Encouraging Vietnamese Students’ Willingness to Communicate Inside L2 English Classrooms

Document Type : Research article

Authors
1 Lecturer, PhD, School of Foreign Languages, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
2 ESL teacher, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Tra Vinh University, Tra Vinh City, Vietnam
3 ESL teacher, School of Foreign Languages, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Abstract
Second language (L2) education researchers have recently been concerned about students' willingness to communicate (WTC) since communication competence is considered an ultimate goal of L2 education. This study examines Vietnamese teachers' perceptions of L2 WTC and their strategies to encourage students to communicate inside the classroom. Data were collected from interviews with 30 Vietnamese EFL university teachers. Results showed that all the teachers believed students' L2 WTC inside the classroom influenced the development of second language acquisition (SLA) and perceived their role in encouraging WTC. Also, the teachers revealed that they used a wide range of strategies to encourage students to communicate. The findings suggest that L2 teachers use a wide range of strategies to promote students’ WTC inside the classroom. It might be necessary for Vietnamese EFL teachers to update strategies to encourage WTC inside the classroom.

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