Abstract
This study explores how expanding circle communication (i.e., intercultural communication between “non-native” speakers of English) boosts the confidence of Japanese EFL learners by developing a positive attitude toward their own English. Japanese, Chinese and Vietnamese university students participated in four sessions of online discussion. Since the idea of “English as an International Language” (EIL) is considered as a key to promote the learners’ positive mindset for what had been considered “non-native” English varieties and boost the confidence in their own English, it was introduced in the reading activities in each session. After the completion of four intercultural communication sessions, reflective writings on two questions asking 1) their self-confidence in speaking English and 2) their attitude about EIL were collected. The result shows that the expanding circle communication brought the Japanese participants to raise their confidence in speaking English in relatively high percentage (73%) of all cases. Regarding the attitude on EIL, on the other hand, students were divided into two groups with the negative (43%) and positive (57%) attitude. In this study, therefore, the gap in the percentage between the participants’ confidence in speaking English and attitude on EIL was examined and discussed.
Highlights
In line with the continued globalization, the demand for worldwide communication in English has been increasing
This study explored how expanding circle communication boosts the confidence of Japanese EFL learners by developing a positive attitude toward their own English
Given the results of both the current and previous study, the power of input from English as an International Language (EIL) literature is stronger than the one from EIL-related casual readings, which brought a higher percentage of the participants in the previous study to form a positive attitude toward Japanese English
Summary
In line with the continued globalization, the demand for worldwide communication in English has been increasing. It is considered necessary to have EFL learners acquire English communication skills used in a global society (e.g., negotiating in English). Introducing EIL in English classes can encourage EFL learners to practice English better in a way that they never approached before by understanding the concept and putting the idea into practice, in other words, producing their own English variety (Japanese English) with confidence. The activity is designed for the learners to input the concept of EIL mainly through reading EIL-related articles in the stage of the pre-videoconference task. The learners showed a positive attitude toward EIL, that is, their own English variety, which is a very important process to gain confidence in speaking Japanese English. The concept of EIL was not introduced into the activity, the students were successful to practice the idea of EIL: speaking Japanese English. The result indicates the students’ confidence in speaking English was increased after the activity, which proved that it is well-designed for the students to output their English variety and raise their confidence in speaking English
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