Willingness to communicate in english of first year students at felte ulis vnu

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER WILLINGNESS TO COMMUNICATE IN ENGLISH OF FIRST YEAR STUDENTS AT FELTE, ULIS, VNU Supervisor: Nguyễn Thu Hiền Student: Nguyễn Thị Hương Giang Course: QH2014.F1.E2 HANOI – 2018 I hereby state that I: Nguyen Thi Huong Giang, class QH2014.F1.E2, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper Signature May 31, 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgement i Abstract ii Lists of abbreviations, tables, and figures Error! Bookmark not defined List of tables iv List of figures v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationales for the study 1.2 Statement of research problems and questions .1 1.3 Scope of research 1.4 Significance CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Willingness to communicate 2.2 The importance of WTC in the context of English language learning 2.3 Factors affecting WTC of EFL students 2.3.1 Heuristic Model of Variables Influencing WTC by MacIntyre, Clement, Dornyei, Noels (1998) 2.3.2 Factors affecting WTC in L2 .16 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .20 3.1 Participants of the study 20 3.2 Data collection instruments 20 3.2.1 Questionnaire 20 3.2.2 Semi-structured Interview 21 3.3 Data analysis 22 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 23 4.1 Willingness to communicate in English in class of the first year students at FELTE, ULIS, VNU 23 4.1.1 WTC in Casual conversations .24 4.1.2 WTC in Task-related conversations 26 4.2 Factors affecting WTC in English in classroom 28 4.2.2 Personality traits 31 4.2.3 Motivation 32 4.2.4 L2 perceived competence 33 4.2.5 Performance conditions .34 4.2.6 Topical knowledge 34 4.3 Further information from the semi-structure interview 35 4.3.1 The level of WTC of the first year students at FELTE, ULIS, VNU 35 4.3.2 The factors affecting WTC of the first year students at FELTE, ULIS, VNU 37 Motivation 37 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 39 5.1 Summary of the findings: .39 5.2 Pedagogical implications 40 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further research 40 REFERENCE .41 APPENDICES 44 Acknowledgement I would like to thank the Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, University of Languages and International Studies for offering me an opportunity to my graduation paper, which enables me to gain a lot of valuable experience in my learning and my preparation for future career I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Nguyen Thu Hien, for her kindness, her support, her patience, her tolerance, her precious suggestions and valuable advice, all of which encouraged me to complete my graduation paper I would also like to thank all the students for their participation in my study i Abstract One of the main purposes of learning a foreign language is to use it to communicate in an effective way However, whether the EFL students are willing to use English to communicate has been a question to most of the English teachers Given the important role of willingness to communicate (WTC) in learning English, there have been a number of studies about the level of WTC and the factors affecting WTC This study is conducted to investigate the level of willingness to communicate (WTC) in English of EFL first year students at the University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS) and to identify the factors that influence the WTC in English of the participants In order to find the answers to the research questions, two types of data collection instruments were used: a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview Both the questionnaire and the interview aimed at measuring the level of WTC in English of the participants across different communication situations inside classroom and the factors that affect their WTC in class The findings show that the WTC in English in class of the EFL first year students at ULIS is relatively high First year students seemed to prefer initiating communication in English in group discussion to speaking in front of the whole class Regarding the factors affecting the student‟s WTC, the desire to enhance the English speaking skill is the most influential variable In addition, some pedagogical recommendations are also provided for the purpose of encouraging students to communicate in class ii List of abbreviations WTC: Willingness to communicate EFL: English as a Foreign Language L2: Second language iii List of tables Table WTC in Casual conversations 25 Table WTC in Task-related conversations 27 Table Summary of the student‟s preferable types of communicative situation 30 Table Summary of the student‟s personality traits 31 Table Summary of the student‟s motivation 32 Table Summary of the student‟s L2 perceived competence 33 Table Summary of the student‟s performance conditions 34 iv List of figures Figure Heuristic Model of Variables Influencing WTC .6 Figure Willingness to communicate in English in class of the first year students in FELTE, ULIS, VNU 23 Figure Factors affecting WTC in English 29 v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationales for the study In recent