Fillers as Communication Strategies Among English Second Language Speakers in Job Interviews

Abstract

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.