Willingness to Communicate in English: A Model in Chinese EFL Classroom Context

Jian-E Peng

November 16, 2013

Willingness to Communicate (WTC)

The concept of WTC originated in first language (L1) communication research in North America.

WTC in L1 was considered a personality trait reflecting individuals’ tendencies to engage in communication when given the free choice (McCroskey & Baer, 1985).

WTC in a Second Language (L2 WTC)

An individual difference (ID) variable defined as “a readiness to enter into discourse at a particular time with a specific person or persons, using a L2” (MacIntyre et al.1998, p. 547).

L2 WTC is conceptualized at the levels of trait and state. Trait WTC is a relatively stable personality characteristic; whereas state WTC represents a temporary condition that is easily changed.

Importance of L2 WTC

L2 WTC predicts L2 use (MacIntyre & Charos, 1996).

Students with high L2 WTC tend to seek out more communicative opportunities (MacIntyre et

al.1998). Creating WTC among EFL (English as a foreign

language) students can inspire self-selective commitment to oral communication.

A Heuristic L2 WTC Model

(MacIntyre et al.1998, p. 547)

An L2 WTC Model in the Chinese Context

(Wen & Clément, 2003, p. 25 )

“(Confucian) cultural values are the dominant force shaping the individual’s perception and way of learning, which is manifested in L2 communication.”

Previous Studies

Previous studies have been highly informed by the socio-educational model (Gardner, 1985) derived in Canadian English-French bilingual society. L2 WTC Attitudes (integrativeness/international posture & attitudes toward the learning situation) Motivation Communication confidence

perceived communication competence communication anxiety

(Kim, 2004; CetinkayaMacIntyre & Charos, 1996; Yashima, 2002; Yashima et al., 2004)

Research effort has been largely accorded to individual variables, with contextual variables under-investigated.

The socio-educational model takes on a macro-perspective on multi-ethnic social interaction.

This model does not necessarily apply to the EFL context.

Present Study

Inspired by an ecological perspective, this study adopted a quantitative psychometric approach, examining the interrelationships between individual and classroom contextual variables. WTC in English Classroom environment Learner beliefs Motivation (intrinsic & extrinsic motivation) Communication confidence

An Ecological Perspective

Ecology refers to the “study of the relationship between all the various organisms and their physical environment” (van Lier, 2002, p. 144)

Learners’ cognitive behaviors are interwoven with their physical and social surrounding (Leather & van Dam, 2003).

A language classroom represents a social environment in which students and the teacher negotiate their subjectivities as social members.

Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivation

The self-determination (SDT) theory Human beings’ basic psychological needs,

including autonomy, competence, and relatedness are being either supported or thwarted by environmental contingencies (Ryan & Deci, 2002).

The satisfaction of these needs may create intrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation pertains enjoyment or a satisfactory feeling associated with an activity.

for knowledge (for gaining new knowledge) for accomplishment (for achieving goals) for stimulation (for the sensations when

performing a task)

Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation refers to regulations that are external to an individual’s control.

external regulation (performance of an activity being regulated by external incentives)

introjected regulation (performance of an activity being associated with self-imposed pressure)

identified regulation (investment in an activity being driven by goals internalized as personally important)

integrated regulation (when one fully assimilates an activity to one’s values, beliefs, or the self)

Learner Beliefs

Culture of learning Classroom learning behaviors are “set within

taken-for-granted frameworks of expectations, attitudes, values and beliefs about what constitutes good learning, about how to teach and learn, whether and how to ask questions”, which have their roots in a specific culture (Cortazzi & Jin, 1996).

Learner beliefs about English learning Learner beliefs about classroom

communication

Classroom Environment

Three major components classroom dynamics: the teacher, the learners, and the tasks. (Dörnyei, 1994; Williams & Burden, 1997)

Teacher support (teacher’s help, friendship, trust, interest shown to students)

Student cohesiveness (the extent to which students know, help, and support each other)

Task orientations (the importance of completing activities and staying on the subject matter, and the perceived usefulness of activities)

(Dorman, 2003; Fraser, 2002)

Research Design

Pilot study

Main study

330 studentsfrom 1 university

579 students from8 universities; 503 valid cases for SEM

Exploratory factoranalysis

Confirmatory factoranalysis; Structural equation modeling

Stage Participants Data analysis

Non-English-major first- and second-year university students

579 students from8 universities; 503 valid cases for SEM

330 studentsfrom 1 university

579 students from8 universities; 503 valid cases for SEM

Exploratory factoranalysis

330 studentsfrom 1 university

579 students from8 universities; 503 valid cases for SEM

Confirmatory factoranalysis; Structural equation modeling

Exploratory factoranalysis

330 studentsfrom 1 university

579 students from8 universities; 503

valid cases for SEM

Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)