years, English has played an integral part in the context of global communication as English serves various purposes, ranging from entertainment to international businesses It is also considered „a „contact language‟ between persons who share neither a common native tongue nor a common (national) culture, and for whom English is the chosen foreign language of communication‟ (Seidlhofer, 2011, p.339) Given its prominent role in communication, there is a growing tendency in learning English in a number of countries including Vietnam In the context of learning English as a core subject at school, students normally study English as a subject rather than a means to communicate However, the goal of learning a second language (L2) or a foreign language (FL) is to communicate and understand people from different cultures Therefore, communicative goal in learning another language should be emphasized (Aliakbari, Kamangar, and Khany, 2016) Willingness to communicate (WTC) in English is believed to exert a significant influence on a student‟s L2 language use (Hashimoto, 2002) Willingness to communicate is defined as a learner‟s „„readiness to enter into discourse at a particular time with a specific person or persons, using a L2” (MacIntyre, Clement, Dornyei & Noels, 1998, p 547) WTC in L2 has been examined in a number of studies around the world (Hashimoto, 2002; Yashima, 2002; Nation & Newton, 2009; Mahdi, 2014) These studies indicate that WTC has certain influences on an individual‟s L2 use, and there are a number of factors affecting one‟s WTC However, there has been little effort in investigating WTC of English learners in Vietnam Therefore, the researcher would like to investigate how willing the students in Vietnam are to communicate in English and what factors are likely to affect their communication in English 1.2 Statement of research problems and questions Given the emphasized goal of learning English as to communicate effectively, willingness to communicate is of primary concern as a factor that is related to communication competence and attitudes of students Furthermore, language and communication belong to cultural matters (Yashima, 2002) McCroskey and Richmond (1990) also suggested that the relationship between WTC and diverse 1 Speak in a group about your interest Speak to your teacher about your homework assignment Have a conversation with someone entering your class if he/she talks to you first Ask for instructions/clarification when you are confused about a task you must complete Talk to a friend in break time Do the role-playing tasks in pairs and groups Describe the rules of your favorite game Play a game in English Contribute your ideas in a group discussion 10 Make a presentation in front of your classmates (e.g: your oral sharing project, mini presentation,…) Part III Factors affecting your willingness to communicate in English This part is composed of factors affecting your WTC in English in class These following factors are believed to influence your decision to start speaking English in class Put a tick in the box to indicate the level in which each factor could influence your WTC in English = No influence = Minor influence 3= Neutral 4= Moderate influence 5= Major influence * Factors affecting your WTC 1 I like giving a talk in English in front of the class I enjoy discussing in groups in English I enjoy chatting with my classmates in English 45 I am shy when I speak in front of the class I am a talkative person All my friends use English to talk to me I want to practice and improve my language skills I am confident that I can use English effectively to talk I am afraid of making mistakes when speaking 10 My classmates pay great attention to my talk 11 I feel the pressure when I discuss in a group 12 I not have enough ideas to contribute to the topic I talk about Other factors (please specify)………………………………………… This is the end of the questionnaire Thank you for your time and support to fill in this survey I also appreciate it if you can join in the interview after this questionnaire If you are able to join the interview, could you please fill the information below Your name: ………………………………………………………………………… Your phone number: ……………………………………………………………… Your email: ……………………………………………………………………… 46 Interview transcription I: Interviewer R: Respondent Respondent I: Among 10 situations in the survey, what is the type of situation in which you are the most willing to join? R: For me, playing game is the most enjoyable activity, because I don‟t have to worry about my English performance, I can enjoy the game rather than being nervous like when I make a presentation, for example I: As you have just said, you are nervous when making presentation, why you have that feeling? To be honest, I don‟t really feel comfortable when I have to make presentation in front of the class, I feel so shy in public speaking, especially, when we discuss in group and the teacher asks one of us to make a small presentation about the ideas we have just discussed I like discussion more than making presentation I: You said you don‟t feel comfortable when making presentation, how you feel when you have to make a presentation after your group discussion? R: I don‟t