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ERIC Number: EJ1045250
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Nov
Pages: 29
Abstractor: As Provided
Reference Count: 56
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0008-4506
The Link between Pronunciation Anxiety and Willingness to Communicate in the Foreign-Language Classroom: The Polish EFL Context
Baran-Lucarz, Malgorzata
Canadian Modern Language Review, v70 n4 p445-473 Nov 2014
Anxiety and L2 self-confidence have been suggested as vital determinants of willingness to communicate (WTC) in a foreign-language (FL) learning environment. Studies also demonstrate that it is a concern over pronunciation mistakes that is particularly likely to cause embarrassment and apprehension in FL students. Linking these two facts may lead to an explanation for why many post-puberty learners avoid participating in speaking tasks in the FL classroom. The present article reports the outcomes of a study adopting a mixed-methods approach, which showed that "pronunciation anxiety" (PA)--conceptualized as pronunciation self-perception, fear of negative evaluation, and beliefs concerning the pronunciation of the target language--is related to WTC (r = -0.60 at p < 0.001). Moreover, results of t-tests suggested that high-PA learners have statistically lower degrees of WTC than their low-PA classmates. A link between the two constructs was further observed through the following situational variables: level of familiarity with interlocutor(s), group size, type of task, and target-language proficiency level. The quantitative data were supported by answers to open-ended questions.
University of Toronto Press. 5201 Dufferin Street, Toronto, ON M3H 5T8, Canada. Tel: 416-667-7810; Fax: 800-221-9985; Fax: 416-667-7881; e-mail: journals@utpress.utoronco.ca; Web site: http://www.utpjournals.com/cmlr/cmlr.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: Poland