Contents
Speaking Strategies to Overcome Communication Difficulties in the Target Language Situation
Submitted as part of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts in Applied LinguisticsVICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON
1998
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to Dr John Read for all his invaluable guidance as supervisor. I am especially thankful to all the participants without whose enthusiastic cooperation this study could not have been completed. Many thanks are also owed to my fellow students particularly Na Xingwei, Yuki Morioka, Gay Wall and Sophia Kovachevich for all their friendly assistance during this research project. Sabira Yasmin, my wife and my son Rafid Adnan Khan being far away, deserve lots of heartfelt thanks for their remarkable patience and untiring moral support. My parents Suraiya Akter Khan and Hafiz Uddin Khan to whom I am greatly indebted for their blessings. Finally, I am very grateful to my friends and relatives who encouraged me enormously.
Harunur Rashid Khan
SUMMARY OF THE REPORT
This is a research project carried out with 20 Bangladeshi subjects living in Wellington. The study investigated speaking strategies used in different social and work related situations to tackle communication problems. The data gathered from the questionnaires (n=20) and the follow up interview (n=4) show that these participants do face some difficulties while speaking to the native speakers of English (NSE) and everybody uses some common strategies in communication to cope with the target language situation.
As identified by the respondents, the most difficult areas in speaking are pronunciation (of accent and stress), phrase and idioms, communicative sentence structures, slang and many other colloquial expressions. The common strategies used by them to overcome these difficulties are paraphrasing, approximation, circumlocution, repetition, asking for clarification, checking comprehension, gestures, filler words and some other non-linguistic hesitation devices. They also acknowledge that sometimes certain psychological and cultural factors restrict the possibility of having more communicative interaction in the target language.
Apart from pedagogical importance, these participants put forward some novel recommendations to improve communication skills informally which were claimed to be very useful in their practical life situations such as speaking to the NSE and children (who are learning English naturally) as much as possible, reading simplified fictions, magazines and children's books, listening to the sports commentaries and incidental talks between the NSE in public places and so on.
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
The communicative approach to language learning fosters the use of appropriate, positive learning strategies. Nowadays communicative language teaching and learning have become a salient feature in ESL contexts across many countries. And the adult learners, especially in the target language situation directly benefit from the use of communicative skills. Many theoretical and research studies in second language learning strongly suggest that good language learners employ a variety of strategies to improve their communicative ability. From the practical perspectives speaking strategies are one of the most important aspects in dealing with communication skills, particularly in second or foreign language situation, as they enhance learners' confidence and fluency. "The communicative approach implicitly encourages learners to take greater responsibility for their own learning and to use a wide range of language learning strategies" (Oxford, 1989: 29).
This paper aims at surveying some features of speaking strategies in coping with communication difficulties in the target language situation. For my subjects, I chose some Bangladeshi people living in Wellington, New Zealand (NZ). Bangladeshi people are relatively recent immigrants here and most of them came under the General Skill category. Their previous professions include doctor, engineer, teacher, government employee, agricultural scientist, housewife and some other business related jobs. Since they came here, they have been trying to fit into the job market and at the same time adjusting themselves in the target language situation as well. This project investigates how they are coping with the target language communication, and, specifically in speaking, what strategies they are employing when faced with some difficulties.
1.2 Purpose and rationale
Gaining good communicative skills is always considered one of the most important factors in settling down in a new society for the immigrants, especially in a monolingual country like New Zealand. In a recent study "some participants stated that if immigrants are not fluent in English before they arrive in New Zealand they face a real barrier when finding work and communicating with people in the wider community (Department of Internal Affairs, 1996, 2: 51). And here strategy use in communication can enhance language proficiency in many ways. Bialystok (1983: 117) states, Clearly, the effective use of appropriate strategies is an important aspect of communicating in an imperfectly learned language". Studies show highly proficient learners are more likely to use strategies in communication than less proficient learners. This strategy use in communication may vary in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, motivation, personality and nature of job. Many research studies emphasised on the strategy instruction and the conscious use of strategies in communication. However, I have not found any relevant research though I assume that a few such studies might have been carried out in dealing with speaking strategies to overcome communication problems for the adult migrant people.
Communication competence is one of the crucial issues in many countries for the learners from non English speaking backgrounds. On the other hand, strategies depend on the speaker's language knowledge and the linguistic competence of the interlocutor in the topic discourse (Corder, 1983: 15). Controversy still exists among the researchers as to what extent learning strategies and communicative strategies are different. However, from their elaborate discussions it is apparent that strategies in learning and communication are not radically different but rather complementary to each other.
Exploring the communication difficulties and strategy use within a particular community may shed some light on how they are coping with the communicative language situation. This study involves a small survey of 20 Bangladeshi people living in Wellington to identify their speaking difficulties and the strategies they use to overcome communication problems or to carry on communication.
1.3 Research questions
It is generally assumed that adult learners engaged in target language communication often have problems of various kinds and try hard to cope with them. Thus this investigation mainly addressed two research questions, as follows:
- What kind of speaking difficulties do the Bangladeshi people face in communication with the NSE?
- What kind of strategies do they adopt in tackling these difficulties or carrying on communication?
Apart from these two questions, it is expected that some additional issues may come out of this study, such as culture, gender, religious values and motivation factors in relation to strategy use in communication.
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
Over the last two decades a considerable number of theoretical and research studies have been carried out on strategies of language learning. In this regard Tarone (1977), Bialystok (1981, and 1990), Corder (1983), Varadi (1983), Faerch and Kasper (1983), O'Malley and Chamot (1990), Oxford (1989, 1990 and 1996) did numerous studies. However, quite a few studies have been done by researchers particularly on the strategies in communications and their applications. Among them Bialystok (1981), Huang and van Naerssen (1987); Corrales and Cole (1989), and Ross (1991), Dornyei (1995), and Dadour and Robbins (1996) are worth mentioning. Some studies have also dealt with diverse backgrounds of learners such as, Arabic, Chinese, Hispanic, Japanese, Nepalese, Nigerian, Thai and Vietnamese (see Bedell and Oxford, 1996). However, these were mostly carried out with students in institutional settings, highlighting the positive effects of strategy in communication whereas this present study aims at tracing the strategy use in practical life situations which is obviously wider in scope than the previous studies. This may also be considered an overview of current interactional level, difficulty areas and other related issues investigated with a specific group of a community where gender, age, education, profession and L2 proficiency level variables are presumably affecting factors in communication.
In New Zealand, empirical research on migrant language is still in its infancy but with the gradual increase of migrant people new studies of current interest are being undertaken. In recent times, several studies related to language maintenance and shift between L1 and L2 have been carried out from the sociolinguistic point of view (Daly 1990, Holmes and Harlow 1991, Smith 1994, Shameem 1995 and Starks 1997). The Bangladeshi community consists of very recent immigrants and it is not the peak time to look at their language maintenance and shift as the changes are probably not in an important trend. Like some studies above, here also most parents in this community strongly want their children to learn the community language which can blend a unique linguistic and cultural diversity. These studies as a whole provide good insights in carrying out the present one.
2.2 Considering the definitional concepts of communication strategy
Since speaking strategies are in most cases discussed under the broader domain of communication strategies, it is better to have a look at those issues in order to have a clear understanding of communicative strategies. It is also an attempt to look for an effective connection between communication strategies and speaking strategies. We can consider the first two definitions as quoted in Bialystok (1990: 3) which have been proposed for the communicative strategies of second language learners:
a systematic technique employed by a speaker to express his meaning when faced with some difficulty (Corder, 1977).a mutual attempt of two interlocutors to agree on a meaning in situation where requisite meaning structures are not shared (Tarone, 1980).Though there is no unanimous agreement on the definition of communication strategies yet, many researchers accept Corder's one as a working definition. According to Tarone (1983: 65) communicative strategies may be seen as attempts to bridge the gap between the linguistic knowledge of the target language interlocutor in real language communication situations and in which his definitional concept is also clearly reflected. Some other researchers (such as Faerch and Kasper 1983 and Poulisse, et. al., 1984) also designed several thoughtful definitions, but for this study the above two definitions seem to be the most relevant and to the point.
Among the researchers there are some different opinions about the relationship between learning and communication strategies. According to O'Malley and Chamot (1990), communicative strategies (for example, changing the topic, using gestures or asking for help) are used to achieve communicative goals whereas learning strategies are meant for learning. On the other hand, Oxford (1990) argues that communication strategies result in speaker's staying in the conversation and thus provide the opportunity for further learning as well as further communication. Corrales and Call (1989) consider that communication strategies make up for missing knowledge.
