Browsing by Subject "Willingness to communicate"

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    'In New Zealand I feel more confidence': The role of context in the willingness to communicate (WTC) of migrant Iranian English language learners
    (2015-12-18) Cameron, Denise
    This article will discuss recent theories of Willingness to Communicate (WTC) and provide an overview of studies into this individual difference which have been conducted in both Iran and New Zealand (NZ). So far few qualitative studies have been carried out into WTC or have used permanent migrants as participants. The article reports on a longitudinal study of the WTC of a group of Iranian migrants to NZ. By means of questionnaires, observations, and individual semi-structured interviews conducted at six-month intervals, case studies of these learners in a NZ university English class were compiled. Their WTC was found to encompass such learner characteristics as confidence, motivation, and personality, and varied from country to country and semester to semester. Finally, this article discusses the contribution of this study to the WTC field of research, identifying the implications of these results for teachers of English in the ESL (English as a Second language/migrant) context and possible avenues for future research.
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    Selected determinants of pronunciation anxiety.
    (Universidad de Murcia, Servicio de Publicaciones, 2021) Baran Łucarz, Małgorzata; Lee, Jang Ho
    Empirical research shows that language anxiety has a detrimental effect on foreign language learning and its use. Several studies suggest that anxiety related to mastering and using foreign languages is skill-specific. This study examined pronunciation anxiety and attempted to determine its significant correlates. The included factors ranged from learning experiences with native-speaking teachers, previous studying abroad experience, and enjoyment of learning the target language, to willingness to communicate in the target language. A questionnaire was administered to two groups of EFL learners of different majors and different self-perceived levels. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses for both groups showed that willingness to communicate in English was the strongest determinant of pronunciation anxiety, while foreign language enjoyment the second meaningful correlate, but only in the case of the group whose self-assessment of general proficiency in English was lower.