scholarly journals Effects of affective variables and willingness to communicate on students’ English-speaking performance in Thailand

2022 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-61
Author(s):  
Budi Waluyo ◽  
Rahmah Bakoko

Recently, Willingness to Communicate (WTC) has been explored and proposed to be one of the key concepts for identifying when one decides to initiate communication in the target language. The attention, nonetheless, has been concentrated on how WTC interacts with other learners’ variables. This study, on the other hand, intends to offer empirical evidence on the direct roles of affective variables (self-confidence, anxiety, motivation, and grit) and WTC variables (WTC inside the classroom, WTC outside the classroom, and WTC in a digital setting) in Thai students’ English-speaking performance. The data were obtained from 35 undergraduate students (17.1% males; 82.9% females) using a survey questionnaire. Then, a speaking test was taken from an English Communication Skills course and was analysed using correlation and hierarchical regression. The results disclosed positive correlations among self-confidence, motivation, grit, WTC in a digital setting, WTC inside the classroom, WTC outside the classroom, and speaking performance, and negative correlations among self-confidence, anxiety, and grit. However, motivation was the only significant predictor of speaking performance. The findings offer some implications for English teachers in improving students’ English-speaking performance. 

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Khaled Elkotb Mahmoud Elshahawy

The present study aimed at indicating the effect of the affective variables (motivation, attitude, self-confidence and willingness to communicate) on the acquisition and learning of English language among the students of Languages and Translation Departments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study participants were 40 students (20 males and 20 females) from the students specialized in English language. The study used three instruments: The semi-structured interview, affective variables questionnaire (AVQ) and English language proficiency observation checklist (ELPOC). The study adopted the quasi-experimental design mixed with the qualitative interpretation. The study employed the correlational analysis and the simple liner regression to indicate the relationship between the independent and dependant variables. The findings of the study showed that there is a positive significant relationship between the affective variables (motivation, attitude, self-confidence and willingness to communicate) and the process of English language acquisition as a second language. The study also demonstrated that the most influential factors in the learners' English language acquisition process is their willingness to communicate. Recommendations and suggestions based on the study results were directed to the L2 (EFL/ESL) instructors and all the specialists in English language acquisition and learning.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 813-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ju Seong Lee ◽  
Kilryoung Lee

This quantitative study examines whether and to what extent affective factors (i.e. motivation, self-confidence, risk-taking, L2 speaking anxiety, and grit) and virtual intercultural experiences are linked to willingness to communicate in a second language (L2 WTC) in in-class, out-of-class, and digital settings. Participants included 176 Korean undergraduate and graduate students of English as a foreign language (EFL). After adjusting for demographic factors, hierarchical regression analyses revealed three major results: first, those with higher levels of L2 motivation and grit as well as a lower level of L2 speaking anxiety had higher L2 WTC inside the classroom. Second, students who majored in English and had higher levels of L2 self-confidence and risk-taking had higher L2 WTC outside the classroom. Third, individuals who were younger, had a higher level of L2 self-confidence and engaged more frequently in virtual intercultural experiences had higher L2 WTC in digital settings. Results suggest that demographic and affective variables as well as involvement in virtual intercultural activities play distinct roles in influencing EFL students’ WTC in three different L2 communication contexts. Based on these findings, this study provides pedagogical suggestions for L2 practitioners.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-36
Author(s):  
Nurhamimi Togimin ◽  
Haliza Jaafar

Encouraging students to speak during classroom activities is an effective strategy to improve their acquisition of the target language. Activities related to real life situation such as role play, debate and simulation provide substantial rehearsal and practice and they allow students to not just learn phrases, but also learn how to communicate in various circumstances. Recent studies have revealed that students who are exposed to learning using role play activities improve significantly in speaking competency. Hence, the aim of this study is to investigate how role play activities in an ESL classroom can be an innovative approach in improving students’ speaking skill. A total of nine undergraduate students from the Faculty of Computing in a public university in the Southern region of Malaysia were involved in this study. The main purpose for choosing the students as participants of the study was due to their low English proficiency based on their MUET results. The instruments used in this study were observation checklist and questionnaire. All the findings were tabulated and analysed qualitatively (observation checklist) as well as quantitatively (questionnaire). From the analysis carried out, it was evident that the students made positive improvement particularly in fluency, comprehension, context, and interactive communication. Besides that, the students felt that role play activities had brought positive effects on their English-speaking skills as obtained from the results of the questionnaire. Thus, it can be deduced that role play activities do have positive effects on students’ English-speaking skills.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anh Tuan Pham ◽  
Hieu Trung Hong ◽  
Tien Thuy Chau ◽  
Nhi Vo Anh Le ◽  
Phuc Thuy Thy Tran ◽  
...  

