A survey on strategies for coping with face to face oral communication problems employed by the first and second year english majored students at hong duc university

HONG DUC UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES GRADUATION THESIS A SURVEY ON STRATEGIES FOR COPING WITH FACE ORAL COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS EMPLOYED FACE-TO-BY THE FIRST AND SECOND YEAR

HONG DUC UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

GRADUATION THESIS

A SURVEY ON STRATEGIES FOR COPING WITH FACE ORAL COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS EMPLOYED

FACE-TO-BY THE FIRST AND SECOND YEAR ENGLISH MAJORED

STUDENTS AT HONG DUC UNIVERSITY

Supervisor : Du Thi Mai, M.A

Student : Cu Khanh Linh Class : K20B – FFL – HDU Course : 2017 – 2021

THANH HOA - MAY 2021

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My most sincere thanks to my thesis advisor, supporter Ms Du Thi Mai, for her devotion, patience, invaluable support, helpful guidance and effort to respond to my job promptly Her constant encouragement has made

me do well in research She spent a lot of time reading, sharing, and criticizing my work, to make constructive comments I am also thankful to acknowledge my gratitude to all the lecturers of Foreign Language Department, Hong Duc University for their collecting materials, instructions and enthusiasm to my research My sincere thanks also go to the first year and second year students at Hong Duc University who cooperate with me for their response to my survey questionnaires to complete my great study Last but not least, my sincere thanks to my family members and friends who always take care of me and support their financial during the time of conducting my research

Thanh Hoa, May 2021

Student

Cu Khanh Linh

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, there is no denying that the method of communication plays

an important role in teaching and learning languages, especially in the context where English is a foreign language and the ultimate goal of language teaching and learning is to enhance communication's abilities for language learners Language learners can significantly improve their communication skills by developing their ability to use communication strategies or coping strategies for dealing with face-to-face communication problems Current research mainly aimed at investigating how college students majoring in English to face problems with face-to-face oral communication The participants were 100 first and second year students from Faculty of Foreign Languages at Hong Duc University The survey questionnaires were used to collect the data Based on the research result, the idea is to come up with strategies for direct communication in English

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS 2

PART I: INTRODUCTION 6

1 Rationale of the study 6

2 The aims of the study 7

3 Research questions 8

4 Scope of the study 8

5 The method of the study 8

6 The organization of the study 9

PART II: DEVELOPMENT 10

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 10

1.1 Definitions 10

1.1.1 Definition of communication 10

1.1.2 Types of communication 11

1.1.3 Definition of face-to-face communication 12

1.1.4 Characteristics of face-to-face oral communication 12

1.1.5 Common problems of face-to-face oral communication 14

1.2 Communication strategies 19

1.2.1 Definition 19

1.2.2 Strategies for coping with speaking problems 19

1.2.3 Ways of applying strategies in coping with face-to-face oral communication problems 23

1.3 Previous research 24

1.3.1 In the world 24

1.3.2 In Vietnam 26

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 30

2.1 General information about Hong Duc University and Faculty of Foreign

Languages 30

2.2 Participants 31

2.3 Data collection instruments 32

Chapter 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 33

3.1 Findings 33

3.1.1 Students’ awareness in learning English and English skills 33

3.1.2 Communication problems students faced in face-to-face communication 34

3.1.3 Communication strategies employed by students to overcome communication breakdown 38

3.2 Discussion 42

3.2.1 Recommendations 44

PART 3: CONCLUSION 45

3.1 Summary of the study 45

3.2 Limitations of the study 46

3.3 Suggestions for further study 46

REFERENCES 47 APPENDIX

LISTS OF TABLES AND CHARTS

communication

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

In the age of globalization, English is increasingly playing an important role in communication between people speaking English with each other English is no longer a mere subject to study in the classroom but also a means of social and practical communication For the purpose of teaching and learning English to be best improved in communication, the communication approach has been applied in the language teaching nationwide Students majoring in English at universities are always required to learn face-to-face oral communication skills in English and pass the directly oral examinations with the examiners during their course At Hong Duc University, English majored students are required to take 7 oral speaking examinations (6 exams during the course and 1 exam for graduation) which the learners have to talk face-to-face with examiners The primary goal of the English speaking courses offered is to develop the ability to communicate directly in English for the learners Therefore, language learners can effectively express themselves in their language goals and communicate successfully in real life situations Although students majoring in English often have more exposure

