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paper (Zhang et al., 2018), they narrowed the focus on the confidence of the learner towards a given task.
2.2.2.2 Task-Interest
Task-interest refers to the feeling of excitement and curiosity when a learner participates in a task (Zhang et al., 2018). In Kang’s study (2005), the researcher used the term “excitement.” The researcher found that the Korean participants were excited and interested in discussing topics that they had enough background knowledge or experience, such as their family, major, and Korean culture. When a learner is interested in a task, he or she would feel excited and curious. The learner probably would participate in the task more actively. However, if a task only makes the learner feel bored, this might inhibit his or her WTC.
2.2.2.3 Task-Usefulness
Sometimes, even a task is boring to some students, they are still willing to participate in the task because they can sense the usefulness of the task (Zhang et al., 2018). Task-usefulness is related to learner responsibility. In Kang’s study (2005), the researcher found that when the participants perceived that the tasks they were doing were useful and important for them, they would be more responsible to participate in the tasks.
2.3 Related Empirical Studies on Willingness to Communicate
Among the studies conducted to investigate students’ enduring and/ or situational WTC in different contexts, Peng and Woodrow (2010) did a large-scale investigation on WTC of a group of Chinese tertiary level EFL learners. They investigated the WTC, communication confidence, motivation, learner beliefs, and classroom environment of
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nine hundred and nine students in the two phases of the study. They found that classroom environment can predict WTC, communicative confidence, learner beliefs, and
motivation. Also, it was found that motivation could influence a learner’s confidence, and the confidence could influence his WTC.
Liu and Jackson (2008) investigated the foreign language anxiety and unwillingness to communicate (UnWTC) of five hundred forty-seven Chinese non-English major freshmen in Mainland China. They used several questionnaires measuring the participants’ English learning background, and levels of UnWTC, language class risk taking, language class sociability, and foreign language anxiety. They had three findings in their study. First, they found that most participants were willing to talk, but not willing to risk using English in class. Second, they found that more than one-third of the
participants feared being negatively evaluated, and worried about public speaking and tests. Third, they also found that UnWTC, foreign language anxiety, and self-rated language proficiency correlated significantly.
Yashima (2002) investigated the influence of L2 proficiency, motivation, L2 communication confidence, and international posture on L2 communication of two hundred ninety-seven Japanese university freshmen in his research. There were three findings in her research. First, international posture indirectly influences English proficiency through affecting motivation. Second, motivation also influences WTC indirectly through influencing self-confidence. Third, international posture influences a person’s L2 WTC significantly.
The authors above used quantitative methods in their studies, whereas MacIntyre and associates (MacIntyre et al., 2011) added a qualitative method, student journal, in their study. In MacIntyre and associates’ (MacIntyre et al., 2011) study, one hundred French immersion students from grade seven to nine wrote situations in which they were
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most willing to communicate (MWTC) in French, and situations they were least willing to communicate (LWTC) in French daily. The author got two hundred forty-one MWTC entries, and one hundred seventy-nine LWTC entries.
From MacIntyre and associates’ (MacIntyre et al., 2011) study, they found that the participants were most willing to talk to their teachers, family members, and classmates.
Their favorite places for using the L2 were the classrooms and home. Excluding others, doing class projects, and showing off were the tasks that they were most willing to use the L2. Excluding others means that the interlocutors use the same language to communicate, whereas the people around them cannot understand since they don’t understand the language.
Nematizendah and Wood (2017) investigated four adult learners from age thirty to thirty-five in their study. They investigated their WTC and speech fluency through the theories of WTC and Complex Dynamic System Theory (CDST). There are four findings in their study. First, they found that when the participants’ WTC was high, their speeches were fluent, and when the WTC was low, their speeches were short and fragmented.
Second, they found that when their participants noticed their dysfluent speeches, their WTC became low. Third, sometimes, even with low WTC, the participants still could produce fluent speeches through formulaic patterns. Finally, the authors discovered that when the participants were hesitated to choose the correct grammar to use, even with high WTC, they would still produce dysfluent sentences.
