Willingness to Communicate in the Chinese EFL University Classroom

Jian-E Peng is an Associate Professor at the College of Liberal Arts, Shantou University, China. Her research interests include willingness to communicate in an L2, learner motivation, intercultural communication, and research methodology. She has published in the journals of Language Learning, System, The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher and University of Sydney Papers in TESOL.

This book is of great value to ELT practitioners because of its meticulous analysis of the important context of China and its EFL learners, as well as the provision of practical and sensible suggestions on educational practices in the last part of the book which will help EFL teachers identify suitable and appropriate cognitive and linguistic resources for learning. For those who want to understand more about the willingness to communicate (or lack of it) among Chinese learners of English, this is an excellent read.

• Part 1. The Research of Willingness to Communicate in a Second Language 1. Introduction 2. Hybrid Perspectives on WTC in an L2 Part 2. The Big Picture: Interrelationships between WTC, Communication Confidence, Motivation, Learner Beliefs, and Classroom Environment (Phase 1: Questionnaire Survey) 3. Dimensions of WTC, Confidence, Motivation, Beliefs, and Classroom Environment 4. Interrelationships between WTC, Confidence, Motivation, Beliefs, and Environment on WTC: A Full Structural Model Part 3. A Situated Lens: WTC Fluctuations over Time and Across Classroom Situations (Phase 2: A Multiple-Case Study) 5. Four Cases and Their WTC Fluctuations 6. Distal and Proximal Influences on WTC Fluctuations Part 4. Blending “Apple Juice” and “Orange Juice”: Integration of Overall Findings 7. WTC Inside the Language Classroom and Beyond 8. Concluding Remarks References Appendix 1. Factor Loadings Appendix 2. Questionnaire Appendix 3. Correlation Matrix for the Structural Model Appendix 4. Interview Guide Appendix 5. Classroom Observation Scheme Appendix 6. Learning Journal Framework Appendix 7. Coding Scheme Index