How to Revise Communication strategies: Strategies for production — AQA GCSE German

Production strategies encompass the linguistic mechanisms employed by candidates to bridge lexical gaps and maintain communicative flow during spontaneous or prepared output. This involves the deployment of circumlocution to describe unknown nouns, the use of fillers to manage cognitive load during speech, and the strategic simplification of complex ideas into manageable syntactic structures. Mastery of these techniques ensures that communication remains effective and coherent even when specific vocabulary is unavailable, directly supporting the requirements of AO1 and AO4.

Examiner Tips for Communication strategies: Strategies for production

• Use non-verbal strategies like mime or gesture if you forget a word, but be aware of limitations in recorded speaking tests.
• If you forget a specific word, describe its physical properties or use a synonym.
• Use simplification if you are unsure of a complex form, but try to use complex structures when you are confident to gain higher marks.
• If you are stuck, ask for help using German phrases like 'Wie sagt man...?' or 'Wie heißt das auf Deutsch?'.
• Do not abandon a topic; try to paraphrase or describe what you mean instead.
• Strategic competence is a supplement to, not a substitute for, vocabulary learning.

Common Mistakes in Communication strategies: Strategies for production

• Topic avoidance (ignoring or abandoning a topic due to inability to deal with it).
• Over-reliance on word coinage (creating non-existent words based on English/German).
• Failing to use repair strategies when communication breaks down.
• Overusing simplified forms to the point of failing to demonstrate full capability.

Key Marking Points

• Use of non-verbal strategies like pointing, demonstration, expression, gesture, mime, and drawing.
• Use of verbal strategies including using words for similar items, describing physical properties, requesting help, simplification, paraphrase, and reference to specific features.
• Effective communication of meaning despite linguistic gaps.
• Appropriate use of repair strategies to sustain communication.
• Avoidance of topic abandonment (which is discouraged and penalized).
• Use of word coinage only as a last resort.

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