Woodcutter, “Fake It till You Make It”: Exploring communicative strategies used by higher education students

Abstract

The term "woodcutter" (also known as "melet" or "meletary") was used to describe someone who, when confronted with a difficult question, attempts to solve it in his or her own distinctive manner. As a result, the motto "Fake It Until You Make It" is linked to the student’s communicative expression. This phenomenological inquiry study explored the communicative strategies higher education students use. There were ten (10) key participants who were highly involved in this research: five (5) for in-depth interviews and five (5) for focus group discussion. The findings revealed the following communicative strategies used by the students: question terminating; topic shifting; and strategic answering. When it comes to the students’ application of communicative strategies in the classroom, the following themes are generated: lack of knowledge; uncomfortable situations; and getting called on by the teacher. Furthermore, based on the study’s findings, these are the essential themes formulated when asked about the factors influencing their communicative strategies: having no preparation, having anxiety, and being humiliated in front of classmates. With this, the school and the teachers must help achieve students' communicative competence in English by providing training on communicative strategies and creating an English-speaking environment (organizations such as Debating Club, English Club, etc.) and especially in the classroom, thereby officially showcasing communicative competence but with a friendly, safe, and accessible environment where mistakes are okay and open to positive correction with teachers and peers.