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SIEC JOURNALA publication on the teaching and learning of English
SIEC JOURNAL is published in the month of November 2014, it focuses thefields of English as a second or foreign language, English language teaching andlearning, English language teachers' training and education, and English languageand literacy studies.
Editors:
Rahmat
Metty Agustine Primary
Nuraeni
Yusup Supriyono
Junjun Muhamad Ramdani
Arini Nurul Hidayati
Asri Siti Fatimah
ISSN: 9772407375005
Copyright ©20 14 by English Education Department UNSIL Press
All right reserved. No part of this publication may be produced, stored in aretrieval system, or trasmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permissionof English Education Department, University ofSiliwangi.J1. Siliwangi No.24 Tasikmalaya, West Java, IndonesiaPhone: (0265) 323532 enzlishtkioeaunsil.ac.id
Published by:English Education Department, UNSIL PressJI. Siliwangi No.24 Tasikmalaya, West Java, IndonesiaPhone :(0265)323532Email: [email protected]: www.eng.unsil.ac.id
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cover I
Preface 11I
Table of Contents IV
1 Dini Hadiani Analysing Students' Communication 1Strategies in Oral Presentation
2 Fahriany Leamer Autonomy and English Profeciency 123 Fazri Nur Yusuf Feedback and Teaching Competence: 20
Integration?
4 Herawaty Abbas Challenges in Translating Cultural Aspects 34of Helen Gamer's Postcards from Surfersinto Indonesian
5 Jo-Ann Netto- Engaging English Language Teachers in 45Shek Professional Development
6 Johari Nur The Effect of Using Experience Text 62Relationship (ETR) Method on StudentsReading Comprehension
7 Nia Nuryanti Students' Perception Towards 70Pennata Collaborative Learning in ESP Classroom
8 Nuraeni Practicing the Theory and Theorizing of 84Practice: A Professional Learning ofStudent Teachers in Language TeacherEducation
9 Puryanti Broadcasting News Based on Local Facts: 96An Inspiration to Engage Students inActive Learning
10 Yayu Heryatun Exploring EFL Readers' Metcognitive 109Awareness in Reading Comprehension
IV
SIEC Journal, Volume I, Number 1, November 2014ANALYZING STUDENTS' COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
IN ORAL PRESENTATIONS
Dini Hadianihadiani [email protected]
Politeknik Manufaktur Negeri Bandung
Abstract
This paper reports on the analysis of the students' communication strategies ingiving oral presentations in the classroom. It is asserted that oral presentation is animportant skill for engineering students to acquire, and this is a learned skill andimproved through feedback and rehearsal from a native speaker or the teacher.Communication Strategies are considered an important aspect of any good oralpresentations. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to fmd out the strategiesmostly employed by undergraduate engineering students to maintain thecommunication during oral presentations. Twenty four (24) students of one statepolytechnic in Bandung participated in this study. The research approach used forthis study was a qualitative, and data were obtained through observation byvideotaping, and interviews. Data were examined using Dornyei's (1995)taxonomy of communication strategies. Research fmdings reveal that the types ofcommunication strategies mostly used by students are 'code switching', 'appealfor help', 'use of fillers', 'use of non-linguistic means', 'use of all-purposewords', 'foreignizing', and 'literal translation' to maintain the communicationduring the oral presentations. The study concludes that the students are aware ofthe use of communication strategies to give effective oral presentations. AsCommunication Strategies can help the students to be able to perform well in oralpresentations, it is recommended that engineering students be given an explicitteaching on communication strategies. It is hoped that it can motivate the studentsto improve their communicative competence.
Keywords: communication strategies, oral presentations, communicativecompetence
INTRODUCTION
Oral presentation is an important skill for engineering students to acquire. This is
a leamed skill and improved through feedback and rehearsal from a native speaker
or the teacher (Harmer, 2007). Students.' oral presentation in the classroom,
therefore, is considered an important element in gaining positive learning
experiences (Alshare and Hindi, 2004).
It is believed that oral presentations help the students create their learning
environment, improve their English communication skills, and foster confidence
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SIEC Journal, Volume 1, Number 1, November 2014(Hadiani, 2014). This is in line with Kakepoto, et.al. (2012) who say that
engineering students need to be required to perform oral presentations within a
certain length of time in academic settings. They continue to say that delivering
effective oral presentations requires confidence of speakers to speak in front of
audience. It means that speakers have the responsibility to develop audience
interest during presentation.