to English, they still meet problems or difficulties with their oral communication Some reasons are normally mentioned as communication problems in English, such as: a lack of confidence in expressing themselves

by English or use grammar incorrectly Furthermore, students' listening and speaking skills are not as good as their reading and writing skills To help students improve their communication skills, it is essential for them to have communication strategies that are feasible to use in their oral communication These strategies can enhance a learner's confidence, flexibility, and effectiveness in oral communication Communication strategies can help learners get the English language to communicate better In addition, they can help learners maintain conversations and thus provide strategies for best communication We can see that through the use of communication strategies, learners are able to maximize their chances of practicing English speaking That is, when the language of the learner interacts with another person in English and a communication problem occurs due to a disability in their language To deal with communication problems, language learners tend to rely on some sort of strategies to help convey messages to people who talk or understand the message of success As a result, the conversation can go on

For the reasons aforementioned, understanding strategies used by first and second year students English-majored students to cope with face-to-face oral communication problems is necessary to help them improve their oral

communication skill That is also the reason why the study “A survey on strategies for coping with face-to-face oral communication problems employed by the first and second year English majored students at Hong Duc University” is carried out

2 The aims of the study

The study is conducted to achieve three main aims Firstly, face-to-face oral problems that students face will be investigated The other aim is to

figure out strategies that students use to cope with the difficulties they have when communicating orally Finally, the study also will recommend the strategies that students can use in face-to-face oral communication to achieve good effectiveness in oral communication

4 Scope of the study

This study focuses on problems and tactics when communicating directly in English of the first and second year students of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Hong Duc University This will be explored by the

students to come up with specific strategies

5 The method of the study

The study uses quantitative method to analyze the data collected in the survey Although this quantitative research is mainly based on student survey

as a primary source data, it still maintains various particularly reliable points

of quantitative research such as quality, credibility, trust and set neutral

All the surveys were about participants' experiences with oral communication problems; however, it may present experience with student problems in oral communication The survey is done in English, survey questionnaire, including 25 questions that are divided into 3 parts:

Part 1 includes 4 questions to find out general information about time students have learned English, favorite skills, and ability to communicate

Part 2 includes 10 questions to survey problems in English oral communication the students face;

Part 3 includes 10 questions to point out the communication strategies students use to cope with arisen face-to-face oral communication problems

6 The organization of the study

The study consists of 3 parts

Part 1: Introduction: in this part, the study presents the rationale, the study aims, the scope of the study, research questions, methods of the study and design of the study It expresses the reason why the author decided to choose this study and the methods for the fulfillment of the study

Part 2: The development part includes 3 chapters Chapter 1 presents a review of the literature and general knowledge of face-to- face communication skills including definitions of face-to-face communication, common problems of face-to-face oral communication Definition of communication strategies, types of communication strategies, ways of applying strategies in coping with face-to-face oral communication problems for the first and second year students at Hong Duc University Chapter 2 presents general information about Hong Duc university and Faculty of Foreign Languages, overview of the survey, aims of the survey, informants

and settings, data analysis Chapter 3 illustrates data, findings and suggestions

with the hope to help students overcome difficulties in face-to-face oral communication

Part 3: Conclusion summarizes main points of the study, points out the limitations and provides some suggestions for further studies

PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definitions

1.1.1 Definition of communication

Communication is a fundamental activity in our daily life and there are different methods or channels by which we can communicate our messages, such as face-to-face meetings or emails According to Lynch (1996, p.3),

