Many researchers have highlighted the need for students to have a willingness to communicate (WTC) in second and foreign language classrooms. WTC is important because it is believed that WTC leads to eventual communication both inside and outside the classroom. Previous research into WTC has centered mainly on the use of structural models and trait, self-reported measurements of WTC, but recent research has shown that WTC is also heavily dependent on the situation. However, very few studies recognize this and have, thus, not employed situational measurements of WTC. After a thorough review of WTC literature, 13 pertinent constructs were modified to reflect the situation in the foreign language classroom. These were related to constructs of the classroom, beliefs about communication; self-determined motivation; self-perceived competence; communication anxiety and willingness to communicate. A preliminary study employing exploratory factor analysis and Rasch analysis, followed by a main study conducted with and confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis were undertaken with first- and second-year Japanese university students. The factor analysis was used to investigate the underlying structures of the factors and the Rasch analysis was used to determine fit, category functioning and dimensionality. Nine reliable and unidimensional factors were brought forward from the main study, which were Classroom Efficacy Factor and Classroom Affective Factor as the two classroom factors; Intrinsic Motivation for Communication, Introjected Regulation for Communication and External Regulation for Communication as the three self-determined motivation constructs, and finally, Self-Perceived Competence, Communicative Anxiety and Willingness to Communicate split in two subconstructs of pair/work and whole class activities. The second half the study was the formulation of a structural equation model using the above constructs to predict situational WTC. The model also included an often under-utilized resource, the teacher, who assessed the learners’ actual communication to identify if WTC leads to language use. All the fit indices in the final model (N = 376) were good, and the model included three additional paths. The model indicated that classroom constructs led to motivation and self-perceived competence, which predicted confidence. Motivation led directly to WTC and indirectly to WTC through confidence. Lastly, WTC predicted actual communication. The constructs in this study can be applied in other studies of situational WTC. This study helps to both expand our understanding of constructs affecting situational WTC and actual communication, and provides more validity to the construct of situational WTC. It also reaffirms the importance of what happens in the classroom, which is main arena for communication in the EFL setting. / Language Arts

Master of Arts / Department of Communication Studies, Theatre, and Dance / Leann M. Brazeal / In this thesis study, the use of group work as an instructional strategy was assessed to determine the effect it has on students’ willingness to communicate, communication apprehension, and self-perceived competence. Students enrolled in a basic public speaking at a major Midwestern university completed Neer’s (1987) Classroom Apprehension about Participation Scale (CAPS) at the beginning of the semester and again four weeks later after being exposed to a treatment of group or no group. Results indicated students’ willingness to communicate and self-perceived competence increased over the four-week duration of the study regardless of treatment. However, a significant reduction of communication apprehension was seen in students using group work in their classrooms. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Oral communication is a central aspect of language learning in EFL-classrooms all over the world. Therefore, problems arise when students are passive, or unwilling to communicate and participate. The aim of this study is to investigate what factors impact Swedish upper secondary students’ willingness to communicate using self-reported data. The data in the study is gathered from a questionnaire with 203 participants currently studying in Swedish upper secondary school. The data analysis comprised inferential statistics to investigate causal relationships between the concepts of foreign language anxiety (FLA), self-perceived communicative competence (SPCC), extramural English (EE), and willingness to communicate (WTC). The results of the study suggest a causal relationship between the concepts, thus contributing to previous studies on factors that impact and describe willingness to communicate. Also, the results indicate that students’ extramural English habits impact their behavior in oral communication. In conclusion, motivating the utility of the English language for real-world purposes, in combination with a positive classroom environment, and the improvement of students’ oral communication confidence are imperative tools for the stimulation of willingness to communicate in the EFL classroom.

This study seeks to examine (1) in what situations Swedish upper secondary school students from two EFL classes are unwilling to speak English in English class, and (2) what the motivational factors are for the same students to speak English. Students in their first and second year of studying English in Swedish upper secondary school participated in this study. The data were collected using observations, a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The data collected in this study were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The results of the study showed that students are unwilling to speak English in assessed situations as well as in situations where students are given less time before they can speak. The results suggest that students are influenced by one another, and that using English only instruction will make students more confident in speaking activities since speaking English will be normative behavior in class. Moreover, students are motivated to speak the target language in class by the English they meet outside of school, and by the plans that they have envisioned for their future.

