Building Strategic Bridges in Communication: Context of Teaching Strategic Competence among English Language Learners as Basis for a Teaching Framework

This qualitative study examined the communication strategies employed by English language teachers to develop the strategic competence of Grade 11 students in the Senior High Schools of Candon City Division. The study was guided by four key research questions: (1) What communication strategies are employed by the teachers in developing strategic competence among learners?; (2) What challenges do teachers encounter in developing strategic competence among learners?; (3) How do teachers cope in addressing their challenges in developing strategic competence among learners?; and (4) What framework in teaching strategic competence among learners can be developed? Data were gathered through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, and video recordings. The study identified four key communication strategies used by teachers to foster strategic competence in students: (1) Achievement Strategies, which involve using paraphrasing and compensation techniques to maintain communication despite language gaps; (2) Stalling Strategies, which are used to manage communication breakdowns by buying time or requesting clarification; (3) Self-Monitoring, where students are encouraged to monitor and correct their language use; and (4) Interactional Strategies, which include requesting feedback, seeking clarification, and confirming understanding during interactions. In exploring the challenges faced by teachers, five key themes emerged from the interviews: (1) Managing students’ fear of making mistakes, which inhibits active participation; (2) Dealing with students’ limited real-life exposure to English, which affects their ability to use English spontaneously; (3) Lack of clear guidance in teaching communication strategies, indicating a gap in teacher training resources; (4) Pressure from curriculum demands and grammar-focused instruction, which limits the space for teaching communication strategies; and (5) Challenges from large classes and heavy workloads, which hinder personalized attention and strategy-focused teaching. The coping strategies employed by teachers to address these challenges revealed five major themes: (1) Use of scaffolded tools and multimodal resources, such as visual aids, sentence frames, and real-life tasks to support strategic language use; (2) Integration of real-life and meaningful communication tasks, such as role-plays and simulations, to enhance student engagement; (3) Establishment of a supportive and non-judgmental classroom climate, where students are encouraged to take risks and learn from mistakes; (4) Reliance on personal experience and informal learning, wherein teachers use their own linguistic experiences to teach students effective communication strategies; and (5) Reinforcement of student effort and communicative confidence, through positive feedback and recognition of effort over mere accuracy. Based on these findings, a Strategic Competence Teaching Framework (SCTF) was developed, emphasizing the strategic integration of communication strategies into daily teaching practices, the importance of teacher training, and the creation of a supportive learning environment. This framework offers a structured approach to developing strategic competence, ensuring that teachers can effectively support their students in acquiring practical communication skills. The study contributes to the broader discourse on strategic competence in language education, advocating for a more systematic and scaffolded approach to teaching communication strategies in secondary language learning contexts.