Circumlocution, communication strategies, and the ACTFL proficiency guidelines: An analysis of student discourse

This study was designed to analyze the use of communication (i.e., lexical repair) strategies, particularly circumlocution, by speakers at the intermediate High and Advanced levels of oral proficiency in Spanish. All of the instances of communication strategies (CSs) used in oral proficiency interviews by 17 Intermediate High speakers and 13 Advanced speakers were analyzed to discover what strategies were favored by speakers at each level. The analysis of learner discourse found that Advanced speakers, more than Intermediate High speakers, rely on a range of L2-based strategies that included, but was not limited to, circumlocution. The analysis suggests that the statements in the ACTFL Guidelines about CS use be expanded to include strategies besides circumlocution that develop as learners cross the border between the intermediate High and Advanced levels.