Investigating the Role of Circumlocution and Code -switching Techniques in Improving Students' Speaking Skill

Fluency in English is a priority for many learners, and it is worth noting that most English learners usually assess their English language ability based on how well they can speak it (Haidara, 2016; Luoma, 2004; Richards, 2008). Since the main purpose of communication is the transmission of information, this transmission must be clear. Unfortunately, English learners may have difficulty conveying the message correctly to the audience (Baradeyah & Farrah, 2017). One possible solution to these challenges is to use speaking strategies. This means that learners can use speaking strategies to maintain the flow of their conversations; many researchers emphasize the use of speaking strategies (Santoso & Taufiq, 2021; Nguyet & Mai, 2012; Baradeyah, & Farrah, 2017). Circumlocution and code-switching are a subset of speaking strategies and are two effective techniques in improving students' speaking skills. According to Ramshaw (1996), circumlocution is a method of surrounding a particular idea with several words rather than explaining it directly in fewer words. Previous research has shown that the use of circumlocution has positive effects on improving students' speaking skills (Santoso & Taufiq, 2021; Baradeyah, N., & Farrah, 2017; Campillo, 2006; Chen, 2006). Although circumlocution can play a role in strengthening speaking skills, it also has its limitations. For example, the use of this technique requires that students' language skills are at a desirable level and that they are familiar with a range of basic and essential words and structures (Baradeyah & Farrah, 2017).Therefore, if some students are not able to use circumlocution for some reason, the teacher can use other speaking strategies such as code-switching to improve and simplify students' speaking skills and increase their interaction in conversations. Code-switching is defined as the ability of bilinguals to switch between target and native languages (Zentella, 1981). Code-switching has been shown to positively affect learners' ability to speak with low proficiency and has a direct impact on students' motivation to communicate and actively participate in class (Shanehsazzadeh, & Heidari Darani, 2017; Malik, 1994).The present study was conducted to answer the question of what is the effect of using the strategy of circumlocution and code-switching on improving students' speaking skills. Due to the nature of research data, the present study is qualitative and analytical, inferential. The statistical population of the study includes all students of Farzanegan School (girls) in the Sanandaj city (secondary school), of which 21 people were selected through purposive sampling method and to collect information, a 14-item interview in a semi-structured manner was used. All interviews were conducted in absentia. Also, in order to analyze the collected data, Strauss and Corbin coding method was used using MAXQDA2020 software. During open coding, all interviews were conducted and all concepts were identified. In the analysis of interviews, after eliminating duplicate interviews and merging similar cases, 359 primary codes, 9 subclass codes and 2 main codes were obtained. The main category is speaking strategies, which include two main categories, circumlocution and code-switching. Circumlocution category includes four subcategories titled: applications of circumlocution, the effect of circumlocution on speaking skills, description of concrete concepts and description of abstract concepts. The code-switching category includes five subcategories titled: applications of code-switching, students 'reasons for using code-switching, teacher's reasons for using code-switching from students' point of view, the effect of code-switching on speaking skills and different situations of using code-switching. Interviewees pointed to some important uses of circumlocution including: Using circumlocution technique to teach new words, Indirect reference to the desired words or terms, Helps students to understand the meaning of new words or terms, Helping students deal with stress and controlling, An effective technique while forgetting the term or forgetting the word (controlling the situation by indirectly referring to the term), Expressing the meaning and conveying the message, Increasing students' skills and mastery in conversation, Keeping the flow of the conversation, retaining and increasing students 'motivation, increasing students' confidence in speaking skills. 95% of students believe that using circumlocution can have positive effects on their speaking skills and only 5 percent of them believe it does not. In one part of the interview, the students were asked to explain the meaning of the two words mirror and happiness using the circumlocution technique in English. Since the mirror is a concrete concept, students referred to its physical properties, applications and uses to describe it. While happiness is an abstract concept and students relied on its concept and their perceptions and ideas in describing it. Therefore, it can be said that circumlocution helps students to express concrete and abstract concepts well. Interviewees mentioned some of the uses and reasons of code-switching including: Using code-switching to teach new words, expressing the meaning and conveying the message, to attract attention and to provide implicit explanations. 38% of students believe that code-switching is effective in improving students' speaking skills and 29% of them believe that code-switching will be effective if the teacher and students use it in balance; In other words, speak English most of the time and use code-switching only when necessary. 33% also believe that students need to be constantly exposed to English in order to learn it well. This group believes that code-switching should not be used in the classroom under any circumstances because it may become a habit and students may be deprived of the experience of a simulated English-speaking environment. Speaking skills are certainly one of the basic skills that students need to learn in the process of learning a new language. English teachers can take advantage of the use of speaking strategies to remove barriers to mastering speaking skill. Baradeyah & Farrah (2017) believe that there is a correlation between learners' fluency in English and the rate of use of taught speaking strategies. It seems that paying attention to speaking strategies can have good results in learning English and mastery of speaking skill. As a result, it is suggested that English teachers use speaking strategies to increase students' mastery of speaking skill in the classroom. It is also suggested that researchers in future research more comprehensively study the effect of speaking strategies, especially circumlocution and code-switching, on increasing students' speaking skills.