THE USE OF FILLERS AND HESITATION DEVICES AS COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG MALAYSIAN LANGUAGE LEARNERS

Abstract

Communication strategies are the conscious plans taken by speakers in dealing with communication breakdowns, and it can be verbal and non-verbal, in relation to the notion of strategic competence; originally proposed by Canale & Swain (1980). There are various types of strategies in different taxonomies, and the use of fillers and hesitation devices is listed in the taxonomies proposed by Dӧrnyei (1995). This study looks into the use of fillers and hesitation devices as communication strategies among students in group discussion. Using the taxonomy of communication strategies proposed by Dӧrnyei (1995) as the basis of the study, this qualitative study describes the types of fillers and hesitation devices that the language learners use during group discussion. The findings show that fillers and hesitation devices are commonly used among the speakers for the group discussion task. The findings also revealed that there are differences in terms of the usage of fillers and hesitation devices as communication strategies between the high and low proficiency learners.

Keywords: Communication Strategies, Fillers, Hesitation Devices, Language Learners, Group Discussion