Review Article Communication Strategies in a Second Language: Definitions and Taxonomies Zoltán Dörnyei Eötvös University, Budapest Mary Lee Scott Brigham Young University, Provo Dörnyei and Scott This paper examines trends in second language (L2) communication strategy (CS) research to date. We give a comprehensive review of the relevant literature from the last two decades, with particular consideration of the dif- ferent ways in which CSs have been defined and of corre- sponding influences on the organization of strategy taxonomies. We first outline the history of CS research and discuss problem-orientedness and consciousness as defin- ing criteria for CSs. We then offer a comprehensive list of strategic language devices and describe the major CS tax- onomies, noting key trends, with special attention to cur- rent and future research orientations. 173 Language Learning 47:1, March 1997, pp. 173–210 Zoltán Dörnyei, Department of English Applied Linguistics; Mary Lee Scott, Department of Linguistics We are grateful to Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig, Marianne Celce-Murcia, Gabriele Kasper, George Yule and Tamás Váradi for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. Correspondence concerning this article may be addressed to Zoltán Dörnyei, Department of English Applied Linguistics, Eötvös University, 1146 Budapest, Ajtósi Dürer sor 19, Hungary. Internet: dornyei@ludens.elte.hu