The Role of Single-sex and Mixed-sex Context on Iranian Students' Willingness to communicate (original) (raw)
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Gender and Willingness to Communicate
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between Iranian EFL learners’ gender and their willingness to communicate (WTC). It was also an attempt to investigate the relationship between WTC inside and outside the classroom in general and among male and female Iranian English language learners inside and outside the classroom situations in specific. For this purpose, 30 advanced learners consisting of 15 males and 15 females were randomly selected from an English Language Institute in Asadabad, Hamedan. They were asked to fill out the WTC questionnaire developed by MacIntyre et al. (2001). Applying an independent t-test, it was revealed that Iranian EFL female learners are more willing to communicate compared to their male counterparts. Also, the results of another independent t-test showed that Iranian EFL learners’ willingness to communicate does not differ significantly inside and outside the classroom contexts. Finally, the results of a Two Way-ANNOVA revealed that Iranian male and female EFL learners did not differ in their willingness to communicate inside and outside the classroom. The findings of the present study are significant in that they have implications for both language teachers and textbook developers. Keywords: Gender, Willingness to Communicate (WTC), Iranian EFL Learners
2015
The present study was conducted to examine the relationship between EFL students‟ gender and their willingness to communicate in same-sex classrooms including their peers and teacher. To that end, 67 English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students, 33 males and 34 females, attending in 8 classes in a language institute in Hamedan, Iran were conveniently sampled to take part in the study. Then a questionnaire regarding the students‟ willingness to communicate, prepared by the researcher, was validated and administered to the participating students. Moreover, to increase the validity of data all the classes were observed and an observation checklist was filled. Analysis of the data obtained from the self-report questionnaire indicated no significant difference between male and female students‟ willingness to communicate (WTC). However, based on data obtained from observation, there appeared to be a significant difference between male and female students‟ WTC.
Iranian EFL Learners' Perception of the use of Communication Strategies and Gender Effect
One of the main factors which enhance learning and teaching a foreign or second language is communication strategies applied by learners in the learning process and instructors in the teaching process. This study investigated the perception of Iranian EFL (English as a foreign language) learners regarding the use of communication strategies in their English learning efforts. The study was also aimed at finding out if gender had an effect on the perception of learners regarding use of communication strategies. To do so, the researchers sampled 60 students and divided them into two groups, control and experimental group. Each group consisted of 30 students (15 males and 15 females). The researcher used Dornyei and Scott's (1997) inventory of CSs, which was a self-report questionnaire, as a data collection method. After analysing data by running a T-test statistical procedure, it was found that teaching communication strategies had significantly affected perception of the learners who reported more frequent use of communication strategies (mean for control group = 15.69; mean for experimental group = 19.93). Moreover, data analysed using a chi-square depicted that females outperformed males in the application of the communication strategies regardless of the treatment they received. The study indicated that teaching communication strategies to language learners, especially to males, is necessary. In fact, it can help the male learners to communicate more efficiently with their classmates and instructors and enhance their learning.
Willingness to Communicate in English: A Gender Based Study
Willingness to communicate in a second or foreign language has a lot to do with student achievement in second language classrooms. This paper investigates the willingness of male and female students to communicate in English rather than their native or national language. Focusing on McIntyre’s model of Willingness to Communicate in second/foreign languages, the data were collected using questionnaires from 353 BS final year students of BS (Undergraduate) from a public sector university in Pakistan. Descriptive analyses show that there are no major differences in the use of language inside and outside of classroom. Overall, there are no major differences in willingness to communicate, however, in some situations, boys and girls have arguable differences and this helps us to understand that while teaching a foreign language activities should be organized based on different individual variables like gender.
International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 2015
Willingness to communicate (WTC), which is defined as the intention to communicate given a choice, continues to establish itself as a determining construct in bringing about success or failure in learning a second language (Dӧrnyei, 2005, Peng & Woodrow, 2010). The majority of studies done on the issue are oriented towards ESL contexts leaving us with a gap in English as a foreign language (EFL) context literature. The paucity of studies in EFL contexts caused us to investigate whether WTC and language learners' oral proficiency were related in an Iranian context. To this end, 70 male and female intermediate language learners learning English at a private institute were chosen as the participants of the study. The WTC questionnaire was given to the participants and a standard speaking test was administered. Also, individual semi-structured interviews with some of the participants were used to obtain supportive data. The results of correlational analyses revealed that there was a strong relationship between learners' WTC and their oral proficiency with no significant gender difference. The possible reasons for the correlation are discussed with regard to different motivational, contextual, and attitudinal factors.
