Are University Students Willing to Communicate in English Language Courses?

Abstract

Abstract From a pedagogical-psychological point of view, communication in teaching occurs between a teacher and a student or between students themselves. It contributes to the activation of internal mental processes, not only in participating individuals, but it benefits the entire class as a whole. Moreover, in the teaching of a foreign language, communication is not only the means of communication, but it also becomes the content of the lesson. Students verify their knowledge and improve their speaking skills through the meaningful use of the foreign language. The willingness to communicate construct answers the question of why some people are more inclined to share their thoughts, knowledge, and opinions verbally more than others. In the presented research, I investigated students’ willingness to communicate in English language courses on a sample of university students (n = 350) using a quantitative questionnaire survey. The overall results indicate that students are generally willing to communicate in English language classes, i.e. the overall reported level of willingness to communicate among students was high, and the results of individual speech skills did not indicate significant differences. However, a closer look at individual speaking skills shows that students report a higher willingness to communicate for items that describe receptive speaking skills.