like giving a short talk after we finish dicussing in group, but because I was assigned by other group members to come to the board and make a mini talk, I had to it even when I felt a little shy At that time, I felt rather hesitated but I still had to it because the teacher asked us to so I: Since in speaking class, the most important task to is to speak English, so what makes you feel motivated to speak English in class? R: As I remembered from the survey, I think that the biggest motivation for me to speak English is that I have a chance to practice speaking English, because I don‟t have much chance to communicate in English outside classroom Besides, I also wanted to speak English when the teacher asks the whole class in English, I feel like I am expected to answer the teacher‟s question in English I: In addition to the need to improve your English, how does your personality affect your WTC in English in class? R: I think that feeling shy affects my decision to speak English, especially when I have to make presentation I think a lot of other students may have the same difficulty like 47 me However, I feel less shy when I have to make more presentation in a semester The more I do, the less shy I feel I: Thank you for your participation! Respondent I: Among 10 situations in the survey, what is the type of situation in which you are the most willing to join? R: I think that I prefer playing game in English the most It creates an interesting atmosphere in class and I would feel less nervous, when compared to other tasks in our course such as making presentation I: Between group discussion and presentation, in which activity are you more willing to speak English? R: I prefer discussion, because presentation often makes me feel anxious a bit, since I have to stand in front of many other classmates and the teacher to talk Instead, I also like to speak interpersonally to the teacher I: Why you prefer to talk to the teacher? R: I like the way some teachers react to my talk, when I received good feedback, or positive reactions from the teacher, I have more confidence to present the rest of my ideas I: In addition to that motivation, why you speak English in class? R: I speak English to improve my language, and practice my reflections when using English Besides, when I talk something that my friends show their interest in, I also have motivation to continue to speak I: How does your personality affect your WTC in class? R: I think that personality affects my WTC to some extent I am a bit afraid of public speaking, which makes me tremble sometimes when I have to speak in front of class I really want to practice to overcome this I: Thank you for your participation! Respondent I: Among 10 situations in the survey, what is the type of situation in which you are the most willing to join? R: I like to join a group discussion the most because we could talk together to find out 48 the ideas for a topic I: Sometimes, after the group discussion, you may have to give a short talk about what you have discussed, are you willing to give such talk? R: I have to say that, I don‟t really enjoy that activity because I feel a bit shy when I have to speak in front of other students Sometimes my group cannot finish our discussion, so if I have to make a short presentation after that, I feel confused about what to present However, if we come up with a good outline after discussion, I feel more confident to give a talk because I know clearly what I have to talk about I: What makes you feel motivated the most when you speak English in class? R: Actually, I rarely practice speaking English at home, so when I go to English class, I have a chance to practice speaking In addition, when we discuss in group, the teacher goes around the class to check how we work with the questions, that also motivates us to talk something, because we cannot sit still and say nothing when the teacher checks I: Besides the motivation you have mentioned, in what way your personalities affect your WTC in English? R: I am quite a talkative person, and I often chat a lot with my friends, so I think that being sociable could affect my WTC in class When we start any discussion, I tend to start by asking my friends and communicate quite well with them However, when I find a hard topic and I don‟t know much about it, I seem to talk less, or even I will talk in Vietnamese to express my idea more easily I: Thank you for your answers! Respondent 4: I: Among 10 situations in the survey, what is the type of situation in which you are the most willing to join? R: Personally, I enjoy playing game with my friends in class, as what I answered in the survey Playing game is more relaxing than other activities, and we also feel more exciting when playing together I: It seems that you prefer the relaxing activity when you speak English, doesn‟t it? R: Yes, definitely, I don‟t like the activity with pressure like making presentation in front of the whole class 49 I: Given that you like relaxing conversation in English, you enjoy chatting with friends in English? R: Well, during break time, for example, we often talk about personal things, or ask each other about the assignments, but we prefer to speak Vietnamese