In his final post from the ‘Willingness to Communicate’ series, Prof. Hayo Reinders continues to explore WTC in the language classroom. In his previous post, Hayo outlined some of the key strategies to encourage WTC, and how these are often related to the teacher as well as the environment and the materials/activities provided. Here, he goes on to look briefly at each of these strategies and give some examples of how they can be achieved in the language classroom.
Cultivating group cohesiveness This is something that many teachers spend considerable time on, in particular in the earlier stages of a course. In practice, and despite the teacher’s best efforts, however, some classrooms do not develop strong group connections. Dörnyei (2007) talks about group cohesiveness as a sense of “closeness” and “we feeling” of a group, which can be enhanced through shared goals and a sense of pride that develops as groups achieve these goals. Classroom activities that encourage collaboration are particularly useful for this.
Lowering student anxiety Most teachers are well aware of the importance of affective factors in language acquisition, but not all know how to actively apply strategies to lower student anxiety. As a result, many language learners, sadly, do report considerable feelings of insecurity and nervousness about their role in the classroom, and in particular about communicating in English. Techniques such as using group work before asking students to perform in front of the whole class, adjusting students’ sometimes unreasonable expectations of themselves, focusing on fluency rather than accuracy, and discussing anxiety directly all can play a useful role. Underlying all of these, however, is the benefit of taking a student-centered view of learning. Teachers who actively work to create a supportive environment in their classes ask themselves questions like “How does this activity feel to my students?” and “Will my students be able to do this, or are they likely to fail? If so, will they fail in private, or in public?”
Interesting topics Topic familiarity, as pointed out by Cao and Philip (2006), affects WTC. Learners find it easier to talk about a subject if they feel they have some knowledge of it. In this way, they can find some support from the context and their pre-existing knowledge of the topic, freeing up more cognitive resources for the actual communication. Here is a video with authentic footage from the Discovery Channel, which is used to teach learners about a range of grammatical and vocabulary items. By using video material, learners get a great deal of additional contextual information, and the topic is one that learners are likely to want to know more about—and in fact might have even seen before on TV. The quality of the video is such that learners are likely to be drawn in and will have a lot to discuss. The task accompanying the video encourages learners to share their own knowledge about the topic, making the communication more meaningful to the learners.
Learners’ understanding of the communicative approach. This will be easier to achieve if learners can see how different elements within the course all contribute to helping them become comfortable with using English for real-life communication. Rather than an occasional instruction to “discuss with your partner,” a genuine communicative objective should be present throughout the course, and learners should know that everything they learn, including grammar and vocabulary, will contribute to that. Good examples of English language materials integrate different skills, rather than presenting them separately.
Intercultural aspects. A course that helps learners understand the role language plays in understanding other people and their cultures is more likely to develop a real sense of excitement and a desire to use the language for communication. Too many language-learning materials in the past were written in a cultural vacuum, or were limited to the US or the UK in their presentation of target language speakers. More recent courses are much more likely to include speakers from different countries, including non-native speakers of English. This video, from the Cambridge Discovery Education Reader “Life in Mumbai,” is a good example.
Summary
Willingness to Communicate (or lack thereof) may explain why some students are more active in using English inside and outside the classroom than others. Improving WTC starts from an awareness on the teacher’s part of the students’ feelings about communicating in English, and their perceptions of their own ability to use the language. Creating a friendly and supportive environment is an important step in lowering anxiety and making students feel secure. Selection of appropriate materials and activities also plays a large role in encouraging target language communication. From the examples above, it is clear that teachers now have a range of teaching techniques and engaging materials to draw on.
Make sure you find out more about the Cambridge Discovery Education Readers.
References
Aubrey, S. 2011. Facilitating interaction in East Asian EFL classrooms: Increasing students’ willingness to communicate. Language Education in Asia 2(2):237–245.
Cao, Y., and J. Philp. 2006. Interactional context and willingness to communicate: A comparison of behavior in whole class, group and dyadic interaction. System 34(4):480–93.
Reinders, H., ed. 2012. Digital games in language learning and teaching. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.