Teaching communication strategies to beginners

Abstract

This article describes an eight-week project in which communication strategies were taught to beginners in German. Learners were instructed in a variety of: turn-taking phrases; requests for help, clarification and repetition; greetings and pause fillers. Information was gathered from questionnaires and audio recordings of pairs of learners collaborating on speaking tasks during classwork activities and during an oral test. The data analysis focused on the use of taught strategies in learners' speech and also on a number of other performance features which could have been indicative of strategic behaviour. The role of communication strategies outlined in the National Curriculum for modern foreign languages was also examined. At the end of the project, it was concluded that a range of strategic phrases could be successfully taught to most learners, although their use might be dependent on task and context. It was also concluded that beginners employ various problem-solving skills to maintain spoken communication in a foreign language. Finally, it is suggested that a number of difficulties exist in reconciling the use of communication strategies with the existing National Curriculum model for progression in speaking.

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