because it is more comfortable and easy to understand Sometimes, I also want to practice speaking English in break time, but I feel a bit unnatural to so, so we prefer to use Vietnamese I: So we turn back to your speaking activity in class, what makes you feel the most motivated to speak English in your class? R: Of course, because we are in an English class, so we speak to practice and improve our speaking skills My major is in English, but I didn‟t have much time practice speaking English in high school Therefore, I have to practice to improve my skills Sometimes, when I find a topic that is interesting to me, I also feel more willing to talk about it I: How you think your personality affect your WTC in English in classroom? R: I don‟t think that it has much influence on my English practicing If I go out and communicate with a foreigner, I may feel more nervous and don‟t know how to start a conversation with them However, when I am in class means that I have to speak English because it is a part of my learning activity; therefore, even when I feel shy since my English is not so good, I still have to speak English I: That‟s the end of our interview, and thank you for your answers! Respondent 5: I: Among 10 situations in the survey, what is the type of situation in which you are the most willing to join? Well, you know, I am the most willing to play a game in English It is because we have a lot of fun when we that activity, and it is more comfortable than doing any assignment I: Given that you prefer comfortable speaking activity, how you think about chatting with friends during break time? R: In daily conversation, I often feel shy to use English to talk, for example, to chat with my friends at break time; I think that sharing personal things in Vietnamese is 50 more natural and comfortable However some of my friends still use English to chat with each other in break time I think it's a good way to practice speaking English And I think I also want a partner to practice speaking some casual conversations like that later I: Among the activities you have in your English class, in which activity are you the most willing to speak English? R: I think that each activity has its own benefits to help me improve my speaking skill For example, our oral sharing project can help us practice our presentation skill which is necessary for us In the meantime, the group discussion allows us to share about certain topics Participating in these activities could help me enhance my knowledge I: What makes you feel the most motivated to speak English in your class? R: As I have just said, practice to improve my English is the most important factor to motivate me to speak We talk less English outside classroom, our practicing often happens when we are in class Moreover, speaking English is considered a learning task for us to complete; therefore, I feel motivated to speak I: What you think about the effect of your personality on your WTC in class? R: Well, I think that this can have certain effects on my WTC in class I am a bit shy, especially, when I speak in front of a lot of people, so I don‟t really prefer making a presentation However, I still have to make a presentation since that is my task to complete, and I have to speak to gain marks in my English course I: Thank you for your participation Our interview is done Respondent 6: I: Among 10 situations in the survey, what is the type of situation in which you are the most willing to join? R: To be honest, I prefer discussing in group because I feel more comfortable and confident when I have to come up with several ideas for the topic that I not know much about If I think of the ideas myself, it is a more difficult task Therefore, discussing in group is my favorite task I: When compared to making presentation, what activity you like more? Why? R: As I said, working in group is better for me, since all of us in a group can contribute 51 the ideas, and I just have to speak to a small group, unlike making presentation, I have to it by myself, speaking in front of other classmates and teacher would make me feel nervous I: What makes you feel motivated to speak English in class? R: I have to say that learning tasks make me feel motivated, partly because I need to complete the task to practice my speaking skill, and also to get good marks in that subjects In specific situation like group discussion, the teacher sometimes give us some suggestions to find out the ideas for the topic, which also encourage us to speak more, because we have some guiding to follow I: How you think about personality as a factor affect your WTC in English? I think that my personality would not affect my WTC except for my shyness when I have to speak in front of other people But I want to practice more to reduce that shyness in the future I: That‟s the end of our talk Thank you for your participation! Respondent 7: I: Among 10 situations in the survey, what is the type of situation in which you are the most willing to join? R: I like playing English game the most, since we can not only relax with the game, but also can gain some knowledge from that I: We talk about probably more difficult tasks: making presentation and group discussion, in