Self-perceived Communication Competence and Willingness to Communicate in the EFL Classroom: A study of Finnish high school students
Lääti, Vilma (2025)
2025
Kielten kandidaattiohjelma - Bachelor's Programme in Languages
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2025-08-15
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202508158285
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202508158285
Tiivistelmä
Due to the essential role of communication in achieving second language (L2) or foreign language (FL) proficiency, it has been suggested that cultivating learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC) should be the principal goal of language instruction. One significant factor which influences a person’s willingness to communicate is their self-perceived communication competence (SPCC). Both SPCC and WTC remain rather unexplored in EFL (English as a foreign language) contexts. Thus, this thesis examines Finnish high school students’ SPCC and WTC during English lessons, focusing on variation in different communicative situations, but also considering their overall levels.
The data were collected via an anonymous online questionnaire, to which a total of 40 second-year high school students responded. The respondents were asked to evaluate their SPCC and WTC on a seven-point Likert scale in situations which differ in terms of the number and familiarity of other participants. The data are entirely quantitative and were analyzed statistically by calculating means and standard deviations, as well as percentual distributions.
As for situational variation, SPCC means ranged from 4,83 to 6,48, while WTC means varied between 4,15 and 5,65. It was found that SPCC and WTC were higher in situations including a small number of participants and when communicating with familiar participants. Familiarity seemed to have a more significant effect than the number of participants. The means of overall SPCC and WTC were 5,57 and 4,77, respectively.
Although the results are not representative of all Finnish high school students’ or EFL learners’ experiences, this thesis will hopefully inspire more research on SPCC and WTC in the Finnish EFL context. With more knowledge relevant to their own environment, teachers may be better equipped to facilitate communication in language instruction and help learners achieve higher proficiency.
The data were collected via an anonymous online questionnaire, to which a total of 40 second-year high school students responded. The respondents were asked to evaluate their SPCC and WTC on a seven-point Likert scale in situations which differ in terms of the number and familiarity of other participants. The data are entirely quantitative and were analyzed statistically by calculating means and standard deviations, as well as percentual distributions.
As for situational variation, SPCC means ranged from 4,83 to 6,48, while WTC means varied between 4,15 and 5,65. It was found that SPCC and WTC were higher in situations including a small number of participants and when communicating with familiar participants. Familiarity seemed to have a more significant effect than the number of participants. The means of overall SPCC and WTC were 5,57 and 4,77, respectively.
Although the results are not representative of all Finnish high school students’ or EFL learners’ experiences, this thesis will hopefully inspire more research on SPCC and WTC in the Finnish EFL context. With more knowledge relevant to their own environment, teachers may be better equipped to facilitate communication in language instruction and help learners achieve higher proficiency.
Kokoelmat
- Kandidaatintutkielmat [10476]