Willingness to Communicate in the Chinese EFL University Classroom: An Ecological Perspective

Jian-E Peng

Published by Multilingual Matters 2014

Willingness to Communicate in the Chinese EFL University Classroom

An Ecological Perspective

Jian-E Peng

In the series Second Language Acquisition

https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783091560

Overview
Contents

About this book

This book integrates the findings of a quantitative study with a qualitative multiple case study to provide insights into students' willingness to communicate within a Chinese EFL context. It presents an ecological model of WTC to further the understanding of the interaction of individual and environmental factors inside and beyond the classroom.

Author / Editor information

Peng Jian-E :

Jian-E Peng is an Associate Professor at the College of Liberal Arts, Shantou University, China. Her research interests include willingness to communicate in an L2, learner motivation, intercultural communication, and research methodology. She has published in the journals of Language Learning, System, The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher and University of Sydney Papers in TESOL.

Reviews

This is an exemplary mixed methods study that captures the complexity of the topic of WTC in the Chinese context. Peng not only gives the rich detail so often called for in studies in the area, she goes on to address the needs of learners and teachers. This book will inspire researchers, educators, and learners to better understand why people who have been learning a language for years decide to either talk or to hold back when the time comes to communicate.

This exciting book reports a multi-phase, mixed-method, longitudinal study of Chinese EFL learners' willingness to communicate in English. Taking an ecological perspective, the well-designed, groundbreaking study explores the multifaceted, context-sensitive, socially mediated, and culturally embedded nature of willingness to communicate and opens a window into the communicative psychology of millions of Chinese learners of English.

Ying Wang, University of Southampton, UK:

The book is written without using native English idioms and thus appeals to an international readership. It is useful for the ELT practitioner who seeks to understand Chinese students’ behaviour in English language classrooms. It challenges a simplistic view of Chinese students as shy and passive learners of English and helps the ELT practitioner to find ways of supporting Chinese learners on the basis of understanding them. This book also reminds ELT practitioners who work in different contexts of the complexity of their students’ WTC so that they can address their students’ needs better.

Ng, Carly Yor-ling, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong:

This book is of great value to ELT practitioners because of its meticulous analysis of the important context of China and its EFL learners, as well as the provision of practical and sensible suggestions on educational practices in the last part of the book which will help EFL teachers identify suitable and appropriate cognitive and linguistic resources for learning. For those who want to understand more about the willingness to communicate (or lack of it) among Chinese learners of English, this is an excellent read.

Topics

Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Figures and Tables Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
Abbreviations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xiii
Acknowledgements Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xv
Part 1. The Research of Willingness to Communicate in a Second Language
1. Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
2. Hybrid Perspectives on WTC in an L2 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
Part 2. The Big Picture: Interrelationships between WTC, Communication Confi dence, Motivation, Learner Beliefs and Classroom Environment (Phase 1: Questionnaire Survey)
3. Dimensions of WTC, Confidence, Motivation, Beliefs and Classroom Environment Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	41
4. Interrelationships between WTC, Confidence, Motivation, Beliefs and Environment on WTC: A Full Structural Model Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	72
Part 3. A Situated Lens: WTC Fluctuations over Time and Across Classroom Situations (Phase 2: A Multiple-Case Study)
5. Four Cases and their WTC Fluctuations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	95
6. Distal and Proximal Influences on WTC Fluctuations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	116
Part 4. Blending ‘Apple Juice’ and ‘Orange Juice’: Integration of Overall Findings
7. WTC Inside the Language Classroom and Beyond Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	145
8. Concluding Remarks Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	158
Appendix 1: Factor Loadings Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	167
Appendix 2: Questionnaire Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	171
Appendix 3: Correlation Matrix for the Structural Model Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
Appendix 4: Interview Guide Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	179
Appendix 5: Classroom Observation Scheme Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	180
Appendix 6: Learning Journal Framework Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	183
Appendix 7: Coding Scheme Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	184

Language: English
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
Pages
- Main content: 240
Keywords: willingness to communicate; WTC; Second Language Acquisition; SLA; EFL classroom; Chinese learners of English; L2 motivation; learner beliefs; individual differences; learner differences; learner characteristics; Chinese EFL classroom

eBook

Published: February 26, 2014
ISBN: 9781783091560