As Dadour and Robbins (1996: 158) observed, "communication strategies, .... thus could be considered as overlapping somewhat with learning strategies". Despite some debates among the researchers on the definition of communication strategies, the basic points are very obvious for example, the speaker's difficulties, and steps taken to carry on communication. As long as speakers stay in conversation and face problems, they try to apply strategies since these efforts provide them with a sense of security in communication. So, strategies may be considered as the technical tools of dealing with trouble spots in communication. From the overall discussion, this kind of understanding can easily be formed in carrying out this study.
2.3 Strategy application
Dornyei and Thurrell (1994: 44-45, appendix 9) chose some major strategies that are often used in conversation. Here, one might find an overall similarity with Tarone's (1977) categorisation of conscious communication strategies. It appears to be difficult to adopt any particular taxonomy on strategies done by any researcher, yet Dornyei and Thurrell's (ibid) one which is basically a list of strategies along with their typical set expressions, can serve the purpose of the present study in many ways. The other one by Dornyei (1995:58) can also be considered a revised version of the previous one done by Dornyei and Thurrell (ibid). It is stated (Dornyei, 1995: 57), "I have collected a list and descriptions of the CSs I consider most common and important in this core group, based on Varadi (1973), Tarone (1977), Faerch and Kasper (1983) and Bialystok (1990)."
In the use of communicative strategies there are specific characteristics at different developmental stages of the learners' interlanguage. As Paribakht (1985: 141) states, "the learners seem to abandon or adopt certain communicative strategies and also alter their proportional use of certain strategies as they approach the target language. Learners' behaviour in terms of strategy use seems, therefore, to be transitional and dynamic". He further says strategic competence seems to develop in the speaker L1 and it is also transferable to L2. In a recent study of the South African context it was found that proficiency and strategy use are strongly related (Dreyer and Oxford, 1996). It is also generally accepted that communicative strategies are not unique to L2 speakers because communication problems are tackled in L1 communication as well (see Bongaerts and Poulisse, 1989). It is also a fact, as Corder (1983) points out that all speakers use strategies but they are simply more apparent in non-native speakers. And some speakers are simply unaware of the strategies they use.
2.4 Communication in the target language situation
One of the major factors that the migrant people face while settling down in a new country is lack of communication skills. New immigrants often cannot join the work force immediately and so language remains a hurdle to them. Sometimes their previous language knowledge may help communication to some extent but they have to learn how to use this effectively in real-life situation. As long as they make progress in communication, adjustment to the new society and environment becomes easier. As some researchers state Language is a key form of communication. Therefore, language learning means learning to communicate ie., learning to use the language appropriately for the communication of meaning in social contexts (Oxford, Lavin and Crookall, 1989).
In their own countries learners learn English in school but they have less opportunity to use that language. Their whole learning system is greatly marked by constraints caused by culture, and also lack of institutional supports. Thus language learning remains imperfect when it is concerned with the practice in real communication. Clyne (1982: 114) reminds us of another important point which may lead to communication breakdown in the target language situation saying "even among migrants with a high proficiency in English, rules for communicating intentions and for structuring discourse, eg. in essays, letters and meetings are largely determined by cultural background and especially country of schooling".
However, in the target language situation learning may go simultaneously with communicative practice in real life or vice versa. Brown and Yule (1983), Bryne (1986), Huang and van Naerssen (1987), Scarcella and Oxford (1992) Dornyei and Thurrell (1994), and Dornyei (1995) suggest various ways of helping learners achieve oral communications skills and how to motivate them as they improve their speaking ability at different stages. It might help learners of diverse backgrounds achieve more proficiency in communicative language ability despite other constraints and variables.
2.5 Strategies in speaking
Speaking as a productive language skill is considered to be a creative and complex process. In many countries where English is taught mainly as an academic subject, this skill is often neglected which could provide the primary foundation for practical communication. Since all learners use strategies in communication regardless of their being native or non-native, their frequency of interactive language use will account for the proficiency level. Though speakers may adopt strategies while facing some difficulties, conscious knowledge of strategies help more tackle communication problems. Oxford (1990) mentions six categories of learning strategies (such as memory, cognitive, compensation, metacognitive, affective and social) and all these can influence learners speaking skill development as they do in the other 3 skills. Therefore, it appears that learning strategies and communication strategies contribute to each other and speaking strategies directly fall within the communication strategies.
2.6 Follow up discussion
Strategies are the often conscious steps or behaviours by language learners to enhance the acquisition, storage, retention, recall and use of new information. It can generally be assumed that adult learners most often engage in the conscious process of learning. Experiencing some difficulties in the target language situation is also common to adult learners. Several research studies show that successful learners tend to use more strategies in communication. There are other factors which are more or less responsible for the degree of strategy use in real life communication such as motivation, ethnicity, age, gender and cultural background. Moreover, as many adult learners are inhibited, language phobic or inexperienced with language learning, strategy use in communication can retard their competence.
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
This part explains how the questionnaires were developed, how the respondents were selected, how the information and consent letters were prepared. It also includes, piloting the test, profile of the respondents and the interviewees, and administering the survey.
3.2 Developing the questionnaires
A questionnaire was developed in two parts. The first part (appendix 3) involves 10 questions relating to the respondents' background information and the second part (appendix 4) has 15 questions based mostly on difficulties and strategies in communication. To respond to the questions (other than yes/no type), the respondents are in most cases required to choose one answer out of three, four or five choices. In a few questions they may choose more than one answer if they think it appropriate. If no answer corresponds to their choice, they can specify their choice in other option. The content of the questions is mainly based on four sub categories such as, 'general pattern of interaction', 'nature of difficulties', 'type of strategies use, and 'social scope of interaction'. Each sub category includes three to five questions. In preparing these questions, I set some of them intuitively and in other cases I consulted with two of my fellow students for further improvement. In the questionnaire construction, I tried to follow some questions formats as set in Smith's (1994) recent survey with the Lao refugee community of Wellington. In the present questionnaire all of the items are either yes/no or multiple choice type questions as they seemed to be easier for the subjects to respond to.
Some questions were also set to be used in the following interview with 4 subjects. The questions for the interview were set in a way so that it could supplement the responses given in the questionnaire. The list contains 10 yes/no (appendix 6) and 10 open ended question (appendix 7). In addition, there are 5 role play tasks (appendix 8) particularly designed to elicit strategies which they tended to use in common situations. In both phases (for questionnaire and interview) the questions were revised, checked and consulted with the supervisor to make it a more reliable instrument for data collection.
3.3 Selecting the respondents
Bangladeshi people started coming to NZ in the last 10-15 years. Most of them came during the last five years and they came under the general skill migration category. According to the Statistical Department (Statistics NZ Census 1996: 27) 1,122 Bangladeshi people migrated to New Zeanland until recently. Most of them are living in the major cities; among them the majority live in Auckland. In Wellington there are about 14-16 families and 10-12 single people living now. According to the Association for Bangladeshi Community in Wellington there are 41 adult members (Voter List, 1997-98). It is possible that a few other people live in Wellington outside this list.
For this study I chose 20 adult people on the basis of their age, sex, previous profession and length of stay in NZ. As I also belong to the same community and share the same cultural and first language experience, I had easy access to them. There were a few people whom I did not include as subjects mainly because they have relatively long experience of working and living in NZ as well as a very good educational (home and overseas) background and probably would have hardly any communication difficulties. Similarly I have also excluded some members who are under 21 and studying in different secondary and tertiary institutions as they have native like communicative proficiency. However, the 20 subjects in this study can be considered as representatives of most households of the community in Wellington. Among these 20 people 7 members were females and most of the adult members had families. On the whole, they can be a good combination of people in respect of their age, gender, education and job.
3.4 Developing the information and consent letters
After a verbal invitation was given, a formal information letter (appendix 1) was prepared which described the topic and the main purpose of this study. It also clearly stated how the questionnaires and the interview would be carried out and as respondents what rights they would have. This information was followed by a 'consent letter for the questionnaire' (appendix 2) requiring the respondent's signature as a proof of willingness to take part in the research. Similarly, a separate 'consent letter for the interview' (appendix 5) was also prepared. The whole package of information, consent letters and questionnaires was in English, assuming that most of them already had a reasonably good reading knowledge and there would be no difficulty in their understanding the meaning.