SEM is an advanced technique rigorous in testing multiple dependence relationships simultaneously. AMOS 7.0 Maximum Likelihood (ML) estimation

Two important stepsTesting the measurement model of each latent

variable (confirmatory factor analysis, CFA)Testing the structural model (SEM)

(Hair et al., 2006)

Research Question

What are the interrelationships between WTC in English, classroom environment, learner beliefs, motivation to learn English, and communication confidence?

Instrumentation

1. WTC in English (Weaver, 2005) – 10 items, 6-point Likert scale

e.g. I am willing to give a short speech in English to the class about my hometown with notes. 2. Communication Anxiety in English (Horwitz, et al.,

1986; Woodrow, 2006) – 6 items, 6-point Likert scalee.g. (I feel anxious) when I have to speak without preparation in English class. 3. Perceived Communication Competence in

English– 6 items, 11-point can-do scale (adapted from WTC scale)

e.g. I am able to do a role-play standing in front of the class in English (e.g. ordering food in a restaurant).

Instrumentation (cont’d)4. Motivation to learn English (Noels et al., 2000) –

12 items, 6-point Likert scale

e.g. (I learn English) in order to get a more prestigious job later on.

5. Learner beliefs (Sakui & Gaies, 1999; Peng, 2007) – 9 items, 6-point Likert scale

e.g. I learn little by participating communication activities in class.

6. Classroom Environment (Fraser et al. 1996) – 13 items, 6-point Likert scale

e.g. The teacher provides a timely response to students’

concerns.

Learner beliefs

Classroomenvironment

Motivation tolearn English

Communicationconfidence in English

WTC inEnglish

Figure 1 Hypothesized L2 WTC model in Chinese EFL classroom

Model specification based on Nyikos & Oxford, 1993; Yashima, 2002; Yashima et al., 2004; Wen & Clément, 2003; Hu, 2003

Results of CFAs

1. Factor structure of WTC in English

2. Factor structure of communication confidence

Communicationanxiety

Perceivedcommunication

competence

-.54

WTC in meaning-focused activities

WTC in form-focused activities

.51

Results of CFAs

3. Factor structure of motivation to learn English

4. Factor structure of learner beliefs

Beliefs aboutEnglsh learning

Beliefs aboutclassroom

communication

.56

Intrinsic motivation

Identified regulation

.62

External regulation

.26

.54

Results of CFAs

5. Factor structure of classroom environment

Teacher support

Studentcohesiveness

.49

Task orientation

.77

.51

Reliability

Reliability

1. Cronbach’s alpha (α)

2. Model-based construct reliability (A.K.A. composite reliability). This reliability accounts for the effect of latent variables and measurement errors (Hair et al., 2006)

CR =

n

ii

n

ii

n

ni

1

2

1

2

1

Table 1 Reliability estimates

Variables Cronbach's alpha

Compositereliability

WTC in English .82 .82

Communication confidence

Communication anxiety .84 .83

Perceived communication competence

.93 .92

Motivation to learn English

External regulation .89 .90

Identified regulation .82 .89

Intrinsic motivation .88 .87

Variables Cronbach's alpha

Compositereliability

Learner beliefs

Beliefs about English learning

.74 .75

Beliefs about classroom communication

.76 .77

Classroom environment

Teacher support .77 .77

Student cohesiveness .83 .85

Task orientation .79 .79

Validity

Validity

1. Normed χ2 (χ2/df)

2. Fit indices: GFI, NFI, CFI, RMSEA, SRMR

Table 2 Fit indexes for the measurement models

Results of SEM

Table 3 Step-by-step modifications of the structural model

Learner beliefs

.46

BELENGLEA

.68

.44

BELCLACOMM

.66

Classroom

Environment

.65

TASKORIEN.81

.35

STUCOHE.59

.53

TEASUPP.73

Motivation toLearn English

.33

INTRMOTI

.25

EXTEREGU

CommunicationConfidence in English

.53

PC

.33

CA

WTC inEnglish

.71

WTCMFACT.85

.35

WTCFFACT

.59.18

.19

-.57 .72

.81

IDENREGU

.90

.58.50

.38

.69

.15

.33

.42

.29

.62

Figure 2 Structural model of willingness to communicate in English in Chinese EFL classroom

1. Communication confidence is the strongest predictor of WTC in English.

2. Motivation indirectly affect WTC through confidence. Students with motivation to learn English may not

necessarily be willing to communicate using English. A motivated students is likely to have a higher

perception of their competence and lower level of communication anxiety.