Nevertheless there are some common problems faced during oral
presentations. Kakepoto et.al. (2012) noted that poor presentation skill, poor
confidence and nervousness influenced effective oral presentation performance of
engineering students. It means that engineering students have to overcome oral
presentation barriers during study time. The students need to know learning
strategies, such as learning certain tricks that help .them to keep the
communication going on, in order to be able to perform well in their oral
activities.
Another study conducted by Tiono, et.al. (2004) shows that
communication strategies are useful for students who learn English as 'second or
foreign language because students learning English, especially in classroom
situation, are usually worried, anxious and nervous to communicate. Knowing,
understanding, and using the types of Communication Strategies can help the
students make their conversation go smoothly and clearly. In other words,
Communication Strategies can help the students to be able to perform well in oral
performance since they do their best to be able to give clear message to the
listener. Therefore, this study attempts to fmd out the types of communication
strategies mostly employed by students during oral presentations in the classroom.
LITERATURE REVIEW
As it was stated previously Communication Strategies (CS) are an important
aspect of any good oral presentation. A communication strategy can be defmed as
an individual's attempt to find a way to fill the gap between their communication
effort and immediate available linguistic resources (Maleki, 2007). Additionally,
Faerch and Kasper (1983) defme CS as "potentially conscious plans" which are
used by an individual to solve a problem in order to reach a specific
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SIEC Journal, Volume I, Number 1, November 2014communication goal. It is believed that communication strategies play an
important role in the development of strategic competence (Faucette, 2001).
Therefore, one can define communication strategies within strategic competence
framework. Canale and Swain (1980) state that strategic competence is verbal and
non-verbal communication strategies that may be called into action to compensate
for breakdowns in communication due to performance variables or to insufficient
competence. It is supported by Scattergood (2003) who thinks that strategic
competence is cultivated if teachers create a language classroom in which
communication strategies are taught and practiced.
The notion of communication strategies is an important topic in Second
Language Acquisition (SLA). According to Van Lier (1988) SLA takes place
through L2 learners' active participation in speech events. It is .asserted by
Rabab'ah (2005) that raising consciousness of CS is crucial for a number of
reasons; one of them is successful language learning is not only a matter of
developing grammatical, sociolinguistic, and semantic competence, but also the
strategic competence which involves the use of CSs. Also, Dornyei (1995), ana
Maleki (2007) believe that use of communication strategies is conductive to
language learning and that communication strategy training should be
incorporated into school syllabuses. Other researchers such as Tarone (1984),
Bialystok (1990), Dornyei and Scott (1997), and many more have all shown the
positive role of communication strategies in teaching and learning a second
language, specifically English.
According to Dornyei (1995), there are twelve (12) types of
CommunicationStrategies:
1. Message abandonment: the strategy of leaving message unfinished because of
language difficulties. For example: a learner says "he took the wrong way in
mm... " (He/she does not continue hislher utterance).
2. Topic avoidance: the strategy where learners try not to talk about concepts
which they find it difficult to express. For example: a learner avoids saying
certain words or sentence because he/she does not know the English terms or
forget the English terms.
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4. Approximation: the strategy in which a learner uses an alternative term to
express the meaning of the target lexical item as closely as possible. For
example: ship for sail boat; pipe for water pipe.
5. Use of all-purpose words: This is the strategy when learners expand an empty
lexical item to context where certain words are lacking. For example: the
overuse of the words thing, stuff, make, do, what-do-you call- it, what-is-it.
6. Word coinage: a learner creates an L2 word based on his/her knowledge of
morphological rules. For example: workthing (it should be workpiece).
7. Use of non-linguistic means: a learner uses non-linguistic resources such as
mime, gesture, facial expression, and sound imitation to help himlher in
expressing the meaning. For example: a learner uses his/her hands to show
the word 'big'.
8. Literal translation: the strategy in which learners translate a lexical item, an
idiom, or a structure from their L1 to L2. For example: machine cutting for
cutting machine.
9. Foreignizing: learners use Ll word by adjusting it to L2 phonologically. For
example: a learner does not know the word tap, he/she uses the L1word, that
is knalpot but with L2 pronunciation, so he/she says knelpout.
10. Code switching: the strategy in which learners use their Ll word with L2
pronunciation. For example: if a learner does not know the word batubara,
he/she will say 'batubara' with L2 pronunciation.
11. Appeal for help: the strategy where the students ask other students or teacher
for help because they do not know or forget some words, structures, or
idioms. For example: a learner may ask his/her friend by saying 'dilapisi itu
apa?'
