Willingness to Communicate in L2 English: Impact of Learner Variables (original) (raw)
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Journal of Language and Social Psychology (SAGE), 2012
The purpose of the present study is to examine willingness to communicate in the second language (L2WTC) construct and its underlying variables among non–English major students in Iran. The study used WTC and socioeducational models for examining L2 communication and L2 learning. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and t test were used with a sample of 158 non–English major university students. An L2 communication model was also proposed and tested using structural equation modeling. The results showed that L2 self-confidence and attitudes toward international community were two predictors of L2WTC in Iranian context. The paths from motivation to L2WTC and openness to experience to L2 self confidence were not significant and thus were deleted. The model shows a good fit to the data, which indicates the potential for using the L2WTC construct for English as a foreign language context.
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...
A Case Study on Willingness to Communicate in English in the Iranian Tertiary Educational Context
TEFLIN Journal - A publication on the teaching and learning of English
Willingness to communicate (WTC) in English is specifically important because L2 (foreign/second language) communication is considered to be a key factor in L2 learning. When the opportunity to speak English arises, there are generally two options: speaking or avoiding it. Several factors might exert influence on the choice of either option by different individuals. In this vein, the current study investigated the underlying factors that lead to (un)willingness on the part of Iranian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) tertiary students. Through a purposive sampling procedure, this classroom-based case study recruited and examined 10 EFL learners in Iran over a period of three weeks. Data were collected employing semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and stimulated-recall interviews. Thematic analysis was performed to identify common themes from the participating students’ ideas. Results reveal that participants’ L2 WTC emerges as a result of the complex, dynamic and no...
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.
Willingness to Communicate and Second Language Proficiency: A Correlational Study
Education Sciences
This study attempts to answer one straightforward question: “what is the relationship between students’ proficiency level and their willingness to communicate?”, i.e., their “readiness to enter into discourse at a particular time with a specific person or persons”, using an L2. Understanding the link between proficiency and WTC is important as a great deal of effort is expended by teachers worldwide on encouraging learners to engage in L2, interaction more. If their willingness to do so depends (in part) on their proficiency level at the time, this may affect what type of activities and instruction are to be provided in class, especially compulsory English classes where students have less autonomy and motivation. To establish this relationship, we correlated 1836 Thai university students’ English Placement Test scores with their level of WTC as measured through a three-part survey instrument, with WTC operationalised as “self-perceived willingness to communicate”, “communicative sel...
Willingness to communicate (WTC) is one of the affective factors assumed to influence success in second and foreign language learning. Although the nature of the construct of WTC has been thoroughly investigated in both first and second language its relationship with different modalities of communication in a foreign language has not been studied. The present study explores the possible relationship between WTC and its components and success in foreign language learning. For the purposes of this study a willingness to communicate scale was correlated with a C-Test, which is a measure of general language proficiency. Results show that two out of the three subscales of WTC, namely, willingness to communicate in the school context and willingness to communicate with native speakers of English, were moderately correlated with success in learning English as foreign language as measured by C-Test. The other subscale of WTC, i.e., willingness to communicate with nonnative speakers of English was not correlated with success in foreign language learning.
Willingness to Communicate Orally: The Case of Iranian EFL Learners
This study sets out to develop a questionnaire on willingness to communicate (WTC) orally specific to English as a Foreign Language setting. It also aims to investigate the effect of three independent variables of interlocutor, age and gender on the same construct of WTC orally. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in three dimensions to WTC, namely WTC with teacher, with classmate, and stranger. Also Cronbach's alpha of .86 indicated a high internal consistency. Mixed between–within subjects analysis of variance was used to assess the impact of interlocutors, age and gender on participants' WTC across the three WTC subscale scores. The results showed no interaction effect between any of pairs of variables but the main effect of interlocutor on WTC orally. The results are discussed in the context of language teaching and some pedagogical implications are suggested.
Willingness to Communicate in English: A Case Study of EFL Students at King Khalid University
The main purpose of learning a foreign language is to use it for meaningful and effective communication both inside and outside the classroom. This paper is devoted to identifying the main communication difficulties faced by EFL students at King Khalid University (KKU) and exploring the reasons that lie behind these difficulties. The paper investigates the participants' willingness to communicate (WTC) in English when they have an opportunity and highlights the personality traits that affect students' oral communication in English. To this end, two types of instruments were used: a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. Both the questionnaire and the interview attempted to measure four types of communicative contexts (public speaking, meetings, group discussions and interpersonal conversations) and three types of interlocutors (strangers, acquaintances and friends). The findings reveal the EFL students' WTC in English at KKU and how their personality traits affect their WTC. Moreover, the paper suggests some recommendations for overcoming EFL students' unwillingness to communicate in English.
The Relationship Between Willingness to Communicate and English Language Proficiency
Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Language, Literature, and Arts Education (ICLLAE 2019), 2020
One of the effective aspects assumed in influencing student success in foreign language learning is the Willingness to Communicate (WTC). This correlational study was intended to explore any possible relationship between students' willingness to communicate and English Language Proficiency. The participants of this study were 23 Graduate students majoring in English Language Education at Yogyakarta State University. The instrument was a questionnaire of Willingness to Communicate in a Foreign Language Scale (WTC-FLS) developed and also validated by Baghaei (2012). It consisted of 20 items with a five-point Likert scale. The validity of the questionnaire was acceptable, while the reliability was 0.899. Moreover, the study used the score of students' ProTEFL (Proficiency Test of English as a Foreign Language) as a measure of their English Language Proficiency. For data analysis, it employed A Person Product-moment Correlation analysis. The analysis result revealed that there was no correlation between Willingness to Communicate and English language proficiency. It showed that students who had a high score of English language Proficiency did not always have the willingness to communicate in English or vice versa.
Willingness to Communicate in English: A Microsystem Model in the Iranian EFL Classroom Context
This study examined willingness to communicate (WTC) in English among Iranian EFL learners in the classroom context. For this purpose, a second language willingness to communicate (L2WTC) model based on WTC theory and empirical studies was proposed and tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). This model examined the interrelationships among WTC in English, communication confidence, motivation, classroom environment, attitudes toward learning English, and English language achievement. A total of 243 English-major university students in Iran completed a questionnaire. The proposed SEM model adequately fitted the data. Results of the SEM indicated that classroom environment was the strongest direct predictor of L2WTC; communication confidence directly affected WTC; motivation indirectly affected WTC through communication confidence; English language proficiency indirectly affected WTC through communication confidence; and the classroom environment directly affected attitudes, motivation, and communication confidence. F oreign/second language (L2) teaching has undergone many changes and revisions over the past century. In the past, English language teaching emphasized the mastery of structures, but more recently the communicative competence of the language learners and the use of language for the purpose of communication have been emphasized . Communicative language teaching 154 language classroom context of Iran, this study examines psychological, contextual, and linguistic variables of L2WTC in the Iranian EFL context. For this purpose, the present study proposes a model to investigate these variables. The accurate examination of this comprehensive model provides a useful viewpoint of L2 communication in the EFL classroom context in general, and the Iranian context in particular. Moreover, the proposed model can help L2 learners understand what factors affect their willingness to communicate in English. Based on this, they can become aware of their own communication preferences and, therefore, foster communication and speaking in the classroom. Hence, language learners' willingness to communicate in English in the Iranian EFL context is examined within the WTC framework proposed by and Peng and Woodrow (2010) using SEM.