Communication Strategies Used by Pre-Service English Teachers of Different Proficiency Levels

Main Article Content

Angela Yicely Castro Garcés
Silvio Fabián López Olivera

Abstract

This paper reports on the findings of a research study carried out in the Bachelor of Arts in English program of study at a Colombian university. It aims at identifying the communication strategies used by four pre-service English teachers with A2 and B2 levels of language proficiency and, also, at examining how these communication strategies facilitate or hinder the development of communicative skills. Data collection instruments included audio recordings of three tasks: (1) open-ended questionnaire, (2) sentence translation, and (3) picture description. The participants’ speech was transcribed and categorized allowing us to identify and examine the role played by communication strategies which varied depending on the choice the participants made of using either avoidance or compensatory strategies.

Article Details

How to Cite
Castro Garcés, A. Y., & López Olivera, S. F. (2014). Communication Strategies Used by Pre-Service English Teachers of Different Proficiency Levels. HOW, 21(1), 10–25. https://doi.org/10.19183/how.21.1.12
Section
Research Reports
Author Biographies

Angela Yicely Castro Garcés, Universidad del Tolima, Ibagué

Angela Yicely Castro Garcés holds a B.A. in Modern Languages, a specialization in Pedagogy of Reading and Writing, and an M.A. in TESOL. She is an Associate Professor in the B.A. program in English at Universidad del Tolima, Colombia.

Silvio Fabián López Olivera, Universidad del Tolima, Ibagué

Silvio Fabián López Olivera is a tenth semester student in the B.A. in English program at Universidad del Tolima, Colombia. He works as an English teacher at the Language Center of the same university.

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