A Study on Communication Strategies Used by the First Year Students of English Language

Education Program, Universitas Brawijaya

Dzulfikar Davito & Moh Alim Musonnafa
Universitas Brawijaya

ABSTRACT
Oral communication using English often bounds with problems. Often assumed that this caused by
the lack of Communicative Competence. In order to encounter the problems several means is done, one of
which by using Communication Strategy (CS). The use of CS in English communication is vital as it is
helping interlocutor to maintain communication within difficulties. EFL learners use English as their mean
of communication during their study. By knowing that, the researcher conducted a study to identify CS
used by these students in their Foreign Language communication.
This is a quantitative research with survey design that involves 120 first year students of English
Language Education Program in Faculty of Cultural Studies at Universitas Brawijaya using Communication
Strategy Questionnaire (CSQ) adopted from Zhao (2013) as the main istrument. Then, the data was
calculated to find the mean by using Microsoft Excel 2007 and analyzed and identified in accordance to the
research questions.
It is found that the students employed all the CSs items at moderate level. Seven items were
domiantly used, they are: 1)using familiar words, phrases or sentences; 2)using simple expressions;
3)thinking in Indonesian before speaking; 4)referring to mobile phone dictionary or another type of
documents; 5)trying to catch the interlocutor’s main point; 6)guessing the meaning of what the interlocutor
has said; 7)and trying to enjoy the conversation. These CSs are identified as reduction or avoidance strategy,
indicating these students have low Grammatical Competence (Wei, 2011). Based on the findings it is
suggested that students and lecturers should aware of their own and their students CS respectively to
improve the learning activities or communication using Foreign Language. For future researcher it is
suggested to do a study on the same topic by adding several variables influencing the use of CS.

Keywords : communication strategies, oral communication, English as foreign language.

REFERENCES

Bagarić, V & Djigunović, J. M. 2007. Defining Communicative Competence. Metodika, 8 (1), pp. 94-103

Bell, J. (1999). Doing Your Research Project 3rd edition. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Brown, H.D. 2000. Principles of language learning and teaching.(4th Ed). White Plains, New York:
Pearson Education.

Canale, M. (1983). From communicative competence to communicative language pedagogy. In J. C.

Richards & R. W. Schmidt (Eds.), Language and communication. In Dörnyei, Z 1995.On the
Teachability of Communication Strategies. TESOLQuarterly, 29 (1), pp. 55-85
Canale, M., & Swain, M. 1980. Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to Second Language
Teaching and Testing. Applied Linguistics, 1 (1), pp. 1-4.

Chomsky, Noam. 1977. Language and Responsibility. France: Phanteon

Corder, S. P. (1981). Error analysis and interlanguage. In Dörnyei, Z. 1995.On the Teachability of
Communication Strategies. TESOL Quarterly, 29 (1), pp. 55-85

Creswell, John W. 2014. Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches-4th ed.
Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE.

Dörnyei, Z 1995.On the Teachability of Communication Strategies. TESOLQuarterly, 29 (1), pp. 55-85

Dörnyei, Z & Scott, M. L. 1997. Review Article, Communication Strategies in a Second Language:
Definitions and Taxonomies. Language Learning, 47 (1), pp. 173-210

Færch, C., & Kasper, G. 1983. Strategies in Interlanguage Communication. London: Longman.

Hülmbauer, Cornelia et al. 2008. Introducing English as a lingua franca (ELF): Precursor and partner in
intercultural communication. Europe: Synergies

Hymes, D. H. (1972). On Communicative Competence. In Bagarić, V & Djigunović, J. M. 2007.Defining

Communicative Competence. Metodika, 8 (1), pp. 94-103

Kamiya, Masashito. 2006. The Role of Communicative Competence in L2 Learning.

Retrieved from: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.474.9156&rep=rep1&t
ype=pdf.

Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL
International.

Malasit, Y. and Sarobol, N. 2013. Use of Communication Strategies by Thai EFL Learners. Proceedings of
the 3rd International Conference on Foreign Language Learning and Teaching. Language Institute.
Thammasat University.

Mariani, Luciano (2010). Communication Strategies: Learning and Teaching How to Manage Oral
Interaction. In Zhao, Tao. 2013. Communication in EFL Students Majoring Tourism (Unpublished
doctoral dissertation). Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. Retrieved
from:
http://sutir.sut.ac.th:8080/sutir/bitstream/123456789/4541/2/Fulltext.pdf

Nakatani, Yasuo. (2006). Deceloping an Oral Communication Strategy Inventory. The modern Language
Journal, 90 (2), pp. 151-168.

Neuman, W. L. (2006). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approach. USA: Pearson
Education, Inc.
 Niles, Robert. 2006. Robert Niles' Journalism Help: Statistics Every Writer Should
Know. RobertNiles.com. Accessed April 28, 2017 from:
http://www.robertniles.com/stats/

Savignon, S. J. 1983. Communicative competence: Theory and classroom practice. Reading, MA: Addison-
Wesley.

Saville-Troike, Muriel. 2006. Introducing Second Language Acquisition. New York. Cambridge University
Press.

Soler, Eva Alcón. 2008. Learning how to Request in an Instructed Language Learning Context. Bern: Peter
Lang.

Somsai, S. and Intaraprasert, C. 2011. Strategies for Coping with Face-to-Fac Oral Communication
Problems Employed by Thai University Students Majoring in English. In Zhao, Tao. 2013.
Communication in EFL Students Majoring Tourism (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Suranaree
University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. Retrieved from:
http://sutir.sut.ac.th:8080/sutir/bitstream/123456789/4541/2/Fulltext.pdf

Strevens, Peter. 1971. The teaching of English in Asia. In Shrestha, Ramesh. 1983. English as a Second
Language/English as a Foreign Language Distinction: Its Pedagoy & the Nepalese Context.
Contributions to Nepalese Studies, 11 (1).

Tarone, Elaine. 1981. Some Thought on the Notion of Communication Strategy. TESOL Quarterly, 15 (3),
pp. 285-295.

Wei, Lin. 2011. Communicative Strategies in Second Language Acquisition: A Study of Chinese English
Learners’ Attitude and Reported Frequency of Communicative Strategies (Unpublished Thesis).
Kristianstad University, Stockholm

Yarahmadzehi, N. and Samani, F. Safarzade. 2014. Communication Strategies Used by Iranian Pre-
intermediate EFL Learners in Oral Communication. Journal of Academic and Applied Studies
(Special Issue on Applied & Humanity Sciences), 4 (12).

Yule, George. 2010. The Study of Language. New York. Cambridge University Press.

Zhang, Ya-ni. 2007. Communication Strategies and Foreign Language Learning. US-China Foreign
Language, 5 (4).

Zhao, Tao and Intaraprasert Channarong. 2013. Use of Communication Strategies by Tourism-oriented EFL
Learners in Relation to Attitude towards English Speaking and English Language and Exposure to
Oral Communication in English. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 3 (5).

Zhao, Tao. 2013. Communication Strategies of EFL Students Majoring Tourism (Unpublished doctoral
dissertation). Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. Retrieved from:
http://sutir.sut.ac.th:8080/sutir/bitstream/123456789/4541/2/Fulltext.pdf