On the Teachability of Communication Strategies

Because a significant proportion of real-life L2 communication is problematic, L2 learners might benefit from instruction on how to cope with performance problems. Such instruction could include the specific teaching of ’ communication strategies, which involve various verbal and nonverbal means of dealing with difficulties and break-downs that occur in everyday communication. Opinions on the teach-ability of such strategies, however, vary widely, and several research-ers have questioned the validity of strategy training. This article first describes what communication strategies are and provides an overview of the teachability issue, discussing the arguments for and against strategy instruction, and suggests three possible reasons for the existing controversy. After this the results of a study aimed at obtaining empirical data on the educational potential of strategy training are presented. The findings point to the possibility of devel-oping the quality and quantity of learners ’ use of at least some com-munication strategies through focused instruction. I n the 1970s, four studies prepared the ground for the study ofcommunication strategies (CSs), a new area of research within ap-plied linguistics: Selinker’s (1972) classic article on interlanguage intro-duced the notion of strategies of L2 communication. Váradi (1973, but published in 1980) and Tarone (1977; also Tarone, Cohen, Dumas, 1976) elaborated on Selinker’s notion by providing a systematic analysis of CSs, introducing many of the categories and terms used in subsequent CS research. Savignon (1972) reported on a pioneering language teaching experiment involving a communicative approach, which, for the first time, included student training in CSs (or, as she termed them, coping strategies). Since these early studies, much research has been done to identify and classify CSs (for reviews, see Bialystok, 1990; Cook, 1993; Poulisse, 1987); however, far less attention has been paid to the question of whether these strategies could be integrated