Lexical Relations and the Use of Communication Strategies: A Competence Analysis Study

Abstract

In order to be active and independent, language learners, specially those who are not described as good language learners, need training in using the different types of language learning strategies. Among them communication strategies which are used in most cases to deal with lexical gaps , that is the lack of a lexical item . The study farwards the analysis and the study of the individual aspects of communicative competence separately instead of studying communicative competence as one whole unit. Being very important for both processes communication and language learner , the study focuses on one of the linguistic aspects of communicative competence , lexical competence . It refers to learner's knowledge of lexical items and the lexical relations that exist between them. The study investigates its nature , its analysis , and its development . A test is constructed to diagnose areas of strength and weakness in learner's lexical competence and it concludes that developing learners lexical competence involves providing learner's with knowledge of lexical relations in a way that helps them to overcome their weaknesses as well as providing them with instructions on how to select and use the approperiat vocabulary learning strategies