Studies in English Language Teaching ISSN 2372-9740 (Print) ISSN 2329-311X (Online) Vol. 5, No. 1, 2017 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/selt 24 Communication Strategies in Use: The Implementation of Predetermined Vocabulary in the Classroom Nina Sirković 1 & Mirjana Matea Kovač 1* 1 University of Split, Croatia * Mirjana Matea Kovač, E-mail: mirjana.kovac@fesb.hr Received: November 29, 2016 Accepted: December 9, 2016 Online Published: December 26, 2016 doi:10.22158/selt.v5n1p24 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/selt.v5n1p24 Abstract The goal of the research was to examine the usefulness of formal strategy teaching in the classroom, that is, to explore to what extent the strategy of teaching predetermined L2 vocabulary enhances students’ oral communication skills. Two groups of participants were compared, the students of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, and students of Mechanical Engineering. The former attended the course Communication Skills and were already familiar with certain communication models and means of making and maintaining conversation, and delivering presentations. The latter group, the Mechanical Engineering students did not attend such classes, so they represented the comparison class in this research. The results showed that the students who attended the communication skills course showed better presentations skills and the usage of predetermined phrases. Moreover, predetermined vocabulary helps less successful students with the deficit of L2 competencies. This communication strategy helps students with poorer English knowledge acquire the language competences as well as improve their confidence. Keywords communication strategy, communication and presentation skills, predetermined vocabulary 1. Introduction Communication strategies can be defined as verbal and non-verbal aids in solving problems in L2 competence. This can be observed in the following definitions by Tarone and Fⱷrch and Kasper. Tarone (1977, p. 195) explains that an individual uses conscious communication strategies in order to solve problems due to using inappropriate language structure in conveying his/her thoughts. Fⱷrch and Kasper (1983, p. 36) claim that communication strategies are potentially conscious plans for solving problems in achieving a communication goal. Dörnyei (1995) explained the definition further. He considers that the main cause for problems in L2 communication can be found in insufficient processing time. Strategies of hesitation, which include using of lexicalized pauses and other forms of brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by Scholink Journals