3.5 Piloting the test
During the development of the question format I trialed the items with three subjects and also with two of my fellow students which helped me revise the questionnaire in a useful way. Three subjects (of different age and profession) participated in the trial and I searched for only practical difficulties they might have in filling out the questionnaire. Later I revised on the basis of their suggestions. Apart from this, I tried to avoid linguistic jargon in the questionnaire as the respondents might not be familiar with it. On the whole, attempts were made to keep the questions as simple as possible so that no confusion could arise.
3.6 Profile of the respondents
The members of the Bangladeshi community taking part in this study mostly had a tertiary education background and good job status in their home country. Some of them have done or are currently studying in different NZ institutions. In their previous education they had a great influence of English language as they used to depend mostly on English texts during their academic study. Though they were from a very culturally distinctive nation, they had a positive attitude towards the English culture or/and language. This was probably because they had been familiar with English language and culture as the country was a part of the former British colony (then it was undivided India) for nearly two centuries. Now, English as a second language has a very advantageous position in education, official and business communication in Bangladesh. However, Bengali (first language) is used as the main language for the overall communication in all spheres of life.
Culturally the Bangladeshi community is very integrated. Quite often they socialise on various occasions and visit each other's houses. Speaking in their first language (among adults), associating mostly within their own community are distinctive characteristics. Speaking a mixture of the target language and their mother tongue at home is particularly noticed when they interact with their school going children as speaking English naturally is becoming a dominant feature among the children of Bangladeshi parents. On the overall feature of this community, it appears that through their cultural integrity, they are more or less maintaining their own language and culture and at the same time they are also gaining proficiency in the target language situation. It would be interesting to look at the findings of language maintenance and shift among different community people as some studies have recently been done in Wellington (see Daly, 1990 and Holmes, et. al., 1993).
3.7 Profile of the interviewees
Four in-depth interviews were conducted in order to obtain more information mainly to support the responses found in the questionnaire. All these interviews took place at the interviewee's residence. They were given the list of points (appendix 7) to be discussed 15 minutes before we started our conversation. They also filled in a list of 10 yes/no type questions (appendix 6) at the beginning of the interview. This interview was tape-recorded in two parts. The first part consisted of open discussion on the 10 key points (appendix 7) using mostly L1 and in the second part there were 5 role play situations (appendix 8) in English. Here the interviewer acted as the conversation partner in the role play sessions. Each interview took about 30-40 minutes on average.
Interviewee A
This subject is a single male in his early 30's. Professionally he is a doctor and is preparing to enter the medical profession in New Zealand. He has already spent 2 years living in NZ and met many NSE as a young man with an outgoing nature. He takes keen interest in various matters of communicative English and tries his best to practise it. The place he lives in is a good place of interaction with many multi-cultural people which according to him, helped build mutual tolerance and language adjustment. Though he did not attend any language proficiency course, he is coping well in various situations of communicative language use. He is also very much aware about the high standard of language ability in his professional requirements in New Zealand.
Interviewee B
This subject belongs to the same age group, is a male and is married with a school going child. He spent several years in government service before coming to NZ. He has already spent more than 2 years living in NZ mostly undertaking some academic study. He attended a language proficiency course and thought this helped him in dealing with communicative difficulties in many ways. As a member of a family, he likes to have opportunity of meeting some NSE and thus he finds it very useful in language improvement. He agreed that conscious knowledge of strategy use could improve one's communication ability. He knows very well that this is one of the most important key factors particularly in terms of getting a job.
Interviewee C
This subject was the only female interviewee. She is in her early 40's and spent many years in a teaching job in her home country. She has been here for more than 4 years, spending one year in professional study. She spent much time being involved in the community work and also looked for a job. As a mother of two school going children, she learnt many communicative expressions from them and found ways to use them in various ways at home and outside. Being a housewife, she thought there might be some limitations or less opportunities in interacting with the NSE outside home, however, learning from their own children could be a great alternative source in a homely environment with far less sense of inhibition and anxiety.
Interviewee D
This subject in his mid 40's spent more than 7 years living in New Zealand and gained considerable experience in different job situations as well as communicative language ability. His present job also provides him lots of opportunities to interact with NSE everyday and he has his own ways of using strategies in communication difficulties. Out of his long experience he has developed a good sense of cultural adaptability with many kinds of people and thus he found it very helpful to overcome communication problems whenever it occurred. He did not attend any language proficiency course however, his job situations create a lot of scope to improve his language ability.
3.8 Administering the survey
In questionnaire: I made visits to the subjects homes and got all the questionnaires filled out by them. They were all very cooperative and enthusiastic in taking time and responding to the questions. Most of them did not find any particular difficulties in filling out the questionnaires as they found the questions easy to understand and also to respond to as required by them. Only two female respondents faced some difficulties in understanding the questions and needed help during their response, probably because of their low reading proficiency. In that case I explained to them in L1 and then got it done. In other cases, there were a few questions asked by the respondents for example 'What is specialised education ?'(Q. 5, appendix 3), or, 'Can short and formulaic expressions be interaction?'. The time they took in filling out the questionnaires ranged between 10 and 25 minutes. During the time when the respondents were filling out the questionnaires, I kept important points in my note book such as what simple questions were asked and the amount of time taken in the questionnaire.
In interview: After analysing the data on the questionnaires I set some questions, and a few strategy based activities for the interview sessions. I chose only four subjects among those 20 who responded to the questionnaires. In selecting them, I applied various personal characteristics such as, a subject who had long time job experience dealing with variety of clients, a housewife with school going young children, a young married man who was doing post graduate study after attending an English proficiency course, and a doctor preparing for the New Zealand Registration Exam (NZREX). They were also the typical members of the community representing some of their fellow individuals in various ways and most importantly they expressed their interest and willingness to take part in the interview.
The interview was semi-structured. It involved oral report where interviewees reported their ideas and experience of the target language use. 10 yes/no and 10 open ended questions (appendix 6, and 7) were developed to elicit their detailed opinions. There were 5 role play tasks as well to identify what strategies they typically used. Some of the questions particularly in the 'yes/no' type were based on the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning or 'SILL' (Oxford, 1990: 294-296) though I did not use her measurement scale. These questions relate to 8 strategies recommended by Oxford (1990 50) and six groups of strategies (ibid: 18-21) such as memory, cognitive, compensation, metacognitive, affective and social strategies and each group involves one or more questions. The questions for open discussion were designed to make a linkage with the previous questionnaire and it also included few questions to gather information through their introspective and retrospective expressions. Basically these two series of questions aimed at covering information which was missing or inadequate in the questionnaires and in doing so, attempts were made to follow the strategy list provided by Dornyei and Thurrell (1994: 44-45, appendix 9).
The interviewees were given the questions (open ended and role play) beforehand so that they could have time to think. At first, the list of '10 yes/no' type questions was filled out and then open discussions followed by a role play tasks were carried out. During this time in most cases, L1 was used for conversation which appeared to be very natural. For the set tasks (role play session), they spoke in English and I acted as a role play partner. Each interview took about 30-40 minutes on average.
CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND ANALYSES OF THE SURVEY
4.1 Introduction
The responses I received on the basis of the questionnaire was divided into two parts. The first part included 10 questions (appendix 3) which accounted for the personal background and the next part with 15 questions (appendix 4) mostly covering difficulties and strategies in communication.
4.2 Results and analysis of the responses from the questionnaire
4.2.1 Analysis of background information
TABLE 1
Number
Sex
Age group
Marital status
School going children
B 1
M
41-45
m
yes
B 2
F
36-40
m
yes
B 3
M
41-45
m
yes
B 4
F
31-35
m
yes
B 5
M
36-40
m
yes
B 6
F
26-30
m
yes
B 7
M
41-45
m
yes
B 8
F
31-35
m
yes
B 9
M
41-45
m
yes
B 10
F
41-45
m
yes
B 11
M
31-35
m
no
B 12
M
26-30
s
n/a
B 13
M
31-35
s
n/a
B 14
M
31-35
s
n/a
B 15
M
31-35
s
n/a
B 16
M
26-30
s
n/a
B 17
F
21-25
m
no
B 18
M
31-35
m
no
B 19
M
26-30
s
n/a
B 20
F
26-30
m
yes
Table 1 shows the respondents' sex, age group, marital status, school going children, education from Bangladesh and overseas, period of living in NZ, previous job, study in NZ and their level of English. For the purpose of discussion, it was easier to present the responses in two parts on the basis of similarity in the questions.
