EFL learners’ speaking proficiency and its connection to emotional understanding, willingness to communicate and musical experience

• Published in: Language teaching research : LTR Vol. 26; no. 1; pp. 124 - 140
• Main Authors: Fernández-García, Antonio, Fonseca-Mora, M. Carmen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.01.2022; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Adolescents; Communicative Competence (Languages); Correlation; Emotional Intelligence; Emotional Response; Emotions; English (Second Language); English as a second language; English as a second language learning; English Language Learners; English proficiency; Foreign Countries; High School Students; Language Proficiency; Music; Music Activities; Music Education; Psychological Patterns; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Second Languages; Secondary education; Singing; Situational Tests; Speaking; Speech Communication; Speech Skills; Students; Willingness to communicate; Spain; speaking proficiency; willingness to communicate; emotional understanding; second language; musical experience
• ISSN: 1362-1688; 1477-0954
• DOI: 10.1177/1362168819891868

One of the main reasons for studying a foreign language is communicating with others, but many students do not feel confidently enough when trying to develop their speaking skills. Among adolescents’ frequent activities are that of listening to music while paying attention to song lyrics. We hypothesize that these musical experiences could influence their speaking skills. The present study aims to consider different factors that could influence students’ speaking proficiency. Among these factors, students’ emotional understanding, their willingness to communicate in a FL and their musical experience are considered. One hundred and twenty-four students of English as a foreign language (EFL) in the fourth year of Secondary Education from three different high schools in Spain took part in the study. Oral data were collected through individual interviews and three scales were administered to measure the different factors. Students’ musical experience and emotional response to music were measured through The Absorption in Music Scale, their emotional understanding of verbal texts through The Situational Test of Emotional Understanding – Brief, and their willingness to communicate in the EFL class through Willingness to Communicate Scale. Although no direct connection was found between students’ musical experience and their speaking proficiency, results demonstrate that students with high emotional understanding show better speaking skills and that students with musical experience exhibited higher emotional understanding. We detected a significant positive connection between emotional understanding and all the five parameters considered to assess students’ speaking proficiency. The connection between willingness to communicate in the EFL class and students’ speaking skills is even greater.