Feature Article

Teachable Communication

Strategies: Asking for Help in English
Conversations
Joel P. Rian
Hokkaido Information University
When L2 learners with lower levels of proficiency attempt to communicate in their fledgling
L2, misunderstandings are inevitable. When they occur, finding ways to overcome thosemisunderstandings is key. This paper discusses the communication strategy known as the“Appeal for Assistance,” or more familiarly, “Asking for Help.” The strategy was introduced
and routinely practiced in several mandatory English classes of lower-proficiency EFL
students at a Japanese university in spring semester of 2011. At the end of the semester,
one-on-one teacher-student conversation tests were conducted. Results from a post-course
survey to these students were significantly positive, suggesting they perceived the strategy
as confidence-boosting and useful outside the classroom. Tentatively these results support
the position that hands-on training with communication strategies in EFL classrooms,
specifically with a treatment of the Ask for Help strategy, may be beneficial for boosting
speaking confidence and motivation among students of lower-level English proficiency.
第二外国語を学習する初心者が、初級レベルの英語力でコミュケーションをとろうとするときに、そのコミュニケーションに誤解が生じるのはやむを得ない。誤解が生じる場合には、それを乗り越える方法を見つけることが大切である。本研究は、学生が「助けを求める」際の、コミュケーション方法について論じたものである。本研
究は、2011年、春のセメスターに、日本の大学において導入、実践された。対象
は、必修教科として英語を外国語として学ぶ、９つのクラスである。レベルは初級者である。学期末には、教員との対面で一人ずつ、英会話テストを実施した。対象
クラスの授業のアンケート結果は、非常にポジティブなものであった。そのため、学生の自信を引き上げる方法として、この方法は 教室外でも利用することができると考えられる。本稿は、EFLのクラスにおいて、本研究が示すコミュニケーション方法
が、学生の自信を向上させること、特に「助けを求める」行為が、初級レベルの英語学習者の間でモチベーションを向上させることを示した。

287

Rian

An instructor asks an EFL student a question in English. The student freezes,
wide-eyed, maybe smiles sheepishly. An uncomfortable silence follows. The
instructor repeats the question, or rephrases it. The silence deepens. The
student offers only a puzzled, bewildered look, or at best, an emphatic “Eh?” A
communication breakdown has occurred. The instructor and the student both
begin to think that further attempts at communication are not worth the effort.
This scenario is a familiar one to EFL teachers. In the case of Japan, someof the literature points to inherent shyness and reticence in Japanese students(Doyon, 2000; Ellis, 1997; Helgesen, 1993; Miller, 1995). Plentiful studies
attest to the EFL classroom being rooted in traditional, teacher-centered designs(Gorsuch, 1998; Hino, 1988; McVeigh, 2001; Shimahara, 1984). Further,most students enter university having undergone six mandatory years of passive
lectures that include copying and translating, and memorizing difficult reading
passages, grammar and vocabulary in order to pass examinations (Anderson,
1993; Nozaki, 1993). Consequently, while some students gain test-taking ability,
many are disappointed that their efforts have yielded very little in terms ofpractical communicative ability (Falout & Maruyama, 2004; Falout & Falout,2005).

An Unwillingness to Communicate in theJapanese EFL Classroom

Over the past few decades, much research has focused on the need to improve
Japanese students’ communicative ability in English. The current pre-tertiary
system of copying, analyzing and memorizing serves only to prepare students totake written tests. If the goal of an English language classroom is genuinely to foster
communicative competence, the challenge lies in linking oral communication
practice—specifically, getting students to talk to each other using whatevermanner of English they can manage—with the act of raising awareness of words
and structures. However, while in-class practice can forgive imperfect English,
testing does not. Most Japanese EFL classrooms focus on the teaching and testingof correct English. So, students come out of the classroom thinking that theymust use correct English, and that if they do not, they will fail to communicate.
288

