachers
The L1 based strategies are beneficial for improving learners’ target language proficiency as they lean on their native language more than exercising to explore their target language. Possibly these strategies are employed because the learners’ mastery of target language is inadequate to support their communication target. In the contrary, the L2 based strategies give more opportunity for the learners to exploit already acquired target language. Thus, exercising these strategy doesn’t only reduce communication breakdown, but also developing learners’ mastery of target language. Paralingluistic strategies are the used when the others categories are not handy for the learners in the moment of communication. In term of effectiveness, L2 based strategies are strongly suggested to apply; however, it is important to note that employing all of the strategy shows the on going process of the learners’ language developments.
Another organizational principle is suggested by Faerch and Kasper (1983) in Bailystock (1990). They categorized the strategy based on the motivation on which the learners’ behavior is based on. The motivation that drives the learners’ attempt to communicate determines the strategic outcome. When learners’ behavior is motivated by avoidance and reduction strategy, they change or modify the original communication goal. When they are driven by achievement motivation, they change plane to realize the communicative goal, leaving the original goal intact. Reduction strategy consists of formal reduction and functional reduction. The first occurs when learners reduce the system, while the second happens when learners reduce the intended meaning. Achievement strategy consists of two sub-strategies; retrieval strategies and compensatory strategies. Retrieval strategies refer to the learners’ effort to retrieve or to remember the optimal form. Compensatory strategies involve (1) generalization, (2) paraphrase, (3) word coinage, and (4) restructuring.
Those taxonomies are different in some ways, but some parts of them refer to the same thing. By understanding the organization of communication strategies taxonomies given by the experts including the bases they are developed on, teachers can identify certain strategy employed by students. Beside, teachers can also determine whether such strategy is effective or not for the students language development and then direct them to develop the more effective strategy to enhance their communication skill.
Developing communication strategies in classroom activities
It is very important for to include communication strategy as part of English teaching when communication becomes the target to achieve in English language teaching. Williams (2006) states that there are three steps of involving communication strategy in the classroom activities. The first thing to do is raising student awareness.Teachers may refer to an occurance of communicative event in the classroom where certain kind of strategy is used. By giving explanation of its function, teacher can also encourage students to develop the stategy to suppot their communication. The second step is by explicitly teaching strategies. In this step teacher introduces various kind of strategy by exposing students to situation in which such strategy is possibly needed. The common thing to do is asking student individually to transfer a certain word using target language so that the audience comprehend what s/he means. The next steps is providing opportunities for practice. To make students aware of the strategies that they can employ to develop their communication and train them to develop such strategies does not mean a lot without giving them more opportunities for practice. It urges the need to involve more oral practice in the classroom interaction, meaning that process oriented is important to consider. For instance, in dealing with reading, teacher should not only focus in the reading text and written comprehension excercise. The process to comprehend the text can be done in small group disscussion forum so that there will be exchage of information and ideas done orally before they reach a certain point of comprehendsion. The final step is evaluation. As it is noted before that some strategies are not effective in developing the target language as they are develop based on the students’native language, teacher should be able to notice such strategy and encourage students to develop more effective strategy. It can be done by giving explanation, example, and encouragement.
Developing communication strategy in classroom interaction is not an instant product. However, it is important to deal with since the very beginning because we cannot wait for our students to master all language elements to start communicating. The following is the example of classroom activity for reading class.
Pre-reading
1. Introducing the activity and communication strategy to employ as well as the topic of reading text
2. Eliciting student’s background knowledge and build students’ schemata through brain storming using spider web
While-reading
3. Students work in a group and read the text silently to get general idea about the text
4. One student from each group take an item from the web developed previously and orally gives their opinion to the his/her own group whether this item related or not to the reading text.
5. Students deals with difficult vocabulary, either by discussing, guessing, or consulting dictionaries
6. Read the text in detail to answer the vocabulary quiz and comprehension question.
7. Discuss the answer in target language in group.
8. Check the answer in the class discussion
Post-reading
4. Individually students construct a sentence or draw a picture to sum up the passage they have discussed
5. Teacher gives the feedback on the language and communication strategy students use
In the example above, activity no 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9 open the opportunity where students practice the strategy.
Communication strategies for enhancing students’ oral production
Why is it important to develop communication strategy, especially for oral production? There are some reasons for worth considered.
1. It may reduce communication breakdown.
Some students prefer to avoid communicating their idea in English because they fear that there will be some linguistic troubles they possibly cannot cope with somewhere in the process of transferring the message that cause communication breakdown. This uncomfortable experience can be well reduced when students do not merely rely on their inadequate linguistic proficiency to communicate. They can also explore the strategies helpful to support their communication.
2. It reduces the psychological burden of the students in communicating in target language and boasts their confidence.
In the process of mastering English, students are more aware of their lack of proficiency than focus on what they have already mastered. It causes them to feel inferior to use their English, especially in oral communication. This personal psychological burden is intensified when students do not find any help to cope with the problem immediately but wait until their knowledge of English is sufficient enough to support them in real communication. In this case, a communication strategy is a real help for them because it is a practical help they can use along with the process of developing their language proficiency.
3. It helps learners to be more independent
Communication strategy is natural part of communication. Once students are aware of its existence, taught and trained to use and develop it, they can employ it wherever and whenever they need. By developing communication strategy students will be more independent as know what to do when they face communication problem.
4. It supports the development of effective communication
Effective communication is done when the message transferred in the process of communication is effectively comprehended by those involved in the communication. In oral communication it is achieved not only through linguistic exploitation. Paralinguistic items are also important to assist comprehension process. Making use of both linguistic and paralinguistic items is suggested to conduct effective communication.
5. It lessens the burden to convey the meaning of communication on the language
English taught to students in sequential and gradual terms, while in real communicative use of language, all aspect of language are presented in complex way. However, to conduct communication, students do not need to involve in such complexities of language use. They can simply communicating what is in their mind using their developing English proficiency supported by necessary strategy to make them well understood.
6. It may direct the students to focus more on the content of communication rather than in the language
As the purpose of real communication is transferring the idea or message, so getting the message across is more important than stumbling in the language. In this case students will focus more on the content rather then on the language.
7. It support the language development
Teachers need not to worry that students will stop learning their grammar or vocabulary because they have strategy to help them in communicating their idea. As it is noted in paraphrasing strategy or L2 based strategy or achievement strategy, learners exploit the target language to support their communication. So, by practicing such strategy it is expected that students are not only able to avoid communication breakdown, but also developing their language proficiency through oral practice.
Conclusion
When communication is the goal of English learning, it is not enough to direct students to deal with language elements only. Communication strategy should be intentionally included in the teaching learning process. Oral communication is a complex process that requires students to be actively involved and to produce the target language in spite of their inadequacies in target language. That is why communication strategy is badly needed to help students in their communication. It should be introduced, taught, evaluated so that it gives practical help for the students.
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