The use of communication strategies (CSs) in oral and written second language (L2) production has been widely investigated (e.g. Muñoz, 2007). As for content and language integrated learning (CLIL) settings, learners seem to resort to the first language (L1) less often than in traditional foreign language instruction (e.g. Celaya & Ruiz de Zarobe, 2010). However, few studies have examined what L2 learners say about their use of CSs by means of questionnaires – e.g. Ehrman & Oxford (1990), with adult English as a foreign language (EFL) learners – and little is known about the reported use of CSs by young learners (Purdie & Oliver, 1999), and much less by young CLIL learners. This study examines learners’ self-reported opinions about the use of CSs (guessing, miming, morphological creativity, dictionary, predicting, paraphrasing, borrowing, calque, foreignizing, avoidance and appeal for assistance). An adapted survey (Kellerman, Bongaerts, & Poulisse, 1987; Oxford, 1989; O’Malley & Chamot, 1990; Yule & Tarone, 1990) was administered to CLIL learners of English in grades 5 and 6 of primary education. Quantitative differences in terms of the type of strategies used were explored. Analyses showed striking similarities between grades 5 and 6 as well as significant differences in the use of the different CSs, paraphrasing and appeal for assistance being the most frequent strategies, whereas morphological creativity and miming obtained the lowest frequency. Findings are discussed in the light of learners’ age and the nature of CLIL instruction.
Agustín LlachM.P. (2009). The role of Spanish L1 in the vocabulary use of content and non-content EFL learners. In: Ruiz de ZarobeY.Jiménez CatalánR.M. (Eds.), Content and language integrated learning: Evidence from research in Europe (pp. 112–129). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
2.
Agustín LlachM.P. (2014). L1 use in children EFL learners in traditional versus CLIL instruction. Paper presented at the International Conference on Child Foreign Language Acquisition, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, 16–17 October.
3.
Arratibel-IrazustaI. (2015). ‘They start to busq the jump’: A pseudolongitudinal study of crosslinguistic influence in L3 English CLIL learners. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of the Basque Country, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
4.
BialystokE. (1983). Some factors in the selection and implementation of communication strategies. In: FærchC.KasperG. (Eds.), Strategies in interlanguage communication (pp. 100–118). London: Longman.
5.
BialystokE. (1990). Communication strategies: A psychological analysis of second language use. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
6.
BialystokE.FrohlichM. (1980). Oral communication strategies for lexical difficulties. Interlanguage Studies Bulletin, 5, 3–30.
CelayaM.L. (2008). ‘I study natus in English’: Lexical transfer in CLIL and regular learners. In: ManroyR.SánchezA. (Eds.), 25 Años de lingüística aplicada en España: Hitos y retos (pp. 43–49). Murcia: Editum (Ediciones de la Universidad de Murcia).
9.
CelayaM.L.Ruiz de ZarobeY. (2010). First language and age in CLIL and non-CLIL contexts. International CLIL Research Journal, 1, 60–66.
10.
CenozJ. (2003). Cross-linguistic influence in third language acquisition: Implications for the organization of the multilingual mental lexicon. Bulletin VALS-ASLA (Vereinigung für angewandte Linguistik in der Schweiz), 78, 1–11.
11.
CorderP. (1978). Strategies of communication. In: FærchC.KasperG. (Eds.), Strategies in interlanguage communication (pp. 15–19). London: Longman.
12.
Council of Europe (2001). Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available at: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Source/Framework_en.pdf (accessed July 2017).
13.
DörnyeiZ. (1995). On the teachability of communication strategies. TESOL Quarterly, 29, 55–81.
14.
DörnyeiZ.ScottM.L. (1997). Communication strategies in a second language: definitions and taxonomies. Language Learning, 47, 173–210.
15.
EhrmanM.OxfordR. (1990). Adult language learning styles and strategies in an intensive training setting. Modern Language Journal, 74, 311–326.
16.
EllisR. (2008). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
17.
FærchC.KasperG. (1980). Processes and strategies in foreign language learning and communication. Interlanguage Bulletin Studies, 5, 47–118.
18.
FærchC.KasperG. (1983). Strategies in interlanguage communication. London: Longman.
19.
FærchC.KasperG. (1984). Two ways of defining communication strategies. Language Learning, 34, 45–63.
20.