3. Learner beliefs influence motivation and communication confidence.

Results & Discussions

4. Classroom environment influences WTC directly and indirectly via learner beliefs and communication confidence.

Students’ perceptions of the classroom environment largely reflect how useful they perceive the learning tasks to be and how well the teacher can boost their enthusiasm with supportive behaviors.

A pleasant learning environment is likely to heighten perceived competence and lessen anxiety.

Students with positive experience in communicative classes are more likely to develop a communication-orientation belief system.

Results & Discussions

5. The mode accounted for 62% of the variance of WTC in English, 54% of the variance of communication confidence, 14% of the variance of motivation, and 11% of the variance of learner beliefs.

6. The model provides an adequate fit to the data, indicating the potential to draw on individual and classroom contextual variables to account for EFL classroom communication.

7. This study was the first effort to include classroom environment and learner beliefs into a WTC model by the time of its commencement.

Results & Discussions

Limitations

1. The conceptualization of learner beliefs was confined to two aspects (i.e. beliefs about English learning and classroom communication)

2. Model modification renders the study exploratory in nature. Further empirical research is needed to confirm the analytical results.

3. The snapshot obtained with students’ self-reports requires other sources of data to acquire a contextualized understanding of Chinese students’ WTC in class.

ReferencesCetinkaya, Y. B. (2005). Turkish college students' willingness to

communicate in English as a foreign language. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University, Columbus.

Cortazzi, M., & Jin, L. (1996). Cultures of learning: Language classrooms in China. In H. Coleman (Ed.), Society and the language classroom (pp. 169 － 206). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (Eds.). (2002). Handbook of self-determination research. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.

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(3), 231 － 245.

Dörnyei, Z. (1994). Motivation and motivating in the foreign language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 78(3), 273 － 284.

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). River Edge, NJ: World Scientific.

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, New York.

Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitude and motivation. London: Edward Arnold.

Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (2006). Multivariate data analysis (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125－ 132.

Kim, S. J. (2004). Exploring willingness to communicate (WTC) in English among Korean EFL (English as a foreign language) students in Korea: WTC as a predictor of success in second language acquisition. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, Columbus.

Leather, J., & van Dam, J. (2003). Towards an ecology of language acquisition. In J. Leather & J. van Dam (Eds.), Ecology of language acquisition (pp. 1–29). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.

MacIntyre, P. D., & Charos, C. (1996). Personality, attitudes, and affect as predictors of second language communication. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 15(1), 3 － 26.

MacIntyre, P. D., Dörnyei, 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(4), 545-562.

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, Denver, CO.

Noels, K. A., Pelletier, L. G., Clément, R., & Vallerand, R. J. (2000). Why are you learning a second language? Motivational orientations and self-determination theory. Language Learning, 50(1), 57 － 85.

Peng, J. (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). London: Continuum.

Sakui, K., & Gaies, S. J. (1999). Investigating Japanese learners' beliefs about language learning. System, 27(4), 473 － 492.

van Lier, L. (2002). An ecological-semiotic perspective on language and linguistics. In C. Kramsch (Ed.), Language acquisition and language socialization: Ecological perspectives (pp. 140 － 164). London: Continuum.

Weaver, C. (2005). Using the Rasch model to develop a measure of second language learners' willingness to communicate within a language classroom. Journal of Applied Measurement, 6(4), 396 － 415.

Wen, W. P., & Clément, R. (2003). A Chinese conceptualisation of willingness to communicate in ESL. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 16(1), 18 － 38.

Williams, M., & Burden, R. (1997). Psychology for language teachers: A social constructivist approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Woodrow, L. J. (2006). Anxiety and speaking English as a second language. RELC Journal, 37(3), 308 － 328.

Yashima, T. (2002). Willingness to communicate in a second language: The Japanese EFL context. The Modern Language Journal, 86(1), 54-66.

Yashima, T., & Zenuk-Nishide, L. (2008). The impact of learning contexts on proficiency, attitudes, and L2 communication: Creating an imagined international community. System, 36(4), 566-585.

Thank You