Levels Of Willingness To Communicate Research Articles

Lexical processing and second language acquisition

Willingness to Communicate (WTC) is a construct which has been consistently conceived as under the convergent influences of psychological, personal, and social, as well as communicative variables. However, few studies have considered WTC's dynamic feature in a situated language learning context. The present study does so by examining how the fluctuation of WTC influences language learners' actual language use when the interlocutor set-ups are altered based on their matched or mismatched WTC level. The language learners' language use is quantified as their actual language output in communication tasks, including the number of words and the amount of turn-taking produced in the discourse. It was found that the communication output of language learners with low WTC did not improve when they were paired up with peers of higher WTC. The changes in communication behaviors of low WTC individuals when they worked together with interlocutors of different WTC levels suggest that WTC is dynamic, and is jointly constructed by the interlocutors during a communication task.

Emotional Intelligence as A Predictor of L2 Communication

The aim of the present study was to investigate the viable relationship between English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ emotional intelligence and communication in English in a Turkish context. A total of 165 EFL learners were recruited for the study. Data were collected using the Emotional Intelligence Scale (SEIS) and the Willingness to Communicate (WTC) Scale. The collected data were analyzed through both descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that proportionally a great majority of the participants (96%) had high levels of EI; 19% high, 68% moderate, and 13% low levels of WTC were also observed among the participants. Levels of emotional intelligence significantly correlated with EFL learners’ WTC in the study sample. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between the four sub-scales of EI and subcomponents of WTC. Perception of emotions and managing emotions were the strongest predictors of WTC. Findings may serve as insights for EFL instructors to reappraise their teaching methods on a par with their students’ emotional intelligence and WTC levels and also might help them opt for appropriate teaching materials which address students with diverse abilities and desire for second or foreign language communication.

Willingness to Communicate in Intercultural Interactions between Chinese and Americans

This study investigated the differences in willingness to communicate (WTC) between Americans and Chinese living in China and the United States, and the factors affecting WTC between these two nationalities. A battery of questionnaires was administered to 47 American and 54 Chinese college students in China, and 51 American and 42 Chinese college students in the US. Overall Americans were found to be more willing to communicate with Chinese than were Chinese with Americans. Participants living abroad reported higher levels of WTC than those living in their home country. Among Chinese, WTC was positively related to self-perceived communication competence, language competence, immersion time and motivation being positively correlated and negatively associated with CA. Similar results were obtained from Americans, except that immersion time and language competence were not related to WTC.

WILLINGNESS TO COMMUNICATE, SOCIAL SUPPORT, AND LANGUAGE-LEARNING ORIENTATIONS OF IMMERSION STUDENTS

Willingness to communicate (WTC) has been defined as the intention to initiate communication, given a choice. It was hypothesized that orientations toward language learning as well as social support would influence students' WTC in a second language. Grade 9 students of L2 French immersion, living in a relatively unilingual Anglophone community, participated in the study. WTC was measured in each of four skill areas: speaking, writing, reading, and comprehension. Five orientations or reasons for studying an L2 were examined: travel, job related, friendship with Francophones, personal knowledge, and school achievement. Results showed that endorsement of all five orientations for language learning was positively correlated with WTC both inside and outside the classroom. Results also showed that social support, particularly from friends, was associated with higher levels of WTC outside the classroom but played less of a role inside the classroom. The support of friends was also associated with higher orientations for travel and for friendship with Francophones. Results are discussed in terms of an emerging situated model.