“Communication involves enabling someone else to understand what we want

to tell them, what is often referred to as our message” That means, in a communication situation, three factors are involved: 1) a speaker or a message sender, 2) a message, and 3) a listener or a message receiver The main purpose of communication is to transmit an intended message to the listener successfully In doing so, communication necessarily requires the use of language (Lynch, 1996) It is the responsibility of a message sender to make the message clear and comprehensible for the receiver so that both the message sender and the receiver can reach the communicative goal However,

it is not easy to achieve the communicative goal, especially in a situation where the message sender and the message receiver have different native languages As a result, English is likely to be used as the medium of communication presumably and the conversational partner has no linguistic gaps while the language learner does Attempts must be made by the message sender with linguistic gaps, when the message is being transmitted and when the message is being received, as the message receiver, so the communicative goal will be achieved

In other way, communication is the act of conveying the information and message of an object (an individual or a group) to another subject through the use of language, body language and communication rule that both parties

understand The term "communication" has long been discussed by many researchers According to Karl (2000), the word "communication" has its

origin from the Latin verb “to communicate” with the meaning "to share", "to

make common" Merriam Webster dictionary defines it as "a process by which

information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior as communication" On the basis of information acquisition, the two parties will develop and adjust their goals and behaviors through mutual interaction to understand the same situation, have the same

voice and get the most benefits As defined in Tubbs (2003)'s book “Human

Communication: Principles and Contexts”, "communication is the process in

which meaning is created among two or more people" Communication is the activity of exchanging information Communication achieves a certain purpose, to establish awareness and interact with each other in the relationship between people and people

“Communication is transfer of information from one person to another, whether or not it elicits confidence But the information transferred must be understandable to the receiver”– G.G Brown Fred G Meyer also presents a definition of communication as “the intercourse by words, letters or messages”

1.1.2 Types of communication

Communication is classified as

• Visual: Visual types of communication include signs, maps or

drawings as well as color or graphic design These typically reinforce verbal communication, and they help to make a point Visual aids can help a speaker remember important topics, give the audience something to look at, and generally help convey the message being presented

• Verbal: Verbal communication seems like the most obvious of the

different types of communication It utilizes the spoken word, either face or remotely Verbal communication is essential to most interactions, but there are other nonverbal cues that help provide additional context to the words themselves Pairing nonverbal communication with the spoken word provides a more nuanced message

face-to-• Non-verbal: Nonverbal communication provides some insight into a

speaker’s word choice Sarcasm, complacency, deception or genuineness occur within nonverbal communication These things are often communicated through facial expressions, hand gestures, posture and even appearance, all of which can convey something about the speaker For instance, a disheveled speaker with wrinkled clothes and poor posture would communicate a lack of confidence or expertise A speaker with a nice suit, who stood up straight and spoke clearly, may appear more serious or knowledgeable

1.1.3 Definition of face-to-face communication

Face to face communication may be defined as communication when the communicator transmits his message in person to the receiver in person verbally and even non-verbally Thus face to face communication is both verbal and non-verbal

Face-to-face communication is essential to get the full conversation In face-to-face communication, all involved parties can not only hear what is being said, but they can see body movements and facial expressions that provide key information so they can better understand the meaning behind words

1.1.4 Characteristics of face-to-face oral communication

Face to face communication is an informal oral communication technique It has some unique characteristics that are not found in other

communication methods The important characteristics of face- to- face conversation are discussed below:

• Straight Communication: The important feature of face to face communication is that it is very much direct or straight The parties involved

in face to face communication exchange message directly without using any media No other communication technique is as direct as it is

• Informal: Face to face communication is very informal Under this method the sender and the receiver exchange message freely and openly No formalities are maintained here

• Mutual Relation: Face to face communication depends on the mutual relationship between the sender and receiver of the message Nobody can interfere in such type of communication

• No Cost Communication: Face to face communication is a no cost communication in nature as it does not require any instrumental arrangements

• Widely Used: In most of the cases, communication takes place in the form of face to face conversation Because of its inherent nature, it is widely used in every sphere of life

• Word of Mouth Effect: Another important characteristic of Face to face

communication is that it produces huge word of mouth effect It helps to

spread the negative and positive news about anything of the message

• No Legal Base: Face to face communication or communication does not have any legal acceptability as it is not written Face to face communication is almost like invisible communication

