The purpose of this study is to investigate, following a qualitative research design, the ways in which English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers modify their speech in an endeavor to create interactive learning environments facilitated by the implementation of strategies providing inherently comprehensible input for students. The study also seeks to examine students' reactions to the use of such different speech modification strategies. The data gathered was taken from three different EFL classrooms with a total of sixty-two university students (forty male and twenty-two female) and three non-native speakers (NNS) of English language teachers. The data analysis reveals that EFL teachers regularly modify their talk through the use of different linguistic and interactional strategies in the Saudi EFL context, including the use of simplified grammar and vocabulary, shorter sentences, repetition, and emphatic stress and reduced speech rate. Other modification strategies include the use of clarification requests, confirmation checks, transition markers and hand gestures in order to facilitate student understanding and learning. The data analysis also suggests that teachers' modification strategies have a positive impact on language learners in accelerating their International Journal of Linguistics ISSN 1948-5425 2017 www.macrothink.org/ijl 80 comprehension and developing their classroom interaction. The study results provide valuable implications for foreign language classroom pedagogy and teacher training.

This qualitatively designed study investigated the interaction strategies employed by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers to enhance students" contributions during classroom interaction, as well as exploring the impact of these strategies on Saudi EFL students" verbal discourse in English Language Institute (ELI) at King Abdulaziz University. Nine teachers, along with their respective students participated in this study recording a ten-hour video and audio recordings representing the study"s primary data. All recorded (video and audio) data was transcribed and an Interaction Analysis (IA) approach was adopted for analyzing teachers" and students" classroom discourse. The findings indicated that EFL teachers attempted to enhance students" contributions in various ways, and that the strategies used by teachers had varying impact on students" classroom discourse. In addition, findings suggested that students" verbal discourse could be developed with a relatively higher degree of teachers" extended strategies and use of backchannels. Pedagogical implications, recommendations, and suggestions for further research were presented at the end of this study.