Willingness to Communicate in English Classrooms: A perspective of ESP Post-Graduate Students
There is an urgent need for universities where English is taught as a foreign or second language to produce graduates with adequate English proficiency to cater to the demands of English communicative competence for their careers. However, in Thailands reality, for example, not all adult learners or graduates are equipped with great command of English. This may be due to such factors as their proficiency level, confidence level, personality and their past experience in learning and using the language. Willingness to Communicate (WTC) is the ability to initiate and engage in communicating when an opportunity arises (McCroskey, 1997). It has been noted that WTC plays a crucial role in second language acquisition in terms of both language learning and social support. The purpose of this study is to identify factors determinant of the extent of spoken language use during face-to-face communication in post graduatelevel classrooms. The subjects in the study were ten post-graduate students from two technology related schools in a Thai university, aged between 22 and 40. The data collection consists of class observation and individual interviews. The data will review accounts of the subjects enthusiasm and the lack thereof in in-class participation. The analysis of the data is based on the Heuristic Model of Variables Influencing Willingness to Communicate (WTC) (MacIntyre, Clément, D(o)rnyei & Noels, 1998). The description and interpretation will indicate variables affecting the subjects WTC in English in a Thai setting. The relationship of the model and the supporting evidence will be displayed. Ways of applying WTC effectively will be proposed with examples of particulars may hinder and/or encourage L2 communication. It should also be noted that language should be treated as a tool to communicate rather than the subject itself and that how a person behaves in a classroom relies heavily on individual differences in L2 communication.
Pattamawan Jimarkon Rachanee Dersingh
School of Liberal Arts, King Mongkuts University of Technology Thonburi
国际会议
2009 International Conference on Applied Linguistics & Language Teaching(2009应用语言学暨语言教学国际研讨会)
台湾
英文
105-114
2009-04-01（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）