• Spread of Rumor: Face to face communication often helps to spread rumor that may create negative image of the organization

• Effect of Facial Expression: Another important characteristic of Face to face communication or communication is that here the facial expression of the sender and the receiver has immense effect of the entire communication or conversation process

• Instant Feedback: An important nature of face to face communication is that it produces instant and quick feedback

From the above discussion we find that face to face communication is

an important mode of communication and it possesses some salient features

1.1.5 Common problems of face-to-face oral communication

In today’s competitive world, English is the language of the

international communication Almost all communication is conducted in English, and resources such as standard operating procedures, manuals, and even announcements are all prepared in English (Ali & Kassim, 2010) However, effective communication has increasingly been recognized as a major problem for English learners A lack of accuracy in the target language

is not the only problem faced by students; many language users also experienced difficulty with mastering specific terms and using language appropriately (Runnakit, 2007) In addition, not all non-native English speakers are adequately prepared to handle communication problems, especially when non-native English speakers have either insufficient English knowledge, limited experience with or exposure to English interaction, or lack communicative competence Hence, speaking English or English oral communication is considered to be difficult for non-native English speakers

as English is not their mother tongue (Khamkhien, 2010; Myers, Penrase, & Rasberry, 2000)

Some common problems when communicating directly in English are shown as follows:

The first problem the students often face is to respond with inappropriate words This means giving incorrect answers, wrong with the content that people give by using wrong words This is referred to students’ limited vocabulary A number of students maintained that lack of active vocabulary hindered oral communication proficiency They cannot use the right vocabulary item in its appropriate contexts Sometimes, they have to use three or four words to express one idea instead of expressing the meaning by using one word Also, they keep rotating and rotating around to make the other one understand what they mean The lack of active vocabulary is also because students do not know how to use vocabulary in the actual context The teachers teach meaning, spelling and pronunciation, but they draw little attention or no attention at all to how to use the language in the real life In short, while active vocabulary knowledge can lead to positive language reception and production, the inability to use vocabulary in context constitutes

a serious problem for students to express their ideas and feelings in the target language

The other problem is that students lack extensive listening or extensive reading Students rarely listen to English because they live in their own mother tongue speaking community, and all the time they speak, think and laugh in their native language In terms of listening, if they do not often listen

to news or clips in English, so this will not able to enrich their information and background on how to manipulate the language

In addition to the inability to use active vocabulary and lack of extensive reading and listening, pronunciation constitutes an obstacle in students’ fluent oral communication Many students believed that pronunciation impacts learners’ speaking ability and has a strong correlation with the lack of self-confidence It is illuminated that students’ perception of “self” and incorrect pronunciation can impact their participation in class discussion and

interaction As a result, many students do not participate or speak because they think that their English is not correct English In terms of pronunciation, they do not know how to use stress and intonation patterns or pronounce certain words, so they keep silent They do not want to speak or interact Students encounter different types of pronunciation problems including consonant clusters, vowels, and supra segmental phonemes Students face problems in pronouncing clear articulation of consonants and vowels, e.g., consonant clusters, rhythm, stress, and intonation These have to do with typical phonological problems that EFL students generally have

Besides, students are unable to structure their ideas and meanings in a coherent way and in some cases, they lack background knowledge about certain topics in second/foreign language This can be with higher level students It is related to the familiarity with the topic, so they have the structure, and the necessary language knowledge for running a conversation, but they don’t have many ideas about this topic Moreover, learners have little opportunity to develop the skills for organizing their ideas cohesively and coherently while speaking the target language It can be concluded that in addition to the linguistic competence, knowledge about a certain topic can be significant to run a successful conversation

Besides the linguistic variable that seems to hinder or slow down oral communication, some psychological barriers that may result partially from the insufficient linguistic competence, or from other various reasons are also highlighted The following section discusses the psychological problems that English-majored students encounter in oral communication

