How Computer Mediated Tasks Increase Willingness to Communicate in the Face-to-Face Classroom

1. How Computer Mediated Tasks Increase Willingness to Communicate in the Face-to-Face Classroom Daniel Forman Department of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies College of Education and Human Development Abstract When presented with an opportunity to use the target language, some students choose to communicate and others do not (MacIntyre, 2007). The goal of a university Academic English speaking course is for the students to be able to speak effectively using the target language. This requires a willingness to communicate inside of the classroom. Given this goal, why do some students choose to speak in class while others do not? What can a teacher do to make his or her students willing to communicate? A review of the literature has shown that the factors that affect willingness to communicate may be mitigated during text-based computer mediated tasks (CMT). Well-designed computer mediated tasks are shown to lead to increased language use, higher language complexity and accuracy, a decrease in language anxiety, and an increase in learner attitude towards the target language. It is hypothesized that well-designed, pre-class computer mediated tasks that are integrated into classroom activities will lead to more willingness to communicate in the face-to-face classroom. Rationale Hypothesis When presented with an opportunity that allows for communication some students speak in class, and others do not. There are many individual, social, linguistic, situational, and other factors that affect whether a student is willing to speak (MacIntyre, 2007). Willingness to Communicate (WTC) is the convergence of the factors underlying the choice to speak when there is an opportunity to speak. The factors that may predict language use are taken from MacIntyre, Clement, Dornyei, and Noel’s (1998) Willingness to Communicate model. Factors consist of fear of speaking, motivation, self-perceived language competence, familiarity with content (subject matter), and language proficiency, among others. I propose that tasks where language use is required, and which are integrated into the design of the next activity, where students are free to speak or not, will result in higher WTC. WTC is defined as the probability of speaking when you are not required to speak, and there is opportunity to speak (MacIntyre, 2007). A student that has high motivation and high anxiety will also have low WTC. WTC literature examines the conditions where this speaker would be willing to speak. The goal of the literature review is to find best teaching practices that would result in high WTC in the face-to-face classroom. The nature of computer mediated tasks is that participation is required, which leads to language use. The qualitative literature on CMT reports a decrease in the factors that affect language anxiety and an increase in the factors that affect motivation. Computer mediated tasks have been shown to decrease anxiety and increase motivation, but language use is required in order for the tasks to achieve these benefits. I hypothesize that the decrease in anxiety and increase in motivation will transfer to an increase in WTC if the task is closely integrated into the content of the face-to-face course. A pre-class computer mediated task will lead to potentially more willingness to communicate in the face-to-face classroom. Benefits of CMT • Asynchronous Computer Mediated Communication (ACMC) may be in the form of a blog, wiki, or discussion board. The literature has shown that ACMC tasks: • 1. lead to more complex utterances and higher accuracy • 2. provide opportunities for genuine communication • 3. lead to increases in the amount of language produced compared • with face-to-face class discussions • 4. lead to increases in student initiation and responsiveness • 5. lead to decreases in language anxiety and increases in student • confidence and preparedness for face-to-face class • Synchronous Computer Mediated Communication (SCMC) may be in the form of a text-chat. The literature has shown that SCMC: • 1. leads to increases in positive attitude towards target language • 2. learners notice their own mistakes more during CMT compared to • face-to-face, and that opportunities for negotiation of meaning are • taken advantage of more • 3. leads to an increase in student investment or motivation • 4. leads to a decrease in language anxiety • 5. fosters a community of learning The Willingness to Communicate Model Design of CMT • The literature on CMT shows that tasks have more instances of language use and opportunities for interaction than prompts. The following are ideas to consider when designing pre-class CMT that may potentially lead to increased WTC: • Participation is required, and can be easily monitored and assessed by the teacher • Students and teachers can easily add authentic content from the Internet • Tasks need to be closely integrated to course content: • 1. a question can be answered, confusion addressed, or discussion continued • 2. content gathered by the students may be used • 3. may incorporate transcript of student’s language use in discourse analysis • The pre-class task is consistently used throughout the term • Teacher’s role is to inform how best to use the technology, what to communicate, and act as a regular member, facilitator, and moderator MacIntyre, P. D., Cl´ement, R., D¨ornyei, Z., & Noels, K.A. (1998). Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in a L2: A situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation. Modern Language Journal, 82, 545–562. References MacIntyre, P. D. (2007). Willingness to communicate in the second language: Understanding the decision to speak as a volitional process. The Modern Language Journal, 91(4), 564-573. Ortega, L. (1997). Processes and outcomes in networked classroom interaction: Defining the research agenda for L2 computer- assisted classroom discussion. Language Learning & Technology, 1(1), 82-93.