which task are you more willing to speak English? R: I still prefer group discussion because the atmosphere in a group discussion will be less formal than that in a presentation, so I feel more comfortable and less anxious However, since making presentations such as our oral sharing project are part of our learning activity, therefore we still have to make presentation Since we had time to read the materials online, and prepare the content knowledge carefully before making presentation in class, I felt more willing to give such a talk I: Do you like chatting with friends in English during break time? Why or why not? R: I think that‟s an interesting activity because I feel it‟s a good way to practice speaking I: What makes you feel motivated to speak English in those activities? 52 R: For me, I am majoring in English; therefore, I think that speaking English in class is a good way for me to practice my English, because in daily conversation with other people, I hardly have the chance to practice I: How does your personality affect your WTC in class? R: I think the most difficulty that I have when I speak English is that I feel shy sometimes I am also afraid that if I make any mistakes in my speaking, I will be embarrassed; therefore, I may feel some hesitation to speak English, especially, when I make a presentation I: That‟s the end of our interview, and thank you for your answers! Respondent I: Among 10 situations in the survey, what is the type of situation in which you are the most willing to join? R: I prefer to talk in English in daily conversation, such as chatting with friends, talking about my interest On the other hand, I may feel the pressure when I have to speak English as a task It is also because the feeling of being assessed makes me less confident with my performance I: Between group discussion and presentation, in which activity are you more willing to speak English? R: I think both of them are learning tasks that we have to in class However, I have a higher preference for group discussion I sometimes feel hesitated to make a presentation, especially, after our group discussion I feel reluctant is the teacher randomly asks me to give a talk after discussion I: What makes you feel motivated to speak English inside classroom? R: Of course, speaking English in class is a way to help me improve my English language knowledge Sometimes, in the group, the atmosphere of good cooperation among group members also gives me more inspiration to work and to speak to contribute my ideas The teacher may also create some small competition among groups in class, I think it is a good way for us to have more motivation to speak I: How your personalities affect your WTC? R: I don‟t think that it has much influence on my WTC, I am not shy or talkative all the time How willing I am to communicate would depend on other factors such as my 53 knowledge about that topic, or how willing other students are to speak to me I: Thank you for your participation! Respondent 9: I: Among 10 situations in the survey, what is the type of situation in which you are the most willing to join? R: I think that I am the most willing to use English when I have an English task to complete such as make a presentation, group discussion I: Why you feel like doing those activities? With presentation, we have time to prepare what to talk at home, and we also have time to practice to present at home, so I like that activity Group discussion is also a good way for us to practice to communicate with each other and also to practice speaking and listening skills I: What makes you feel motivated when you speak English in class? R: I think the motivation comes from my need to practice English I try to my best to practice my presentation at home in order to perform well in class Besides, when the teacher asks me in class, when I find it difficult to think of ideas for the answer, the teacher would ask me some related but easier questions, so I felt less anxious and could try to anwer those questions The teacher‟s support in making the questions simpler makes me feel less nervous and more willing to speak I: How you think that your personality will affect your WTC in class? R: I guess that this factor definitely affect me in my speaking English, it is because I often feel nervous and shy when I have to talk in front of many people Therefore, when I have to speak English that I have not been really good at, I even feel more nervous, and it can affect my speaking performance However, my shyness could be reduced if I practice really carefully at home what I present in class I: Thank you for your participation We are done with our interview 10 Respondent 10 I: Among 10 situations in the survey, what is the type of situation in which you are the most willing to join? R: I like to talk with my friends in daily conversation, especially, with my close friends in class We know each other well, so we feel more comfortable to speak 54 English with each other without feeling shy I: In your learning process, between group discussion and presentation, in which situation are you more willing to speak English? R: These two activities are familiar to me But I think that I am more willing to