Ø Interference of first language (L1) hinders oral communication

According to numerous teachers and students, L1 interference seems to influence learners’ oral communication proficiency L1 interference has influence on pronunciation and choosing vocabulary in context It has

influence on the style of writing, speaking, and body language Also, mother tongue has influence on structuring sentences Students sometimes try to think

in their mother tongue and translate this translation sometimes comes very literal, so the meaning is influenced

Especially, L1 interference was more noticeable in low level students, particularly in vocabulary, structure, and thinking in native language If students have low language proficiency, so they will have high level of interference Students still think in their language, look for a proper word, or structure This takes time and definitely this is L1 interference Furthermore, students indicated that L1 interference impacts their pronunciation of specific language features such as certain sounds, stress and intonation, grammar, and sentence formation

Another problem mentioned is low confidence and experience, and worry when speaking English The fear of failure, being misunderstood and making grammar mistakes are the three most common reasons why people are afraid to speak English Making mistakes feels like failure And that seems like ‘the end of the world’ for learners Young (1992) argues that speaking, from teachers and students’ perspectives, is inarguably considered the most stressful skill among the four skills Several learners thought that part of learners’ inability to speak fluently is related to their lack of self-confidence, which can be due to insufficient linguistic competence and social misconception about the foreign language Students do not have the confidence to stand and talk because they do not have the linguistic competence to make them talk, so they feel that they are going to be criticized

or going to be ridiculed This hinders their attempts to speak their thoughts This inhibition is perhaps attributed, partially, to the social misconception that English is a difficult language Further, students‟ inability to communicate effectively in a foreign language class may stem from the evaluations and

attitudes of both teachers and classmates (Senel, 2012) Furthermore, Daly (1991) illuminates other possible reasons for students’ communication apprehension in foreign language; for example, students avoid speaking because they are unprepared, uninterested, alienated from the class, or lacking confidence in their competence (as sited in Senel, 2012)

Then there is the inevitable anxiety Anxiety reduces your brain’s ability

to do its job in the way it is supposed to It means that when you are anxious about speaking English with others, your brain can’t process the language properly The fear of being judged is usually present as well Most of us are afraid of being judged It is the same thing with foreign languages because we often think that others judge us for our grammar or pronunciation mistakes The other aspect shown is that students find it difficult to understand foreign accents and word stress This means that the speakers speak so fast that the listener cannot follow It is necessary for speakers to speak slowly and clearly with stress so that the listener can understand and respond most accurately Besides expressing the ideas too quickly, talking too slowly also makes people lose interest Here, speakers need to speak faster, but pay attention to correct reading and stress standards so that the listener does not misunderstand other content Saying or pronouncing each consonant clearly is

an obstacle for learners It is clear that pronunciation is very important, if the wrong pronunciation will affect the content spoken Therefore, speakers need

to practice stress and pronunciation to speak correctly

Last but not least, difficulty adjusting the voice volume is considered as students’ difficulty in speaking orally The speaker sometimes do not know how to balance the voice in a right way so that the listener do not feel easy to hear, understand and does not feel uncomfortable

In short, linguistic problems and psychological barriers are presented as what prevent students’ ability of speaking directly To overcome these

obstacles, it can be seen that the learners need to have specific strategies to deal with The next part will discuss common strategies that help the language learners overcome the barriers they have and better use the language the learn

to express their opinions

1.2 Communication strategies

1.2.1 Definition

Communication strategy is the scheme of planning how to share information Communication strategy is referred to the choice of the most useful objectives of communication, and recognition of a particular brand and its strategy in terms of attitude

Although there are still many existing problems, communication strategy is considered as a supportive method for better communication Strategy comes from the ancient Greek term "strategia ", used to refer to the tactics employed to defeat the enemy In the field of education, strategy is a tool to cope when problems arise Ferch and Kasper (1983a, p.36) define communication strategies as "potentially conscious plans for solving what and non-verbal strategies that may be called into action to compensate for breakdowns in communication due to limiting conditions in actual communication or to insufficient competence in one or more other areas of communicative competence and to enhance the effectiveness of communication" Communication strategies are heavily used to achieve better results In dialogue, communication strategies can bridge the language gap and knowledge between the talkers

