THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIC COMPETENCE IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: PEDAGOGICAL AND PSYCHOLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

Strategic competence is a key component of communicative competence, enabling language users to manage breakdowns, compensate for linguistic limitations, and sustain interaction. This article explores the development of strategic competence in second language acquisition (SLA) from theoretical, psycholinguistic, and pedagogical perspectives. It examines how communication strategies emerge across proficiency levels and whether they develop naturally or can be enhanced through explicit instruction. Drawing on communicative competence theory, interactionist approaches, and cognitive frameworks, the study argues that strategic competence evolves through interaction, metacognitive awareness, and contextualized practice. The paper also outlines pedagogical principles for integrating strategy instruction into communicative language teaching and English for Specific Purposes (ESP). The findings emphasize the role of explicit strategy training in promoting learner autonomy, fluency, and communicative resilience.