speak English in making presentation, because when I make a presentation, which means that I am speaking a formal context, and I have to speak English as a part of my learning task However, with group discussion, I sometimes have to speak Vietnamese rather than English For sure, I can understand my friend‟s questions, for example, in a group discussion, but I still want to give my ideas in Vietnamese because sometimes it is difficult to express the complicated ideas clearly in English I: What makes you feel the most motivated to speak English in class? R: I think that when my friends talk in English to me, I would definitely answer them in English Sometimes, the teacher also asks specifically some students to answer her questions; I think that I am also willing to communicate in English to her One more important thing is that I also have to practice English in class to prepare for the end-ofterm speaking test That‟s why I have to speak English in class I: How your personalities affect your WTC in class? R: I think that it can affect my WTC However, the thing that matter more is the knowledge about the topic I have to speak If I am shy, but I still know clearly about the topic, or I am interested in that topic, I can overcome my shyness and can be willing to talk about it in English I: Thank you for your participation! 11 Respondent 11: I: Among 10 situations in the survey, what is the type of situation in which you are the most willing to join? R: I prefer group discussion the most When I have to discuss in group, I and my friends can share a lot of interesting ideas I: Besides group discussion, in which activity you also feel willing to speak English? R: I guess that talking with friends during break time is also an interesting activity, because I don‟t have much worry with my language use, I ca use simple word to 55 communicate, and talk about my personal things with my friends Sometimes, using English to chat with friends makes our conversation become more interesting I: What makes you feel motivated in speaking English in classroom? R: The context of classroom can motivate me to speak, because when I am at home, I have no one to practice English with Therefore, I really want to speak English in class as a way to practice my skills Besides, the teacher‟s support and attention are also really important For example, when the teacher went around the class and participated in our group discussion, we had to briefly present our ideas It was like an informal presentation and we felt motivated to speak our ideas I: How can your personality affect your WTC in class? R: Well, when I first entered this university, I used to be really shy when I had to speak English because all my friends spoke Vietnamese in English class in high school Therefore, I used to feel shy when I spoke English in class But now, when I get more familiar, I could say that I feel less shy, and with my preparation before class, I think that shyness has less effect on my WTC in class I: Thank you for your participation! 12 Respondent 12 I: Among 10 situations in the survey, what is the type of situation in which you are the most willing to join? R: I think that I am the most willing to play a game in English, when our classmates make presentation, they would organize some games for us to remember what they have just presented I: Why are you willing to join that activity more than other activity? R: It is because when we play a game in English, we enjoyed the game itself, rather than focusing on the use of accurate grammar or vocabulary, this makes us feel less anxious about the use of language I: Besides playing game, what speaking activities are you willing to speak English the most in your English course? R: I like to participate in the group discussion, because when I that activity, I can hear other interesting ideas from my friends about a new topic But sometimes, I lack ideas to speak about the topic, so I may get distracted from the discussion However, I 56 still prefer discussion because we can share our responsibility for thinking of the ideas for the discussed questions I: What makes you feel motivated to speak English in a group discussion in class? R: In group, my classmates speak English to present their ideas, therefore, I also have to speak English to them, when my friends ask me something in English, I will have to answer them in English, I find it strange if they ask me in English and I answer in Vietnamese, even when I still see some friends speaking Vietnamese to give their ideas I: In addition to this, how does your personality affect your WTC in class? I guess that my personality has a small effect on my speaking English, even though sometimes I feel so shy to speak in English, because I am not confident enough, and if I speak something wrong, I feel embarrassed However, I still have to speak English because it is my major and I have to practice and the tasks to improve my English I: That‟s the end of our sharing Thank you for your participation! 