Yashima and associates (Yashima et al., 2018) investigated both enduring and situational variables influencing the WTC of a group of Japanese tertiary level EFL learners in a university. There were two phases in the study. In phase one, they
investigated twenty-one participants through the WTC questionnaires, class observation, and reflection sheets. They found that the participants’ anxiety for L2 communication fell
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gradually throughout the semester. And the repetition of the same discussion task could also reduce the students’ language anxiety. The researchers then picked three participants who had almost identical TOEFL scores, but showed very different communicative behaviors in the study, to be their case study participants in phase two. The first student, Taki, talked a lot, the second student, Nachi, talked occasionally, and the third student, Oto, stayed mostly silent in class throughout the semester. The authors did semi-structured stimulated recall interviews with the three participants to find out the causes of their behaviors. There are several findings from the interviews. First, they found that high WTC in L1 could not be transferred to L2. Second, they found that when other classmates talked fluently, one participant would find it easier for her to join the discussions, while another felt stressful, and stayed quiet most of the time. The authors concluded that through the lens of CDST, they could see how the interplay of personalities, L2 proficiency,
preparation, and the context all shaped and reshaped the participants’ behaviors.
In Zhong’s multiple-case-study research (2013), she investigated five Chinese students in a language school in New Zealand for eighteen weeks. The methods she used were semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, stimulated recall and learning logs. There are several findings in her study. First, the participants in the study preferred collaborative activities rather than teacher-led activities. Second, in teacher-fronted situations, concerns for accuracy, fear of losing face, and fear or being negatively evaluated, all hindered the participants’ WTC. Third, in collaborative activities, all the participants’ oral participation improved. Fourth, all the participants viewed the collaborative activities to be a process of sharing with other classmates. Finally, all the participants made full use of the collaborative activities to practice their communication skills.
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In 2019, Cao and Wei used Macau as a case investigating sixty-two first-year and second-year university students (Cao & Wei, 2019). The purpose of their study was to investigate the WTC from an English as an international language perspective. The method they used was semi-structured interview. In their study, they found that the participants could identify different English varieties, such as American English, British English, and Chinese style English. They also found that the participants were willing to use Chinese style of English inside and outside of the classrooms with speakers whose L1 were also Mandarin Chinese.
2.4 Research Gap
From the above studies, we could see that most researchers did their studies with university students, and only a few researchers did their research on high school students.
In the few studies focusing on high school students, even fewer studies were available for examining both enduring and situational variables influencing the WTC of high school students in non-immersion contexts. In addition to that, most studies focused on more than two participants. None of the studies that the researcher found focused on one participant as a single case. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to explore how specific enduring and situation variables may influence the WTC of the participant. The methods used in this study were adapted from Yashima et al.’s, and Macintyre et al.’s studies (Yashima et al., 2018; MacIntyre et al., 2011). Although the methods in this study were similar to the methods used in Yashima et al.’s, and MacIntyre et al.’s studies, there were still many differences in terms of the participants, contexts, and methodologies in these studies. First, in Yashima et al.’s, and MacIntyre et al.’s studies, the participants were tertiary level students and one hundred junior high school students in a French immersion program. In the present study, the participant was one senior high student in a private
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bilingual school in Taiwan. Although Taiwan and Japan can both be considered EFL countries, in the present study, the student in the bilingual school had many native English speaker teachers (NESTs); therefore, the participant might have more opportunities to use English when compared with the participants in Yashima et al.’s study. However, when compared with the junior high school students in the French immersion program in MacIntyre et al.’s study (2011), the participant in the present study had much fewer opportunities using the L2 in the bilingual school. Second, in the present study, the participant was a grade twelve student. However, in Yashima et al.’s, and MacIntyre et al.’s study, the participants were tertiary level and junior high school students. Yahima et al. (2018) also studied both enduring and situational variables influencing WTC in their study; however, their participants were university students, whereas ours was a senior high school student. Senior high school students need to face the college entrance exams in Taiwan; therefore, they might be more test-oriented in terms of English learning.