Teachable Communication Strategies, OnCUE Journal, 9(3), pages 287-309

Trying to communicate and failing is an embarrassing experience.
Inherent Japanese shyness, as it is called, may somehow be a factor inJapanese students’ inability or unwillingness to engage in communicative tasks
in the classroom. However, a greater portion of the problem lies in the factthat most have never been shown that it is possible to use imperfect English
to communicate. They are not told that, in fact, millions of people successfullycommunicate with imperfect English every day, nor how they can make the bestof what English they already know.
Some Japanese university instructors of English, exempt from the pretertiary obligation to prepare students for written examinations, wish to focus
on an oral element in class, including conversation activities and speaking tests.
However, despite enthusiasm, patience and coaxing on the part of instructors,
students are often reticent. They freeze up, get flustered or panic when faced withclassroom tasks that require them to communicate in English with the teacher orwith classmates. In spite of earnest efforts to remind students to try their best, inworst cases, they may simply be unresponsive.
This unwillingness to participate in communicative activities may stem froma feeling of not wanting to communicate in English. Among the many reasonsfor this feeling is, arguably, a perception on the part of students that they cannot
communicate in English. Particularly, they may feel they have insufficient
linguistic means despite their mandatory six years of exposure to English
learning. However, as Dörnyei (1995) comments,
Some people can communicate effectively in an L2 with only 100 words. How
do they do it? They use their hands, they imitate the sound or movementof things, they mix languages, they create new words, they describe or
circumlocute something they don’t know the word for—in short, they use
communication strategies (p.56).
This is encouraging, because six or more years of compulsory English classes
have likely afforded students a vocabulary of more than 100 words, and at leasta basic understanding of language forms. Raising awareness of communication
strategies in the L2 classroom shows students that communication is possible
289

Rian

immediately using the English they already know. This has significant potential
to motivate learners, or re-motivate otherwise demotivated learners, toward
English language learning.
The Appeal for Assistance (Ask for Help) strategy works well as an
introduction to any number of other communication strategies, or it can be
introduced singly. It complements any classroom activities that involve oral
communication between students, or between students and teachers. Student
feedback from a pilot survey discussed herein suggests a treatment of the Ask for
Help strategy helps students feel that, even with a low proficiency level, they do
not lack resources when navigating a conversation in English.

What’s a Communication Strategy?

Communication strategies have their roots in the SLA field of error analysis.
Corder (1967) observed how language learners systematically dealt with
communication breakdowns that occurred because of an insufficient grasp of thetarget language. He proposed a distinction between language learner mistakes,
or utterances that are randomly incorrect, and errors, or systematically incorrectutterances, the latter reflecting the learner’s “knowledge of the language to date,i.e. his transitional competence (pp. 166-167).”
Later, Selinker (1972) dubbed this transitional competence interlanguage,
which became a new field of SLA research. He referred to L2 communication
strategies as certain kinds of errors made by learners of a second languageas they attempted to express themselves in spontaneous speech using theirinterlanguage. These kinds of errors could include, for example, making up aword, using an approximate word, using gestures, and so on. As research into
the concept of interlanguage—and the communication strategies characteristicof it—blossomed thereafter, extensive definitions were devised for the term
(Faerch & Kasper, 1984; Poulisse, Bongaerts & Kellerman, 1984; Stern, 1983).
Generally these definitions revolve around a core meaning of, as Chen (1990)
puts it, “devices employed by L2 learners when they encounter problemsin L2 communication because their communicative ends have outrun theircommunicative means” (p. 157). Although the definition was multifaceted,290Teachable Communication Strategies, OnCUE Journal, 9(3), pages 287-309

communication strategies began to be perceived not as by-products of clumsy
attempts at communication by learners with deficient L2 command, but rather
as potential tools for learners to enhance their attempts at communication.
In the 1980s, study in this field widened as a number of researchers identified
and created taxonomies of communication strategies. Two of the most inclusive
taxonomies occur in Faerch and Kasper (1983) and in Willems (1987). Thesetaxonomies attempt a comprehensive categorization of communication
strategies that L2 learners use. In her review of several major classification
systems, Bialystok (1990) posits that a basic set of core strategies persists acrossall taxonomies, and refers to a typology created by Tarone (1978, 1980). This listof core strategies and their descriptions is provided in Table 1.
Research into communication strategies, while comparatively a new fieldin SLA, is not meager. However, as Ellis commented in 1985, “Theoretical
discussion of communication strategies has predominated over empirical research
into their use” (p.183). Some research has more recently dealt with the potential
teachability of communication strategies in the EFL classroom (Dörnyei, 1995;
Dörnyei & Thurrell, 1991; Maleki, 2010; Maybin & Bergschneider, 1992;
Nakatani, 2010b, Scattergood, 2003; Willems, 1987).
Canale & Swain’s (1980) theory of communicative competence also helped
establish a place for communication strategies in the EFL classroom. They
proposed a construct of communicative competence to include three main
subcomponents (Figure 1):
Dörnyei and Thurrell (1991) note that most language teaching is focusedaround improving students’ grammatical competence, and that although recently
course books and language tests are being designed to develop sociolinguisticcompetence, the component of communicative competence that remains
most neglected by instructors and learning materials is strategic competence.
They observe, “The lack of fluency or conversational skills that students often
complain about is, to a considerable extent, due to the underdevelopment ofstrategic competence” (p. 16).
Further, some research suggests strategy training may be particularly
beneficial for lower-proficiency learners (Willems, 1987; Dörnyei, 1995;
291

Rian
Table 1Tarone’s communication strategy typology (1978, 1980)
Communication Strategy

Description

Topic Avoidance Occurs when the learner simply doesn’t talk about concepts
for which the vocabulary or other meaning structure is notknown.
Avoidance
Message
Abandonment

Occurs when the learner begins to talk about a concept but
is unable to continue due to lack of meaning structure, andstops in mid-utterance.

