The Use of Communication Strategies to Compensate for Gaps in Classroom Communication: The Case of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana

Lawrencia Etrue Essien; Amua-Sekyi Ekua Tekyiwa; Eric Mensah

doi:10.51867/ajernet3.1.18

Authors

Lawrencia Etrue Essien Department of Arts Education Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Education College of Education Studies University of Cape Coast Cape Coast, Ghana West Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3994-4685
Amua-Sekyi Ekua Tekyiwa Department of Arts Education Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Education College of Education Studies University of Cape Coast Cape Coast, Ghana West Africa
Eric Mensah
eric.mensah5@ucc.edu.gh
Department of Arts Education Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Education College of Education Studies University of Cape Coast Cape Coast, Ghana West Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2362-8493

Keywords:

Communication strategies, Classroom communication, Communication gaps, Students, Lecturers

Abstract

Classroom interaction is very critical to the teaching and learning process in the second language classroom and speakers may encounter difficulties in expressing their communication intentions as a result of gaps in their linguistic repertoire. Necessarily, this study was conducted to ascertain the strategies students and lecturers of the University of Cape Coast use to compensate for gaps in their classroom interactions. The concurrent mixed method approach was used to study 128 students and 2 lecturers of the Department of Arts Education of the University of Cape Coast. Questionnaires and a structured observation guide were used to collect data from students and lecturers. It was found that students prefer to use non-linguistic means (indirect strategies) to convey their meaning. In contrast, lecturers prefer to use strategies that engage students in the conversation (interactional strategies). Fillers, self-rephrasing, and self-repetition were found to be the most frequently used strategies by students and lecturers. The study concluded that interactional strategies are often used by lecturers as a teaching methodology even though excessive use of communication strategies sometimes disrupts instructional hours and impedes the proper acquisition of the English language. The study also recommends using more learner-centered teaching methodologies, which will allow students to self-learn the second language by practicing it.

Dimensions

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