Factors affecting willingness to communicate in English -Focusing on the use of Japanese-

• Project/Area Number: 17K02990
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Foreign language education
• Research Institution: Ryukoku University (2018-2022); Shizuoka Institute of Science and Technology (2017)
• Principal Investigator: Konno Katsuyuki 龍谷大学, 社会学部, 講師 (00636970)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 山口 篤美 名城大学, 外国語学部, 講師 (10749469) ; 古賀 功 龍谷大学, 理工学部, 准教授 (90528754) ; TWEED Andrew 創価大学, ワールドランゲージセンター, 講師 (30788823)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2022)
• Budget Amount: ¥2,990,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥690,000); Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000); Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000)
• Keywords: WTC / 不安 / 学習者要因 / 質的分析 / 会話意欲 / emotion / motivation / 情緒要因 / スピーキング / 動機づけ / 個人差要因 / 混合研究法 / 複雑性理論 / 英語会話意欲 / 英語教育学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

With special attention paid to Japanese English learners’ situated willingness to communicate (WTC) in a conversation, this project attempted to reveal how WTC fluctuated moment-to-moment and what factors were responsible for such fluctuations. As for the first goal, it was discovered that changes in WTC varied drastically from individuals to individuals at each time and that not only WTC, but also anxiety, English proficiency, and learner beliefs had a strong impact on initiation of communication. As for the second goal, three main factors affected situated WTC in a conversation: topics, interlocutors, and various types of anxiety evoked in a specific situation. For learners to actively engage in communication, we educators should provide instructions that help develop linguistic resources and anxiety-free environments so that learners’ WTC positively changes.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の成果は、日本人英語学習者のWTCを高めるための英語指導実践に貢献するものである。まず、WTCの会話中の変動を分析したことにより、会話内でどのような現象が起きた際にWTCが変動しやすいのかを明らかにした。また、変動の理由を細かく分析したことにより、何がWTCを向上、もしくは低下させるのかをある程度把握することができた。これらにより、教室全体に対する指導と学習者個人に対する指導の両面において、WTCを高めるためにはどのタイミングで、どの要因に着目し、どのように対応すればより効果を見込めるかが明確になった。これは、従来の特性的なWTCを扱った研究では、示唆を得るのが難しかったことである。

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Factors Affecting WTC During a Speaking Task (2023)
  • Author(s): Konno, K., & Koga, T.
  • Journal Title: 中部地区英語教育学会 Volume: 52 Pages: 77-84
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Effects of instructional languages on development of willingness to communicate (2021)
  • Author(s): Koga, T., Konnok, K., & Sato, R.
  • Journal Title: 中部地区英語教育学会紀要 Volume: 50 Pages: 81-88
  • NAID: 40022700971
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Exploring Antecedent Factors Affecting L2 WTC in Classrooms (2020)
  • Author(s): Konno, K., & Koga, K.
  • Journal Title: 中部地区英語教育学会紀要 Volume: 49 Pages: 317-324
  • NAID: 40022705106
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Presentation] Factors affecting WTC during a speaking task (2022)
  • Author(s): Konno, K., Koga, T., & Sato, R.
  • Organizer: 第51回中部地区英語教育学会三重大会
• [Presentation] Thinking About Effective and Motivating Teaching in a Japanese EFL Environment (2021)
  • Author(s): Sato, R., Kasahara, K., Tomita, F., Takano, H., Konno, K., & KOGA Tsutomu
  • Organizer: 中部地区英語教育学会
• [Presentation] What makes learners good language learners? - Focus on motivational profiles of EFL learners - (2020)
  • Author(s): Koga, K., & Konno, K.
  • Organizer: 16th Annual CamTESOL
• [Presentation] Examining relationships between EFL learners’ WTC and communication behavior (2019)
  • Author(s): K. Konno, A. Yamaguchi, & T. Koga
  • Organizer: FLEAT VII
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Factors affecting fluctuations of EFL learners’ situated WTC (2019)
  • Author(s): K. Konno, A. Yamaguchi, T. Koga, & A. Tweed
  • Organizer: The 58th JACET International Convention
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Considering effective teaching methods from the viewpoint of Japanese EFL learner profiles (2019)
  • Author(s): T. Koga, R. Sato, & K. Konno
  • Organizer: The 17th Asia TEFL International Conference
• [Presentation] Roles of Japanese teachers and native teachers in the classroom: Changes in L2 self (2017)
  • Author(s): Koga, T., & Konno, K.
  • Organizer: 第43回全国英語教育学会島根大会
• [Presentation] Variations in L2 self and WTC: Effects of teacher's nationality and instructional languages (2017)
  • Author(s): Koga, T., Konno, K., & Sato, R.
  • Organizer: New Trends in English Language Teaching and Testing
  • Int'l Joint Research