Approximation

Use of a single target language vocabulary item or structure,
which the learner knows is not correct, but which sharesenough semantic features in common with the desired item
to satisfy the speaker (e.g., “pipe” for “waterpipe”)

Word coinage

The learner makes up a new word in order to communicate adesired concept (e.g., “airball” for “balloon”).

Circumlocution

The learner describes the characteristics or elements of theobject or action instead of using the appropriate target
language structure (“She is, uh, smoking something. I don’tknow what’s its name. That’s, uh, Persian, and we use inTurkey, a lot of.”).

LiteralTranslation

The learner translates word for word from the native
language (e.g. “He invites him to drink” for “They toast one
another”).

Language
SwitchThe learner uses the native language term without bothering
to translate (e.g. “balon” [Turkish for “balloon”] or “tirtil”[Turkish for “caterpillar”]

Paraphrase

Conscious
Transfer

Appeal for Assistance

The learner asks for the correct term or structure (e.g. “Whatis this?”)Mime

The learner uses nonverbal strategies in place of a meaning
structure (e.g., clapping one’s hands to illustrate applause).

292

Teachable Communication Strategies, OnCUE Journal, 9(3), pages 287-309

Figure 1. Canale & Swain’s (1980) components of communicative competence (based on Dörnyei& Thurrell, 1991, p.17).

Nakatani, 2010a, 2010b). As Rost and Ross (1991) comment,
It may be argued that if lower proficiency learners will need to use
compensatory strategies in any event, then instruction should be aimed atshowing students those linguistic and interactive strategies that are likely
to be effective for achieving immediate understanding, and which are most
likely to lead the learner toward understanding more of the target language asa system (Bialystok & Frohlich, 1978; Frohlich & Paribakht, 1984). (p.263)
Toward that end, for example, while Willems (1987) advocates training withapproximation and paraphrase, Faucette (2001) suggests training in appeals
for assistance may be especially useful for lower-proficiency learners, because it
immediately enables them to participate in a conversation when they may haveotherwise thought they were not able to. Maybin and Bergschneider (1992)
treat this particular strategy in detail. A communication-strategy-based textbook
published by Maybin and Maher (2007), titled The Active Learner, begins with
the Ask for Help strategy. It was through experimenting with activities from thistextbook that I learned the value of the Ask for Help strategy as a foundation to
improving any spoken interaction in an EFL classroom. The activities I used to
introduce the strategy, and the results of a short survey I gave to students at the
293

Rian

end of the semester soliciting what they thought of it, are discussed below.

Method: Introducing and Practicing the Ask for
Help Strategy

Maybin and Bergschneider (1992) label the Ask for Help strategy as “Control,”referring to a language learner’s ability to manipulate or “control” a conversation(p.151) by using receptive learning strategies—principally, by interrupting the
speech of an interlocutor and asking for slower delivery, repetition, or clarificationof an unknown word or phrase. They outline several activities that introduce
and practice this strategy. A summary of my adaptation of these activities for
introducing it to university EFL classes follows.
Activity 1
The entire class stands. The instructor tells students that he or she will speakin English at natural speed, and that if they don’t understand, simply to raise
their hand. The instructor then launches into a rambling monologue, withoutpausing, at native-speaker speed on a topic of his or her choice, replete withdifficult words, jargon and turns of phrase that the learners are expected to findincomprehensible. I generally use something like this:OK, here we are now, and I’m talking at you and you’re looking at me, andmaybe some of you comprehend fragments of what I’m saying, but thelikelihood is, for all intents and purposes, that most of you are looking at me
like deer in headlights. Now, the only real notion I’m hoping you’ll pick up
on is, that all I want you to do is raise your hand to indicate to me that you
don’t really understand what I’m saying. And I realize this is certainly notsomething you’re used to, because most of you have encountered language
learning environments that fail miserably to foster any kind of interaction atall. Follow me? What I mean is, you’ve all pretty much been trained not tointerrupt the other person, least of all an instructor, and tell him or her thatyou really don’t understand what’s being said, and so . . .
The teacher may circulate among the students while rambling on, making
eye contact and occasionally interjecting a brief “Get it?” or “Are you following
294