Out of 20 participants 13 were males and 7 females. This represented the existing male-female ratio of this community living in Wellington. The age group ranged from 21-25 to 41-45. Out of which seven persons belonged to 31-35, five belonged to 26-30, the same number was in 41-45 group and only one person belonged to 21-25 group. So, the majority (7) belonged to 31-35 group in which there was a combination of male and female members. Among these respondents, 14 subjects were married and the rest 6 were single and out of 14 married subjects, 11 of them had school going children. Here, it was assumed that the parents with school going children (who were learning the target language naturally) had more opportunities to reduce the communicative difficulties using speaking strategies.
Table 2
Number
Sex
Age group
Marital status
School going children
B 1
M
41-45
m
yes
B 2
F
36-40
m
yes
B 3
M
41-45
m
yes
B 4
F
31-35
m
yes
B 5
M
36-40
m
yes
B 6
F
26-30
m
yes
B 7
M
41-45
m
yes
B 8
F
31-35
m
yes
B 9
M
41-45
m
yes
B 10
F
41-45
m
yes
B 11
M
31-35
m
no
B 12
M
26-30
s
n/a
B 13
M
31-35
s
n/a
B 14
M
31-35
s
n/a
B 15
M
31-35
s
n/a
B 16
M
26-30
s
n/a
B 17
F
21-25
m
no
B 18
M
31-35
m
no
B 19
M
26-30
s
n/a
B 20
F
26-30
m
yes
Table 2 shows most of the participants had tertiary education background from their home country. Among them 9 subjects had university degree of various disciplines, and 7 others had specialised education (5 graduate doctors, 1 agriculture graduate and 1 engineering graduate). So, it clearly shows that among all respondents 16 of them had tertiary education background and the other 4 finished their higher secondary ie college education. In the case of overseas education only 4 subjects studied, which might have a very little influence on the features of language ability of the whole community.
After coming to NZ most of them had done or were doing study (other than English course) such as teacher training, business computing, MEd, PhD and medical and health related study. This kind of current background might provide them some positive feedback in achieving more proficiency in communication. It is important to note that the people who took part for this study are mostly recent immigrants. Their period of living in NZ spanned from less than 2 years to 10 years. So, on the whole, most people (85%) have been living here for 0-3 years which was very significant in terms of their language adjustment and experience in communication.
The level of English as they rated themselves was also consistent with their background. It was interesting to note that the subjects who rated themselves higher than others have longer experience of overseas living and study. Here 2 persons rated their ability as excellent, 7 persons were very good, and the same number for good. Only 4 people rated their ability as limited. Nobody was of the lowest ability ie. very weak. On the whole, 80% of them had language ability at an average or higher level. It is relevant to mention that Bangladesh was for a long time (nearly 200 years) under the British colonial regime and subsequently English gained second language status in education. At present, from lower primary to higher secondary level English is taught in Bangladesh as one of the compulsory subjects. Moreover, tertiary education is mostly based on English medium texts. So, for these participants, long time familiarity with English might have strengthened their adjustment and ability in English. However, it cannot be claimed that the participants' self rating of language ability is equivalent to their communicative proficiency in the target language situation.
4.2.2 Analysis of difficulties and strategies
This part consisted of 15 (appendix 4) questions mostly dealing with difficulties and strategies in speaking. Respondents were asked to choose one answer (more than one answer for a few questions) from three to five choices. There were only 2 yes/no type questions. According to the nature of the questions, I categorised them in 4 parts and this appeared to be useful for discussion. The first part fell into 'general patterns of interaction with the NSE' and it involved 4 questions (1, 2, 3 and 8). Secondly, it was the 'nature of difficulties' and there were 3 questions here (4, 6 and 13). In the third phase there were three questions (10, 11 and 12) and they indicated the 'social scope of language use'. The final part is the 'types of strategy use' which included 5 questions (5, 7, 9, 14 and 15).
General patterns of interaction with the NSE
In this part, question 1 indicated 12 subjects interacted with NSE 'many times a day' followed by 4 of them did so 'at least once a day'. Only 3 respondents spoke to the NSE 'at least once a week' and same figure applies to 'less than once a week'. So, the highest frequency of interaction as 'many times a day,' (for 12 subjects) which might provide ample situations for using strategies in coping with difficulties in communication. If the first two figures are combined then, 80% response indicates that the interaction with the NSE occurred everyday, which is very significant in relation with difficulty and strategy use.
Question 2 described the places of usual interaction. There were five choices and some respondents chose more than one answer, which was very logical. In question 3, participants were supposed to choose one answer as to the frequency of interaction with the NSE whom they did not meet before. Here, 7 subjects said that they experienced interaction with the new NSE everyday and this probably happened because of the nature of their job. So, interacting with new people can create a situation for the speakers to encounter possible difficulties as well as to use variety of strategies. This also enhances speaker's confidence in communication. This response was followed by 6 persons who spoke 2-3 times a day which restricted the opportunities somewhat however, this might have provided them some experience of language use. Only 2 subjects spoke once a week followed by 5 subjects spoke less than once a week. This group of people were mostly housewives who stayed at home and so, the situation generally restricted their scope for more interaction and eventually had less difficulties in communication.
Nature of difficulty
In the next phase 'nature of difficulty' included 3 questions and here the first one (question 4 in the appendix 4) was about the kind of difficulties the respondents faced while communicating. This consisted of four choices but they were allowed to choose more answer if appropriate. 15 subjects chose pronunciation as the most difficult area in communication, ie three quarters of people faced this difficulty while communicating with the NSE. The next most difficult area was word or phrase to which 11 subjects responded. However, they faced less difficulty in structure (3 subjects) and 2 subjects identified other difficulties like colloquial expressions and slang. As non-native English speakers it is very usual to face pronunciation (mainly of stress and accent) and word/phrase (inadequate vocabulary) difficulty. All the respondents spent their prime period of English learning in their home country where it was learnt in an imperfect way and taught by non-native English teachers. Moreover, L1 proficiency might have affected or influenced their pronunciation style. Apart from this, their previous English learning was mostly confined to the academic study where they had limited experience of English conversation which restricted the development of adequate vocabulary knowledge in the target language situation. It is important to note that their previous English learning was predominantly based on the grammar-translation method and probably that is why they faced less troubles with basic structures of English.
The next question was about their experience of communication breakdown. Here 16 subjects did not experience any breakdown while communicating with the NSE. It is important, because this highly positive figure at least encouraged the subjects to keep themselves engaged in communication; otherwise they could feel demotivated towards the target language and its use. The subjects (4) who experienced some breakdown in communication were of low level language ability and had less interaction with the NSE.
The following question (Q. 13, appendix 4) was basically an extension of question 4. The main idea of setting this question was to look at the nature of difficulty from a different angle. The choices were arranged on a four point scale so that the level of difficulty could be rated for each part of the question. For accent, 7 subjects considered it very difficult and it was followed by 6 subjects who said it was difficult. Only 4 subjects marked it less difficult and 3 subjects termed it as not difficult. So, on the whole, accent caused most difficulties for majority of the respondents which might have probably made their interactional situation more problematic.
New Zealand slang was very difficult for 8 subjects and the same number of subjects said it was difficult followed by 3 subjects who rated it less difficult. Only 1 person considered it not difficult. However, for 80% of the respondents, slang was difficult or higher than that which might have hindered their communication to some extent. In the next item, speed of speaking, 6 subjects termed it very difficult followed by 5 subjects for whom it was difficult. The same number of subjects marked it as less difficult but only 1 subject said it was not difficult. Here, the majority of subjects thought speed of speaking was difficult or higher than that, which was one of the most important hurdles gaining fluency for the non-native speakers. In the other item phrase and idioms, 6 subjects mentioned it was very difficult and the same number of people considered it as difficult. 5 subjects marked it as less difficult and only 3 subjects said it was not difficult. It is also noticeable that 12 subjects considered phrase/idioms as difficult or very difficult which was consistent with their response in question 4 (appendix 4). In the other option no subject specified anything, which may indicate that the set choices covered their possible answers. So, on the whole, accent, slang, speed of speaking and phrase/idioms were difficult for the majority of the subjects which seem to be a detailed picture of specific difficult areas in speaking.
Type of strategies
Now, we can look at the responses found on the questions about 'type of strategies' which included 5 questions (Q. 5, 7, 9, 14 and 15). In question 5 the respondents put more than one choice. Here, 14 subjects reported that they asked the speaker to repeat in overcoming difficulties of speaking. 6 subjects said they asked the speaker to explain the message and then 10 of them used guessing. Finally 6 subjects said they liked to check their understanding to cope with the speaking difficulties. In the other option, only 1 person reported using facial expression. However, the most frequently used strategy was repetition, followed by guessing, which seem to be easier means to continue communication for these subjects. These two most frequently used strategies might be common with many other people as well.