The purpose of this study was to investigate, firstly, some Swedish upper secondary school students’ attitudes towards speaking in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom and, secondly, how these students suggest that speech anxiety should be dealt with. The participating students were both male and female and attended different school years and English courses. This qualitative study was based on interviews which were later transcribed and analyzed in relation to the research questions. The findings show that the students perceive speech anxiety differently depending on the context. The students also expressed that a way of reducing speech anxiety would be for teachers to communicate with their students to find solutions considering any discomfort and for the students themselves to be more prepared. It has been suggested that it is important to deal with speech anxiety in order to promote proficiency development. Therefore, the most important thing for teachers to do, according to the informants, is to make arrangements in the ESL classroom, together with the students concerned, which could help to make them more willing to communicate. However, the informants also suggest that students’ self-improvement, such as better preparations and reducing negative thoughts, needs to be included in the process to prevent speech anxiety for them to feel more comfortable when speaking in the ESL classroom.

El desarrollo de las habilidades de comunicación oral es el enfoque de la educación de lenguas extranjeras de hoy, sin embargo, los pocos estudios existentes muestran que el nivel de los alumnados en el noveno grado sueco es crítico. Para comprender mejor la situación y encontrar indicaciones sobre qué actividades se prefieren, este estudio ha encuestado a 46 alumnados y cinco profesorados de diferentes tipos de escuelas de una determinada zona de Gotemburgo. El marco teórico utilizado es principalmente el Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para las Lenguas, el método del lenguaje comunicativo, la voluntad de comunicarse y la ansiedad en la teoría de lenguas extranjeras. El resultado muestra que la mayoría de los profesorados utilizan las actividades mencionadas en el Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para las Lenguas, así como las del método del lenguaje de comunicación, que ha inspirado mucho el marco. La actividad preferida se muestra ser la práctica del habla en diferentes tipos de conversaciones informales o conversaciones sobre temas cotidianos. La actividad menos popular son las tareas preparatorias como estudiar gramática o rellenar huecos en diálogos medio hechos. Se descubrió una diferencia con respecto a los géneros, mientras que las alumnas mostraron un percibido mayor nivel de habilidad de comunicación oral, se sintieron menos seguras que los alumnados y, además, más ansiosas independientemente de la actividad en cuestión. Los alumnados varones mostraron una tendencia inversa. Aunque la correlación en este caso no es estadísticamente significativa, sí es estadísticamente importante. Si bien la percepción de las actividades y su impacto en la motivación y la ansiedad con respecto a ellas son importantes, son solo una perspectiva y una fracción de lo que un maestro puede hacer para aumentar el aprendizaje en el aula de hoy, por lo que es de esperar que se realicen más investigaciones. / Developing the skills of oral communication is the focus of today's foreign language education, however the few existing studies show that the level of the pupils in Swedish ninth grade is critical. To better understand the situation and find indications on what activities are preferred, this study has surveyed 46 pupils and five teachers from different types of school from a certain area in Gothenburg. The theoretical framework used is mostly the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, communicative language method, willingness to communicate and the anxiety in foreign language theory. The result shows that most teachers use the activities mentioned in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, as well the ones from the communication language method, which has greatly inspired the framework. Furthermore, the preferred activities are practicing speaking in different types of informal conversations or conversations about daily subjects. The least popular activity are preparatory tasks such as studying grammar or filling in gaps in written dialogs. A difference was discovered regarding the genders, whilst the female pupils showed a perceived higher level of oral communication skill, they felt less confident than the male pupils, and in addition more anxious regardless of the activity in hand. The male pupils showed a reverse tendency, although the correlation is not statistically significant it is statistically important. Even though the opinion of activities and their impact on motivation and anxiety regarding them are important, they are just one perspective and a fraction of what a teacher can do to increase the learning in the classroom of today, so hopefully there will be more research done in this field.

Over the course of a modern lifetime, television viewing accounts for a significant amount of information taken in by viewers. Within that consumption lies a potential problem. Viewers may learn erroneous messages about people and the world. Since television has characterized Latinos in ways that have emphasized cultural stereotypes, viewers may learn to perceive them in a corresponding manner. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 403 students from five universities and two community colleges located in Northern California. The respondents completed a seventy-one item questionnaire. Five key variables were utilized to measure relationships between them. The key variables included: learning about Latinos from television, positive perceptions of Latinos, negative Latino stereotypes, willingness to communicate with Latinos, and self-esteem. Frequency, correlation, and regression analyses indicated that there was significant interplay between the key variables. The results revealed an association between learning about Latinos from television and negative Latino stereotypes. Similarly, lower willingness to communicate with Latinos was associated with negative Latino stereotypes. However, higher willingness to communicate with Latinos was associated with positive perceptions of Latinos. Likewise, willingness to communicate with Latinos was positively associated with self-esteem. A multiple regression analysis indicated that learning about Latinos from television and lower willingness to communicate with Latinos were predictors of negative Latino stereotypes. Conversely, a second regression analysis indicated that higher willingness to communicate with Latinos and positive interaction with Latinos were predictors of positive perceptions of Latinos.