Teachable Communication Strategies, OnCUE Journal, 9(3), pages 287-309

me?” Any brave student who actually raises his or her hand is allowed to sit, andthe monologue continues. As I have experienced, most students in most classes
will attempt to withstand more than several minutes of teacher chatter withoututtering a word. When the instructor perceives that students are sufficiently
baffled, the entire class is allowed to sit. It is then explained that the reason noone (or so few people) actually raised their hands to interrupt the interlocutor isbecause they have been trained not to do this, especially in classrooms; however,
the activities in this classroom are going to go against that training.
The instructor then passes out a laminated stop sign (Figure 2). Students
are instructed to hold the sign up and yell “STOP!” if they don’t understand.
Several whole-class choral practices of yelling “STOP!” at the instructor usuallyexhilarate students.
Activity 2
The entire class stands again, and the instructor begins the monologue again.
This time, braver students will try out their new power and be immediately
allowed to sit. Others will follow. The instructor motions for students to sit while
uninterruptedly carrying on with the monologue. Another key is not to allow
students to sheepishly hold up the sign. They have to yell “Stop!” This exercise
continues until most of the class is seated, at which point the remainder areallowed to sit. Leaving only one or two students standing might be jarring to

Figure 2. Stop sign (front & back) for introducing the Ask for Help strategy.

295

Rian

them. Praise is then offered and, depending on the instructor’s tastes, explanation
can be offered as to why this activity can be all at once easy and difficult: it isan easy physical action to raise a sign and yell “Stop!” However, psychologically
it is very difficult—perhaps particularly in Japan—to interrupt another person’s
speech to indicate that you don’t understand. Next, the instructor solicits polite
ways to interrupt an interlocutor, such as “pardon me” or “excuse me,” and jots
them on the blackboard.
Activity 3
The instructor solicits from students two main reasons why they didn’t understandthe monologue. Sometimes students will offer pejorative statements about theirown failure to acquire better English ability during six or more years of study
in middle school and high school. Self-deprecation is dismissed as unnecessary,as there are only two chief reasons they cannot understand: the interlocutor(instructor) is (a) talking too fast, and/or (b) using words or phrases that arereadily unfamiliar—ones the learners may have never encountered before, or may
have forgotten. The instructor writes “too fast” and “don’t know words” on theblackboard.
Activity 4
The instructor explains the purpose behind abruptly halting an interlocutor’s
speech: to “ask for help” from them, so that communication can be achieved.
Often, I tell students that while interrupting an interlocutor may seem rude, it
could just as well be seen as an act of thoughtfulness, an outward indication ofdesire to understand what the other person is saying, which might be achieved
with a little help. Less thoughtful, perhaps, is to say nothing and pretend tounderstand, or to wait for the other person to pick up on your nonverbal cues.
Activity 5
The instructor introduces “Say again, please” and “More slowly, please” or any
similar phrasings he or she prefers, as a response to the interlocutor’s speaking
speed. The instructor also introduces “What does _____ mean?” as a way tosolicit an explanation or rephrasing from the interlocutor of an unknown wordor phrase. At this point, the instructor may refer students to these phrases on the296Teachable Communication Strategies, OnCUE Journal, 9(3), pages 287-309

back of the stop sign (Figure 2), and may choose to do choral practice with them.
Activity 6
The whole class stands again. This time, instead of a pauseless monologue,
the teacher throws out questions. Students are encouraged to use the “Control
Phrases” provided on the back of the stop sign as many times as necessary until
they understand and can answer the question. Any sufficient answer to a question
allows them to sit down.
An example dialogue may go as follows.
T. [to group, spoken quickly] So, like, what’s yer family like? D’you guys haveany siblings?
S. [one student holds up stop sign] Pardon me! Say again please?
T. [repeats, at similar speed]. Sure. D’ya havenny siblings?
S. [another student holds up stop sign] Excuse me! More slowly please.
T. Oh, sure. [a little slower, more deliberate] Do you have any siblings?
S. (holding up stop sign) Excuse me . . . what’s sib—sibul. . .
T. (rephrases) Oh. Siblings? Means, brothers and sisters. Do you have any
brothers or sisters?
S. [another student, hurriedly interjecting] One brother!
T. Oh, really? He’s older or younger than you are?
S. Say again please?
T. Older or younger?
S. [gestures with hand for ‘low height’]
T. Ah, a younger brother, eh? How old is he?
S. . . . Six.
T. Six years old. I see. So, do you get along? [includes gesture, holds two index
finger together]S. [smiling, returns ‘X’ gesture, makes punching gestures] No . . . always fight.
T. Ahh, I get it. [motions for that student to sit down, continues throwing
out questions]
The routine can be continued for as long as the instructor sees fit, and canbe repeated over a series of class periods. A variety of questions can be used.
297

