Perceptions of how English foreign language instructional strategies may enhance adult learners’ speaking skills

Abstract

This article reports a qualitative action research study regarding the influence of strategies that may be used in oral conversation to avoid communication breakdowns. After analyzing college students’ performance in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes, the problem was that many adult learners exhibited poor oral English communication skills, which negatively affected their exit examinations and opportunities to earn a degree. Grounded in sociocultural and cognitive load theories, the purpose of this study was to explore adult learners’ perceptions at a private university in Northern Colombia regarding the influence of compensation strategies on their English-speaking skills. A purposive sample of 20 intermediate-level students was taught how to use circumlocution, approximation, coining words, and self-repetition to preclude communication breakdown caused by knowledge gaps. Data collection instruments included journal entries and transcriptions from semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed using thematic analysis aided by MAXQDA. The analysis discovered that compensatory strategies supported the enhancement of students’ grammatical accuracy, fluency, and language learning motivation. Findings also showed that compensatory strategies did not influence the use of level appropriate vocabulary, and coining words was the least influential strategy. However, introducing the strategies helped reduce students’ affective filter and boost their speaking performance. As a pedagogical implication, teachers should facilitate the intentional integration of compensation strategies to scaffold adult learners’ confident and fluent communication.