Fernández DobaoA.M. (2002). The effect of language proficiency on communication strategy use: A case study of Galician learners of English. Miscelánea: A journal of English and American studies, 25, 53–75.
21.
Gallardo-del-PuertoF. (2015). L1 influence in CLIL vs. EFL schoolchildren: A study of codeswitching and transfer lapses. Unpublished paper presented at the 33th AESLA International Conference, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain, 16–18 April.
22.
GaoX. (2002). Has language learning strategy research come to an end? A response to Tseng et al. 2006. Applied Linguistics, 28, 615–620.
23.
García MayoM.P.Lázaro IbarrolaA. (2015). Do children negotiate for meaning in task-based interaction? Evidence from CLIL and EFL settings. System, 54, 40–54.
24.
Gené GilM.GarauM. J.Salazar NogueraJ. (2012). A case study exploring oral language choice between the target language and the L1s in mainstream CLIL and EFL secondary education. Revista de Lingüística y Lenguas Aplicadas7, 133–146.
25.
GostC.CelayaM. L. (2005). Age and the use of the L1 in EFL oral production. In: Carrió PastorM.L. (Ed.), Perspectivas Interdisciplinares de la Lingüística Aplicada (pp. 129–136). Valencia: Universitat Politècnica de València.
26.
Gutiérrez-MangadoJ. (2015). The development of L1 use by school children in CLIL and non-CLIL contexts. Unpublished paper presented at the 33rd AESLA International Conference, Madrid, Spain, 16–18 April.
27.
HaastrupK.PhillipsonR. (1983). Achievement strategies in learner/native speaker interaction. In: FærchC.KasperG. (Eds.), Strategies in interlanguage communication (pp. 140–158). London: Longman.
28.
HydeJ. (1982). The identification of communication strategies in the interlanguage of Spanish speakers of English. Anglo-American Studies, 2, 13–30.
29.
Jiménez CatalánR.M. (2003). Sex differences in L2 vocabulary learning Strategies. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 13, 54–77.
30.
JourdainS. (2000). A native-like ability to circumlocute. The Modern Language Journal, 84, 185–195.
31.
KellermanE.BongaertsT.PoulisseN. (1987). Strategy and system in L2 referential communication. In: EllisR. (Ed.), Second language acquisition in context (pp. 100–112). London: Prentice-Hall.
32.
KhanS.VictoriM. (2011). Perceived vs. actual strategy use across three oral communication tasks. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 49, 27–53.
33.
KhanjiR. (1993). Interlanguage talk: The Relation between task types and CS among EFL Arab learners. In: AlatisJ.E. (Ed.), Georgetown University Round Table on Language and Linguistics 1993 (pp. 428–436). Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press.
34.
Lázaro IbarrolaA.García MayoM.P. (2012). L1 use and morphosyntactic development in the oral production of EFL learners in a CLIL context. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 50, 135–160.
35.
LennonP. (1989). Introspection and intentionality in advanced second-language acquisition. Language Learning, 39, 375–396.
36.
Liskin-GasparroJ.E. (1996). Circumlocution, communication strategies, and the ACTFL proficiency guidelines: An analysis of student discourse. Foreign Language Annals, 29, 317–330.
37.
LittlemoreJ. (2001). An empirical study of the relationship between cognitive style and the use of communication strategy. Applied Linguistics, 22, 241–265.
38.
Luján-OrtegaV.Clark-CarterD (2000). Individual differences, strategic performance and achievement in second language learners of Spanish. Studia Linguistica, 54, 280–287.
39.
MacaroE. (2006). Strategies for language learning and language use: Empirical implications for questionnaire studies. JACET Bulletin, 31, 21–32.
40.
Martínez-AdriánM. (2015). L1 use in interactional strategies by primary school learners in two learning contexts: CLIL vs. non-CLIL. Unpublished paper presented at the 33rd AESLA International Conference, Madrid, Spain, 16–18 April.
41.
Martínez-AdriánM.Gutiérrez-MangadoM.J. (2015). L1 use, lexical richness, accuracy and complexity in CLIL and non-CLIL learners. Atlantis, Journal of the Spanish Association for Anglo-American Studies, 37, 175–197.
42.
MuñozC. (2007). Cross-linguistic influence and language switches in L4 oral production. Vigo International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4, 73–94.
43.
NaimanN.FröhlichM.SternH.TodescoA. (1978). The good language learner. Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
44.