Rian

Each question should offer an opportunity to use the Ask for Help strategy bydeliberately employing words or phrases at fast delivery, which the listeners are
not likely to understand:So, about what time d’ja (did you) get up today?
Are you feeling fatigued?
What kinda (kind of ) extracurricular stuff do you do?
What are you thinking of doing this weekend? (What’s on your agenda thisweekend?)What’s your favorite academic subject?
What kind of stuff do you like to do in your free time?
At listeners’ requests, each question can be delivered repeatedly or more
slowly, or rephrased, until one student can successfully answer. A follow-up
variant of this activity is provided in Maybin and Bergschneider (1992), which
involves a panel of four or five students standing at the front of the room, facing
the other students, while the instructor is seated, back to the class, facing thepanel. The instructor sits in order to put students in a psychologically andphysically superior position, in order to make it easier for them to use theControl Phrases. Students who successfully answer a question return to theaudience and are replaced by another student until all students have taken a turnon the panel up front.
Repetition of these activities reinforces the behavior of actively seeking
clarification of an interlocutor’s words, as opposed to remaining silent or looking
askance and expecting the interlocutor to pick up on the listener’s nonverbal
indication that he or she cannot understand. While introduction and initialtraining with the Ask for Help strategy is mostly teacher-student, it can thereafter
be used in any classroom activity that involves oral exchange between instructors
and students or between students and other students.

Analysis: Student Responses to Strategy Training

In order to get a sense of how students would use what they learned about the
Ask for Help strategy in class, at the end of spring semester 2011 I conducteda teacher-student conversation with each student in all nine English classes
298

Teachable Communication Strategies, OnCUE Journal, 9(3), pages 287-309

I was teaching at the time. These totaled about 170 students, roughly half
first years and half second years, and about half male and half female. Majors
varied, but most were non-English majors, and by my estimate, most were lower
proficiency—including the English majors. Each student had to navigate a 7-8
minute conversation with me on an unrehearsed topic, using no notes and noJapanese. Points were awarded primarily for use of communication strategies toadjust the speech of the interlocutor (instructor) to their level of understanding
so they could continue the conversation to the end. A broader description of thetesting process is given in Rian (2009).
I also administered a short questionnaire to all students in my nine
mandatory (general) English classes during the last class of the semester in orderto solicit a general idea of whether they thought the strategy was useful to learn
and practice. A total of 165 students responded. They were allowed to write
comments either in English or Japanese. Most chose Japanese. The questionnaire
is shown in the Appendix.
Although conversation tests have been found to be a source of stress and fearfor Japanese students with little experience in English conversation (Nakatani,
2010a), the survey results were significantly positive, with over 80% positive
responses for each item. Tentatively, this suggests that communication strategyfocused instruction was well received, and supports the general idea that strategy
training benefits low-proficiency students. Devoting significant class time topracticing this particular strategy may seem like time taken away from more
traditional routines of introducing and practicing language forms. However, as
Maybin and Bergschneider (1992) observe, “For many learners it is sufficient,and often a major personal, psychological accomplishment, to interrupt aninterlocutor who is regarded as being in a socially superior position (in thiscase, a teacher)” (p. 153). The sense of accomplishment with having successfully
navigated an unscripted, all-English conversation is something that students may
retain long after the class is over. Ideally, they will take away the awareness of andexperience with a communication strategy that can empower them to participate
in an English conversation anywhere, with anyone (Maybin, 2007).

299

Rian

Limitations and Avenues for Further Study

While encouraging, student feedback on this study must be tempered by thereality of a close teacher/researcher connection. It was emphasized to students
that questionnaire responses were strictly anonymous, and would not affecttheir grades in any way. However, a possible “halo effect” in student evaluations(Haladyna & Hess, 2000; Marsh & Hocevar, 1991; Theall & Franklin, 2001) may
have skewed responses heavily toward the positive. In this case, students may havewanted to offer positive feedback to the instructor, who is significantly invested
in the outcome of the classroom activities. Future investigations into students’
perceived usefulness of strategy training might better separate the researcher
from the equation, perhaps through a greater number of survey items, and withmore precise wording.
If conducted by other instructors in their own classes, future action-researchstudies would benefit from a longitudinal approach. For example, the samequestionnaire could be given before and after the strategy training. Further, acontrast of student comments on how they felt about taking conversation tests,
between a control group that receives strategy training and one that does not,would be enlightening in terms of exploring how strategy training affects student
motivation and perceptions toward oral communication in EFL classrooms. For
now, however, the data presented here offer a preliminary response to Faucette’s(2001) and Nakatani’s (2010a) call for the exploration of communication
strategy training for lower proficiency students.
It should also be noted that communication strategies are not mutually
exclusive. Often, they overlap and are a part of each other. For example, an appeal
for assistance like “Pardon?” could be equally expressed by a gesture (putting handto ear and leaning forward) or a facial expression (raising eyebrows or squinting
to indicate not understanding). Further, it is unlikely that an interlocutor would
respond mechanically to a less-proficient speaker’s request. Classroom training
in the Ask for Help strategy involves not providing modified language until
specifically and verbally asked to do so. During the training, I respond only tothe request given: for example, “Say again please” solicits an exact repeat of thesame phrase at the same speed. “More slowly please” slows it down. Words are300Teachable Communication Strategies, OnCUE Journal, 9(3), pages 287-309

