Communication Strategy Use of High and Low Proficiency Learners of English at a Thai University

Abstract

The Oral Communication Strategy Inventory (OCSI) is a 62 item self-reporting questionnaire that has been used to assess communication strategy (CS) use across a number of different countries. The present study uses an adapted Thai translation of the OCSI to gather quantitative data regarding CS use from 104 first year undergraduate students at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. Additional data was gathered regarding the oral fluency and general English proficiency of the participants in order to identify which CSs are commonly used by Thai students and examine the relationship between strategy use and proficiency levels. The results of the study showed that message reduction and alteration and negotiation for meaning whilst listening were, respectively, the most frequently reported speaking and listening strategies. Additionally, significant differences occurred the OCSI responses of high and low proficiency groups, with high proficiency learners reporting significantly higher use of social-affective, fluency-oriented, negotiation for meaning whilst speaking and circumlocution and low proficiency learners reporting significantly higher use of message abandonment and less active listener strategies. The differences in the reported strategy use of the two groups suggests that further research into the effects of strategy training for low proficiency learners would be beneficial.