Language is the basic form of communication between human beings and in a society. As human beings, they always need communication to express their ideas to do everything; what's more as students or learners they have to speak to express their ideas to their teacher as long as learning process takes place.
Speech is the first and foremost form of communication. It occupies a predominant position in enlightening the minds of the people. Information is understood and processed easily through speech rather than writing. Speech is biologically endowed behaviour of human beings.
Spoken language has wider range of functions to perform than the written language. They start from casual spontaneous conversations ending with formal speeches and so on. Written language tends to serve rather specialized functions at the formal level.
In the process of learning spoken mode of second language, learner encounters difficulties because of inter and intra-lingual factors, language shock, cultural shock and so on. However, difficulties and problems are inevitable in the process of learning spoken or written mode of the L2.
Process of Communication
Communication is a process of exchanging verbal and non-verbal messages. It is continuous process. This process can be termed as human communication or oral communication. The activities of the communication maintain eco-balance, co-operation, and tolerance and bring the people in a common line.
The complete communication process is the hierarchical arrangement of the various components of communication. They are as follows:
Intended message
Encoder
Signals
Decoder
The received message
Feedback
Message is the key idea that the sender wants to communicate. Messages can be abstract ideas and feelings of speaker who wishes to communicate. Encoder is a person who sends the message in the form of words and gestures. Signal is a means used to exchange or transmit the message in the form of the mechanical impulse. Channel is the medium through which a signal travels. Decoder is a person for whom the message is intended/aimed. Decoder receives communication signals into meaning and ideas. Received message is the result of decoding communication signals. Feedback helps the sender in confirming the correct interpretation of message by the decoder. Psychologically speaking after receiving the message, the nervous system of the receiver is activated and subsequently interpreted and appropriate meanings are assigned to the received codes to make the communication process complete.
Communicative Competence
The term communicative competence is coined by the anthropological linguist Dell Hymes (1967, 1972). Light (1997. 63 ) has described communicative competence as "Being able to meet the changing demands and to fulfill one's communication goals across the life span. Communicative competence is the ability to send messages which promote attainment of goals while maintaining social acceptability.
The term 'all modes of communication'(Hymes, 1962) can further be explained as the language competence that has total comprehension, and total verbal exposition in all modes of society, which includes group interactions - inter-personal interaction involving different dialectal areas. As it is evident from the above, one thinks of two different types of competence, namely grammatical competence and communicative competence.
Grammatical competence is the ability to recognize and to produce distinctive grammatical structures of a language and to use them effectively in communication. Whereas, the communicative competence can be achieved by exposing oneself both to the structure of the language as well as the social behaviour which pivots around certain conventional rules as put forth by the society.
Teaching/Learning Speaking
Effective communication depends on one's ability to express oneself in speech clearly, accurately and fluently. The development of spoken language involves the development of pragmatic usage in addition to the development of pronunciation, constructing words, phrases, sentences and discourses. Discourse in learning of second language plays a vital role.
The stages of learning the speaking skills of L2 are same as learning of speaking L1. The problems encountered by the learners in the process of learning subtle, and detailed knowledge, show the gradual development of spoken language. The purpose of learning the second language fulfills when the learners use language with the real people for real purpose.
Communication Strategy
Zheng (2004) suggests that communication strategies are feasible and to some extent inevitable for language learners to use in their oral communication. These strategies can enhance language learners' confidence, flexibility and effectiveness in oral communication.
Tarone (1980. 420; 1983.65) defines communication strategies as a "mutual attempt of two interlocutors to agree on a meaning in situations where requisite meaning structures do not seem to be shared".
In addition, Canale (1983) and Bygate (2000) argue that communication strategies are used not only to cope with any language related problems of which the speaker is aware during the course of communication, but also to enhance the effectiveness of communication even if there is no problem or difficulty involved in an oral communication. Thus, it can be said that communication strategies are commonly used not only to bridge the gaps between the linguistic and sociolinguistic knowledge of the second language learners and those of the interlocutors in any communication situation but also to keep their talk flowing within their available linguistic knowledge, and eventually manage their oral communication. And also the learners adopt the strategies wherever they encounter problems at all the levels of language like phonological, morphological, syntactical and discourse.
Cook (2001) says communication strategy of L2 learners will enhance the learning; and the learners' strategy indicates that the learners are encountering the linguistic problems in the process of learning. The learners knowingly or unknowingly use the intra and inter lingual strategies to convey their message to others. By using the strategy they get satisfaction, assuring that they have conveyed the meaning completely to the questions by the researcher.
Learning Strategy
Learning strategies are defined by Oxford and Crookall as "Steps taken by the learners to aid the acquisition, storage and retrieval of information (404).
Strategic competence is 'the way learners manipulate language in order to meet communicative goals' (Brown, 1994, 228). It is the ability to compensate for imperfect knowledge of linguistic, sociolinguistic, and discourse rules (Berns, 1990). With reference to speaking, strategic competence refers to the ability to know when and how to take the floor, how to keep a conversation going, how to terminate the conversation, and how to clear up communication breakdown as well as comprehension problems.
The strategy of learning differs from learner to learner. However O′malley and Chamot (1990) have defined three types of strategy used by L2 students:
Meta cognitive strategies which involve planning and thinking about learning, such as planning one's learning, monitoring one's own speech or writing and evaluating how well one has done.
Cognitive strategies which involve conscious ways of tackling learning, such as note taking, resourcing (using dictionaries and other resources) and elaboration (relating new information to old).
Social strategies mean learning by interacting with others. Such as working with fellow students or asking the teacher's help.
Strategy - process
Language processing involves the retrieval of words and phrases from memory and their assembly into syntactically and propositionally appropriate sequences. Effective speakers need to be able to process language in their heads and put in coherent order so that it comes out in forms that are comprehensible and convey intended meaning.
Process being used with reference to the systematic series of steps by which the learner arrives at the same usage overtime. Bialy Stock (1978) distinguishes process from strategies by the criteria obligatory/optional. Similar criteria are used by Fravefelder and Porqurer (1979) who classify process as universal, strategies as optional mechanism employed by individual L2 learners. Other researchers also defined process as continuing development involving a number of changes.
Testing Speaking
In second language research, a great deal of attention has been paid to related area of communicative behaviour. So, this part of the chapter concentrates on communication strategies of the L2 learners. Here, it is a tactic followed by the learners to conceal a gap in their communication. Hence, it is a test given to identify when and how the learners make use of such strategies in speech.
