The Influence of Task‐ and Proficiency‐Related Factors on the Use of Compensatory Strategies: A Quantitative Analysis

Abstract

The study described in this paper was set up to investigate the effect of foreign language learners' proficiency level on compensatory strategies used by these learners to solve lexical problems. At the same time, the effect of task‐related factors on compensatory strategies was examined. The study involved three groups of Dutch learners of English at three different proficiency levels. The subjects were tested on three different tasks: a picture naming/description task, a story retell task, and an oral interview with a native speaker of English. It appeared that “proficiency level” is inversely related to the number of compensatory strategies used by the subjects: the most advanced subjects used fewer compensatory strategies than did the least proficient ones. Contrary to our expectations, however, the type of compensatory strategy chosen by the subjects was not to any large extent related to their proficiency level. Rather, the data indicate that task‐related factors play a large role in this respect. Whereas the subjects predominantly used analytic strategies in the picture naming/description task, they frequently resorted to holistic strategies and transfer strategies in the story retell task and the oral interview. To explain these differences it is suggested that in selecting compensatory strategies the subjects observed general conversational principles.

Communication Strategy Use and Proficiency Level of ESL Learners

“…Studies of actual strategy use have produced opposite results, that is, learners with better proficiency used fewer strategies to convey information (Bialystok & Frohlich, 1980;Labarca & Khanji, 1986;Liskin-Gasparro, 1996;Poulisse & Schils 1989;Ting & Phan, 2008). So far, findings from studies using reported and actual strategy use have concurred on the tendency of less proficient learners to use less effective communication strategies…”

Tipos de tarefas e estratégias de comunicação: investigando a validade de narrativas baseadas em tópicos e em figuras

“…Apesar de muitos estudos terem examinado os efeitos de várias tarefas e do uso de EC na produção oral (POULISSE & SCHILS, 1989;CHEN, 1990;PARIBAKHT, 1985;YARMOHAMMADI & SEIF, 1992;VARADI, 1983;TARONE, 1980;FAERCH & KASPER, 1983;DÖRNYEI & KORMOS, 1998;FOSTER & SKEHAN, 1996;SKEHAN & FOSTER, 1999), parece ainda haver dúvida se o uso de tarefas específicas desencadeia ou proporciona o uso de determinadas EC. Além disso, há ainda a necessidade de se avaliar a competência estratégica dos aprendizes de língua estrangeira em diferentes eventos comunicativos (FAERCH & KASPER, 1983).…”

“…Ao fazer isso, ele precisa replanejar sua fala e selecionar os itens lexicais adequados para transmissão da mensagem oral pretendida. No exemplo a seguir, produzido por um dos participantes desta pesquisa, podemos verificar que tais processos cognitivos (reconceitualização, replanejamento, seleção lexical) estão envolvidos na reestruturação da mensagem que o falante queria comunicar: I: I started to:… when I finished my law school I only start to study English and Portuguese No tocante aos estudos empíricos, a maioria das pesquisas sobre EC tem se concentrado em estudar (1) a influência dos diferentes tipos de tarefas e níveis de proficiência no uso de EC (POULISSE & SCHILS, 1989;CHEN, 1990;PARIBAKHT, 1985, e YARMOHAMMADI & SEIF, 1992, (2) o uso de EC em sala de aula (FLYMAN, 1997;RODRIGUES, 1999), e (3) o ensino das EC aos falantes de língua estrangeira (treinamento estratégico) (MANCHÓN, 2000).…”

Untitled

“…Studies of actual strategy use have produced opposite results, that is, learners with better proficiency used fewer strategies to convey information (Bialystok & Frohlich, 1980;Labarca & Khanji, 1986;Liskin-Gasparro, 1996;Poulisse & Schils 1989;. So far, findings from studies using reported and actual strategy use have concurred on the tendency of less proficient learners to use less effective communication strategies…”