The aim behind this study is investigate how EFL learners in Algeria and Jordan use repair strategies (namely selfinitiated repair and repetition) to handle communication breakdown. The study delves in two major issues: why and how EFL learners introduce and use repair strategies in their oral discourse. As far as the sample of this study is concerned, it consisted of 20 participants divided equally between the two nationalities. The participants were university students majoring in English (EFL learners) attending Mustapha Stambouli University (Algeria) and the University of Jordan respectively. Data were collected using recording as participants were required to give a small talk about their future expectations using the English language. Using the conversation analysis (CA) framework, results revealed that both groups used repair strategies as a way to overcome their communication breakdown to keep the conversation going. While both groups used self-initiated repair and repetition, Algerian EFL learners used significantly more repair strategies than Jordanians. It is important to mention that self-initiated repair was used at higher rates by the two groups unlike repetition. Such study could be used as way to raise awareness for the importance of teaching these repair strategies for non-native’s in order to help them handle the inventible communication troubles