12. Use of fillerslhesitation devices: a learner may use filling words to fill pause
and to gain time to think. For example: well, as a matter of fact, now let me
SIEC Journal, Volume I, Number 1, November 20143. Circumlocution: the strategy used by learners in which they describe or
paraphrase the target object or action. For example: if a learner does not know
the word valve, he/she replaces it by saying 'the thing that is used to open the
line'.
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SIEC Journal, Volume I, Number 1, November 2014see. Domyei and Scott (1997) added the examples of fillers such as I think,
you know, you see, urn, mm, ah, sort of, OK, right, really.
METHODOLOGY
The research approach used for this study was a qualitative. This study was
carried out at the undergraduate manufacturing engineering study program at one
polytechnic in Bandung. The participants of the study were twenty four students
of Technical English subject. The instruments used were recording of oral
presentations and interviews. Following Domyei (1995), an interpretive approach
is used in analyzing the types of communication strategies used by students in the
oral presentations. After data were collected, they were transcribed, then the
communication strategies were collected and classified. The interview was
conducted after all the participants have fmished their presentations. Interviews
were done in Indonesian to avoid misunderstanding. It was conducted in open-
ended and semi-structured format. Interviews were recorded by tape recorder. It
contains verbal questionnaires consisting of questions designed to elicit specific
answers (Frankel & Wallen, 1996). The interview data were inserted while
discussing the main data resulted from the recording.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
The research results provided valuable insights on the communication strategies
employed by undergraduate students during the oral presentations in the
classroom. The findings are presented in the average percentages on the basis of
types of communication strategies found in the students' oral presentations. The
interviewdata were inserted to justify the results obtained from the recording. The
results are elaborated below.
Table 1Types of Communication Strategies Used by Students in Oral
Presentation
Students MA TA e A uw we NL LT F es AU UF1 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 5 2 152 1 1 3 3 73 4 3 2 4 2 4 7 164 1 2 2 2 5 4 45 1 6 3 2 2 5 14
5
The results of the study indicated that the students mostly used fillers
(154 or 33%) in their oral presentations. They use this strategy either to gain time
or to fill pauses during oral presentations. On the other hand, engineering students
employed fillers to gain time before starting a new sentence. Some examples from
oral presentations are as follows:
So, the most important step is..... (S#I)
As we know ... The machine should be
maintained regularly (S#8)
Okay, as engineers we have to....(S#9).
In addition, engineering students used fillers to fill pauses during oral
presentations. Some examples can be seen in the following excerpts:
SIEC Journal, Volume 1, Number 1,November 20146 1 2 4 5 57 1 2 2 2 2 1 58 2 2 2 59 2 3 5 1 310 1 2 2 2 3 811 2 6 1 1 612 1 3 2 5 413 1 4 4 6 314 3 2 6 3 1015 2 2 2 2 5 2 1616 2 1 1 517 2 2 2 218 2 3 2 219 1 1 2 2 5 3 1020 3 1 4 3 1 221 1 2 4 3 3 3 1022 1 3 5 2 1023 2 2 4 2 2 2 724 1 2 1 1 5 3 11
Total 4 5 12 13 34 16 51 22 23 66 64 154% 0.8 1 2.6 2.8 7.4 3.4 11 4.8 5 14.2 13.8 33
Notes: MA = Message AbandonmentTA = Topic AvoidanceC = CircumlocutionA = ApproximationUW= Use of all-purpose wordsWC = Word CoinageNL = Use of nonlinguistic meansLT = Literal TranslationF = ForeignizingCS = Code SwitchingAH = Appeal for helpUF = Use offillers
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SIEC Journal, Volume 1,Number 1, November 2014The machining process aah aah should
... (S#3)
So ehm ehm of the big company ... (S#7)
The preventive maintenance should aah
aah be given regularly.(S#20)
It indicates that engineering students needed some time to think when they wanted
to say the next word or to start a new sentence but they did not want to remain
silent in order to interrupt the process of communication. It was admitted by some
students when interviewed, saying that they used fillers because they need some
time to find the next word or new sentence that they wanted to say. This is in line
with Domyei's (1995) statement that someone uses fillers as a stalling or time-
gaining strategies. This strategy is not used to compensate for any linguistic
deficiencies but rather to gain time and to keep the communication channel open
at times of difficulty.
The second mostly used strategy in the students' oral presentations is
code switching (66 or 14.2%). The students directly said batubara to refer to
'charcoal', diatasi instead of saying 'is solved', and katup for the word 'valve'. In
the interview, some students acknowledged that they did not know the words in
English and directly switched the words into Indonesian. It can be said that the
students use this strategy due to their lack of vocabulary. This corresponds to
Dornyei (1995), Tarone (1984), Bialystock (1990) who say that speakers carry out
their original communicative goal by manipulating available language, thus
compensatingsomehow for their linguistic deficiencies.
