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Learners’ Willingness to Communicate, Motivation, and Classroom Activity Preferences: Realities from the Iranian EFL Context

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Book cover Individual and Contextual Factors in the English Language Classroom

Part of the book series: English Language Education ((ELED,volume 24))

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Abstract

Influencing both language use and language learning, willingness to communicate (WTC), learners’ linguistic self-confidence in their proficiency, and motivation, are among the most important affective variables in language pedagogy and Second Language Acquisition (SLA). Research also indicates that learners’ attitudes towards classroom activities affect target language (TL) use. In an attempt to delve into the intersection between language learners’ WTC, motivation, and preferences for classroom activities, this study examined English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ preferences for classroom activities, and the possible impact of age and gender on these. The research further dissected the relationships between learners’ preferences for various classroom activities and their linguistic self-confidence, motivation, and WTC. Analysis of the data, collected from three questionnaires completed by 188 EFL learners in Iran, indicated that classroom activities focusing on grammar were most preferred. A positive relationship was observed between learners’ motivation and their preference for all (sub)-skills, while their level of reported WTC was found to have a relatively strong positive correlation with their preference for classroom activities focusing on speaking. Results of one-way between-groups analyses of variance pinpointed no statistically significant difference in learners’ preference for the five categories of classroom activities examined in the study among the three study age groups. Results of an independent samples t-test indicated that learners’ gender did not have a statistically significant impact on their preference for classroom activities focusing on different (sub)-skills. Implications of these findings for theory, practice, materials development, and future research in second and foreign language pedagogy are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Tehran, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

    Abbas Ali Rezaee

  2. New York Film Academy, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Mahsa Ghanbarpoor

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  1. Abbas Ali Rezaee
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  2. Mahsa Ghanbarpoor
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Correspondence to Abbas Ali Rezaee .

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  1. Chair of the Sultan Qaboos University Council, Muscat, Oman

    Rahma Al-Mahrooqi

  2. Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Research, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

    Christopher J. Denman

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Rezaee, A.A., Ghanbarpoor, M. (2022). Learners’ Willingness to Communicate, Motivation, and Classroom Activity Preferences: Realities from the Iranian EFL Context. In: Al-Mahrooqi, R., Denman, C.J. (eds) Individual and Contextual Factors in the English Language Classroom. English Language Education, vol 24. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91881-1_8

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