Question 7 involved only two choices as to whether the respondents attended any English proficiency course after coming to NZ. The main reason for setting this question was that the formal language proficiency course might provide enough potential for conscious use of strategies in communication. However, the result indicates that only 7 respondents attended a language proficiency course and the rest of the subjects did not do any course. Among these people many had done or were doing different tertiary studies, which might have enhanced their language ability.
Question 9 was about what the respondents did when they came across and an unknown word/expression while speaking to NSE. There were 5 choices and the respondents were asked to choose more than one answer if appropriate. Here, 12 persons reported that they learnt the unknown word/expression by asking the NSE and 8 respondents said they tried to remember the word and find it in a dictionary later. The same number of subjects (8) tried to guess and only 1 person wanted to ignore it. In the other option, 3 subjects reported that they liked to ask other friends for the meaning. Here, most frequently used means was to ask the NSE about the unfamiliar words which can be a good strategy because this way the respondents are more likely to get the meaning in context which is more important particularly in the target language situation. Other frequently used ways were also considered to be useful depending on the situations in which the interaction took place.
The final part was 'social scope of language use,' in which there were 3 questions (10, 11 and 12). The responses to these questions indicated the social opportunities for an individual to communicate. In question 10, 14 respondents said they visited their own community members almost everyday. 3 subjects visited once or twice a week and only 1 person chose to visit once a month. Then 1 subject was for less than once a month and the same number of subject chose only on special occasions. Visiting other members of the community is very common feature, specially in overseas situations as they might feel more to share their experiences with others. Apparently, frequent visits indicate their mutual closeness as well, but it needs to be explained further. Here, most subjects either lived in a particular suburb (those who had families) or those who were single lived in a hostel where it was more likely to visit each other, otherwise, it would have been less. Visits within the same community do not provide much scope for interaction in the target language as they prefer to use L1, which seems to be very natural in that situation. However, in terms of sharing experiences and feelings with the other fellow members can provide good understanding and knowledge of communicative language use.
In the following question there is another indicator of the social scope of language use. Results show only 2 subjects belonged to a club outside their own community. Though the percentage was very low, for the recent immigrants one cannot expect a high level of involvement in clubs or other associations led by the local people. It also involves the question of culture and attitudes of the immigrants towards the new society. Even being positive to the mainstream culture, one might need enough time to be involved in multicultural activities and therefore, it may appear to be more cultural adjustment rather than language adjustment.
The last question provided additional information to the previous one. Here, only 4 subjects said that they visited the NSE at least once a week and 7 subjects did so at least once a month. However, nearly half of the subjects reported that they visited the NSE only on special occasions which shows consistency between belonging to other clubs and visiting NSE. This important feature may provide some social scope in interaction with the NSE as well as increasing mutual understanding, which is useful in reducing difficulties in communication.
4.3 Results and analysis of the interview
4.3.1 Analysis of yes/no questions
The objective of setting these questions in the interview was to follow up some of the responses in the previous questionnaire as well as to justify if they were consistent. Question 1 was about whether the interviewees used new words several times and this was basically an extension of a question 8 ( appendix 4) where 8 subjects claimed they came across new word everyday). The table shows, question 1 was supported by 2 subjects which had relevance to the previous response. When 15 people (Q. 4) identified pronunciation as the most frequently faced difficulty, here in question 2, all 4 respondents said that they practised unknown words several times as pronounced by the NSE. This indicates their good efforts to cope with the pronunciation difficulty but there might be limitations in pronouncing words properly as L1 influence and other imperfect learning factors play a negative role in the way they want to improve. On the other hand, despite all efforts, it is very unlikely to have native like pronunciation at this adult stage, yet, it can enhance their understanding enormously in recognising utterances made by the NSE. Then question 3 described if they always translated into L1 in the case of a new word and 3 subjects responded negatively. This implies that they wanted to rely mostly on the present context for meaning. In question 4, all agreed that they used guessing when they found unfamiliar words or phrases. This refers to the question 9 (appendix 4) where 8 people were in favour of guessing. This picture also shows a positive sign of guessing which involves more communicative expressions in variation. So, in both responses there was a consensus among a good number of people on guessing the meaning as it is one the most commonly used strategies among many other non native speakers. In the following question, 3 subjects responded that they used gestures while failing to remember a new word. In the other option (Q. 5, ibid), several subjects mentioned about gesture and here in the present question it has got a good support. However, gesture is considered to be a non-linguistic means of strategy which helps enormously to get on well with communication.
Question 6 was about any experience of leaving a conversation incomplete and 3 subjects answered negatively, which was consistent with the response of most respondents to a nearly same question (Q. 6, ibid). Communication breakdown or leaving conversation incomplete is more likely to occur in the case of low ability language learners. In the following question, 7 respondents said that they encouraged themselves even when they were afraid of making mistakes which was a positive sign of motivation in the target language situation. Question 8 was about the feeling tense or nervous while speaking in an informal situation and here all 4 respondents said negatively. This shows their good psychological temperament in communicative language use though in a formal situation they might feel somewhat nervous, which is an experience common to both native and non native speakers. Non native speakers often plan their speech before they utter it and here the response in question 9 had the affirmative answer made by 3 subjects. The last question reported that bilingual dictionary was used by 2 subjects which could be considered a moderately practised strategy in communication.
Follow up summary
On the whole, the information above shows there is no real inconsistency in the answers, as compared to the responses in the previous questionnaire. Moreover, some new questions (Q. 7, 8, 9 and 10) have yielded additional information in their psychological and habitual traits of strategy use which indicate their positive attitudes towards communicative language use.
4.3.2 Analysis of open ended questions
Most of the open ended questions (appendix 7) were somehow related to the responses of previous questions. These were mainly set to find more information in order to support the main areas of difficulties and mostly used strategies as identified by the subjects in the previous questionnaire. Here, a few other questions were also included to elicit some deeper knowledge of communicative language use. The following is the discussion after listening to the tape recorded conversation.
In the first three questions all interviewees narrated their experience. In reply to the question 1, interviewee A experienced one new phrase (magic name) recently which he could not figure out immediately. He took a few moments, was trying to relate to some clues and by this time the NSE, having realised his partner's situation, took the initiative and explained the contextual meaning. Interviewee B had a difficulty with a known word (what is your personality?) in a job interview. He then answered it in relation to the job context. The other interviewee C experienced a difficulty with pronunciation of a certain word (mascara) in a shop where she had to repeat it several times slowly and thus got the meaning across. The shop assistant could not recognise the word because it was not uttered with his familiar stress and accent. In the same question interviewee D had almost the same kind of difficulty with a taxi driver in which he had to pronounce his street and suburb's (Queen St, Mount Victoria) name repeatedly in a slow and distinct manner. In his statement, pronunciation or accent difficulty was very common while speaking to NSE and it was better to repeat clearly and slowly.
In question 2, about initial difficulty in a target language situation, interviewee A experienced it in an hotel while speaking to the manager where he requested the speaker to repeat slowly. Sometimes the NSE's usual speed of speaking creates a big difficulty in understanding as well as in responding appropriately. While on a city bus tour, interviewee B asked his copassenger about the next stop; realising the difficulty he had to repeat it in a fragmented way to get the message across. That is why he preferred to plan and organise somewhat before he spoke to NSE particularly those whom he had not met before. The next interviewee C had a difficulty with 'r' and 'th' sounds in certain words (learning, normal, car, healthy and wealthy) where she had to use repetition, synonyms and antonyms to make NSE understand. In his first experience, interviewee D had to repeat, ask for clarification and check his understanding several times, which gave him confidence to get on well with the NSE at the initial stage.
In question 3, interview A, being a doctor had no difficulty while consulting a doctor as he was well aware of the typical expressions and the medical terms. However, the other interviewees had different experiences in a range of situations. The interviewee B had a great difficulty in explaining muscle strain or itching problem in which he adopted the strategy of circumlocution and gesturing. Describing her child's worm problem in her intestines, interviewee C had to seek the help of a friend who was accompanying her. In another situation interviewee D, having failed to explain about a painful boil or cyst on his thigh, had to actually show it to the doctor. So, almost everybody experienced some difficulties because of the lack of adequate health and disease related vocabulary while speaking to NSE doctors and in those situations they used a variety of strategies.
