Exploring Bangladeshi university students’ willingness to communicate (WTC) in English classes through a qualitative study

• Published in: Asian-Pacific journal of second and foreign language education Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 1 - 17
• Main Authors: Alam, Md Rabiul, Ansarey, Diana, Abdul Halim, Huzaina, Rana, Md Masud, Milon, Md Rashed Khan, Mitu, Rabeya Khatun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 09.02.2022; Springer; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Applied Linguistics; Classroom Environment; Classroom Observation Techniques; College students; Content analysis; Data collection; Education; Educational attainment; EFL learning; English; English (Second Language); English as a second language learning; Foreign Countries; Foreign language instruction; Grammar-based teaching; Higher education; Interviews; Language Education; Learner Engagement; Learning environment; Oral communication; Original Article; Qualitative research; Second Language Learning; Semi Structured Interviews; Speech Communication; Speech Skills; Spoken language; Student Attitudes; Student Experience; Teaching and Teacher Education; Tertiary level; Undergraduate education; Undergraduate Students; University students; Willingness to communicate; Willingness to communicate (WTC); Bangladesh; Classroom environment; Tertiary level; Bangladesh; Willingness to communicate (WTC); Oral communication; EFL learning; Grammar-based teaching
• DOI: 10.1186/s40862-022-00129-6
• ISSN: 2363-5169

English is regarded as a compulsory subject in Bangladesh, which learning starts at the very early stage of a learner. However, after spending almost 12 years in learning English, learners’ oral skill is not seen up to the mark when they enter the university for tertiary education. Sometimes, they are noticed to have their unwillingness to communicate with others. Hence, the current study aims to explore the experiences of Bangladeshi university students’ willingness to communicate (WTC) by employing a multiple case study method. 10 undergraduate students from a private university were interviewed. Apart from semi-structured interview, classroom observations were also carried out for data collection. The obtained data were analysed through the content analysis process. The findings show that students’ earlier experiences of learning English have been positive; however, they think grammar-based English learning is an obstacle in the development of their oral communication. The study also reveals that learners’ WTC is greatly influenced by classroom environment that enhances or declines their interest to communicate with others. Based on the findings, the study suggests that incorporating more drills in English classes by engaging learners with real-life based conversations, dialogues and so forth can enhance learners’ WTC. Hence, learners’ real voice would help the policymakers and language instructors to take the issue into consideration and way-out timely measures.