The Chapter by Chapelle is so interesting to me that I would like write about it. Of the three researches introduced there, the second one conducted by Comton strikes me because the relationship between writing and speaking is one of the things I am eager to know. Not only did the feature of ICQ surprise me, but also her idea that combines text-chat and oral presentation impressed me. Even though she did not reach the significant conclusion, I saw potentials of text-chat in connecting writing and speaking. However, since the number of participants is limited and this research is mainly normative approach, I was interested in reading interpretative research on this topic if available (e.g., interviewing a number of participants and ask what they think of the use of text-chat for improving their writing and also "speaking" proficiency, etc.).
Additionally, the parameter used in this research "willingness to communicate" seems very important in my teaching context (high school in Japan), for they are usually reluctant to speak up because as Comton mentions "[t]heir reluctance was due to anxiety and lack of confidence as they were afraid that their attempts to speak in English would be seen as stupid or dumb" (p.198).
4 件のコメント:
Willingness to Communicate (WTC) is a big topic - you'll find articles if you do a search. You can also read more about this study at http://tesl-ej.org/ej40/a2.html and http://www.iatefl.org.pl/call/j_soft16.htm#compton.
good quote. that is definitely something that all ESL / EFL teachers can use to help reach their students. I think that part of the solution is to identify the anxiety so that it can be overcome. I'm sure that many students do have anxiety, and they assume that they are the only ones in the class with it. Let me know if anyone has more ideas as to how we can combat anxiety in the classroom
Thank you for the additional sources, Esther. I will read it to look for something applicable to my teaching context!!
What I guess is effective to alleviate students' anxiety is to make a lot of mistakes as an L2 English speaker in front of students. It could result in losing students’ trust of instructor's ability, but it could make students think "well, English teachers even make mistakes, why can we not?" They would know communication is still possible even if they make mistakes on grammar. Is it too optimistic? Japanese students are usually too careful about grammar when they try to speak English, which makes them regard speaking English as an extremely difficult task.
I'm not sure that intentionally making mistakes as an EFL teacher would be a good tack to take, because as you mentioned, you may lose credibility with your students. Perhaps continually encouraging and celebrating the achievements that they do make, and the courage of those who dare to speak up may be a better option.
コメントを投稿