1.2.2 Strategies for coping with speaking problems

Communications are generally used by the second language learners when the linguistic or sociolinguistic knowledge of a message is unavailable Two types of communications are available for them to use: 1) “achievement”

strategies (Færch, C., & Kasper, G (1983b); Willems, 1987) or

“compensatory” strategies (Poulisse, 1987) and 2) “avoidance” strategies (Tarone, 1980; DÖrnyei, 1995) or “reduction” strategies (Færch & Kasper, 1983b; DÖrnyei, 1995) The strategies of the former type are, for example, word coinage, language switch, paraphrase or circumlocution, paralinguistic devices, or appeal for help Language learners employ these strategies in an attempt to deal with the communication problems directly by using alternatives in order to get the message across On the other hand, the learners may rely on the avoidance strategies, such as topic avoidance or message abandonment to change, replace, or reduce the content of the intended message so that they keep the message within their communicative resources

The available research on communication typologies and classifications reveal that communications have been classified differently according to the principles of terminology and categorisation of different researchers This means that there is no agreement yet for communication types and classification Additionally, problems of English use of language learners, e.g

a lack of opportunity to expose themselves to English communication, a fear

of being blamed for making mistakes by teachers or classmates, or a feeling

of being shy to speak English, are likely to affect different types of communication use of learners

Besides some strategies mentioned above, there are some specific strategies to cope with face-to-face oral communication problems below:

- Be confident to speak slowly and clearly: The reason we tend to speak fast is

that we do not spend enough time on words We do not spend enough time on words because we must pronounce every vowel sound clearly Practice your vowel sounds and you shall certainly sound clearer and the rate of speech will come down too When we are confident enough to pronounce each word, we speak slowly and clearly

- Always smile and listen to details: It is also a necessary tactic in

communication Always smiling and listening in communication, it makes the other person feel respected and listen to the story they are telling

- Predict the content: Based on some keywords that you hear in the

conversation You can predict content to communicate with them appropriately

- Use body language: Body language makes it easier for us to understand the

content of communication With emotions of joy, sadness, anger, we will understand the feelings as well as the content of the other party

- Fluency-Oriented Strategies are related to fluency of communication: The

importance of these strategies is that oral communication usually requires a quick response to interlocutors

Use words that are easy to understand: Using new words that are easy to understand will help the other person understand and answer you easily

- Use a dictionary to translate unfamiliar words: Using a dictionary is

essential for those who learn English It helps learners expand their vocabulary, better understand words, and improve communication

- Practice words with correct pronunciation, correct stress: This is very

important in face-to-face communication If pronouncing, the wrong accent will make the listener misunderstand the content, affecting the conversation

- Adjust the volume and speed of speech: The volume and speed of speech

play an important role in communication It helps listeners understand if speaking speed is moderate and volume is moderate

- For the most accurate answer, you need to pause and think If you can't come up with an immediate answer while the asker is waiting, don't let that pressure on you Instead you can say "Let me think a little" or "I need some time to think." It is better to stay calm for the best answer instead of rushing

to give a meaningless answer.Skill to dodge questions Surely all of us have had a case of being asked inappropriate questions Sometimes, you don't have

to answer every question Question dodging is also a question answering skill you should know

- Correct sentences before speaking

Don't be in a hurry, before giving your answer, stop for a moment to think about things like: How to present your ideas that the listener

understands? How to impress my answer? Is the answer relevant or not?)

