Effects of authentic communication experiences on linguistic self-confidence: Individual differences in perceptions among Japanese primary school students
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Mark Christianson
Abstract
This paper is a preliminary exploration into Japanese primary school age learners’ beliefs regarding their self-confidence in language learning. One hundred and seven (107) Japanese primary school students studying English as a foreign language (EFL) in a private school near Tokyo participated in a questionnaire- based study following a week-long exchange visit to their school by students from the United Kingdom. During the visit, the Japanese students (ages 11 to 12) had several opportunities to engage in conversations with the UK students in lessons as part of the school’s EFL curriculum as well as in various situations outside of lessons in more informal contexts. Following the exchange, the students were given a short questionnaire focusing on their perceptions of motivation and self-confidence in terms of their own language learning and intercultural communication. The results indicate that most students felt that their motivation and self-confidence for learning and using English was higher as a result of their contact and communication with the UK students, but not in all cases. Salient factors the learners referred to in terms of their motivation and confidence are explained using the participants’ self-reflective quotations. Also, implications for how instructors in primary school EFL situations may help their students develop a robust self-confidence regarding their own second language development are discussed.
Abstract
This paper is a preliminary exploration into Japanese primary school age learners’ beliefs regarding their self-confidence in language learning. One hundred and seven (107) Japanese primary school students studying English as a foreign language (EFL) in a private school near Tokyo participated in a questionnaire- based study following a week-long exchange visit to their school by students from the United Kingdom. During the visit, the Japanese students (ages 11 to 12) had several opportunities to engage in conversations with the UK students in lessons as part of the school’s EFL curriculum as well as in various situations outside of lessons in more informal contexts. Following the exchange, the students were given a short questionnaire focusing on their perceptions of motivation and self-confidence in terms of their own language learning and intercultural communication. The results indicate that most students felt that their motivation and self-confidence for learning and using English was higher as a result of their contact and communication with the UK students, but not in all cases. Salient factors the learners referred to in terms of their motivation and confidence are explained using the participants’ self-reflective quotations. Also, implications for how instructors in primary school EFL situations may help their students develop a robust self-confidence regarding their own second language development are discussed.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
- Learning disabilities as external individual differences in second language acquisition 9
- The role of memory in the acquisition of vocabulary and grammar in the first language and in English as a foreign language 31
- Individual differences and young learners’ L2 vocabulary development: The case of language aptitude and exposure to subtitled TV series 65
- ‘In love with English’: A mixed-methods investigation of Flemish children’s spontaneous engagement with out-of-school exposure 87
- The relation between out-of-school exposure to English and English vocabulary development in Dutch primary school pupils 109
- Lexical profiles of children and adolescent EFL learners in the semantic domain of animals 133
- The contribution of motivation and emotions to language learning autonomy in the Hungarian secondary school classroom: The results of a questionnaire study 155
- Effects of authentic communication experiences on linguistic self-confidence: Individual differences in perceptions among Japanese primary school students 177
- Emotion and motivation in younger learners’ second foreign language acquisition 203
- Secondary school pupils’ language choice satisfaction in the L3 classroom: The roles of teaching, motivation, language choice and language classroom anxiety 225
- Index 261
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
- Learning disabilities as external individual differences in second language acquisition 9
- The role of memory in the acquisition of vocabulary and grammar in the first language and in English as a foreign language 31
- Individual differences and young learners’ L2 vocabulary development: The case of language aptitude and exposure to subtitled TV series 65
- ‘In love with English’: A mixed-methods investigation of Flemish children’s spontaneous engagement with out-of-school exposure 87
- The relation between out-of-school exposure to English and English vocabulary development in Dutch primary school pupils 109
- Lexical profiles of children and adolescent EFL learners in the semantic domain of animals 133
- The contribution of motivation and emotions to language learning autonomy in the Hungarian secondary school classroom: The results of a questionnaire study 155
- Effects of authentic communication experiences on linguistic self-confidence: Individual differences in perceptions among Japanese primary school students 177
- Emotion and motivation in younger learners’ second foreign language acquisition 203
- Secondary school pupils’ language choice satisfaction in the L3 classroom: The roles of teaching, motivation, language choice and language classroom anxiety 225
- Index 261
