Investigating willingness to communicate vis-à-vis learner talk in a low-proficiency EAP classroom in the UK study-abroad context

Abstract

Abstract A large body of research has investigated the factors which underlie willingness to communicate (WTC). However, scant scholarly attention has been paid to WTC vis-à-vis learner talk, i.e., how intentions to talk translates into talk. Drawing on Dörnyei’s retrodictive qualitative modelling template, this research comprises a qualitative multiple-case study of three South Korean students who were learning English in a low-proficiency EAP classroom in the UK study-abroad context. Specifically, the study examined what factors facilitated or hindered their WTC-talk realisation. Methodological triangulation was achieved by means of classroom observations, learner journals, audio-stimulated recall interviews and semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed five individual factors and four contextual factors which formed various interactional patterns and interdependently influenced the three students’ WTC-talk realisation. Such interactional patterns showcase how individual and contextual factors interact and contribute to WTC and individual differences in communication frequency in the EAP classroom. The study provides novel empirical evidence for the influence of the Korean Confucian-based culture of learning and communication on students’ L2 practice. Informed by the complex dynamic systems theory, the study concludes with pedagogical implications that aim to inspire EAP practitioners to cultivate WTC-friendly classes that optimise the realisation of learner talk.