Drawing on an ecological perspective, this study investigated the link between classroom environment and willingness to communicate (WTC) in an EFL classroom. We applied a mixed methods approach to collect data from 389 Chinese students where a questionnaire was used before semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifteen participants. The results showed that there was a significant correlation between classroom dynamics and WTC in an EFL classroom. The qualitative data also showed the importance of the integrated individual, linguistic and environmental factors in shaping learners’ WTC in EFL classrooms. The in-depth findings of this inquiry suggest that language teachers should be mindful of the interdependence of all these involved factors that create students’ WTC in class.
References
[1]
Cao, Y. (2011). Investigating Situational Willingness to Communicate within Second Language Classrooms from an Ecological Perspective. System, 39, 468-479.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2011.10.016
[2]
Dorman, J. P. (2003). Cross-National Validation of the What Is Happening in This Class? (WIHIC) Questionnaire Using Confirmatory Factor analysis. Learning Environments Research, 6, 231-245. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1027355123577
[3]
Dornyei, Z., & Muir C. (2019). Creating a Motivating Classroom Environment. In X. Gao (Ed.), Second Handbook of English Language Teaching (pp. 719-736). Springer International Handbooks of Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02899-2_36
[4]
Dornyei, Z., & Murphey, T. (2003). Group Dynamics in the Language Classroom. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511667138
[5]
Fisher, D. L., Aldridge, J. M., Fraser, B. J., & Wood, D. (2001). Development, Validation and Use of a Questionnaire to Assess Students’ Perceptions of Outcomes-Focused, Technology-Rich Learning Environments. The Annual Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education, Perth.
[6]
Fraser, B. J. (2002). Learning Environments Research: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. In S. C. Goh, & M. S. Khine (Eds.), Studies in Educational Learning Environments: An International Perspective (pp. 1-25). World Scientific.
https://doi.org/10.1142/9789812777133_0001
[7]
Fraser, B. J., Fisher, D. L., & McRobbie, C. J. (1996). Development, Validation, and Use of Personal and Class Forms of a New Classroom Environment Instrument. Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association.
[8]
Fushino, K. (2010). Causal Relationships between Communication Confidence, Beliefs about Group Work, and Willingness to Communicate in Foreign Language Group Work. TESOL Quarterly, 44, 700-724. https://doi.org/10.5054/tq.2010.235993
[9]
Kang, S.-J. (2005). Dynamic Emergence of Situational Willingness to Communicate in a Second Language. System, 33, 277-292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2004.10.004
[10]
Lee, J.S., & Lee, K. (2020). Role of L2 Motivational Self System on Willingness to Communicate of Korean EFL University and Secondary Students. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 49, 147-161. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-019-09675-6
[11]
Littlewood, W. (2010). Chinese and Japanese Students’ Conceptions of ‘the Ideal English Lesson’. RELC Journal, 41, 46-58. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688210362622
[12]
Liu, M., & Jackson, J. (2008). An Exploration of Chinese EFL Learners’ Unwillingness to Communicate and Foreign Language Anxiety. Modern Language Journal, 92, 71-86.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2008.00687.x
[13]
MacIntyre, P. D., & Charos, C. (1996). Personality, Attitudes, and Affect as Predictors of Second Language Communication. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 15, 3-26.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X960151001
[14]
MacIntyre, P. D., & Doucette, J. (2010). Willingness to Communicate and Action Control. System, 38, 161-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2009.12.013
[15]
MacIntyre, P. D., Dornyei, Z., Clément, R., & Noels, K. A. (1998). Conceptualizing Willingness to Communicate in a L2: A Situational Model of L2 Confidence and Affiliation. The Modern Language Journal, 82, 545-562.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1998.tb05543.x
[16]
McCroskey, J. C. (1992). Reliability and Validity of the Willingness to Communicate Scale. Communication Quarterly, 40, 16-25.
[17]
McCroskey, J. C., & Baer, J. E. (1985). Willingness to Communicate: The Construct and Its Measurement. Paper Presented at the Annual Convention of the Speech Communication Association. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463379209369817
[18]
Moos, R. H. (1979). Evaluating Educational Environments. Jossey-Bass Publishers.
[19]
Peng, J.-E. (2007). Willingness to Communicate in the Chinese EFL Classroom: A Cultural Perspective. In J. Liu (Ed.), English Language Teaching in China: New Approaches, Perspectives and Standards (pp. 250-269). Continuum.
[20]
Peng, J.-E., & Woodrow, L. (2010). Willingness to Communicate in English: A Model in the Chinese EFL Classroom Context. Language Learning, 60, 834-876.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2010.00576.x
[21]
Shi, L. (2006). The Successors to Confucianism or a New Generation? A Questionnaire Study on Chinese Students’ Culture of Learning English. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 19, 122-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908310608668758
[22]
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of Qualitative Research. Sage.
[23]
van Lier, L. (2002). An Ecological-Semiotic Perspective on Language and Linguistics. In C. Kramsch (Ed.), Language Acquisition and Language Socialization: Ecological Perspective (pp. 140-164). Continuum.
[24]
Wen, W. P., & Clément, R. (2003). A Chinese Conceptualisation of Willingness to Communicate in ESL. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 16, 18-38.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07908310308666654
[25]
Yashima, T. (2002). Willingness to Communicate in a Second Language: The Japanese EFL Context. The Modern Language Journal, 86, 54-66.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-4781.00136
[26]
Zepke, N., & Leach, L. (2010). Improving Student Engagement: Ten Proposals for Action. Active Learning in Higher Education, 11, 167-177.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787410379680