In question 4, all interviewees agreed that they learnt many things from children which helped them recognise and use the expressions later. One of the interviewees said:
You know, these children are our little kiwi native speakers. So, we can learn so many things from them like lots of new words, appropriate expressions of certain things, many pronunciations with right accent and so on. And these are very useful to communicate later with others. (translated excerpt from interviewee C)According to interviewee A children also brought many colloquial words and many other cultural expressions which helped enhance overall understanding and reduce difficulties in the target language situation. He would like to consider them the ambassadors between the mainstream population and new immigrants. In the following question all the interviewees said that they used both L1 and L2 while speaking to the children. However, they preferred to use L1 so that children could learn to use L1 adequately. Interviewee D said that language preference might depend on the particular situation but in practice quite often it became code switching, which is also a common oral discourse feature among this community.
During discussion on question 6, most of the interviewees (3) said they preferred to ask the NSE to repeat or to speak slowly if they could not understand certain words or expressions. Interviewee D said that it was preferable to ask the NSE to explain the meaning. On the other hand, if it was not so urgent, he preferred to keep the word in his mind and, later on, searched for the meaning by consulting a dictionary or NSE friends. But in rare cases they ignored it. This response refers to the previous questionnaire (Q. 9, appendix 4) which is consistent with that answer. In the following question about the role of anxiety, hesitation and inhibition in L2 communication, all interviewees agreed that these psychological phenomena had a negative influence particularly more in formal situations. Sometimes it created more difficulties even before an utterance. Interviewee A mentioned some of these factors such as oversensitiveness, being preoccupied with bookish knowledge, avoiding directness in communication and being more concerned about one's own limitations and mistakes. Interviewee C stated that in formal situation the role of these elements was greater than in conversation with familiar persons. That is why interviewee D preferred to get something written before he spoke in a formal situation but in an informal situation as he said:
When I speak to NSE I don't care about right or wrong. I just want to keep the conversation running until it seems to be complete. Thinking too much about right or wrong you can never improve in communication (translated excerpt from interviewee D)Question 8 described the useful ways to deal with speaking difficulties and the interviewees made a number of suggestions. According to interviewee A, being curious about the variety of language uses, overhearing others' conversation particularly in public places like sports gallery, theatre, cinema, academic campus and shopping area were some non-traditional ways to learn communicative expressions. Interviewee B preferred to attend formal language course which could provide a genuine and effective basis for practising communication. Interviewee C preferred to interact with school going children, which could offer more effective ways and means in informal language learning and use as anxiety, hesitation and inhibition have far less role here if once one could become open and friendly with the children. Reading simplified fictions and children's books, advertisement papers and listening to the sports commentaries were also practical ways to cope with the communication difficulties as these sources could provide lots of useful vocabulary and their variety of uses in context.
As to the other difficult areas of speaking in question 9, interviewees mentioned a number of things such as frequent colloquial words, local accent, same word with different meanings, use of phrasal verbs in conversation, communicative sentence structure. Indistinct utterance among some NSE was one of the most difficult things though it might be common to some non native speakers as well. The last question in this open ended list was about general opinions and suggestions from the interviewees about speaking strategies in tackling communication difficulties. The following were their points:
* to have positive outlook about the language and culture
* to learn to use language more in work related situations
* to have more informal relationships with the NSE
* to make at least one NSE friend from whom you can learn most
* to follow other fluent speakers
* to interact with as many NSE as possible
* to be conscious about the literal and contextual meaning
* to emphasise on recognition of accent and stress in pronunciation
* not to be shy and nervous in conversation
* not to be oversensitive about the mistakes4.3.3 Analysis of role play situations
In this part 5 imaginary situations have been described in which the 4 interviewees role played with me for about 2-3 minutes. Special emphasis was given to the familiarity and practicality of the situations so that they would not face any problem. The main objective of setting this part was to identify the common uses of strategies during normal conversation. At this stage Dornyei and Thurrell's (1994: 44, appendix 9) conversation strategy list was followed.
Table 3
Situation
Interviewee A
Interviewee B
Interviewee C
Interviewee D
1. Talking to the driver for bus information
Paraphrase, repetition
Paraphrase, interpretive summary
Paraphrase, clarification, hesitation
Paraphrasing, restructuring, repetition, checking
2. Talking about a country game
Circumlocution, repetition,
fillers, restructuring
Circumlocution, elicitation, adjustment, approximation
Paraphrasing, circumlocution repetition
Comparison, adjustment, restructuring, paraphrasing
3. How home bread is prepared
Paraphrasing, approximation
Alternative word, gestures, paraphrasing, adjustment
Circumlocution, paraphrasing, restructuring
paraphrasing, fillers, code, switching, repetition
4. How to go to work: requesting a colleague
Paraphrasing, checking
Adjustment, checking, adjustment, paraphrasing
Paraphrasing
Repetition, paraphrasing
5. Describing 'halal' meat
Checking, repetition
Circumlocution,alternative word
Word coinage, repetition
Circumlocutio-n, fillers, restructuring
Table 3 shows that in situation 1 (appendix 8) interviewees all used paraphrasing. In addition, interviewee A used repetition to emphasise some points and interviewee B used interpretive summary by reformulating the driver's message. Interviewee C used clarification and also some hesitation devices through non-linguistic expressions. Interviewee D used paraphrasing and restructuring in his utterance and also asking for repetition. Finally he applied checking for his understanding.
D: Excuse me, I missed the last bus. I missed last 43 for few minutes late. Do you know ... can you please tell .... the other bus which can drop me in Newtown. Then I will walk home.
Driver: Yes, you can either take 23 or 11. 11 will be coming soon.
D: Sorry, which bus you said? ........
Driver: Number 11, the one goes to Seatoun. That will drop you in Newtown. Ok?
D: Ok, do you know what time will it .......?
Driver: 10.50, ten minutes later
D: So, 11 will come soon, ten minutes after? Right?
(Role play conversation with interviewee D)In the second situation, almost everybody used circumlocution probably because of the descriptive nature of the question. In addition, interviewee A used a lot of repetition of words and expressions and also many fillers (you know, so, then). He also restructured some sentences to convey the message properly. Interviewee B used elicitation for some appropriate phrases like, single breath, get hold of the player, ousted player. Several times he adjusted his message and also made comparisons for approximation. Interviewee C adopted paraphrasing, circumlocution and also many repetitions to emphasise the necessary points. Interviewee D used comparison to give contextual meaning. He used paraphrasing along with message adjustment and restructuring.
In situation 3, interviewees were supposed to describe the process of preparing homemade bread and here everybody adopted the strategy of paraphrasing. Interviewee A followed the strategy of approximation using the word roll for 'flatten' and he also used fillers. Interviewee B used an alternative word mixture for 'dough' along with message adjustment and some gestures. Interviewee C used circumlocution and several restructuring of her sentences. Interviewee D used repetitions, code switching (L1 words parota, and tawa for 'bread' and 'pan') at one stage and lots of fillers while describing the process.
In situation 4, interviewee A adopted paraphrasing and checking whether his request was passed on correctly, whereas interviewee B explained the situation through paraphrasing, adjustment and checking strategy along with some non-linguistic hesitation devices. Interviewee C used mainly paraphrasing and the last interviewee D also used paraphrasing along with repetition. However, all the interviewees used formulaic expressions that were actually needed in this phone conversation.
B: Hello, Michael.
M: Hello, Who is it?
B: This is B.
M: Oh, B, how are you?
B: Good, thanks, but Michael ..... it is a sad news for me .....
M: Why? What happened?
B: Because.... I've no nice rain coat, but it's raining heavy, cats and dog. So, how can I go, go my office this morning. Could you help me Michael?
M: Tell me, how can I help you?
B: Actually it's not very difficult, when you go to office, you can pick up me, Is that possible or not?
M: Oh, yes, definitely possible .......
(Role play conversation with interviewee B)In the last situation everybody gave a brief description in their own ways. Interviewee A adopted the checking and repetition strategy several times to ensure that his partner got it right. Circumlocution, alternative word kill for 'slaughter' and restructuring sentences were all used by the interviewee B. Interviewee C used word coinage eg. slaughted for 'slaughtered' along with repetition. Last interviewee D used circumlocution and many fillers while restructuring his message.
A: .......Oh, you don't know 'halal', You know, Muslim people, have you heard of Muslim people?.......
Shop Assist: Yes, I have....
A: Muslim people usually eat meat, say, goat, or chicken or beef. They first, you know, they sacrifice the animals in a religious way. Have you heard of it? Have you...?
