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This paper presents a classroom-based research on input simplification and interactional modification
strategies used by English language teachers to make their oral input comprehensible to their learners.
The main objective was to examine the input simplification and interactional modification strategies used
by English language teachers in EFL classrooms, focusing on lexical and syntactical aspects of the
language. Data were collected from four English language teachers and 183 students from four selected
classrooms and a review of English language syllabi in Tanzania. The study was carried out by means of
audio recordings, classroom observations and interviews.The findings show that teachers employ
different linguistic simplifications and interactional modification strategies in EFL classrooms to enhance
students‟ comprehension and interlanguage development. The findings further revealed that the use of
input simplification and interactional modification strategies is crucial for students‟ comprehension and
language development. A combination of factors - personal style of teaching, lesson content,
methodology, students‟ proficiency level and linguistic background - was found to influence foreigner talk(FT) strategies. In the present paper, it is recommended that linguistic simplifications and interactional
modification strategies in EFL classrooms be systematically used and streamlined in the methodology of
teaching EFL. The authors also recommend that the knowledge of native speakers' (NS) / non native
Speakers' (NNS) discourse for various contexts, tasks and addressees need to be explored to establish
triggers of FT, and then discover which discourse modifications, if any, actually facilitate foreign language
learning. |
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