The Use of Compensation Strategies in the Iranian EFL Learners’ Speaking and its Relationship with Their Foreign Language

Abstract

Compensation Strategies (CpSs) are strategies which a language user employs in order to achieve his intended meaning when precise linguistic forms are for some reasons not available at that point of communication. Different factors may influence the use of CpSs, among which the level of language proficiency is one of the most important ones. The present study attempts to investigate the relationship between compensation strategies use and the level of language proficiency and gender. In order to explore this relationship, four distinct groups of learners – advanced male, advanced female, intermediate male, and intermediate female, each containing 12 members– participated in the study. The participants were interviewed individually and their performances were tape-recorded and then transcribed. The findings of the study indicates that "self-repetition", "direct appeal for help", and "approximation" are the most frequently used strategies; there is a significant relationship between the frequency of compensation strategies use and proficiency i.e. the frequency of compensation strategies use increases as the level of language proficiency develops whereas no significant relationship was observed between strategy frequency and gender. Keywords: Compensation Strategies, Approximation, Circumlocution, Fillers, Repetition, Language Proficiency