Transcript English Conversation

NATIONAL PINGTUNG
UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION
屏教大
GRACE LIN
林慧菁
A Qualitative Research for
Interlanguage Strategies- Seven
Volunteers’ Feelings Responding to 5
Communication Strategies
Abstract
The major purpose of this qualitative research
was to find out how the Taiwanese university
EFL learners felt about learning the five
communication strategies of reduction and
achievement sets.
Besides displaying their teachability (Maleki,
2007; Ogane, 1998) in university classrooms, this
study collected qualitative data about students’
feelings and their reflections as they learned the
five communication strategies
Keyword:
Interlangauge Communications,
Communication Strategies,
Reduction Strategies,
Achievement Strategies,
Qualitative Researches
Introduction

The term, “communicative competence” has been credited to Hymes
(1972). Canale (1983) identifies four components of communicative
competence: grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic.
 It is advised that linguistic limited learners can use communication
strategies to resolve their linguistic problems and talk more
comprehensibly (Ansarin & Syal, 2000; Bialystok, 1990; Faerch &
Kasper, 1983, 1984; Lin, 2009; Lin & Chien, 2009; Rababah, 2000,
2003), because of “their role in facilitating communication by helping
to overcome a communication problem” (Andrioti, 2005, p. 1).
Definition of Strategy
 Faerch and Kasper (1983) describe communication strategies as:
“Communication strategies are potentially conscious plans for solving what to
an individual presents itself as a problem in reaching a particular
communicative goal” (p. 36).
 A lot of study have been completed related the communication strategy (CS)
issues. For example, Kaivanpanah et al (2012) have examined the frequency of
CSs across proficiency levels, the effect of task type on the use of CSs, and the
differential use of CSs among males and females.
 Moreover, Lam’s (2006) study confirms the results of a study by Nakatani
(2005) on the value of awareness raising on strategy use in oral communication.
Significance of Students’ Feelings in
Learning Communication Strategies
 Understanding students’ feelings helps the educators humanize
their methods of education (e.g., Alsop & Watts, 2000; Heaton, 1951
Lin, 2009; Rogers, 1972).
 Alsop and Watts (2000) emphasize it is necessary to explore the
“affective interference” in students’ feelings and the relationship
between students’ cognition and emotion.
 They suggest to educators that, “Learning is influenced by feelings
and emotions and that, in turn, learning can influence feelings and
emotions” (p. 132).
Importance of Feelings
It is implied that feeling in learning is an
important factor in successful learning of
communication strategies, since humans have
basic psychological needs and will be most
motivated to engage in activities responsibly and
enthusiastically when those needs are met.
(Connell & Wellborn, 1991; Skinner & Belmont,
1993; Skinner, Wellborn & Connell, 1990).
Krashen of USC
 Krashen (1982) also argues that emotional factors, such as
feelings of confidence and anxiety, are influential components
in language acquisition.
 As he stated that, “The best methods are therefore those that
supply ‘comprehensible input’ in low anxiety situations,
containing message that students really want to hear
(Krashen, 1982, p. 6).
 Two in-depth discussions have addressed the issues of
the learners’ feelings related to the students’ speeches
generated through communication strategies, and the
learners’ characteristics of using communication
strategies (Faerch & Kasper, 1984; Tarone, 1980).
Faerch and Kasper (1984) reveal that higher level
learners need to use communication strategy
“confidentially,” because of “their less clearly marked
foreigner roles and their need for facesaving” (p. 61).
Furthermore, Tarone (1980) mentions the strategy
might cause a problem of non-native like speech,
including language forms of “inappropriateness,”
“excessive verbosity,” or “informality” (p. 12).
Theoretical Framework
Faerch and Kasper (1983) for altering and adjusting
meanings, five of them were adopted as the research
targets in this study.
They were three reduction strategies, a. topic
avoidance, b. message abandonment, and c.
meaning replacement strategies in the reduction set,
and two achievement strategies, a. Interlanguage
based, and b. cooperation strategies in the
achievement set.
Populations
The primary samples of the interview in this study
were seven volunteers among twenty-four freshmen
participants in a Freshmen English Non-Major
(FENM) class of a middle-level private university,
Tunghai University.
4 male and 3 female volunteers (N=7)
Among these twenty-four students who passed in
the first semester and cooperated with this study in
the second semester, four male and three female
volunteers (N=7), were interviewed.
These seven volunteers were from three different
departments in the Agriculture College of Tunghai
University.
Prior Training

A set of free learning materials, including a DVD and a
notebook containing a series of conversation topics for
introducing the communication strategies, will be distributed to
them for practicing English communication in class.
 The communication strategies might help the subjects make
their decisions to learn English communication. This study
would make them consider in what way they should develop
their English communication proficiency in the future.
 The daily-life topics provided and the training of
communication strategies should
be practical, interesting, and
motivational for learning English conversation and improving
communicative competence.
Analytic Procedures
 According to Marshall and Rossman (1999),
“typical analytic procedures fall into six
phases: (a) organizing the data; (b)
generating categories, themes, and patterns;
(c) coding the data; (d) testing the emergent
understandings; (e) searching for
alternative explanations; and (f) writing the
report” (p.152).
Feeling about Learning Topic Avoidance Strategy?
Although they regarded changing the topic to be
required, they suggested not “keeping silence,”
but using some other apposite skills.
The skills they suggested were, “talking politely,”
“finding topics suitable to your partner’s
background,” and “not entirely changing the
main topic.”
Feeling about Learning Message
Abandonment Strategy?
 Two students (Luke and Sera) responded that it was better not to abandon a
difficult word. They thought it was more positive that a student tried to
explain a difficult word with the other strategies.
 Contrastingly, the other side (Andre, Derek, and Sandy) supported that the
message abandonment strategy should be applied in communication with
their various reasons.
 Among the seven respondents, two students (Hugo and David) held an
ambiguous attitude toward message abandonment strategy, and provided
their suggestions for how this strategy should be used.
Feeling about Learning Meaning Replacement
Strategy
 It was concluded by four among the seven students that it was a
valuable and supportive strategy.
 David, Luke, Sandy, and Sera believed this strategy to be helpful
before their English proficiency became high in the future.
 In addition, they pointed out in what way this strategy should be
applied in order to make the listeners catch the meaning more
effectively.
 Another three respondents, Andre, Hugo, and Derek also talked
about how they felt about this strategy, but they did not stand on
any positive or negative positions toward it.
Feeling about Learning the Interlanguage Strategy?
 The fourth findings of students’ positive feelings for
four skills in Interlanguage were revealed.
Most of the students’ offered their tips on how they
used Interlanguage to produce speech, which were
obviously related to their own language and cultural
background.
Some student did not tend to stand on any “pro” or
“con” position for the application of communication
strategy.
Feeling about Learning the Cooperation Strategy
 Andre, David, Derek, Hugo, Luke, and Sandy clearly
provided positive feedback regarding the learning of
cooperation strategy as the fifth findings of this study.
 Derek and Sandy expressed their face problem when
appealing for assistance from others, but they still felt a
cooperative attitude in communication was important and
necessary.
 Sera felt that when using cooperation strategy, the
communication would become similar to a discussion instead
of a conversation.
CONCLUSIONS
 Consequently, the qualitative design of this study
intended to provide Taiwanese university students an
opportunity to probe their own feelings associated with
their personal willingness, plan, and choice of using
communication strategies.
After being interviewed by the researcher, seven
Taiwanese university students were more unambiguous
about their own preference, intentionality, and decision
in how they would take advantage of communication
strategies after learning them.