A proposed abstract for KOLITA 5: 7-8 May 2007 at UNIKA ATMAJAYA, Jakarta
ANW
COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY INDONESIAN LEARNERS AT THE ENGLISH
DEPARTMENT, PETRA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
Anneke H. Tupan – atupan@peter.petra.ac.id
English Department – Faculty of Letters
Petra Christian University
Jl. Siwalankerto 121-131, Surabaya
ABSTRACT
This is a study on the types of communication strategies used by Indonesian English Learners at the
English Department of Petra Christian University. The object of the research is senior students, batch 2003-2004,
who are already in the sixth semester. The writer is interested in doing this research since she notices that the
senior students still have some obstacles when they have to express their ideas in the target language (English).
As senior students, they are considered as having mastered their target language since they have learned English
for many years, three years when they were in Elementary School (4 th-6th grade), three years when they were in
Junior High School, three years when they were in Senior High School and three years when they are now in the
sixth semester of the university. What makes this research more challenging is they use many kinds of
communication strategies to overcome their hesitancy in expressing their ideas in English. Therefore, the writer
is eager to observe the types of communication strategy that has the highest occurrence when they are
communicating in English. The writer used communication strategies proposed by Dornyei (1995) in analyzing
the data. Based on Dornyei’s strategies, she sets up some criteria to identify the data. The data are collected in
one semester, when the senior students are taking ‘Public Speaking’ subject. The observation is done during the
class meeting which is once a week and during the English Day in which all students should speak English on a
certain day in a week. In other words, to make the collecting data more natural, the observation is done both in
formal situation (in class) and in informal situation (English Day). The writer finds that the senior students use
eight strategies, out of twelve strategies, suggested by Dornyei. There are two additional strategies found
namely self correction and repetition. Therefore, the total number of Communication Strategies found is ten out
of fourteen. The strategy that has the highest occurrence is ‘Use of fillers’. It reveals that the senior students do
not easily give up when they find difficulties in expressing their ideas in the target language.
Introduction
Bialystok (1990) says that non-native and native speakers of a given language sometimes have to
struggle to find the appropriate expression or grammatical construction when they are trying to communicate
their ideas. The ways in which an individual speaker manages to compensate for this gap between what she
wishes to communicate and her immediately available linguistic resources are known as Communication
Strategies (CmS). This is in line with what Dornyei says that Communication Strategies are defined as
“systematic technique employed by a speaker to express his or her meaning when faced with some difficulty”
(1995:56). What is meant by difficulty here is lack of basic grammar and vocabulary in the target language.
In this research, the writer is interested to observe her own students who join ‘Speaking VI’ or ‘Public
Speaking’ subject. It is the highest level of speaking class in the English Department of Petra Christian
University. In this level, the students are already in the sixth semester and therefore are considered as ‘seniors’
who have to set up good examples for their ‘juniors’ especially in English communication. Why? The length of
studying English for foreign language learners is important because the longer they learn and practice the more
likely they can speak fluently. However, the writer notices that they still find some difficulties in
communicating their ideas in English. In Speaking VI class, using Indonesian is not welcomed so no matter
what happens they are challenged to find ways to express what they want to say in English. In finding the ways,
the students do not realize that they often use certain strategies in their communication in order to make the
communication run well. For example:
A: I believe that the speaker has to well, um, mm accommodate all the feedback before you give the
response.
It is clear that A uses one of communication strategies named ‘Use of fillers’ (well, um, mm) as hesitation
device when she is trying to find the appropriate word, which is ‘accommodate’.
The research is a study of communication strategies used by Indonesian learners at the English
Department of Petra Christian University specifically those who join ‘Speaking VI’. The purpose of doing this
research is to find the types of communication strategies used and mostly used by Indonesian English learners in
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speaking their target language (English). In addition, the writer would like to know whether the highest
occurrence of communication strategy influences their mastery in English. She hopes that the result of this study
could help teachers improve the way they teach ‘Speaking’ classes and help students with limited oral
proficiency to communicate better in English.
Theories
In general, scholars agree that communication strategies are ways to make the conversation go on
because every learner in a second language actually has a problem in expressing what they want to say. The
problem is the inadequacy in the target language being learned. Some of them who give specific contribution on
these strategies are Tarone (1977), Faarch & Kasper (1980), Littlewood (1984) and Dornyei (1995). Tarone and
Little wood have similar concepts that there are eight kinds of communication strategies that the learners use to
fill the ‘gap’, which is the lack of L2 knowledge. The writer tries to put their strategies in the following table to
see their similarities.
