Abstract
Communication poses several problems, particularly to English second language (ESL) learners. In overcoming these problems, some ESL learners employ communicative strategies. This study reports the efforts undertaken by Malaysian ESL learners in enhancing their communication with the native speakers during collaborative cross-cultural online activities through Astronomy Online Lab (AOL). This AOL module was utilized to achieve twofold objectives namely enhancing students' communication skills and promoting knowledge exchange during the live discussions. 29 undergraduate students from a Malaysian public university and a UK university explored the Astronomy topics online and experienced the simulation during the two live sessions conducted for one month. Data were collected from a face-to-face interview with all the Malaysian students. The students' expectations before the live sessions, difficulties confronted when communicating with the native speakers, the communicative strategies and experience during the interactive activities were explored. The findings revealed that conversational issues such as the native's accent and the challenge in formulating strategies for solving communication problems during the conversations posed difficulties to the students. A general pattern of indirect and interactional communicative strategies as promoted by Dörnyei and Scott (1997) was evident during the interactions.
Highlights
A communicative strategy is a significant element in second language learning
Students pursuing their undergraduate degree in Malaysian public higher learning institutions are required to undertake the Malaysian University English Test (MUET) – a compulsory test to be taken during their pre-university programs, for enrolment into undergraduate courses
The present paper aims to investigate an interesting topic on how English second language (ESL) learners strategize their communication when communicating with native speakers
Summary
A communicative strategy is a significant element in second language learning. Larry Selinker, a prominent linguist who coined the term ‘interlanguage’ acknowledged communication strategy as one of the major undertakings involved in second language learning (Selinker, 1972). In Malaysia, the second language learners (ESL) perceive English as a challenging communicative skill to master (Shumin, 2002) This is because when communicating, the ESL learners feel that they are required to have proper linguistic, sociolinguistic and rhetorical competencies (Nunan & Bailey, 2009; Mukminin et al, 2015). The possible reason behind the lack of English language proficiency is that it requires complex skills, beyond the understanding of grammatical and semantic rules (Abrar et al, 2018). Such difficulties are intensified by learners’ lack of understanding of the meaning in multiple contexts or situations. ESL speakers expect themselves to be able to demonstrate minimal proficiency through their vocabulary, grammar, and sociolinguistics abilities when communicating with native speakers
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