Interviewers’ perspectives on the use of communication strategies by English second language speakers during job interview sessions / Wan Nurhafiza Fatini Wan Hassan

Communication strategies (CS) have generally been used to overcome oral communication problems in delivering speakers’ intended messages. This qualitative study was set to identify the types of CS used by candidates of actual job interviews. It also aimed to examine the interview panellists’ perceptions on the use of such strategies and how it affected the candidates’ performances. To achieve these objectives, interview sessions involving a total of 19 interview candidates and eight panellists were observed and video-recorded. With the help of NVivo software (version 12), the researcher analysed the data by identifying the types of CS based on Dörnyei and Scott (1997) and Clennell's (1995) perspectives (top-down analysis). In addition, the emergence of any CS that was absent in both taxonomies was also noted (bottom-up analysis). The results revealed that the candidates resorted to 20 out of the 47 types of CS indicated by both taxonomies. The most frequently used CS stipulated in Dörnyei and Scott's (1997) taxonomy was the use of fillers while tonicity was the most frequently used CS for Clennell's perspective (1995). Meanwhile, from bottom-up analysis, “laughter” is taken as ‘an indirect ice-breaking strategy’ which can promote social bonding. On whether the candidates’ use of CS was favoured by the panellists, the latter reported that too frequent use of fillers was distracting, and hence, was not favoured. It also negatively impacted the candidates’ performances during the interviews. It is therefore imperative for the candidates to consider appropriateness and context of interactions when choosing the types of CS. Finally, the findings of the current study were integrated into Dörnyei and Scott's (1997) taxonomy, resulting in a revised version of CS taxonomy that fits the context of job interviews.