Communicative processes and strategies

Abstract

When the learner of a non-native language actually uses this language for communication, he draws on the L2 skills acquired so far, and on various other sources of knowledge and skill that are relevant to the communicative task. The more advanced the learner is, the more s/he will be able to rely on his/her L2 skills in a way that is analogous to the L1 speaker's use fo his/her individual linguistic competence. The less advanced learner will have to rely more on his/her metalinguistic knowledge (to the extent that it is available) and on a variety of ways to reduce the gap between, on the one hand, the L2 knowledge and skills available to him/her and, on the other hand, the means necessary to convey the intended message, either by using additional resources (L1, gestures, and so on) or by reducing the message to be conveyed. The term communicative processes [hereafter CP] will be used for the reliance on L2 knowledge and skills, and the term communicative strategies or communication strategies [hereafter CS] for the learner's attempts at bridging the gap between these resources and the message to be conveyed. (There is no clear-cut separation between these two mental activities, of course, as the use of CS encompasses the incorporation of whatever relevant fragments of L2 knowledge and skill happen to be available.)