Developing Strategic Competence through Multimodal Strategy-Focused Instruction in EFL Speaking Classrooms

Strategic competence enables EFL learners to sustain spoken communication when linguistic resources are insufficient, yet it remains unclear whether multimodal strategy-focused instruction offers benefits beyond conventional explicit communication strategy instruction. This study examined the effects of multimodal strategy-focused instruction on communication strategy use among Chinese first-year English majors and explored learners’ perceptions of the instructional approach. A sequential mixed-methods design was employed. The final sample comprised 30 students: the experimental group (EG; n = 16) and the control group (CG; n = 14). Over eight weeks, both groups received explicit instruction in the same eight communication strategies; the EG received systematic multimodal support through visual, auditory, linguistic, and gestural resources, whereas the CG received conventional strategy instruction. Communication strategy use was assessed through pre- and post-test speaking tasks and analysed using descriptive statistics, paired-samples t-tests, independent-samples t-tests, and Cohen’s d. Semi-structured interviews with eight EG participants were analysed thematically. Significant increases in fillers and hesitation devices and self-initiated repair were found in both groups. At post-test, the EG showed significantly higher use of circumlocution, meaning negotiation strategies, approximation, and non-linguistic means, while no significant between-group differences were found for fillers and hesitation devices, self-initiated repair, restructuring, or comprehension checks. Interview findings indicated that learners generally perceived multimodal strategy-focused instruction as engaging, cognitively supportive, and conducive to contextualised communication, while also identifying linguistic, affective, and practice-related constraints. Overall, the findings suggest that explicit strategy instruction can support strategic development under both instructional conditions, while systematic multimodal integration may provide additional benefits for strategies involving flexible meaning construction, interaction, and embodied communication.

strategic competence, communication strategies, multimodal strategy-focused instruction, EFL speaking

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