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3. Dimensions of WTC, Confidence, Motivation, Beliefs and Classroom Environment

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Willingness to Communicate in the Chinese EFL University Classroom
This chapter is in the book Willingness to Communicate in the Chinese EFL University Classroom
41Dimensions of WTC, Confi dence, Motivation, Beliefs and Classroom EnvironmentAs outlined in the previous chapters, this mixed methods research started with a large-scale questionnaire survey in the first phase (May–June 2007). The purpose was to explore the interrelationships between willingness to communicate (WTC) in English and four other individual and contextual variables: communication confidence in English (i.e. perceived competence coupled with a lack of anxiety), motivation to learn English, learner beliefs and classroom environment. As in typical quantitative surveys, the first step is to choose the instrumentation and establish its psychometric prop-erties or its reliability and validity. Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure, while validity can be interpreted as the accuracy of a measure. This chapter first reports the process of preparing the instrumentation in a pilot study, followed by an introduction to the participants and the eight participating universities. Then the profiles of the participants’ WTC as indicated by the survey data are presented. The results of confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) are also reported, which present in detail the many facets, or in a technical sense, the factor structure of the five variables being measured. This chapter concludes by addressing the reliability and validity of the measurement of the variables, which is indispensable to the testing of their interrelationships at the next stage using structural equation model-ling (SEM). The survey results reported in this chapter aimed to answer the following research questions:(1) To what extent are the participants willing or unwilling to communi-cate using English in their language class?(2) What is the underlying factor structure of the measures of WTC in English, communication confidence in English, motivation to learn English, learner beliefs and classroom environment?Instrumentation Preparation: A Pilot StudyThe current research used a questionnaire consisting of several scales adapted from the literature, which was piloted with a group of students before the main study. This pilot study was conducted in May 2007. Its 3
©Channel View Publications Ltd, Bristol/Blue Ridge Summit

41Dimensions of WTC, Confi dence, Motivation, Beliefs and Classroom EnvironmentAs outlined in the previous chapters, this mixed methods research started with a large-scale questionnaire survey in the first phase (May–June 2007). The purpose was to explore the interrelationships between willingness to communicate (WTC) in English and four other individual and contextual variables: communication confidence in English (i.e. perceived competence coupled with a lack of anxiety), motivation to learn English, learner beliefs and classroom environment. As in typical quantitative surveys, the first step is to choose the instrumentation and establish its psychometric prop-erties or its reliability and validity. Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure, while validity can be interpreted as the accuracy of a measure. This chapter first reports the process of preparing the instrumentation in a pilot study, followed by an introduction to the participants and the eight participating universities. Then the profiles of the participants’ WTC as indicated by the survey data are presented. The results of confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) are also reported, which present in detail the many facets, or in a technical sense, the factor structure of the five variables being measured. This chapter concludes by addressing the reliability and validity of the measurement of the variables, which is indispensable to the testing of their interrelationships at the next stage using structural equation model-ling (SEM). The survey results reported in this chapter aimed to answer the following research questions:(1) To what extent are the participants willing or unwilling to communi-cate using English in their language class?(2) What is the underlying factor structure of the measures of WTC in English, communication confidence in English, motivation to learn English, learner beliefs and classroom environment?Instrumentation Preparation: A Pilot StudyThe current research used a questionnaire consisting of several scales adapted from the literature, which was piloted with a group of students before the main study. This pilot study was conducted in May 2007. Its 3
©Channel View Publications Ltd, Bristol/Blue Ridge Summit

Chapters in this book

  1. Contents v
  2. Figures and Tables ix
  3. Abbreviations xiii
  4. Acknowledgements xv
  5. Part 1. The Research of Willingness to Communicate in a Second Language
  6. 1. Introduction 3
  7. 2. Hybrid Perspectives on WTC in an L2 11
  8. Part 2. The Big Picture: Interrelationships between WTC, Communication Confi dence, Motivation, Learner Beliefs and Classroom Environment (Phase 1: Questionnaire Survey)
  9. 3. Dimensions of WTC, Confidence, Motivation, Beliefs and Classroom Environment 41
  10. 4. Interrelationships between WTC, Confidence, Motivation, Beliefs and Environment on WTC: A Full Structural Model 72
  11. Part 3. A Situated Lens: WTC Fluctuations over Time and Across Classroom Situations (Phase 2: A Multiple-Case Study)
  12. 5. Four Cases and their WTC Fluctuations 95
  13. 6. Distal and Proximal Influences on WTC Fluctuations 116
  14. Part 4. Blending ‘Apple Juice’ and ‘Orange Juice’: Integration of Overall Findings
  15. 7. WTC Inside the Language Classroom and Beyond 145
  16. 8. Concluding Remarks 158
  17. Appendix 1: Factor Loadings 167
  18. Appendix 2: Questionnaire 171
  19. Appendix 3: Correlation Matrix for the Structural Model 177
  20. Appendix 4: Interview Guide 179
  21. Appendix 5: Classroom Observation Scheme 180
  22. Appendix 6: Learning Journal Framework 183
  23. Appendix 7: Coding Scheme 184
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https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783091560-006

Chapters in this book

  1. Contents v
  2. Figures and Tables ix
  3. Abbreviations xiii
  4. Acknowledgements xv
  5. Part 1. The Research of Willingness to Communicate in a Second Language
  6. 1. Introduction 3
  7. 2. Hybrid Perspectives on WTC in an L2 11
  8. Part 2. The Big Picture: Interrelationships between WTC, Communication Confi dence, Motivation, Learner Beliefs and Classroom Environment (Phase 1: Questionnaire Survey)
  9. 3. Dimensions of WTC, Confidence, Motivation, Beliefs and Classroom Environment 41
  10. 4. Interrelationships between WTC, Confidence, Motivation, Beliefs and Environment on WTC: A Full Structural Model 72
  11. Part 3. A Situated Lens: WTC Fluctuations over Time and Across Classroom Situations (Phase 2: A Multiple-Case Study)
  12. 5. Four Cases and their WTC Fluctuations 95
  13. 6. Distal and Proximal Influences on WTC Fluctuations 116
  14. Part 4. Blending ‘Apple Juice’ and ‘Orange Juice’: Integration of Overall Findings
  15. 7. WTC Inside the Language Classroom and Beyond 145
  16. 8. Concluding Remarks 158
  17. Appendix 1: Factor Loadings 167
  18. Appendix 2: Questionnaire 171
  19. Appendix 3: Correlation Matrix for the Structural Model 177
  20. Appendix 4: Interview Guide 179
  21. Appendix 5: Classroom Observation Scheme 180
  22. Appendix 6: Learning Journal Framework 183
  23. Appendix 7: Coding Scheme 184
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