Finding what makes them willing or unwilling to communicate would be crucial for all the students at this stage. As stated above, little research is available for examining both enduring and situational variables that influence the WTC of high school students in non-immersion contexts. Therefore, this study intended to fill the gap by investigating the WTC of a high school student in a bilingual school in Taiwan. The following lists research questions of the study.
2.5 Research Questions
1. How did some enduring factors enhance the WTC of the participant in the study?
2. How did some situational factors enhance the WTC of the participant in the study?
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CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY 3.0 Introduction
The aim of this research was to explore how certain enduring and situational variables enhanced the WTC of a high school student in a bilingual school in Taiwan. A case study method was implemented to serve the purpose of this study. According to Robert E. Stake’s The Art of Case Study Research (1995, p. xi), case study is to study the uniqueness and complexity of a single case, so the researchers could know its activity within specific circumstances. In the present study, the participant was a grade twelve student who had been studying English in his current bilingual school for more than ten years. The amount of vocabulary and knowledge of syntax of the participant was still low and poor. He only passed the beginner level of General English Proficiency Test (GEPT), and his grade was the lowest in his class. However, from some of his teachers’ opinions, this student was highly interested in communicating with his teachers in English inside and outside the classroom. This student can be viewed as a unique case since some scholars believe that language should be learnt through meaningful interactions and communications (Gass, 2018; Yu, 2015). The participant should be able to learn English well since he seemed to be eager to use English inside and outside the classroom
according to some of his teachers. A detailed study of the complexity of him can be qualified as a case study. By using this method, this research should provide detailed and complex information regarding this unique case.
The section was sub-divided into four sub-sections, including the participant, the context, the instruments for data collection, and data analysis.
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3.1 The Participant
According to the characteristics of qualitative research, a case should be selected purposefully (Stake, 1995). Because a case study is to study the uniqueness and
complexity of a case, it would be important to select the case that is unique and complex enough, so the participant should provide maximum learning opportunities (Stake, 1995).
However, since any researchers’ time is always limited, we also need to find cases that are hospitable to our research (Stake, 1995).
The participant in the study was a seventeen-year-old student in a private high school. The participant’s name, Walter, was pseudonymous to protect his real identities.
The school was in a suburban area in New Taipei City, Taiwan. The participant was selected based on the two following reasons.
First, the participant in this case study should be unique enough so he can be considered a case. The participant, Walter, had already been in this private bilingual school for more than ten years. According to some of Walter’s teachers, Walter was open-minded, and willing to use English to communicate with his classmates and them.
However, even with his high WTC attitude and frequent communicative behaviors in English, his English grade was still the lowest in his class. Walter failed his English in grade eleven. So far, he only passed the beginner level of GEPT, whereas some of his classmates had already passed the intermediate level of GEPT. Walter could be considered a case because his WTC attitude and frequent communicative behaviors did not help him much in terms of English learning in class. According to some scholars (Gass, 2018; Yu, 2015), meaningful interactions and communication are the two important factors for successful language learners. However, in Walter’s case, his WTC attitude and communicative actions did not help him much in English learning.
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In addition, Walter’s high WTC attitude seemed to be quite unique when compared with learners who were also in EFL contexts. According to some scholars, Asian English learners are more reticent and unwilling to communicate in class due to several reasons, such as foreign language anxiety and fear of being negatively evaluated (Liu & Jackson, 2008), cautiousness (Flowerdew & Miller 1995), and an examination-oriented culture (Jing, 2006). Nevertheless, the participant, Walter, still possessed high WTC in class. Understanding what specific enduring and situational variables make him willing to use English would be beneficial for English learners and educators in EFL contexts.
Second, (the) participants in case studies should provide maximum learning opportunities (Stake, 1995) for the researcher. As stated above, Walter’s uniqueness provides a good learning opportunity for researchers because when compared with most senior high school students who were more reticent in class, Walter’s high WTC attitude was unique. Through a detailed study of Walter, the rich information and maximum learning opportunities that he provided can help language teachers and researchers understand how to enhance the WTC of language learners.