explained only when asked “What does _____ mean?” Outside the classroom,a listener’s request for repetition would not necessarily solicit an exact repeat of
the same phrase. Interlocutors would likely be far more sensitive to listeners’ cues
and more accommodating of listeners’ potential needs. They might, for example,
rephrase a question slowly and with simpler words after the listener remains
silent with a confused expression.
Finally, the activities and data I have reviewed here have involved only
teacher-student interactions. Future study into how students use the Ask for
Help strategy and/or other strategies with fellow students, as well as with othernative or non-native-English interlocutors, will hopefully provide deeper insight
into how learners might actually employ communication strategies to their own
benefit in a real-world setting.

Are Communication Strategies Teachable?

The teachability of communication strategies is debatable, and indeed it has
been debated (Dörnyei, 1995; Dörnyei & Thurrell, 1991; O’Malley, 1987; Rost
& Ross, 1991; Willems, 1987). Kellerman (1991), for example, stated directly,“there is no justification for providing training in compensatory strategies in
the classroom. . . Teach the learners more language and let the strategies lookafter themselves” (p.158). Bialystok (1990) echoed this sentiment: “The morelanguage the learner knows, the more possibilities exist for the system to beflexible and to adjust itself to meet the demands of the learner. What one mustteach students of a language is not strategy, but language” (p.147). In the case ofJapan, however, I would counter that the result of six or more mandatory yearsof “more language” has yielded too little in terms of communicative ability, andthat strategies do not tend to take care of themselves. Students simply do notcome away from EFL classrooms with the awareness that it is in fact acceptable—
or even a praiseworthy achievement—to overtly admit linguistic deficiency byinterrupting and asking an interlocutor for help with co-building a conversation.
Despite Bialystok’s (1990) and Kellerman’s (1991) criticisms on the teachingof communication strategies, both ultimately balance their statements. Bialystok(1990) acknowledges that “Indeed, any instruction that helps students to master
301

Rian

part of the language or to become more comfortable using it [my emphasis] is tobe commended and not criticized” (p.141). Kellerman (1991, cited in Dörnyei,
1995) also concedes that situational classroom practice of strategies may be
useful in order to help students overcome inhibitions that arise from having to
speak in a second language.
Finally, communication strategies are not a panacea to cure the ills of
linguistic incompetence. Gaps in linguistic knowledge will inevitably have to be
bridged by learners aspiring to higher levels of fluency. However, the worthinessof communication strategies as awareness-raising and motivating devices deserves
to be better recognized and more fully exploited. The addition of activities thatare designed to practice specific strategies in the classroom seems more likely to
influence students’ ability to use them in the classroom—and hopefully outside
the classroom—than if they are simply referred to peripherally as devices thatcan or should be used. That is, for example, hands-on practice using the Ask for
Help strategy seems a more effective means of getting students to actually use thestrategy than simply indicating that the strategy exists. Dörnyei (1995) echoed
this sentiment when he commented,
Providing opportunities for practice in strategy use appears to be necessary
because communication strategies can only fulfill their function as immediate
first aid devices if their use has reached an automatic stage. My experiencein L2 teaching and communication strategy training suggests that thisautomatization will not always occur without specific focused practice. (p.
64)

Conclusion

When it comes to speaking ability in a foreign language, communication strategies
can only compensate for a temporary lack of linguistic knowledge (Willems,
1987). In the end, for those looking to achieve advanced ability in a foreign
language, a solid fundamental knowledge of vocabulary and grammar remains
the surer bet. However, for those students whose confidence and motivation
to persevere in acquiring a better linguistic base has been compromised by anoveremphasis on memorizing vocabulary and mastering language structure,302

Teachable Communication Strategies, OnCUE Journal, 9(3), pages 287-309

as has traditionally been the case in Japan, the introduction of communication
strategy training activities seems to offer a fresh and hopeful alternative. As to
how or whether communication strategies can effectively improve motivation
among language learners, only further research and classroom experimentation
will show. For starters, however, an increased focus on the Ask for Help strategy
as a foundation for improved recovery from communication breakdowns seems
plausible for boosting confidence, particularly among lower-proficiency EFL
learners.

