Abstract

Purpose – This quantitative study explored willingness to communicate (WTC) across two settings, ESL in Malaysia, and EFL in Indonesia and Thailand. Participants’ WTC levels were measured and communicative situations in which participants were almost always willing and almost never willing to communicate in English were identified. Method – Convenience sampling was used to select the three countries, four secondary schools and 42 intact classes from Years 7 to 10. Two schools were in Malaysia, while one school each was in Indonesia and Thailand. A total of 1038 participants, consisting of 291 Malaysians, 325 Indonesians and 422 Thais took part in the study. The instrument used was an adapted questionnaire measuring WTC inside and outside the English classroom. Findings – The major findings were: 1) Situations in which students were almost never willing to communicate in English were mainly found outside the classroom; 2) Students were almost always willing to communicate in English in brief, predictable situations requiring the use of set phrases; 3) ESL students had a higher level of WTC than EFL students; and 4) WTC inside the classroom was significantly higher than WTC outside the classroom. Significance – The findings have implications for ESL/EFL classroom instruction. English teachers remain the main interlocutors in increasing WTC in the classroom. They also need to bridge the gap between the classroom and the outside world by preparing students for real social situations. This is consistent with the situation-specific aspect of WTC in the heuristic model proposed by MacIntyre, Clément, Dörnyei, & Noels (1998).

Highlights

  • English teachers, especially in an ESL or EFL context, aim to produce students who can communicate competently in authentic situations

  • The findings showed how situational willingness to communicate (WTC) in the L2 changes along with the unfolding of a communication situation that is unpredictable due to the interplay of variables such as topic, interlocutors and conversational context

  • RQ1 looked at responses in each situation of communication for Almost Never Willing (ANW) and Almost Always Willing (AAW) to communicate in English

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Summary

Introduction

Especially in an ESL or EFL context, aim to produce students who can communicate competently in authentic situations. Getting one’s message across effectively is an overall objective in speaking classes The achievement of this objective is affected by students’ willingness to communicate (WTC), which is defined as their free choice to initiate communication when the occasion arises (McCroskey & Baer, 1985). To expand this definition further, in the teaching and learning of English, WTC is the intention to initiate interaction and respond to an utterance or cue to speak in English.

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