(Role play conversation with interviewee A)
CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS
5.1 Summary of results
The information obtained on the basis of the questionnaires and the following interview reflected this community's features mainly on speaking strategies to overcome communication problems. The interpretation was made through qualitative approach to support their responses in various ways. Other than the strategies and difficulties, some additional information was found especially through in depth interview which made the interpretation more significant and consistent to a great extent. A few areas of speaking strategies and difficulties were explored outside the set choices in the questionnaires that have added novelty to this study. Useful ways to overcome communication difficulties that were recommended by the subjects are also invaluable in communicative language practice.
5.2 Some useful features of this study
Throughout the response from the questionnaire and the follow up interview of this study some distinctive new features have emerged as to the difficulties and the possible use of strategies in the target language communication. Recognising the difficulties and overcoming them can be very effective with the help of particular NSE friend. During phone conversation sometimes, it is better to jot down the necessary points for a good comprehension. Talking to the children is a great source of communication adjustment and strategy use as low amount of inhibition and anxiety work there. Reading children's books can play an effective role as they are written in a simplified way with much more useful vocabulary of the target language use. Another novel suggestion from one of the interviewees is that some advertisements and signpost messages can provide many useful ways to deal with the colloquial expressions in communication. Listening to the sports commentaries is probably very suitable for fairly advanced learners to cope with fluency in utterance as it was mentioned by another interviewee.
Most of the interviewees admitted that a great deal of anxiety, hesitation and inhibition played a negative role among those who are not relatively fluent in conversation. Apart from this, two interviewees reported that some NSE were not distinct in their utterance and that created a great difficulty for the non-native speakers. They also found some speakers who were not very cooperative or careful during the conversation with them which eventually caused some unexpected disappointment. It can happen from either side though not-native speakers suffer often in a new cultural context.
Gender, culture and motivation issues often have influential role in the language acquisition especially for the non-native speakers. The present study found some important features as additional information. Here, the general information obtained in communication difficulties and strategies was not enough to make a comparative analysis of the male female interactional pattern yet, it indicates that males are higher level in terms of education, English language ability, job, frequency of interaction with the NSE and this is also usual feature in this community. The other practical limitation is that all the females members were married and their spouses were also the participants in this study. Therefore, male and female members were not in a situation where some comparative study could be made. Culturally they are of a very rich tradition, heritage and L1 backgrounds and accordingly they have developed their values, norms of behaviour and overall outlook. Settling in a new society, one might find the issue of cultural adjustment more important rather than language adjustment. However, the results found in this study show that these subjects have high positive motivation towards the target language and its culture which can give a renewed impetus to their communicative language proficiency.
5.3 Limitations and further research
The result of this research is based on a small number of subjects. So, the information obtained here is inadequate and there is likely be less possibility to draw a strong recommendation from it. However, being a member of the same community, I had the advantage to recognise and identify the difficulties in communication that helped in interpreting them. It was also much easier to elicit a variety of information assuming their significance and relevance to the research questions of this study. Though the sample size restricted the scope of huge data gathering and broader discussion, the results and analyses presented here can be considered a general overview of this community's communicative language features. The interpretation of the results might have some practical constraints because of its descriptive nature. Considering all these limitations and constraints, further studies with a larger population can be carried out by more than one researchers in the same area to show more convincing results which might be useful for the curriculum developers and the language policy makers for the adult migrant English programs.
5.4 Pedagogical implications and conclusions
Many studies show that strategies of communication in teaching learning context can help learners improve their skills in the real life language use. The subjects in this study did not strongly recommend formal language courses for improving communicative skills though they did not ignore its value. The subjects who had already attended a course realised its importance. Therefore, consciousness focussed strategies seem to be important in the learning situation so that they can use these effectively in communication. Recent studies in many cross-cultural situations eg. Dadour and Robbins (1996) in Egypt and Japan, Yang (1996) in Taiwan and Flaitz and Feyten (1996) in Spanish and French language contexts found positive effect on the use of strategies in communication. This kind of strategy training through consciousness raising for communicative language use may help raise cultural awareness in recognising the strategies and their possibilities for communicative language practice.
In situations where language curriculum and course contents are to be designed for the non-native speaking background learners, strategies of communication can be taught for effective use in real life. This will improve learners' confidence in selecting and implementing appropriate strategies in communication. Dornyei and Thurrell (1994) and Dornyei (1995), Corder (1983) and Bialystok (1981) all strongly suggest the introduction of these strategies in a language teaching curriculum. Focusing on adult migrant learner styles and strategies in the Australian situation, Willing (1988) puts some recommendations particularly regarding language policy, program development, staff development and material development which appear to be very practical and worth introducing. He also states, "In any case, the development of learning strategies should be based on whatever resources the (adult) learner brings to the learning situation. Awareness of this existing foundation is of course as important to the learner as it is to the teacher (Willing, 1993: 92)". For teachers and curriculum developers it is equally important to identify those phenomena which are embedded in cultural, ethnic and religious beliefs as these elements might have great influence on the learning, pattern of interaction and its difficulties along with strategy use in the target language situation. The findings found here are mainly based on the practical experience of communication in real life situations and so, there might be many threads that need to be pulled together to make an authentic connection between the contents of language learning, teaching and practicing. Thus, the outcome of this study may benefit designing L2 proficiency programs for the multicultural immigrants, language tutoring for individuals and some other language education areas.
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APPENDICES
APPENDIX I INFORMATION LETTER
Dear ...
Thank you very much for your interest and willingness to take part in my research project. I will explain to you about this research.
This research is a part of my MA program in the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria University of Wellington. The topic I have chosen here is Speaking Strategies to Overcome Communication Difficulties in the Target Language Situation. I suppose, in your social and work related situations, you might have faced some difficulties in speaking English and also might have found ways to deal with them. In this research I will ask you about some of these problems and how you cope with them.
There have been a number of studies in speaking strategies of migrant people in different ethnic groups. However, to my knowledge, there has not been one done yet which deals with Bangladeshi migrant people living in different countries.
To carry out this research I need 20 Bangladeshi people who are living in Wellington. They will be asked to fill in the questionnaires. After receiving the completed questionnaires, I will invite four of those people to have an interview with me so that I can get a deeper knowledge of their speaking strategies. I will choose people who have interesting strategies and who are typical members of the community. This interview will be tape-recorded.
Along with this information I attach a 'Letter of consent' for you to read. If you agree to take part in this research, you will need to sign the letter with date. It is a part of university regulations that you formally agree and sign the consent letter before we start any kind of data collection.
Then I will ask you to fill in the questionnaires. By personal contact I would like to collect them. from you. For the interview session we can fix up a time and place at your convenience. In this regard I must make clear that you have the right to discontinue your role as a volunteer at any time you want without having to give any reasons. Your name will also be kept anonymous in the research.
Upon the completion of the research I can send you a summary of the findings if you wish. Should you have any questions regarding this research, do not hesitate to contact me. Thanking you,
Harunur Rashid Khan
7C St Kelburn, Wellington
Tel: 495 5233X8294, E-mail: HARUN@vuw.ac.nz
APPENDIX 2
Letter of Consent (for questionnaires)I ---------------------- hereby agree to participate as a volunteer in a research project undertaken by Harunur Rashid Khan as a part of his MA program in the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria University of Wellington. The nature of the research has been explained to me and I have understood this explanation clearly. I understand that the data obtained from me through questionnaires will be used only for this research project. I have the right to withdraw my role as a volunteer at any stage without explaining the reason. It is also my understanding that Harunur Rashid Khan and I are the only persons who have access to the collecting of data and that the collected data are to be destroyed upon the completion of this project.
I would like to get a summary of the report. Yes No
My signature ---------------
Date -------------
APPENDIX 3
Questionnaire background information(Please circle your chosen answer or write where necessary. If any question is not applicable to you, please write N/A)
1. Are you male or female?
a) male
b) female2. Which of the following age groups do you belong to?
a) 21-25
b) 26-30
c) 31-35
d) 36-40
e) 41-453. What is your marital status?
a) single
b) married
c) other (please specify)......4. Do you have any school (or any other level of institution) going child (ren)? Yes/No. If yes, what language usually does he/she or do they speak to you?
a) English
b) Bengali
c) other (please specify)....5. What highest education did you have from Bangladesh?
a) college education
b) university education
c) specialised education (please specify)........6. What occupation did you have in Bangladesh?
a) engineer
b) doctor
c) government employee
d) teacher
e) other (please specify)....7. How long have you been in New Zealand (NZ)? (in years)
a) less than 2
b) 2-3
c) 4-6
d) 7-10 e) more8. Have you done/Are you doing any study (not language course) in NZ? Yes/No. If yes, please specify.........9. Do you have any other education or work experience from overseas? Yes/No. If yes, from which country and what qualification/experience did you gain?
a) country.................
b) qualification/experience...................10. How would you rate your ability in speaking English?
a) excellent
b) very good
c) good
d) limited
e) very weak
APPENDIX 4
Questionnaire for difficulties and strategies in speaking(Please circle your chosen answer or write where necessary. You may choose more than one answer if appropriate.)