References

Anderson, F. E. (1993). The enigma of the college classroom: Nails that don’t
stick up. In P. Wadden, (Ed.), A handbook for teaching English at Japanesecolleges and universities (pp. 101-110). Oxford, England: Oxford University
Press.
Bialystok, E. (1990). Communication strategies. Oxford, England: Blackwell.
Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative
approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics,
1(1), 1-47.
Corder, S. P. (1983). Strategies of communication. In C. Faerch & G. Kasper(Eds.), Strategies in interlanguage communication (pp.15-18). London,
England: Longman.
Corder, S. P. (1967). The significance of learner’s errors. International Review ofApplied Linguistics, 5, 160-170.
Cutrone, P. (2009). Overcoming Japanese EFL learners’ fear of speaking.
University of Reading, Language Studies Working Papers, 1, 55-63.
Dörnyei, Z. (1995). On the teachability of communication strategies. TESOL
Quarterly, 29(1), 5-85.
Dörnyei, Z., & Thurrell, S. (1991). Strategic competence and how to teach it.
ELT Journal, 45(1), 16-23.
Doyon, P. (2000). Shyness in the Japanese EFL class: Why it is a problem, what
it is, what causes it, and what to do about it. The Language Teacher, 24(1),11-16, 37.
303

Rian

Ellis, R. (1985). Understanding second language acquisition. Oxford, England:
Oxford University Press.
Ellis, R. (1997). Second language acquisition. Oxford, England: Oxford
University Press.
Faerch, C., & Kasper, G. (1983). Strategies in interlanguage communication.
London, England: Longman.
Faerch, C., & Kasper, G. (1984). Two ways of defining communication
strategies. Language Learning, 34, 45-63.
Falout, J., & Falout, M. (2005). The other side of motivation—Learnerdemotivation. In K. Bradford-Watts, C. Ikeguchi, & M. Swanson (Eds.)
JALT 2004 Conference Proceedings (pp. 280-289). Tokyo, Japan: JALT.
Falout, J., & Maruyama, M. (2004). A comparative study of proficiency andlearner demotivation. The Language Teacher, 28(8), 3-9.
Faucette, P. (2001). A pedagogical perspective on communication strategies:
Benefits of training and an analysis of English language teaching materials.
Second Language Studies, 19(2), 1-40.
Gorsuch, G. (1998). Yakudoku EFL instruction in two Japanese high schoolclassrooms: An exploratory study. JALT Journal, 20(1), 6-32.
Haladyna, T., & Hess, R. (2000). An evaluation of conjunctive andcompensatory standard-setting strategies for test decisions. Educational
Assessment, 6, 129-153.
Helgesen, M. (1993). Dismantling a wall of silence: the “English conversation”
class. In P. Wadden, (Ed.) A handbook for teaching English at Japanesecolleges and universities (pp. 37-49). Oxford, England: Oxford University
Press.
Hino, N. (1988). Yakudoku: Japan’s dominant tradition in foreign language
learning. JALT Journal, 10(1), 45-55.
Kellerman, E. (1991). Compensatory strategies in second language research:
A critique, a revision, and some (non-) implications for the classroom. In
R. Phillipson, E. Kellerman, L. Selinker, M. Sharwood Smith, & M. Swain(Eds.), Foreign/second language pedagogy research: A commemorative volume
for Claus Faerch (pp. 142-161). Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
304

Teachable Communication Strategies, OnCUE Journal, 9(3), pages 287-309

Maleki, A. (2010). Techniques to teach communication strategies. Journal of
Language Teaching and Research, 1(5), 640-646.
Marsh, H., & Hocevar, D. (1991). Students’ evaluation of teachingeffectiveness: The stability of mean rating of the same teachers over a 13year period. Teaching & Teaching Education, 7, 303-314.
Maybin, D. (2007). Communication strategies—Anytime, anywhere.
Presentation given at the JALT Hokkaido 24th Annual Language Teaching
Conference, Hokkai Gakuen University, 23 September 2007.
Maybin, D., & Bergschneider, L. (1992). Control: An independent learningmodel. Cross Currents, 19(2), 149-159.
Maybin, D., & Maher, J. (2007). The active learner: Communication strategies forthe real world. Tokyo, Japan: Macmillan LanguageHouse.
McVeigh, B. J. (2001). Higher education, apathy and post-meritocracy. The
Language Teacher, 25(10), 29-32.
Miller, T. (1995). Japanese learners’ reactions to communicative English lessons.
JALT Journal, 17(1), 31-52.
Nakatani, Y. (2010a). Identifying strategies that facilitate EFL learners’
oral communication: A classroom study using multiple data collection
procedures. The Modern Language Journal, 94(i), 116-136.
Nakatani, Y. (2010b). Improving oral proficiency through strategy training.
Saarbrücken, Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing.
Nozaki, K. (1993). The Japanese student and the foreign teacher. In P. Wadden(Ed.), A handbook for teaching English at Japanese colleges and universities(pp. 27-34). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
O’Malley, J. M. (1987). The effects of training in the use of learning strategies
on learning English as a second language. In A. Wenden & J. Rubin (Eds.),
Learner strategies in language learning (pp. 133-144). Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press.
Poulisse, N., Bongaerts, T., & Kellerman, E. (1984). On the use ofcompensatory strategies in second language performance. Interlanguage
Studies Bulletin, 8, 70-105.
Rian, J. P. (2009). Communication strategies and one-on-one teacher-student
305