Tarone (1977)
Topic avoidance
Message abandonment
Circumlocution
Approximation
Word coinage
Conscious transfer (literal translation/ language
switch)
Mime
Appeal for assistance
Littlewood (1984)
Avoiding communication
Adjusting the message
Using paraphrase
Using approximation
Creating a new word
Switching to native language
Using non-linguistic resources (mime & gesture)
Seeking help
From the table, it is clear that their only difference lies on the different terms only. However, there is
another hesitancy that has not been covered by their concept. Therefore, Faarch & Kasper (1980) add four more
items with a wider coverage of the strategies. They are ‘Generalization’, ‘Restructuring’, ‘Interlingual transfer’
(foreignizing) and ‘Intralingual transfer’. In the development of communication strategy, Dornyei (1995)
formulates communication strategies into twelve kinds. Considering the number of strategies, he does not argue
Faarch & Kasper’s. In understanding the concept, however, he disagrees with his formers’ classification due to
‘Generalization’ and ‘Restructuring’, which he later replaced by ‘Use of all purpose words’ and ‘Use of
fillers’/hesitation devices.
In analyzing the data, the writer decided to use Dornyei’s classification of communication strategy. He
divides the strategies into three major strategies, namely Avoidance strategies, Compensatory strategies, and
Stalling strategies. The first includes ‘topic avoidance’ and ‘message abandonment’; the second consists of
‘Circumlocution’, ‘Approximation’, ‘Word coinage’, ‘Code switching’, ‘Use of non-linguistic means’, ‘Appeal
for help’, ‘Foreignizing’, ‘Literal translation’, and ‘Use of all purpose words’; while the third only covers ‘Use
of fillers/hesitation devices’.
A. Avoidance strategies
(1) Topic Avoidance: the strategy where learners try not to talk about concepts which they find it
difficult to express. For example: a learner avoids saying certain words or sentence because
he/she does not know the English terms or forget the English terms.
(2) Message abandonment: the strategy of leaving message unfinished because of language
difficulties. For example: “He took the wrong way in mm…” (he/she does not continue his/her
utterance)
B. Compensatory strategies
(3) Circumlocution: the strategy used by learners in which they describe or paraphrase the target
object or action. For example: if a Learner does not know the word corkscrew, he/she replaces
it by saying ‘the thing that you use to open the bottle’.
(4) Approximation: the strategy in which a learner uses an alternative term to express the meaning
of the target lexical item as closely as possible. For example: ship for sailboat; pipe for water
pipe.
(5) Word coinage: a learner creates an L2 word based on his/her knowledge of morphological
rules. For example: vegetarianist for vegetarian (vegetarianist is not stated in the dictionary).
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(6) Code switching: the strategy in which learners use their L1 word with L2 pronunciation. For
example: if a learner does not know the word baki (tray), he/she will say ‘baki’ with L2
pronunciation.
(7) Use of non-linguistic means: a learner uses non-linguistic resources such as mime, gesture,
facial expression, and sound imitation to help him/her in expressing the meaning. For
example: a learner uses his/her hands and acts like flying to refer to birds.
(8) Appeal for help: the strategy where the students ask other students or teacher for help because
they do not know or forget some words, structures, or idioms. For example: a learner may ask
his/her friend by saying ‘What do you call……?”
(9) Foreignizing: learners use L1 word by adjusting it to L2 phonologically. For example: a
learner does not know the word tap, he/she uses the L1 word, that is kran but with L2
pronunciation, so he/she says kren.
(10) Literal translation: the strategy in which learners translate a lexical item, an idiom, or a
structure from their L1 to L2. For example: do not enter sign for no entry sign.
(11) Use of all-purpose words: this is the strategy when learners expand an empty lexical item to
context where certain words are lacking. For example: the overuse of the words thing, stuff,
make, do, what-do-you-call-it, what-is-it.
C. Stalling Strategies
(12) Use of fillers/hesitation devices: a learner may use filling words to fill pause and to gain time
to think. For example: well, as a matter of fact, now let me see. Wajnryb (1987) added the
examples of fillers such as I think, you know, you see, um, mm, ah, sort of, OK, right, reall.
Methodology
The approach of this study was qualitative. The data contained Communication Strategies used by EFL
students of the English Department. The subjects were twenty (20) students of Speaking VI class.
