The Effect of Communication Strategy Use on Jordanian EFL Learners' Oral Performance

Teaching English Language at schools aims conventionally at developing EFL learners' linguistic competence as research reports that teachers focus more on grammatical and linguistic competences, rather than the communicative or oral competence of EFL students (Putri, 2013). Probably, neglecting the communicative competence is one of the various reasons which cause some EFL learners to be proficient but not fluent in English, i.e. they cannot use English functionally. EFL learners' difficulty of speaking accurately and fluently may appear while interacting orally. Due to their low level in oral proficiency, many EFL learners fail to communicate effectively. Tackling such weakness, when interacting orally, involves equipping EFL learners with appropriate techniques that help in reducing the gap between their competence and oral performance. Consequently, EFL learners need to be aware about using communication strategies (henceforth, CSs) to make their messages, ideas or thoughts accessible and to get rid of probable oral breakdowns while communicating.