Communication Strategies in English as a Lingua Franca Interaction

Author(s):  
Jagdish Kaur
2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Louise Brunner ◽  
Stefan Diemer ◽  
Selina Schmidt

The article discusses linguistic creativity in informal Skype conversations between university students from eight different European countries. The basis for the study is the Corpus of Academic Spoken English (CASE), a corpus of Skype conversations in an English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) context. With the help of qualitative examples, the article examines innovative language use and proposes a taxonomy for functionally accepted innovations, distinguishing instances of L1 influence, approximations and ad hoc innovation. Our findings point towards an assertive and creative perspective on language use, which seems to have a positive influence on the communicative setting, e.g. illustrated by code-switching in combination with laughter. CASE participants use non-standard forms and innovations freely, accommodating to each others’ language use. They also establish their own ephemeral communication strategies and showcase and emphasize their respective language and cultural backgrounds.


2018 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 80-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoko Taguchi ◽  
Noriko Ishihara

ABSTRACTIn step with advancing globalization, applied linguists are compelled to reconsider established assumptions about language use and learning (Kramsch, 2014). Focusing on English as a lingua franca (ELF), this article illustrates how realities of globalization have challenged our conventional ways of researching and teaching second language (L2) pragmatics. In the context of ELF where English is used as a medium of communication among nonnative speakers as well as between native and nonnative speakers, researchers need to examine pragmatic competence based on how L2 learners can navigate communicative demands by using communication strategies skillfully while negotiating their identities. At the same time, it is tenable for teachers to move away from the sole dependence on idealized native-speaker models of appropriateness, politeness, and formality in their pedagogical practice and instead incorporate a nonessentialist viewpoint into formal instruction. This article discusses these recent trends in researching and teaching pragmatics under the lingua franca framework.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Danni Xia

Since English is now used as a Lingua Franca (ELF), it is important to explore how English learners may be trained to employ multiple Communication Strategies (CSs) to achieve mutual understanding, particularly in ELF contexts. This study explores which CSs were taught in recent years in China and how the teaching content is presented in domestic textbooks from an ELF perspective. Ten college English textbooks that were published in the past five years (2014–2019) were selected and evaluated based on an adapted framework of CSs. The findings revealed a notable inclination toward certain types of macro-strategies and were not systematically mapped out. Moreover, an initial effort in manifesting “cultural diversity” was observed but failed to construct intercultural contexts. Knowledge explanation as well as student-oriented exercises were found to be conducive in consolidating learners’ acquisition of forms. However, the function and context of the target CSs were neglected. Furthermore, an absence of sociocultural pragmatic concern resulted in a discrepancy between explicit knowledge explanation and context-based practice. Accordingly, this study suggests implications for both textbook writers and instructors in practice.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Kennedy

AbstractIn this study, the communication strategy use of two pairs of English as a lingua franca (ELF) users was explored in relation to two contextual factors, the communicative goal and the ELF users’ thoughts and feelings about the interactions. The ELF users were video-recorded engaging in researcher-designed tasks which required sharing information to achieve a joint goal. Subsequent stimulated recall with individual speakers targeted instances of potential or actual difficulties in understanding. Recordings and transcripts of the paired tasks and stimulated recall were used to identify communication strategies used to address difficulties in understanding. Results showed that overall, 11 different strategy types were seen across both pairs of speakers. However, the pair which achieved the shared goal showed a different pattern of strategy use and of interaction than the pair which did not achieve the shared goal. The two pairs also differed in how they attributed responsibility for successful communication. These findings, discussed in the context of previous ELF communication strategy research, highlight benefits of investigating interlocutors’ contemporaneous thoughts and feelings and the ways in which communication strategies are used during interactions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-166
Author(s):  
Tünde Nagy

Abstract The analysis of English as a lingua franca (ELF) has received considerable attention over the years. There has been a lot of research done both on the morpho-syntactic properties of ELF interactions and the communication strategies used by ELF speakers in order to facilitate communication and avoid misunderstandings. Given the fairly large number of findings, the question arises whether ELF should be introduced in the curriculum or replace EFL (English as a Foreign Language). I believe that although ELF data are significant and can benefit teaching English as a foreign language, they cannot replace EFL, especially because English as a lingua franca is primarily a communication tool and not a language variant. Also, while there have been other models suggested as alternatives to teaching a standard version of English, none of these models seem practical enough or have proven applicable in the classroom. After giving an overview of the research done on English as a lingua franca, with a special emphasis on the notion of lingua franca core, the study reflects on the repercussions of ELF findings on teaching English as a foreign language.