13 Respondent 13 I: Among 10 situations in the survey, what is the type of situation in which you are the most willing to join? R: I think that I am the most willing to join an English game, when we can speak English more freely Actually, with English game, we enjoy it more than learn speaking I: How you think about your WTC in group discussion and presentation? R: I personally prefer group discussion to presentation I don‟t really like public speaking and I am afraid of the crowd, so I don‟t really prefer presentation However, that is a part of our project in this course So I am still supposed to it But I think that making presentation makes me feel more confident when I have to speak in front of many people It also affects my personality I: What makes you feel motivated to speak English in class? R: I am thinking of practicing my skill is the most important factor to motivate me to speak Besides, I think that the teacher‟s interaction is also a good support yo encourage me to speak I: How does your personality affect your WTC in class? 57 R: I tend to be afraid of public speaking, such as making a presentation, whether it is in Vietnamese or in English Therefore, as I was saying, I used to hesitate to speak English in class, but I got more familiar with it when I spoke more in class Therefore, I think that personality can affect my WTC, but there is always a way to improve that situation I: Thank you for your participation! 14 Respondent 14 I: Among 10 situations in the survey, what is the type of situation in which you are the most willing to join? R: Among those situations, I am willing to make a presentation, specifically, our oral sharing project I: Can you be more specific about your choice? R: It is because making a presentation makes me think that I formal speaking, so I will try to speak English as good as possible, even I feel a bit shy when I have to speak in front of the whole class I: What makes you feel motivated to speak English inside classroom? R: It is probably because I speak English to complete the project of our course, and also to practice my English skills, which I had little chance to practice in high school I also want to improve my language ability so as to be more confident when using it I: How does your personality affect your WTC in class? R: To be honest, I think that each of the students feels a bit shy when they have to public speaking and I am also shy sometimes However, because I want to improve myself, I try to show that I am not nervous and willing to make small presentation on behalf of my group I realized that if I made a careful preparation to know clearly what I had to do, and what steps to follow, I will be less shy I: Thank you for your participation! 15 Respondent 15 I: Among 10 situations in the survey, what is the type of situation in which you are the most willing to join? R: Well, I prefer playing game the most We often have lots of fun with that I feel no worry about my language use or grammar 58 I: Is it because of the exciting atmosphere in class that make you willing to communicate in English? R: I think it is And it is really more relaxing than doing the exercise or answering each question from the teacher When I have to answer the teacher‟s question and I cannot think of any ideas, I feel really shy I: Do you enjoy chatting with your friends about your personal things in English? Why? Or why not? R: Sometimes I feel strange when seeing other friends chatting in English because I think that in break time, it is reasonable to speak the mother tongue rather than speak English as in class time Therefore, I am less willing to communicate in English when I don‟t have any English task to I: What is the biggest motivation for you to speak English in class? R: I should say that because I have to the learning task as other classmate We have to speak English in class time, the teacher asks us in English, so I will answer in English too Sometimes, in group discussion, we find it hard to understand each other‟s idea, so it is better for us to add some Vietnamese to express our ideas clearly Or maybe after we discuss, we are supposed to present the ideas to the teacher, so we communicate in English as a way to prepare for a short presentation to the class and the teacher later on I: How does your personality affect your WTC in class? R: I think that the personality can affect my WTC Whether I am talkative or not will depend on who I am communicating with, or whether I am in good moods to communicate with others If I have to talk to the teacher, I may feel more nervous than talking to my friends, because the teacher often have a really good language skills, so when I talk to my teacher, I am shy when I make any mistakes in language use I: That‟s the end of our sharing Thank you for your participation! 59 ... information obtained from the interview 4.1 Willingness to communicate in English in class of the first year students at FELTE, ULIS, VNU The section presents the findings indicating the level of. .. willing to communicate in English in the class context Figure Willingness to communicate in English in class of the first year students in FELTE, ULIS, VNU 23 #1 - Speak in a group about your interest... level of WTC of the first year students at FELTE, ULIS, VNU and the factors affecting their WTC in English in class context The findings of this study indicate that first year students show a relatively