Investigating the Communication Strategies of Arab Students When Speaking English at Eastern Mediterranean University

Communication Strategies (CSs) are tools used by speakers of English as a second (ESL) or foreign language (EFL) to cope with the communication collapses they may encounter. It includes several types that help learners decrease the pauses and interruptions, bridge the linguistic gap, or help the speaker to gain time while communicating. This study examines the Communication Strategies (CSs) used by Arab students at Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU). Its aims to investigate the most frequent CSs among Arab students and examine any possible correlation between these CSs and gender and proficiency level. The study adopted a quantitative research tool through a questionnaire. In total, there are 102 participants (61 males and 41 females), whose proficiency level is divided into three levels: basic (11), independent (60), and proficient (30). The results reveal that the Arab students prefer to use ‘simplification strategies’. Moreover, they prefer to depend on themselves rather than interlocutor or other people around in coping with their problems by using strategies such as ‘self-repair. The only assistance they frequently use that depend on the interlocutor is ‘confirming the meaning from the interlocutor’. In addition, the Arab English speakers tend to decrease the level of anxiety while speaking English through ‘feeling alright when taking risk while speaking’. The results also reveal that there is a significant difference between males and females in the use of CSs. Females tend to be more open for asking others than males and use more strategies that keep the communication move smoothly. One more remarkable finding is the significant relation between the level of English proficiency and the types of CSs. While the ‘basic’ speakers prefer ‘code switching’ and ‘guessing’, the proficient speakers tend to use ‘simplification’. Furthermore, the study found that the more proficient the speaker is, the less CSs they frequently use.