Appeal for help is the next strategy mostly used by students in their oral
presentations (64 or 13.8%). The example of appeal for help is terbuat dari itu
apa?or dilapisi itu apa? As it is argued by students in the interviews saying that
they used this strategy because they forgot the words in English. They added that
they did not know the words in English, and they thought it would be better to ask
someoneelse. It can be said that the students prefer to use this strategy to maintain
their communication with the audience by asking questions. This is in line with
Dornyei (1995) and Tarone (1984) among others that appeal for help is a type of
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SIEC Journal, Volume I, Number 1, November 2014communication strategy which is used by turning to the conversation partner for
help either directly or indirectly.
The use of non-linguistic means strategy received the percentage of 11%.
The students used gestures and facial expression to help them describe the
meaning of words. For example the students used their hands to show the words
'big' or 'box'. They mentioned that they used this strategy to help them describe
the words they are talking about. It indicates that the students try to make
themselves as clear as possible during their oral presentations by employing
mime, gesture, facial expression, or sound imitation (Domyei, 1995; Domyei and
Scott, 1997; Bialystock, 1990; Faerch & Kasper, 1983 among others).
The next strategy is Use of all-purpose words with the percentage of
7.4%. The students used you can use this thing or this.. what is it... rail top is... to
refer to a specific object. The students admitted that they used this strategy
because they forget the specific name of the words and changed them into the
word 'thing' or 'what is it'. Domyei (1995) states that this strategy is used for
extending a general, empty lexical item to contexts where specific words are
lacking.
Foreignizing is the other strategy mostly used by students with the
percentage of 5%. The students uses Ll word by adjusting it to L2
phonologically, for example, the use of the word knalpot with L2 pronunciation
knelpout. The students mentioned that this happened mainly because of their lack
of English vocabulary, so they just used a Ll word by adjusting it to L2
phonologically (Domyei, 1995; Bialystock, 1990 among others).
The other strategy mostly used by students is literal translation with the
percentage of 4.8%. For example the students used machine cutting to refer to
'cutting machine'. They translated the word literally from the Indonesian phrase
mesin potong. As it is argued by the students in the interview, saying that they
used this strategy because they did not know the words in English so they
translated literally a lexical item, an idiom, a compound word or structure from L1
to L2 (Domyei, 1995; Tarone, 1984 among others).
The other strategies; word coinage (3.4%, for example the word
presentator to refer to 'presenter'); approximation (2.8%, for example the
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SIEC Journal, Volume I, Number I, November 2014students used a work thing to refer to 'a workpiece'); circumlocution (2.6%, for
example the students said... the energy sources should be used as little as
possible to refer to 'efficiently); topic avoidance (1%, for example the
students used 'Renewable energy resources are used everywhere '); and message
abandonment (0.8% for example the students did not fmish their sentence by
saying...the quality of the product should be the first) are also found in the
students' oral presentations. As it is acknowledged by the students in the
interviews, saying that they used these strategies because they did not know what
to say due to background knowledge of the topic. They did not know or forgot the
words in English, so they tried to find some alternative ways to explain the words
to the audience. This is in line with (Dornyei, 1995; Tarone, 1984; Bialystock,
1990; Faerch & Kasper, 1983 among others) who say that these communication
strategies are normally termed achievement or compensatory strategies as they
offer alternative plans for the speakers to carry out their original communicative
goal by manipulating available language, thus compensating somehow for their
linguistic deficiencies. From the fmdings, in general engineering students tried to
solve communication problems by expanding their communication sources to
overcome communication problems during oral presentations by using the
communication strategies.
CONCLUSION
Students are aware of the use of communication strategies to perform effective
oral presentations in the classroom, and how they are interested in developing the
communicative classroom. They employed several communication strategies
namely use of fillers, code switching, appeal for help, use of non-linguistic means,
use of all-purpose words, foreignizing, and literal translation among others. As
Communication Strategies can help the students to be able to perform well in oral
presentations, it is recommended that engineering students be given an explicit
teaching on communication strategies. It is hoped that it can motivate the students
to improve their communicative competence.
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SIEC Journal, Volume 1,Number 1,November 2014BmLIOGRAPHYAlshare, K. & Hindi, N.M. (2004). "The Importance of Presentation Skills in the
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