1. How often do you interact with native speakers of English (NSE)?
a) many times a day.
b) at least once a day.
c) at least once a week
d) less than once a week2. Where do you usually speak to NSE?
a) in the work place
b) in the shopping area
c) in the bus
d) on phone
e) in other places (please specify).......3. How often do you speak to NSE that you have never met before?
a) everyday
b) 2-3 times a week
c) once a week
d) less than once a week4. What kind of difficulties do you face in communicating?
a) pronunciation
b) word or phrase
c) structure
d) other (please specify)..........5. What do you do to overcome these difficulties?
a) ask the speaker to repeat
b) ask the speaker to explain
c) try to guess
d) check my understanding
e) other (please specify) .........6. Have you ever experienced any communication breakdown with NSE?
a) yes
b) no7. Have you attended any English proficiency course after coming to NZ?
a) yes
b) no8. How often do you come across unknown words/expression?
a) everyday
b) once or twice a week
c) less than once a week9. What do you do when you come across an unknown word/expression while speaking to NSE
a) learn it by asking NSE
b) find it in the dictionary later
c) try to guess
d) ignore it
e) other (please specify)...........10. Do you visit members of the Bangladeshi community? Yes/No. If yes, how often?
a) almost every day
b) once or twice a week
c) once a month
d) less than once a month
e) only on special occasions11. Do you belong to any club outside the Bangladeshi community?
a) yes
b) no12. Do you visit any NSE? Yes/No. If yes, how often?
a) at least once a week
b) at least once a month
c) only on special occasions13. What kind of difficulties do you have with each of the following points. Please tick.
very diffi- less not
diffi- cult diffi- diffi-
cult cult cult
a) accent ---- ---- ---- ----
b) kiwi slang ---- ---- ---- ----
c) speed of speaking ---- ---- ---- ----
d) phrases or idioms ---- ---- ---- ----
e) other (specify) ---- ---- ---- ----
14. How useful for you is each of the ways of overcoming difficulties? Please tick.
very use- less not
use- ful use- useful
ful ful at all
a) talking to NSE ---- ---- ---- ----
b) learning from a language course ---- ---- ----- ----
c) watching TV or listening to the radio ---- ---- ---- ----
d) reading newspapers ---- ---- ---- ----
e) other (specify) ---- ---- ---- ----
15. How often do you use each of these strategies? Please tick.
often some- rarely not
used times used used
used
a) repeat ----- ----- ----- -----
b) use alternative words ----- ----- ----- -----
c) give examples ----- ----- ----- -----
d) explain the message ----- ----- ----- -----
e) other (specify) ----- ----- ----- -----
Thank you very much for your cooperation.
Appendix 5
Letter of Consent (for interview)I--------------------------- hereby agree to participate as a volunteer in a research project undertaken by Harunur Rashid Khan as a part of his MA program in the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria University of Wellington. The nature of the research has been explained to me and I have understood this explanation clearly. I understand that the data obtained from me through interview will be used only for this research project. I have the right to withdraw my role as a volunteer at any stage without explaining the reason. It is also my understanding that Harunur Rashid Khan and I are the only persons who have access to the recording of data and that the recorded data are to be destroyed upon the completion of this project.
My signature-------------
Date------------
Appendix 6
Please circle the answer which you think appropriate.1. Do you use the new words/phrases several times? Yes/No
2. Do you practise the words/phrases several times as pronounced by the Native Speakers of English (NSE)? Yes/No
3. Do you always try to translate into first language whatever you find new in English? Yes/No
4. Do you make guess when you find unfamiliar words/phrases? Yes/No
5. When you can not think of a new word do you use gesture? Yes/No
6. Did you ever have to leave any conversation incomplete due to any speaking difficulty? Yes/No
7. Do you encourage yourself to speak in English even when you are afraid of making mistakes? Yes/No
8. Do you feel tense or nervous yourself when you are using English in informal situation? Yes/No
9. Do you plan and organise before you speak in English? Yes/No
10. Do you often use bilingual dictionary for new words? Yes/NoThank you very much for your cooperation.
Appendix 7
For discussion (tape recorded)1. What was the most recent difficulty you experienced while speaking to NSE and what did you do then?
2. What was your first difficulty you faced while speaking to NSE and what did you do then?
3. Did you meet any doctor here and find any difficulty in communicating and how did you overcome that?
4. Do you learn any expression from your children? If yes, how do you learn and use that? 5. What language do you mostly use while speaking to your child(ren)?
6. If you can not understand certain word/expression what do you do then?
7. What do you think about the role of anxiety, hesitation and inhibition while speaking to NSE?
8. What other ways do you think useful to overcome speaking difficulty?
9. Other than accent, slang, speed of speaking, and phrase/idioms do you find any other difficulties in speaking?
10. Can you discuss some other points you think important regarding speaking difficulties in communication and steps to overcome these?
Appendix 8
Role play situations (tape recorded)Can you please role play on the following situations (2-3 minutes)? Suppose, I am the NSE and you are talking to me.
1. Suppose, you have missed the last bus to return home. You want to ask the driver of the next bus whether there is any bus which can drop you somewhere close to your suburb so that you can walk some distance home.
2. 'Kabadi' or 'Ha-do-do' is one of the most popular country games in Bangladesh. How would you describe it to the NSE?
3. Suppose, You are talking to a NSE about breakfast habit. You want to tell him/her about how home made bread is prepared in your country.
4. Suppose, your work place is close to your house and so you always go by walking. Today it is raining heavily. You want to ask your colleague Michael on phone whether he would be able to pick you up on his way to office.
5. Suppose, you are looking for 'Halal' meat in the supermarket. But the shop assistant could not figure it out. How would you make him understand what it is?
Appendix 9
Conversational strategy(From Dornyei and Thurrell (1994) "Teaching conversational skills intensively course content and rationale". ELT Journal, 48 44-45)
Conversational strategies are an invaluable means of dealing with communication trouble spot, such as not knowing a particular word, or misunderstanding the other speaker. They can also enhance fluency and add to the efficiency of communication. Knowing such strategies is particularly useful for language learners, who frequently experience such difficulties in conversation, because they provide them with a sense of security in the language by allowing extra time and room to manoeuvre. Research in the past two decades has identified more than two dozen conversational strategies, the most important of which are the following:
- Message adjustment or avoidance: This involves tailoring your message to your competence, ie. saying what you can rather than what you want to, or nothing at all. It can be done either by slightly altering or reducing the message, by going off the point, or even by avoiding the message completely. While this last only to be used in extremis, the ability to evade answers when in trouble or to steer the conversation away from a topic to a new subject may considerably add to the learner's communicative confidence in general.
- Paraphrase: Describing or exemplifying the object or action whose name you don't know useful routines are structures like something you can ..... with, a kind of ..... etc.
- Approximation: This means using an alternative term which expresses the meaning of the target word as closely as possible, eg. ship for a sailing boat, vegetable for turnip, or buses for public transport. A special type of approximation is the use of 'all-purpose words', such as stuff, thing, thingie, thingummajig, what do you call it, etc.
- Appeal for a help: Eliciting the word you are looking for from your communication partner by asking questions like what's the word for ...... ? or what do you call ..... ?
- Asking for repetition: When you have not heard or understood something, eg. Pardon? or Sorry, what was the last word?
- Asking for clarification: When something is not clear, eg. What do you mean?, What are you saying/trying to say?
- Interpretive summary: This means reformulating the speaker's message to check that you understood correctly. Typical sentence beginnings are You mean .....?, If I have understood correctly .... or So, are you saying that ....?
- Checking: Whether the other person has understood what you have said eg. OK?, Is that clear?, or Are you with me?; or whether the other person is paying attention to what you are saying eg. Are you listening?, Did you hear what I said?, or over the phone Are you (still) there?
- Use of fillers/hesitation devices: to fill pauses, to stall, and to gain time to think when in difficulty; eg. Well, Now let me see, or The thing is, etc. Excessive and inappropriate use of fillers can be considered 'bad' for native speakers and language learners alike, but in times of need, hesitation devices can be an invaluable aid to communication.
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