THE ACQUISITION OF ENGLISH AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES USED BY KUTA-BALI BEACH VENDORS WHEN COMMUNICATING WITH ENGLISH SPEAKING FOREIGNERS

Abstract

This thesis analyses the acquisition of English and communication strategies used by the Kuta-Bali beach vendors when communicating with English speaking foreigners. The problems discussed are: how the Kuta-Bali beach vendors get their knowledge of English, which communication strategies that are used by them when they are communicating with English speaking foreigners in offering and selling their merchandizes and services; and why they use the strategies. This thesis is written in some steps. First, the pre-research consists of planning the research, selecting and observing the setting, and selecting the object of research. Second, the field research is applied by gathering the information and the data by interviewing the Kuta-Bali beach vendors and recording the conversation between the vendors and the English speaking foreigners. Then, applying the descriptive method to analyze the acquisition of English (formally or informally), communication strategies (avoidance, prefabricated patterns, code switching, and appeal for help) and the reasons why they use those strategies (The Balance between Means and Ends, and The Linguistic Pressure). The result of the analysis shows that most of the vendors learnt English at the beach and they got it informally. From the four strategies explained, there are only two strategies that the vendors used. Four of vendors used prefabricated patterns and one of them used avoidance. There are two vendors who did not use any of those strategies, but they used other communication strategies. Most of the vendors used the communication strategies because of linguistic pressure.