Neofilolog ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 237-257
Author(s):  
Magdalena Steciąg ◽  
Urszula Majdańska-Wachowicz

The present study aims to investigate the use of Polish and Czech as a lingua receptiva (LaRa) in comparison with English as a lingua franca (ELF) between Polish and Czech students when making semi-spontaneous dialogues. With this aim in mind, the notion of intelligibility together with communication strategies (CSs) and intercultural communicative competence (ICC) are discussed. The study is inspired by Bulatović’s et al. (2019) who investigated the effectiveness of LaRa and ELF between Croatians and Slovenes. The study investigated listening skills and showed that the mean of intelligibility was high irrespective of the mode. The study in question aims to expand prior research with reference to spoken interactions between Polish and Czech speakers. In particular, it examines the role of communication strategies and intercultural communicative competence in achieving intelligibility in two multilingual modes. The results of the study show that the level of intelligibility is high irrespective of the mode. In LaRa and ELF sessions intelligibility and negotiation strategies are determined by careful language choices, certain communication strategies, and intercultural communicative competence (intercultural attitude towards the partner and modes of communication).


2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Wang ◽  
Jennifer Jenkins

AbstractThis paper investigates the impacts of intercultural experience through English as a lingua franca (ELF) on language attitudes, with the focus on Chinese Speakers’ narratives of ELF experience in relation to their views of Englishes. The data retrieved through 769 questionnaires and 35 interviews with Chinese users of English revealed the impacts in four aspects. First, the lack of ELF experience helps to maintain the assumption that conformity to native English is necessary for interactants to understand each other. Second, ELF experience triggers the question about the exclusive connection between nativeness and intelligibility. Third, it raises challenges to the exclusive relevance of native English for successful intercultural communication. Fourth, it helps to develop an awareness of intercultural communication strategies as important for communicative effectiveness in the context of the diversity of English. Attitudes revealed in the four aspects all point to a concern with the issue what is intelligible English. This paper thus discusses intelligibility in relation to (non-) nativeness and the role of intercultural experience in making sense of the issue of intelligibility, which leads to the exploration of pedagogical implications of this study.


RELC Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Vettorel

The complex and varied sociolinguistic reality of World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) has important implications for English Language Teaching (ELT). Besides questioning the validity of the ‘native speaker model’, the complexity of Global Englishes raises several issues, both at a theoretical and at an applied level, particularly for teaching. A plurilithic rather than a monolithic (monolingual/monocultural) perspective is called for, one that can make learners aware of the different roles, contexts, linguistic and functional varieties of English, so that they can be prepared to effectively interact with speakers of different Englishes and in English as a Lingua Franca contexts. Communication strategies have been shown to have a particularly significant role in English as a Lingua Franca communication, that is characterized by negotiation and co-construction of meaning; in these encounters, where different linguacultures meet, ELF speakers employ a range of pragmatic strategies to solve, or pre-empt, (potential) non-understandings often drawing on their plurilingual repertoires, too. Communication strategies can thus be said to play a fundamental role in effective communication, particularly in contexts where English is used as an international Lingua Franca. In this light, it would seem important for ELT materials to include activities aimed at raising awareness and promoting practice of communication strategies, so that they can become an integral part of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom practices towards the development of communicative ‘capability’. This article will illustrate a study investigating whether ELT materials addressed at Italian upper secondary school students include activities and tasks related to communication strategies. The examination of textbooks published by Italian and international publishers from the 1990s to 2015 shows that, apart from a few interesting cases, consistent attention has not been given to this important area. Implications for further research on the inclusion of communication strategies in ELT will also be set forward.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruoyan Cui

English is now widely used as a lingua franca in international communication. Communication is a collaboration of all its participants. Although mutual understanding is commonly assumed during interaction, miscommunication is inevitable. ELF communication, with its interactants from diversified lingua-cultural backgrounds, is assumed to be susceptible to communication breakdowns. To verify this assumption, some empirical studies on ELF miscommunication are reviewed. It is found that miscommunication is infrequent in ELF communication and ELF interactants proactively employ communication strategies to preempt and repair understanding problems to ensure mutual understanding.


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