Detta arbete är en kunskapsöversikt över hur lärare kan motivera sina elever att hitta viljan attprata engelska i klassrummet med hjälp av sina engelsklärare. Syftet med denna studie är attta reda på vad forskningen säger om vilka metoder som är framgångsrika att använda iklassrummet, och mer specifikt, att besvara frågeställningarna: “Hur motiverar engelskläraresina elever att hitta viljan att prata engelska i klassrummet? samt “Vad är framgångsrikt attanvända i klassrummet? För att besvara frågeställningarna och uppnå studiens syfte har visystematiskt tagit fram, analyserat och sammanställt vetenskapliga studier om ämnet. Våracentrala begrepp i kunskapsöversikten är följande: engelska som andraspråk, WTC (Viljan attkommunicera), lärandemetoder, klassrumsmiljö och motivation.Vårt resultat mynnade ut iåtta stycken tematiserade underrubriker: WTC (Viljan Att Kommunicera), de sex faktorernasom påverkar språklärares WTC, kommunikationsstrategier, lärandemetoder, klassrumsmiljö,lärarkompetens, motivation/demotivation och elevinflytande. Vi kommer i vårtexaminationsarbete II att samla in empirisk data om hur elever i mellanstadiet årskurs 4-6undervisas i att prata engelska i klassrummet. Vi kommer med hjälp av intervjuer ochobservationer med både lärare och elever samla in ett underlag om vad de anser vara deviktigaste komponenterna i att finna motivation i att lära sig prata engelska i klassrummet.

Det engelska språket har genom åren börjat undervisas i allt yngre åldrar i Sverige där muntlig produktion utgör en stor del av undervisningen. För många elever är detta kul och spännande men för vissa elever uppstår talängslan. Talängslan avser att känna oro och obehag inför att tala. Den här studien har genomförts utifrån intresset att undersöka vad elever har för attityder till den muntliga kommunikationen i engelskundervisningen samt vad lärare har för uppfattningar om talängslan och hur de arbetar för att främja muntlig produktion i ämnet. Studien är genomförd utifrån både elev- och lärarperspektiv genom metodkombination där enkäter och semistrukturerade intervjuer använts. All insamlad empiri har koncentrerats, kategoriserats och tolkats utifrån en induktiv ansats samt teorin WTC och det sociokulturella perspektivet. Informanterna i denna studie var 38 elever i årskurserna 2 och 3 samt tre lärare med behörighet att undervisa engelska i årskurserna 1–3. Resultatet visar att elever i årskurserna 2 och 3 till stor del har en positiv inställning till den muntliga produktionen i engelskämnet. Sammantaget visar resultatet från både elevenkäter och lärarintervjuer att talängslan förekommer, om än i liten grad. Resultatet visar även att elevernas trygghet ligger till grund för elevernas vilja att kommunicera på engelska, där varierade arbetssätt, mindre grupper och elevernas intressen förespråkas. / Over the years, the English language has started to be taught at younger ages in Sweden where oral production forms a large part of the education. For many pupils this is fun and exciting, but for some pupils language anxiety can occur. Language anxiety refers to feeling anxiety and discomfort towards speaking. This study has been carried out based on the interest to investigate pupils' attitudes towards oral communication in English education, and teachers' perceptions of language anxiety and how they work to promote oral production in the English language class. The study is carried out from both pupils and teacher perspectives through a combination of methods where questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used. All collected data has been compiled, categorized, and interpreted based on an inductive approach as well as the WTC theory and the socio-cultural perspective. The informants in this study were 38 pupils in grades 2 and 3, and three teachers with authorization to teach English in grades 1–3. The results show that pupils in grades 2 and 3 mainly have a positive attitude towards oral production in the English subject. Overall, the results from both pupils’ questionnaires and teacher interviews show that language anxiety occurs, albeit to a small degree. The results also show that the pupils' sense of safety is the basis for the pupils' willingness to communicate in English, where varied working methods, smaller groups and the pupils' interests are advocated. / <p>Engelska</p>

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