| As both a result and means of globalization, the English language is used at a serviceable level by approximately 1.75 billion people, about one-fourth of the world's population, and it is estimated that by 2020, two billion people will be using or learning English. It is also estimated that 75% to 80% of the world's users of English are non-native speakers of the language. As in any communication, misunderstandings occur among non-native speakers using English among themselves, that is, using English as a lingua franca. The severity of the consequences of such misunderstandings can vary in degree from merely serious in interactions in business, with governmental officials, or in medical consultations, to catastrophic in situations such as aviation or commercial shipping. In previous research, it has been found that non-native speakers use communication strategies to ameliorate misunderstandings when using English as a lingua franca with other non-native speakers of the language. However, prior research has involved limited numbers of participants, in less than completely natural settings, usually members of a community of practice pre-existing the study, who shared pre-existing discourse practices and patterns of communication, resulting in data with artifacts of that familiarity. In this qualitative study, participants comprised non-Filipino non-native speakers of English, observed and audio-recorded as they pursued their normal avocational activities in Manila, Philippines. The data collected were analyzed using conversational analysis techniques to identify how non-native speakers of English use communication strategies to ameliorate misunderstandings when using English as a lingua franca with other non-native speakers of the language in natural settings. A limited number of frequently-used communication strategies were identified: repetition, direct questions, and gesturing. The success of the use of these frequently-occurring strategies suggests the utility of teaching and practicing the use of communication strategies in English as a foreign language classrooms, potentially contributing to English as a foreign language pedagogy more supportive of non-native speakers of English in their use of English as a lingua franca with other non-native speakers of the language. More supportive pedagogy would contribute to greater proficiency in English by non-native speakers, which would help prevent potentially devastating misunderstandings. |
