Abstract
<p>This study investigated the link between future L2 selves and Willingness to Communicate (WTC) in the classroom in the UK university context. We applied a mixed methods approach to collect data from 121 Chinese overseas students where a questionnaire was used before semi-structured interviews were conducted with six participants. Two key quantitative findings were: 1) There is a strong positive correlation between ideal L2 self and classroom WTC; 2) A student’s major moderates the relationship between the ought-to L2 self and classroom WTC. Students from non-English-related majors had a greater influence of ought-to L2 self on their WTC in the classroom, while ought-to L2 self does not seem to affect the WTC of English-related majors in the classroom. Follow-up interviews triangulated the quantitative findings with further illustrations in terms of the role of future L2 selves in stimulating WTC in the classroom and the potential differences between students with different academic backgrounds.</p>
Highlights
Showing willingness to communicate with the instructor and peers in the classroom is often seen as a sign of an engaged learner
There is a small yet statistically significant correlation between Willingness to Communicate (WTC) in the classroom and ought-to L2 self. This suggests that while there is a relationship between WTC in the class and ought-to L2 self, the relationship between WTC and ideal L2 self is stronger
The current study examined the role of ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self in L2 WTC in the classroom among Chinese university students studying in the UK
Summary
Showing willingness to communicate with the instructor and peers in the classroom is often seen as a sign of an engaged learner. Chinese university students are one of the major groups of overseas students in the UK, but despite their proficiency in English overall they are often observed as reticent L2 speakers in class (Xie, 2010). The feature of this learner group has generated much discussion about the causes of their perceived low levels of L2 Willingness to Communicate (WTC) from the perspectives of both cultural features and individual differences. Recent research over the past decade has appeared to view the culture-oriented viewpoint as over-generalized (Shao & Gao, 2016) and has analysed the unwillingness to communicate among Chinese students in English medium language classrooms by focusing on the individual characteristics of L2 learners (Pawlak & Mystkowka-Wiertelak, 2015)
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