Assessing Willingness to Communicate for Academically, Culturally, and Linguistically Different Language Learners

Abstract

Synchronous electronic communication has provided opportunities for language learners in different locales to have meaningful dialogue with one another and highlighted the importance of English even in the context of EFL settings. In this chapter, the authors designed an intercultural electronic chat task to see if students from different cultural backgrounds, with different English language abilities, with different L1s, and who have different academic interests would be willing to communicate using English. Sixteen Taiwanese university students, who were marine science majors (lower proficiency group), chatted electronically in small groups with 27 Japanese university students, who had been studying English for two years (higher proficiency group). Student commentary to a broad-based questionnaire revealed that all participants were willing to communicate in English and did so. Even the lower proficiency group found the task meaningful, pointing out that chat gave them the opportunity to participate fully in the discussion, learn from their peers, and gain confidence, all of which motivated them.