Communication strategies (CS) have been generally used to overcome oral communication problems in delivering the intended messages. While studies on CS mostly involved simulated communication contexts, the current study deviates from the past studies on CS by identifying the types of CS employed by candidates of real job interviews and examining the effectiveness of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach adopted in Malaysian schools in English language teaching. The data were collected from observations made on oral interactions between candidates and the panelists of academic staff recruitment interviews at one public university in the east coast of Malaysia. The recorded oral data were imported into NVivo software (version 12) before the use of CS by the candidates were categorised based on CS taxonomies proposed by Dörnyei and Scott, and Clennell. The results revealed that the candidates employed various types of CS with fillers and self-repetitions being the most frequently employed strategies while the two least employed strategies were asking for clarification and guessing. While the results showed extensive use of CS in the interactions, the high frequency use of fillers as a time-gaining strategy might reflect that the speakers lacked competency in conveying their messages. Additionally, too much use of fillers might not be favoured by the interlocutors since the strategy could occur unpredictably. The findings indicate that CLT approach has not been effective in enhancing English language competency among L2 learners. Considering this, intervention measures to improve the current situation by looking at the root problems in the implementation of CLT are needed if the government decides to retain this teaching approach in Malaysian schools.

Being competent in English is an advantage to ESL speakers, particularly in the context of job interviews. While many learners of English as a second language (ESL) are struggling when using the language, Communication Strategies (CS) appear as helpful tools to overcome ESL speakers' difficulties in conveying their intended messages. CS generally refers to efforts made by ESL speakers to tackle various communication problems in the course of their oral interactions. Among the various types of CS, fillers are widely used due to its function as a floor-holding strategy in oral interactions. This study aims to investigate the use of fillers as CS by candidates of real academic staff recruitment interviews and explore their functions in oral communication. The data of this qualitative study were obtained from observations made on interview sessions involving interview panelists and the candidates, consisting of 19 Malay ESL speakers. The interview sessions were conducted in the English language at UiTM Machang campus in Kelantan, Malaysia. With the help of NVivo software (version 12), the researchers identified the types of fillers that occurred in the oral interactions and classified them according to Dörnyei and Scott's (1997) taxonomy of CS; lexicalised fillers and hesitation gambits. The results revealed that fillers were extensively used by ESL speakers in the interviews as a processing time pressure-related strategy. They occurred when the speakers were trying to fill in the gaps in communication. Undeniably, the strategy helps to maintain conversations and prevent communication breakdown, hence providing a significant contribution to speech and signal relationships between the speaker, the listener, and the discourse. Hence, the use of fillers should not be viewed negatively and totally avoided. As the speakers gradually increase their L2 competency, it is hoped that they would have more control over their use of fillers and hence, resulting in smoother oral communication.

Good mastery of English in job interviews does not only give an added value to the second language (L2) interview candidates but also increases the chances to be employed. However, not all English as Second Language (ESL) speakers are competent in using the language. In this regard, communication strategies (CS) are useful for L2 speakers in overcoming the difficulties in communicating their intended messages. The objective of this study is to examine the use of fillers as CS by interviewing candidates of academic staff recruitment at Universiti Teknologi MARA Machang, Kelantan, in Malaysia. The data of this qualitative study were obtained from observations through video-recorded oral interactions between candidates and panellists during interview sessions. The NVivo software (version 12) was used to help the researcher in analysing the oral data. The results revealed that the use of fillers stipulated in Dörnyei and Scott’s (1997) taxonomy of CS was extensively used by ESL speakers in real job interviews as a processing time pressure-related strategy when the speaker was trying to fill in the gaps between their limited resources and message conveyance in L2. In conclusion, fillers are useful to L2 speakers by helping them to maintain conversations and prevent communication breakdown.