NavésT.MiralpeixI.CelayaM.L. (2005). Who transfers more … and what? Cross-linguistic influence in relation to school grade and language dominance in EFL. International Journal of Multilingualism, 2, 113–134.
45.
O’MalleyJ.M.ChamotA.U. (1990). Learning strategies in second language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
46.
OxfordR.L. (1989). Use of language learning strategies: a synthesis of studies with implications for strategy training. System, 17, 235–247.
47.
OxfordR.ChoY.LeungS.KimH.J. (2004). Effect of the presence and difficulty of task on strategy use: An exploratory study. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 42, 1–47.
48.
ParibakhtT. (1985). Strategic competence and language proficiency. Applied Linguistics, 6, 132–146.
49.
Pladevall-BallesterE.VraciuA. (2017). Exploring early EFL: L1 use in oral narratives by CLIL and non-CLIL primary school learners. In: García MayoM.P. (Ed.), Learning foreign languages in primary school: Research insights. (pp. 124–148). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
50.
PoulisseN. (1990). The use of compensatory strategies by Dutch learners of English. Dordrecht: Foris.
51.
PoulisseN. (1993). A theoretical account of lexical communication strategies. In: SchreuderR.WeltensB. (Eds.), The bilingual lexicon, (pp. 157–189). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
52.
PoulisseN. (1997). Some words in defense of the psycholinguistic approach. Modern Language Journal, 81, 324–328.
53.
PoulisseN.BongaertsT. (1994). First language use in second language production. Applied Linguistics, 15, 36–57.
54.
PoulisseN.BongaertsT.KellermanE. (1990). The use of compensatory strategies by Dutch learners of English. Enschede: Sneldruk.
55.
PurdieN.OliverR. (1999). Language learning strategies used by bilingual school-aged children. System, 27, 375–38.
56.
ReissM.A. (1983). Helping the unsuccessful language learner. Forum, 21, 2–24.
57.
RubinJ. (1975). What the ‘good language learner’ can teach us. TESOL Quarterly, 9, 41–51.
58.
SerraC. (2007). Assessing CLIL at primary school: A longitudinal study. The International Journal of Bilingual Education and bilingualism, 10, 582–602.
59.
Si-QingC. (1990). a study of communication strategies in interlanguage production by Chinese EFL learners. Language Learning, 40, 155–87.
60.
TaroneE. (1977). Conscious communication strategies in interlanguage: A progress report. In: BrownH.D.YorioC.A.CrymesR.C. (Eds.), On TESOL 77: Teaching and Learning English as a second language: Trends in research and practice (pp. 194–203). Washington, DC: TESOL.
61.
TaroneE. (1981). Some thoughts on the notion of communication strategy. TESOL Quarterly, 15, 285–295.
62.
TaroneE.YuleG. (1987). Communication strategies in East–West interactions. In: SmithL.E. (Ed.), Discourse across cultures: Strategies in world Englishes (pp. 49–65). New York: Prentice Hall.
63.
TsengW.DörneyZ.SchmidtN. (2006). A new approach to assessing strategic learning: The case of self-regulation in vocabulary acquisition. Applied Linguistics, 27, 78–102.
64.
VáradiT. (1973). Strategies of target language learner communication: Message adjustment. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 18, 59–72.
65.
VictoriM.TragantE. (2003). Learner strategies: A cross-sectional and longitudinal study of primary and high-school EFL learners. In: García MayoM.P.García LecumberriM.L. (Eds.), Age and the acquisition of English as a foreign language (pp. 182–209). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
66.
ViladotJ.CelayaM. (2007). ‘How do you say preparar?’: L1 use in EFL oral production and task-related differences. In: Losada FriendM.et al (Eds.), Proceedings of the 30th international AEDEAN conference. Huelva: U de Huelva.
67.
WangL.M. (2008). EFL 学习者习得交际策略的性别差异研究 [A study of gender differences in communication strategies by EFL learners]. Foreign Languages and Their Teaching, 8, 37–41.
68.
WannarukA. (2003). Communication strategies employed by EST students. Studies in Language and Language Teaching, 12, 1–18.
WoodD.BrunerJ.RossG. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17, 89–100.
71.
YuleG.TaroneE. (1990). Eliciting the performance of strategic competence. In: ScarcellaR.AndersenE.KrashenS. (Eds.), Developing communicative competence in a second language (pp. 179–184). Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
