The Impact of Online Interactive Tasks on L2 Willingness to Communicate: the Case of Arabic Speaking Learners

Abstract

The inherent focus of teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) is to help learners communicate in English and therefore, the question of why some learners are willing to communicate more than others in language tasks has often occupied the minds of teachers. Research on Willingness to Communicate has primarily been undertaken in traditional language classrooms, which involve face-to-face communication tasks. However, the literature has suggested that such classrooms often do not offer as much communicative practice as desired. The use of technology has become ingrained in our daily lives and has encouraged all sorts of online communication, which makes an interest in WTC online a sine qua non of TEFL research. This research suggests that what has been rather glaring is the absence of sufficient understanding of possible relationships between WTC and an increasing use of technology and hence the urge to give another quizzical look. The study involved 32 students in a language classroom at an English Department in a faculty of education in Egypt. The study aimed to investigate the impact of using online interactive tasks via Facebook messenger on participants’ WTC. Data collected focused on comparing participants’ WTC with teachers and peers in traditional and online tasks, and whether any change in WTC patterns as a result of the use of the online mode is transferrable to the traditional classroom. The study used pre-post study questionnaires, focus groups and online tasks to collect data. Results indicated that WTC can be enhanced through the use of online communication.