The instrument of the research is the writer herself. In collecting the data, she used a tape recorder to
record the subjects when they were presenting certain topics in class and answering questions from their fellow
students after their presentation. Besides, the writer also recorded their English interaction with their friends
during the ‘English Day’ which is on Fridays. To make the collecting data more natural, the observation is done
both in formal situation (in class) and in informal situation (English Day).
Procedures of data collection and data analysis
In collecting the data, the writer tried to transcribe the students’ presentations in class (twenty students)
and their interaction during the ‘English Day’. Then she identified the communication strategies used by them.
There were some characteristics used in identifying the strategy. The first characteristic was pause. If there was
a pause, the sentence after the pause might be communication strategy. The writer observed whether after the
pause, the student used another strategy or not. Not all pauses indicated communication strategy. The second
characteristic was a change of intonation and speed. When the student uttered a sentence then there was an
intonation change or the speed became slower, the writer observed the sentence. The changing of intonation and
speed show that the student was not sure with his utterance. Therefore, this situation was like a strategy to make
the conversation keep going. The third characteristic was gesture. This identification was clearly stated by
Littlewood. Whenever the student makes a gesture, then it is a strategy called non-linguistic resources. The
fourth was eye movement. This identification was used when the student look for help by looking at his
friends/teacher and gave some signals or other hesitation devices.
In identifying the data, the writer used the characteristics of communication strategies given by
Dornyei (1995, p. 58), which the writer put in the following table
No
Communication Strategies
Characteristics
1
Message abandonment
- students omit some items of information
- students make an idea simpler
- students do not continue their utterances
2
Topic avoidance
- the students avoid discussion because lack of vocabularies
- the students keep quiet
3
Circumlocution
- students give simpler description
4
Approximation
- using words which are less specific than the intended
meaning, e.g. some fruit instead of pineapple
5
Use of all-purpose words
- students lack certain word then expand the lexical item to
3
6
7
Word coinage
Use of non-linguistic means
8
Literal translation
9
Foreignizing
10
11
12
Code switching
Appeal for help
Use of fillers
context, e.g. thing, and stuff
- students create new words translated from L1
- students use gesture, mime, facial expression, and sound
imitation to describe the intended meaning
- students translate an idiom, a lexical item, a compound
word or structure from L1 to L2
- students use L1 word by adjusting it to L2 phonologically
and morphologically
- students switch to L1 to make the interlocutor understand
- students seek help from outside (friends/teacher)
- students use filling words
- students need time to think
Findings and discussions
The following table shows the frequency and the percentage of Communication Strategies used by the subjects.
The writer will discuss it starting from the highest occurrence to the lowest one.
Table 1.
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Types of Communication Strategies used by Speaking VI students
of the English Department-Petra Christian University
Communication Strategies
Frequency
Message abandonment
Topic avoidance
5
Circumlocution
17
Approximation
49
Use of all-purpose words
4
Word coinage
Use of non-linguistic means
5
Literal translation
4
Foreignizing
Code switching
Appeal for help
5
Use of fillers/hesitation
54
Self correction
35
Repetition
19
Total
197
Percentage
2.54 %
8.63 %
24.87 %
2.03 %
2.54 %
2.03 %
2.54 %
27.41 %
17.77 %
9.64 %
100 %
There were ten (10) Communication Strategies found in the analysis: topic avoidance, circumlocution,
approximation, use of all-purpose words, use of non-linguistic means, literal translation, appeal for help, use of
fillers, self correction and repetition. However, four Communication strategies namely message abandonment,
word coinage, foreignizing, and code switching were not found. Based on the data analysis, additional
Communication Strategies called self correction and repetition were found.
Use of fillers here got the highest number with the percentage of 27.41 %, or as many as 54. The
example of using Use of fillers is “The most expensive present I’ve ever got is ..mm.. let me see… mm… a
wristwatch from my dad”. When the subjects need some time to think about what they want to say while trying
to make the oral task run smoothly at the same time. The subjects might forget words or utterances they actually
knew, or they could not concentrate well due to the question being asked.
The second highest number of Communication Strategy is Approximation. The total number of
‘Approximation’ is 49 or equals 24.87 %. For example, a subject said circle street to refer to roundabout. In this
example, the subject tried to overcome the difficulty of finding the term roundabout by using “an alternative
term to express the meaning of the target lexical item as closely as possible’ (Dornyei, 1995, p. 56). Since the
shape of roundabout was round or circle and it was on the street, the subject just created her own term by saying
circle street.