The Effect of EFL Learners' Gender and Second Language Proficiency on Willingness to Communicate
2012
With day-increasing emphasis on communication as the chief objective of second language learning, willingness to communicate (hereafter WTC) has come into focus by many researchers, teachers, and foreign language institutes. Previous studies show that WTC is highly correlated with the two variables of perceived competence and communication apprehension. This study aimed to investigate the difference in WTC between male and female English major students at Khorasgan University, Iran. Firstly, 55 English major students were asked to respond to three questionnaires on WTC, perceived competence and communication apprehension. The data was analyzed using independent sample t-test. The results showed no significant difference between male and female students in WTC, perceived competence and communication apprehension. The results related to the effect of language proficiency on WTC, perceived competence, and communication apprehensions were also analyzed using one way ANOVA. The results s...
The purposes of this study were to investigate the status of the Willingness to Communicate (WTC) of the Iranian students of English as a foreign language and the possible roles of gender and academic experience in the degree of the students' WTC. The data were collected by a questionnaire of WTC which was previously validated for the Iranians. The participants of the study were 163 university students majoring in English at different universities. The findings of the study revealed an average WTC among the students. Moreover, it was found that there is a significant difference between female and male students in terms of their WTC. This found to be contrary to the findings of previous researches, especially that of baker and McIntyre (2000). Based on the model of WTC, it was assumed that the contradiction may be due to critical cultural differences between the contexts of these two studies. However, the degree of WTC is not affected by the length of undergraduate education, that is, there is no significant difference between first-year students' and fourth-year students' WTC; that is, academic experience found to have no effect on students degree of WTC.
The Effects of Gender on Willingness to Communicate Among Turkish Efl Learners
Journal on English Language Teaching, 2021
Effective communication in a foreign language is a captivating area of study for language learners, teachers, and researchers alike. Language learners hope to exemplify characteristics conducive to fruitful communication. Language teachers aim to develop beneficial practices and cultivate an atmosphere where students feel willing to share their ideas, knowledge, and opinions in a foreign language. Language researchers endeavor to describe the ideal conditions and learner characteristics for successful communication. The task of analyzing potential factors in successful communication appears endless, yet each new study helps to construct a more comprehensive understanding of the road map to efficacious second language and foreign language communication. This study explored gender’s impact on Turkish university students’ willingness to communicate in English. Gender’s influence was also evaluated in learners’ self-perceived communicative competence, communication apprehension, and per...
The Relationship between EFL Teacher's Gender and Student's Willingness to Communicate
Common Ground Publishing, 2013
Learning a foreign language encompasses a process of trial and error that can lead to the progression of the learner’s interlanguage, meaning that the learners make use of their language knowledge that receives feedback and brings about progress through diagnosis of the problems and being corrected by the teacher. Therefore, there exists a need to analyze the underlying reasons causing the students to remain taciturn with a low willingness to communicate (WTC) during a language class. There has been much work done investigating the role of the learner’s stable personal characteristics (traits) along with their situational changes at a specific time (states) that influence the student’s participation and interaction. In this study, we analyze the effect of a teacher’s gender on female /male student’s WTC in language classes where speaking is the focus. The research focuses on the potentials of male or female EFL teachers in isolation, and their varying roles in language classes of the opposite and same gender students. The analysis proposed here establishes that some of the effects found are due to different characteristics of men and women, and some are influenced by social/cultural orientations. Keywords: Foreign Language Teaching, Willingness to Communicate, Gender, Social Factors, Cultural Orientations
Willingness to Communicate in Iranian EFL Learners: The Effect of Class Size
English Language Teaching, 2012
Willingness to communicate can be considered as one of the important factors in modern language pedagogy which put emphasis on meaningful communication. The present study investigated the effect of class size on the Iranian EFL students' willingness to communicate among three different class sizes. The researcher collected the data through observation of three classes in terms of students' turn of talk and talk time. Descriptive statistics including mean and standard deviation and one way ANOVA were run to analyze the data. The results of the study indicated that class size had a substantial effect on the students' willingness to communicate. Students were found to be more willing to communicate in small classes where they had more opportunity to practice oral skills and communicate. The current study had some pedagogical implications for both second language teaching and learning at the end.