Rian

conversation tests to raise confidence among lower-level English learners.
Sapporo Gakuin University Journal of the Society of Humanities, 86, 107134.
Rost, M., & Ross, S. (1991). Learner use of strategies in interaction: Typology
and teachability. Language Learning, 41(2), 235-273.
Scattergood, E. (2003). Encouraging the use of strategies to improve
communication in the EFL classroom. The Language Teacher Online( June 2003). Retrieved from http://jalt-publications.org/old_tlt/
articles/2003/06/scattergood
Selinker, L. (1972). Interlanguage. International Review of Applied Linguistics,
10, 219-231.
Shimahara, N. (1984). The puzzle of higher education in Japan: A response. In
OECD/Japan Seminar on Higher Education (Ed.), The changing functionsof higher education: Implications for innovation. Hiroshima, Japan: ResearchInstitute for Higher Education.
Stern, H. H. (1983). Fundamental concepts of language teaching. Oxford,
England: Oxford University Press.
Tarone, E. (1980). Communication strategies, foreigner talk, and repair ininterlanguage studies. Language Learning, 30, 417-431.
Tarone, E. (1978). Conscious communication strategies in interlanguage: A
progress report. In H.D. Brown, C. Yorio, & R. Crymes (Eds.), On TESOL‘77: Teaching and learning English as a second language. Washington, D.C.:
TESOL.
Theall, M., & Franklin, J. (2001). Looking for bias in all the wrong places: A
search for truth or a witch hunt in student ratings of instructors? In M.
Theall, P.C. Abrami, & L.A. Mets (Eds.), The student ratings debate: Arethey valid? How can we best use them? New directions for institutional
research, 109, 45-56. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Willems, G. (1987). Communication strategies and their significance in foreign
language teaching. System, 15(3), 351-364.

306

Teachable Communication Strategies, OnCUE Journal, 9(3), pages 287-309

Author bio

Joel Rian is a full-time lecturer in the Faculty of Business Administration &Information Science at Hokkaido Information University, and teaches part-timeat Hokusei Gakuen University (English Language History). Currently a PhD
candidate at Macquarie University, he is researching communication strategy
training and use in the EFL classroom. rianjp48@do-johodai.ac.jp
Received: January 25, 2016
Accepted: December 4, 2016

307

Rian

Appendix

Strongly agree

強く思

Agree

思う

No opinion

どちらかいえない

Disagree

思わない

Strongly disagree

全く思わないQuestionnaire about the Ask for Help(“Control”) strategy, spring semester 2011

Learning about the technique of “Control” wasinteresting.
コントロールという「会話術」を学ぶのが面白かった。

Total responses, 1st & 2nd years, all majors. (N=165)

0

1

3

48

113

20

69

18

48

10

0

2

9

56

98

0

2

5

74

84

0

2

16

42

105

Practicing “Control” during class was difficult.
授業中、コントロールを実際に使うのが難しかった。 If yes, why? （難しかったら、なぜ？）

Total responses, 1st & 2nd years, all majors. (N=165)
I think I can use “Control” outside the classroom コントロー
ルという会話術を授業以外のところで使えそうと思う。

Total responses, 1st & 2nd years, all majors. (N=165)
During the conversation test, by using “Control” I felt I
could understand.会話テスト中、コントロールしたおかげ理解できたという感じだった。

Total responses, 1st & 2nd years, all majors. (N=165)
I thought the conversation test was fun. 会話テストは以外と楽しかった。 If you thought it was fun, what parts of it werefun?（楽しかったと思うなら、楽しかったところを具体的に教えて下さい。）
Total responses, 1st & 2nd years, all majors. (N=165)

308

Strongly agree

強く思

Agree

思う

No opinion

どちらかいえない

Disagree

思わない

Strongly disagree

全く思わないTeachable Communication Strategies, OnCUE Journal, 9(3), pages 287-309

As a result of taking this class, my confidence toward
English conversation improved. この授業を受けてから、英会話に対して自分に自信がついた。

Total responses, 1st & 2nd years, all majors (N=165)

0

2

26

85

52

NO

YES

124

41

I have already used “Control” in the real world, outside
the classroom. もうすでに「コントロール」を授業以外のところで使ったこと がある。 If yes, where? when? Did it work well?（もし使うことがあったら、どこ、いつだった？うまくいった？）

Total responses, 1st & 2nd years, all majors (Note:many “yes” answers were English majors) . (N=165)309