<p>This research aimed to discover the relationships between students' self-confidence and their English-speaking performance. In our research, self-confidence was divided into three components which are affective confidence, behavioral confidence, and cognitive confidence. In addition, speaking performance included eight components which are vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, fluency, coherence, comprehension, task, and content. A sample of 150 English-majored students at a university in Vietnam was surveyed in this study by using a convenience sampling technique, and then conducting semi-structured interviews to seek for qualitative information from 10 participants out of 150. The result from our study showed that there are significant relationships between the two variables. The more confident the students are, the more accomplished they would be in the presenting procedure since they have superior cognition and understand how to modify their learning methods to build a comprehensive individual in learning English language. We expect that these findings can help students adjust their learning methods to improve their self-confidence as well as English speaking performance and by that way, universities can add more speaking-related subjects so that students can have more opportunities to speak and learn more speaking skills.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0870/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>


Author(s):  
Habiburrahim Habiburrahim ◽  
Risdaneva Risdaneva ◽  
Ghina Putri ◽  
Syarifah Dahliana ◽  
Safrul Muluk

In this study, we analyzed the effects of speaking anxiety of Acehnese students in English learning classroom by looking at the causes of students’ speaking anxiety and their strategies in coping with it. The researchers used purposive sampling to select the participants of this research. Ten respondents from sophomore students of Department of the English Education at Teacher Training Faculty of Ar-Raniry State Islamic University in Aceh, Indonesia were selected by identifying their answers of Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety questionnaires developed by Horwitz et al. (1986). To have in-depth information on the subject matter, a semi-structured interview was employed. The results of this research showed that speaking anxiety caused some negative effects to Acehnese students’ speaking ability, which could be observed through the difficulties in constructing sentences and expressing the idea when they spoke in the target language. Low self-confidence, lack of competency, and being afraid of making mistakes were some of the factors considered as the major causes of speaking anxiety that could debilitate students’ classroom participation.


Author(s):  
M SEITOVA ◽  
А YERGABYLOVA

The aim of this study is to analyse 8th grade students' English speaking levels in the academic year 2020–2021 according to the speaking criteria of the Common European Language Framework of Reference for Languages. This study also aims to identify the speaking difficulties which are experienced by the students and find out the possible problems related to being able to carry out tasks which necessitate share data on known themes and exercises such as describing experiences, events, hopes and ambitions, understanding what the discussion is about and having the option to keep the discussion going successfully. Being able to speak in English or any target language is a vital skill and can be difficult at times. For the speaking analysis, a questionnaire was administered to 32 8th grade students of N20 R. Isetov school in Turkistan, Kazakhstan in the academic year 2020–2021. The results of the questionnaires were assessed statistically. The findings in the research indicate that students think they are competent with the A1 speaking criteria the most according to the CEFR. In other words, as the students reach higher levels of competencies in their current levels (A1, A2, B1), the means that show their speaking performance levels tend to go down.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 39-47
Author(s):  
Diem Nguyen Thi Kieu ◽  
Van Loi Nguyen

Web 2.0 applications with multimedia affordances provide a creative way to expose students to a non-threatening environment for practising English. Motivated by the potentials of this type of application for English speaking instruction, this study aimed to examine the effects of high school learners’ self-practice using an app called Voki on their speaking performance. A quasi-experimental control group design was employed, in which the effect was measured by means of two speaking tests before and after the treatment, and further explored with a semi-structured interview. The results showed the increase in the students’speaking skills and the satisfaction with this Web 2.0 tool for its effectiveness and engagement. Their shyness and nervousness about uttering the target language diminished as their confidence increased. Accordingly, more evidence of the efficacy of Voki on EFL learners’ speaking performance was offered in the study. Future research can investigate learners’ improvement in language proficiency in different skills and contexts and involve larger sample sizes.


Author(s):  
Ju Seong Lee ◽  
Nur Arifah Drajati

This study examined the under-researched relationship between informal digital learning of English (IDLE) activities (receptive IDLE activities and productive IDLE activities), affective variables (grit, motivation, self-confidence and second language speaking anxiety) and willingness to communicate in a second language. Data (N = 183) were collected through a questionnaire from one state university in an English-as-a-foreign-language Indonesian context. The results showed that students’ willingness to communicate correlated significantly with all of the IDLE activities and affective variables. However, only productive IDLE activities, grit, self-confidence, and motivation were identified as the significant predictors of students’ willingness to communicate. Findings suggest that students’ IDLE engagement and affective states play a significant role in a second language communication. In particular, pedagogical benefits of affective variables (e.g., grit, self-confidence, and motivation) and productive IDLE activities should be emphasised to facilitate students’ willingness to communicate in a second language. These results will broaden current knowledge of IDLE and second language communication behaviour, which can contribute to bridging the interdisciplinary gap between computer assisted language learning, second language acquisition, and psychology.


Author(s):  
Kamal J I Badrasawi ◽  
Noor Lide Abu Kassim ◽  
Ainol Madziah Zubairi ◽  
Elia Md Johar ◽  
Siti Sakinah Sidik

The purpose of this paper is to analyse English language speaking anxiety, self-confidence, and perceived ability in English oral communication among Science and Technology undergraduate students. It also aims to identify any significant differences in these constructs based on selected students’ demographic variables. The study employed the survey method with a 41-item questionnaire administered to a voluntary response sample of three hundred 3rd and 4th-year science and technology undergraduates from three Malaysian public universities. The Polytomous Rasch model was used to analyse the data. The analysis showed that the participants experienced English speaking anxiety, low confidence, and high perceived ability in English oral communication. There were significant mean differences in English speaking anxiety across the type of university as well as in confidence and perceived ability based on academic program. The participants were more confident and could perform better in familiar situations and communicate on familiar topics to familiar audiences. The findings suggest that the participants need more training on English oral communication. More authentic situations are also needed for them to practise and improve their proficiency levels. Other suggestions include providing lecturers with training modules, re-assessing the current language policies, and implementing certain programmes at the tertiary education level. Language programmes could be directed towards more social situations to enable undergraduates to make English a social practice, lower English speaking anxiety, and boost confidence.


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