Poor or inadequate vocabulary (few word selection) The number of new words is still limited, not enough to communicate directly with people That makes us inferior, unable to communicate affecting their work, their studies

- Research-Supported Vocabulary-Learning Strategies

Students need a wide range of independent word-learning strategies Vocabulary instruction should aim to engage students in actively thinking about word meanings, the relationships among words, and how we can use words in different situations This type of rich, deep instruction is most likely to influence comprehension (Graves, 2006; McKeown and Beck, 2004)

- Explain the meaning using everyday language—language that is accessible and meaningful to the students

Sometimes a word’s natural context (in text or literature) is not informative or helpful for deriving word meanings (Beck et al., 2013) It is useful to intentionally create and develop instructional contexts that provide strong clues to a word’s meaning These are usually created by teachers, but they can sometimes be found in commercial reading programs

- Defining Words Within Context

Research shows that when words and easy-to-understand explanations are introduced in context, knowledge of those words increases (Biemiller and Boote, 2006) and word meanings are better learned (Stahl and Fairbanks, 1986) When an unfamiliar word is likely to affect comprehension, the most effective time to introduce the word’s meaning may be at the moment the word is met in the text

- Using Context Clues

Research by Nagy and Scott (2000) showed that students use contextual analysis to infer the meaning of a word by looking closely at surrounding text Since students encounter such an enormous number of words as they read, some researchers believe that even a small improvement

in the ability to use context clues has the potential to produce substantial, long-term vocabulary growth (Nagy, Herman, and Anderson, 1985; Nagy, Anderson, and Herman, 1987; Swanborn and de Glopper, 1999)

1.2.3 Ways of applying strategies in coping with face-to-face oral communication problems

To cope with face-to-face communication problems, there are different strategies to apply

First and foremost, when you do not understand what the speaker say, ask her or him to spell out the impossible words If the listener does not understand the content, the speaker needs to use keywords to express, can spell each word for them to understand

Next, using words that are easy to understand When communicating, we should use words that are short, concise, easy to understand, and clear in content That helps listeners feel interested in their stories, understands themselves, and helps the conversation reach the best effect

In addition, requesting to repeat in a louder voice and asking to speak more slowly is also a way for students to use Students need to adjust the voice appropriately for the conversation to be effective If the listener has difficulty understanding or does not understand the content mentioned, the speaker must repeat it at a slower speed, ifyou still do not understand, they should spell out each word

Another way is self-create new English words to replace unknown words called in English We can substitute equivalent words to make the conversation interesting To do that, it is necessary to read a lot of books, read

a lot of documents, newspapers, listen to music, use the dictionary regularly

to increase the vocabulary, making communication easier and more flexible

A different strategy is to attempt to interpret or speak in a different way with an equivalent meaning If the listener does not understand the content, the speaker will try to explain in many other ways for them to understand First, you need to speak slowly, speak word for word and emphasize key words Second, you need to spell out each letter for the listener to understand

At the end, you will say equivalent words for them to understand In general, there are different ways of applying communication strategies to cope with oral communication problems Therefore, the learners should use the strategies in a wise and correct way to improve the effectiveness of communication and send the message that they want

communication were a total lack of understanding between speaker and listener, poor or insufficient vocabulary and use of idiom, distortion or misunderstanding of the message, and inappropriate formulation of the message Bloch and Starks also suggested that in order to overcome these problems, the learners needed to have sufficient and practical English knowledge and communication skills, as well as a greater awareness of what conversation entails

In terms of strategies, Alawi (2015) studied on communication strategies used by Omani EFL students This study investigated the use of communication strategies (CSs) by 60 students of English as a foreign language (EFL) at Ibri College of Technology in Oman The study was qualitative in nature Data elicited from audio recordings of picture description task and semi-structured interview have been categorized according to a taxonomy compiled from various pre-existing taxonomies of such strategies The results obtained show considerable variation across the range of CSs used by Omani students Further investigation indicated learners’ levels of proficiency influenced the use of communication strategies, with higher proficiency learners making more use of approximation and circumlocution, while lower proficiency learners used more avoidance strategies and first language-based strategies

Next, in the study "Strategies For Coping With Face-To-Face Oral

Communication Problems Employed By Thai University Students Majoring In English", the researcher also presented some noticeable results The

participants of the investigation were 48 students majoring in EIC at three different Rajamangala Universities of Technology (RMUTs) in Thailand, namely RMUT Thanyaburi, RMUT Isan Nakhon Ratchasima, and RMUT Isan Sakon Nakhon The informants included 4 students from each year of study, i.e first-year to fourth-year from each of the three universities Their