FROM SURVIVAL TO SOCIAL: THE EVOLUTION OF STRATEGIC COMPETENCE IN B2 ENGLISH LEARNERS DURING COLLABORATIVE BOARD GAMEPLAY

Abstract

An examination of the communicative strategies of B2-level English language learners was conducted to investigate the evolutionary trajectory of strategic deployment in informal, collaborative, and non-instructional settings. While traditional research has predominantly focused on digital or explicitly educational games within controlled, single-session tasks, a notable gap remains in understanding how learners navigate the linguistic and social demands of non-pedagogical, commercially available board games over repeated encounters. This qualitative case study addressed this gap by observing four learners as they engaged in four sessions of Forbidden Desert, a collaborative survival board game. The theoretical framework integrated Sociocultural Theory, Communicative Competence, and Strategic Competence, emphasizing language as a socially mediated tool for collective problem-solving. Methodologically, the study employed a dual framework approach for theoretical triangulation, utilizing Dörnyei and Scott’s (1997) micro-linguistic taxonomy alongside Nakatani’s (2006) macro-interactional Oral Communication Strategy Inventory (OCSI). Data sources included video recordings of approximately 200 minutes of gameplay, which were processed through a Cross Verification Matrix to identify areas of convergence and divergence between the two frameworks. v Key findings revealed a sophisticated strategic repertoire characterized by a significant shift from a "survivalist orientation" to a "social orientation". Quantitative analysis documented a 71% reduction in survival mechanisms—such as message abandonment and negotiation for meaning—as participants gained task familiarity. Simultaneously, a spike in social-affective behaviors, including joking and encouragement, indicated a reallocation of attentional resources toward social maintenance. Crucially, the dual-framework analysis identified that 25% of the interactional data would have remained invisible under a purely psycholinguistic model, justifying the necessity of a macro-interactional lens to capture interpersonal management. Implications for theory suggest redefining strategic competence as a proactive interactional resource rather than a reactive compensatory tool. Practically, the study advocates for a game-enhanced pedagogical approach that honors approximations and utilizes task repetition to foster interactional autonomy and risk-taking in real-world communicative settings.