Principles of Language Learning and Teaching

Why do some students seek, while others avoid, second language (L2) communication? Many language teachers have encountered students high in linguistic competence who are unwilling to use their L2 for communication whereas other students, with only minimal linguistic knowledge, seem to communicate in the L2 whenever possible. Despite excellent communicative competence, spontaneous and sustained use of the L2 is not ensured. A colleague, who teaches a L2 and whose L2 competence is excellent, is well known to avoid “like the plague” L2 communication in social settings. A related observation is that many learners have noticed that their willingness to communicate (WTC) varies considerably over time and across situations. Our aim in this article is twofold. First we wish to provide an account of the linguistic, communicative, and social psychological variables that might affect one's “willingness to communicate.” As demonstrated in the text below, and examination of WTC offers the opportunity to integrate psychological, linguistic, and communicative approaches to L2 research that typically have been independent of each other. We view the WTC model as having the potential to provide a useful interface between these disparate lines of inquiry. Our second goal is to suggest potential relations among these variables by outlining a comprehensive conceptual model that may be useful in describing, explaining, and predicting L2 communication. In an effort to move beyond linguistic or communicative competence as the primary goal of language instruction, this article represents an overt attempt to combine these disparate approaches in a common theme, that is, proposing WTC as the primary goal of language instruction.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/330224

Conceptualizing Willingness to Communicate in a L2: A Situational Model of L2 Confidence and Affiliation

The study reported here examines the English language knowledge and performance of bilingual school children of Middle School age in Britain, in particular their acquisition and use of vocabulary. One of the chief premises of the research is that pupils from bilingual minority ethnic backgrounds suffer a major disadvantage while learning from the National Curriculum because they lack the necessary richness of word knowledge, accompanied by the conceptual frameworks expected in learning subjects such as science and geography. Furthermore, it is believed that by raising awareness among teachers and by the adoption of appropriate methods of vocabulary teaching founded on research, the vocabulary learning of bilingual pupils can be greatly increased. The aim of the study is to identify, describe and evaluate methods of vocabulary instruction currently used and to provide recommendations for suitable methods to be introduced. By means of an action research methodology implemented in a middle school, and with the joint participation of some members of staff and some pupils, classroom data was collected over a two and a half year period from teachers of science, geography and English and their pupils, supplemented with semi-structured interviews with teachers and support staff and conversations with children. These data provided material for a detailed analysis of exactly how individual words develop from first introduction into the pupils’ active vocabulary.

Teaching and Learning Vocabulary

does Mary Ellen want to learn French? What motivates Yu Jia to learn English in China? What is the reason for Maury's interest and effort in Japanese? Why does Louise work so hard at learning Russian? What does Eyhab think he will achieve in studying English in the US? The answers to these questions are important, because motivation is considered by many to be one of the main determining factors in success in developing a second or foreign language (34), both referred to as L2. Motivation determines the extent of active, personal involvement in L2 learning. Conversely, unmotivated students are insufficiently involved and therefore unable to develop their potential L2 skills.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/329249.pdf

Language Learning Motivation: Expanding the Theoretical Framework

This chapter considers the literature on language learning anxiety in an effort to clarify the relationship between anxiety and second language learning. It will first argue that langua ge anxiety is a specific anxietyrather than a tra it anxietyand discuss how this conceptualization has helped clarify the research literature. After Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) proposed that a specific anxiety construct which they called Fore ign Langu age An xiety was r espo nsible fo r stud entsunco mfor table experiences in langua ge classes and o ffered an instrum ent, the Foreign Langu age Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), to measu re this anxiety, findings concerning anxiety and language achieve ment have be en relatively uniform, indicating a consistent moderate negative relationship between anxiety and achievement. However, some rese archers (Sp arks and Gans chow and the ir colleagues) have suggested that poor langu age learning is a cause r ather than a resu lt of language anxiety. This review conclud es that anxiety is indeed a cau se of poo r language learning in some individuals and discusses po ssible source s of this anxiety, including difficulty in authentic self-presentatio n and various langu age teaching pra ctices. In addition, it reports on new trends in language anxiety research that attempt to identify aspects of language learning (e.g., reading anxiety or writing anxiety) which provoke anxiety for some individuals.

Language anxiety and achievement

teachers of foreign languages. Many people claim to have a mental block against learning a foreign language, although these same people may be good learners in other situations, strongly motivated, and have a sincere liking for speakers of the target language. What, then, prevents them from achieving their desired goal? In many cases, they may have an anxiety reaction which impedes their ability to perform successfully in a foreign language class. Anxiety is the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system.2 Just as anxiety prevents some people from performing successfully in science or mathematics, many people find foreign language learning, especially in classroom situations, particularly stressful.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/327317.pdf

Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety

liefs about how languages are learned.1 Definite viewpoints on the best techniques for learning a language, the "right" age to begin language study, and the nature of the language learning process are the subject of airline magazine articles, Sunday supplement advertisements, and cocktail party small-talk. Many people apparently believe, for example, that second language fluency can be obtained with relatively little effort. In the course of a review of the time

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/327506.pdf

The Beliefs about Language Learning of Beginning University Foreign Language Students

Dickerson, W.B. (1984a, October). A new look at an old problem: The Z and D morphemes. Paper presented at the Fourth Annual Midwest Regional TESOL Conference, Cincinnati. Dickerson, W.B. (1984b). The role of formal rules in pronunciation instruction. In J. Handscombe, R. Orem, & B. Taylor (Eds.), On TESOL '83 (pp. 135148). Washington, DC: TESOL. Farhady, H. (1982). Measures of language proficiency from the learner's perspective. TESOL Quarterly, 16, 43-59. Harris, T. (1981). Practical English, Book 1. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Hisama, K. (1980). An analysis of various ESL proficiency tests. In J.W. Oller, Jr., & K. Perkins (Eds.), Research in language testing (pp. 47-53). Rowley, MA: Newbury House. Pike, L.W. (1979). An evaluation of alternative item formats for testing English as a foreign language (TOEFL Research Rep. No. 2). Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service. Suter, R.W. (1976). Predictors of pronunciation accuracy in second language learning. Language Learning, 26, 233-253.

Preliminary Evidence for the Reliability and Validity of a Foreign Language Anxiety Scale

This study investigated the links between second language classroom anxiety and second language writing anxiety as well as their associations with second language speaking and writing achievement. The results indicate that second language classroom anxiety, operationalized by Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope's Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale, and second language writing anxiety, measured by a modified second language version of Daly and Miller's Writing Apprehension Test, are two related but independent constructs. The findings suggest that second language classroom anxiety is a more general type of anxietyabout learning a second language with a strong speaking anxiety element, whereas second language writing anxiety is a language-skill-specific anxiety. Nevertheless, low self-confidence seems to be an important component of both anxiety constructs.

Elaine K. Horwitz

Papers

Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety

Language anxiety and achievement

The Beliefs about Language Learning of Beginning University Foreign Language Students

Preliminary Evidence for the Reliability and Validity of a Foreign Language Anxiety Scale

Language Anxiety: Differentiating Writing and Speaking Components