3.2 The Context
The present study was conducted in a bilingual school in New Taipei City in Taiwan. The research site was chosen because of its bilingual environment for students to communicate in English. The school had about sixty foreign teachers from all over the world. High school students in the school had five regular English sessions taught by local English teachers, and five English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) sessions taught by
foreign English teachers every week. The foreign teachers were full-time teachers;
therefore, students in the school could encounter them easily in hallways or teachers’
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offices. Communicative opportunities often occurred when the students encountered the teachers in the school. Baker and MacIntyre (2000) found that immersion programs offer more opportunities for students to use the L2; therefore, the opportunities enhance the students’ language abilities. Although the school in the present study was not an immersion school, students in this school could still encounter foreign teachers, and communicate with them easily. It would be possible to say that this bilingual school offered a semi-immersion environment for the students within. Finally, private bilingual schools had become quite popular in Taiwan. Understanding this group of students was significant for English educators, and the findings could be useful for learners who were in similar contexts.
3.3 Data Collection
In this study, data were collected through several ways, including Motivational Factors Questionnaires (MFQ), class observations, student journals, a semi-structured interview with the participant’s ESL teacher, and two semi-structured interviews with the participant. The various data collection instruments used in this study were revised and adapted from Yashima et al.’s and Macintyre et al.’s studies (Yashima et al., 2018;
Macintyre et al., 2011).
3.3.1 Motivational Factors Questionnaire
The first questionnaire that the researcher used was the MFQ. The questions in the MFQ were categorized into five sections that correspond to five sub-factors of the two enduring factors in Layer V of the Heuristic Model. Table 3.1 shows the sub-factors and factors that the researcher aimed to explore through the MFQ in the present study.
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Table 3.1: Layer, Name of the Factors, Name of the Sub-factors, Number of Questions, and Total Number of Questions on the MFQ
Layer Name of Factors in the Heuristic
Model
Name of Sub-factors in the Heuristic Model
No. of Questions
V Intergroup attitudes Integrativeness 7
Fear of Assimilation 7
Motivation to learn the L2 7 V Intergroup climate Perceptual and Affective
Correlates
6 Structural Characteristics of the
Community
8
Total Number of Questions 35
From Table 3.1, it shows that the researcher used the MFQ to investigate two enduring factors, intergroup attitudes, and intergroup climate through investigating the five sub-factors, integrativeness, fear of assimilation, motivation to learn the L2, perceptual and affective correlates, and structural characteristics of his community.
In the MFQ, seven items from Yashima’s factor analysis of Japanese learners’
orientations (Yashima, 2002) were modified and used. Six items from MacIntyre, Baker, Clement and Conrod’s (2001) social support index were also modified and used. Twenty-two items from Ryan’s Motivational Factors Questionnaire (Ryan, S., 2009) were also modified and used. The participant rated all items on a six-point scale. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire are explained below.
3.3.1.1 Reliability
The thirty-five questions on the MFQ were categorized into five sections measuring the participant’s integrativeness, fear of assimilation, motivation to learn the L2, perceptual and affective correlates, and structural characteristics of his community. To assessed the reliability of the MFQ, the researcher chose the forms of internal consistency and test-retest to assess the reliability of the MFQ. In terms of internal consistency, the
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thirty-five questions on the MFQ were categorized into five sections. Internal consistency reliability is measured by calculating Cronbach’s alpha (Litwin, M. S., 1995). According to Litwin (1995), Cronbach’s alpha reflects how well the items complement each other in the measurement of different aspects of the same variable. According to Fink (1995), when the size of the correlation is zero to zero point two five, the items have little or no relationship. When the size is zero point two six to zero point five, the items have fair
thirty-five questions on the MFQ were categorized into five sections. Internal consistency reliability is measured by calculating Cronbach’s alpha (Litwin, M. S., 1995). According to Litwin (1995), Cronbach’s alpha reflects how well the items complement each other in the measurement of different aspects of the same variable. According to Fink (1995), when the size of the correlation is zero to zero point two five, the items have little or no relationship. When the size is zero point two six to zero point five, the items have fair