Self correction which was the additional strategy found in this study, got the percentage of 17.77 %.
This is the strategy in which the subjects corrected the utterances they had made before so that the listener could
understand what he/she actually meant; for example “a man and an instruction… I mean a man and an
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instructor”. Self correction might happen because even though subjects are considered as having mastered the
target language, they might get nervous when they have to speak in public. Therefore, they corrected the
mistakes immediately after they realized that they had produced the wrong words or phrases. Based on the data,
most of the mistakes in this self correction strategy were grammatical mistakes such as preposition mistakes ( he
turns out …eh… he turns on the lamp), verbs mistakes (he go…uh… he goes) and article mistakes (get a
strategy….. get the strategy). This proved that the subjects knew the correct grammatical forms they should
have produced. Self correction strategy also happened because the subjects wanted to make clear the phrases or
terms they already uttered so that they felt it was necessary to add a word modifier. It could be seen from these
examples: the exam….the midterm exam, the cheese…..the cream cheese, the library ….the new library. The
other reason of having self correction strategy was because the subjects thought that the used the
wrong/inappropriate vocabularies so they replaced the words immediately, for example: train
station……..railway station, gas …….petrol, morning plane ...morning flight.
Repetition, as the additional strategy besides self correction, got the percentage of 9.64, or as many as
19. The following is an example of repetition: when a subject intended to say ‘turn on the engine’ but she did
not know or forgot the English word for it, she gained time to think by using repetition words like “he starts to
….he starts to …….he starts to… up the machine”. In this strategy, the subjects repeated the same word or
words to gain time to think. They spent some time to think of certain words or structures they actually knew.
Repetition here was used to avoid silence while thinking of the appropriate terms so that communication – in
this case the oral task – seemed to run smoothly.
Circumlocution got the total number of 17, or equals 8.63 %. The example was instead of saying ‘street
lamp’ the subject described the characteristics or element of the object or word by saying ‘the light which is
along the road’.
Topic avoidance, non-linguistic means, and appeal for help got the same percentages, that are five
2.54 %. For topic avoidance strategy, the subjects avoided telling the words or sentences which were difficult
for them. They preferred to avoid saying the words, sentences or concepts rather than to express them and just
went on with the next words, sentences or concepts. While the use of non-linguistic means such as mime,
gesture, facial expression, and sound imitation is to help the subjects in expressing the meaning; for example a
subject rounded her fingers to refer to ‘roundabout’. So, while they were presenting their topic material, they
used mime or gesture to help them express certain things. Appeal for help strategy is used mainly because they
lacked vocabulary, forgot some English words, and they might think that it would be better to ask someone else
than to produce the wrong words.
Using all-purpose words and literal translation also got the same percentage of 2.03 %. Using all
purpose words, for example, a subject used the words ‘what is it’ in the middle of her utterance. It might be
because these subjects were confident enough to get the audience’s attention by uttering the words ‘what is it?”;
while in literal translation, for example, a subject used the term ‘do not in’ to refer to ‘no enter’ sign.
Conclusion
Overall, this study aims to find the types of communication strategies used and mostly used by
Indonesian English learners in speaking their target language (English). In addition, the writer would like to
know whether the highest occurrence of communication strategy influences their mastery in English. The main
theory that supports this study is the theory about Communication Strategies from Dornyei (1995). The data are
collected from individual presentation in class (formal situation) and conversations during the ‘English Day’
(informal situation).
The writer finds ten types of Communication Strategies used by subjects namely topic avoidance,
circumlocution, approximation, use of all-purpose words, use of non-linguistic means, literal translation, appeal
for help, use of fillers, self correction and repetition. The last two Communication Strategies called self
correction and repetition were found as additional strategies since they cannot be included in Dornyei’s
classification. The type of Communication Strategies that has the highest occurrence is use of fillers. It shows
that the subjects do not hesitate too much in using L2 since they only need some time to think and continue
talking after they find the right words they need. While the two additional strategies found, self correction and
repetition, prove that they do not easily give up when they get stuck in expressing their ideas in using L2.
At last, the study about Communication Strategies is useful for students who learn English as second or
foreign language. Knowing, understanding, and using the types of Communication Strategies can help the
students make their conversation go smoothly and clearly.
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