57 Chapter Assessing Willingness to Communicate for Academically, Culturally, and Linguistically Different Language Learners: Can English Become a Virtual Lingua Franca via Electronic Text-Based Chat? Mark R Freiermuth Gunma Prefectural Women’s University, Japan Hsin-chou Huang National Taiwan Ocean University, Taiwan ABSTRACT Synchronous electronic communication has provided opportunities for language learners in different locales to have meaningful dialogue with one another and highlighted the importance of English even in the context of EFL settings In this chapter, the authors designed an intercultural electronic chat task to see if students from different cultural backgrounds, with different English language abilities, with different L1s, and who have different academic interests would be willing to communicate using English Sixteen Taiwanese university students, who were marine science majors (lower proficiency group), chatted electronically in small groups with 27 Japanese university students, who had been studying English for two years (higher proficiency group) Student commentary to a broad-based questionnaire revealed that all participants were willing to communicate in English and did so Even the lower proficiency group found the task meaningful, pointing out that chat gave them the opportunity to participate fully in the discussion, learn from their peers, and gain confidence, all of which motivated them DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-5140-9.ch004 Copyright © 2018, IGI Global Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited Assessing Willingness to Communicate INTRODUCTION The popularity and advancement of computer-mediated communication (CMC) technology has provided unprecedented opportunities to enhance interactions between learners in ways that can free them from the boundaries of classroom walls (Blake, 2016) CMC tools, both synchronous such as text/voice-based chat, and asynchronous such as video postings, have bridged the time and space gaps to open up new possibilities for EFL learners to engage in real communication With these new tools, EFL learners can be linked to global communities and are able to express themselves freely, while exchanging their viewpoints quickly and easily This can help students to view the world differently and opens the door to the world outside of the four-walled classroom In an increasingly globalized society, practitioners and researchers need to turn to the affordances of new technologies to develop EFL learners’ linguistic competencies and intercultural knowledge Such affordances are especially precious in EFL contexts like Taiwan and Japan where students have relatively few chances to use the language outside of regular classrooms (Freiermuth & Huang, 2012; 2015; Huang, 2015; Hung, 2011; Sun, 2009; Wu & Marek, 2016) In our case, by employing electronic chat, we have opened a window of opportunity for intercultural language learning and affiliation between two very different groups of learners BACKGROUND Collaborative Tasks in CMC The success of a telecollaboration project, such as the one at hand, depends on the wise design of tasks To make intercultural tasks attractive to students, teachers need to design them in a way that will foster student engagement using real communication According to Skehan (1996, p 20), …tasks are activities which have meaning as their primary focus Success in tasks is evaluated in terms of achievement of an outcome, and tasks generally bear some resemblance to real-life language use While engaged in such tasks, learners can receive comprehensible input and modified output, which are central to second language acquisition The basic rationale for task-based language teaching is based on SLA research As examples, (1) tasks should provide both input and output processing, (2) task activity and achievement can be motivational as tasks should engage learners in meaningful communication, (3) learning difficulties during task activities can be negotiated and fine-tuned for particular pedagogical purposes, and (4) learners can acquire grammar as a by-product of fulfilling tasks, as tasks can drive second language acquisition (Brown, 2001, p 229) In addition, O’Dowd and Ware (2009) reviewed 40 studies on intercultural exchanges and concluded that 12 general types of tasks utilized in the classroom are primarily composed of three categories: information exchange, comparison/analysis, and collaboration/product creation Common tasks include: introductions, comparisons, analyzing parallel texts, questionnaires, critical reflection, and discussions (online and in-class) These studies also contribute to the understanding of intercultural learning from CMC and cultural interaction perspectives as well For example, using online programs has the positive potential of developing intercultural awareness; online programs facilitate negotiation of meaning and focus on inter58 Assessing Willingness to Communicate cultural issues; email exchange develops intercultural learning; and cultural questions reduce prejudice and stereotypes while increasing intercultural understanding In our study, we define task as an EFL intercultural activity or goal that is carried out via the affordances of electronic text-based chatting Via the tacit objectives of jointly resolving a map task, text-based chat was used here to foster communication and intercultural awareness with global peers across the ocean using the target language, English More specifically, the task was designed for two groups of EFL students—a mixed (male and female) group of Marine Sciences students from a Taiwanese university and a group of female International Communication students who had been studying English intensively for two years in a Japanese university Academics and the English Language in Asia One problem that arises in English classes taught in an EFL setting is that students—particularly nonEnglish majors—may or may not understand why they need to be enrolled in an English class Their view of English class may be achievement-based—or perhaps even fulfillment-based—rather than acquisition-based This may stem from a number of sources (Nezhad, 2008; Cheng & Dörnyei, 2007, Sampson, 2012) In many parts of Asia, although the use of English is prevalent—being used in signs, products and advertisements—and English materials are readily available, there is often little or no opportunity to use English outside of the classroom Consequently, English class is viewed as a requisite hindrance, as Chen, Warden and Chang (2005) so aptly point out (p 610): settings where English is a foreign language (EFL) often present little or no opportunity to use English outside of the classroom Even when the environment’s broadcast and print media use English, people have very little incentive to access such input Additionally, students may have learned from their experiences that stimulating language learning classes are subservient to academic achievement Indeed, as Cheng and Dörnyei’s (2007) survey has pointed out, language teachers from a variety of settings in Taiwan assigned little or no importance to creating interesting tasks for students Savignon and Wang (2003) have suggested that the focus on grammar exercises is still common in Taiwan despite students’ desires for more communicative language classes The way in which teachers are perceived by students may also influence students’ perceptions of English language learning In Confucian-heritage societies such as Japan and Taiwan the following elements may influence classroom behavior by students: 1) an inclination to view teachers as supreme authorities, 2) a belief that information and knowledge are scholarly elements that can only be passed down to them from the teacher, and 3) an understanding that the classroom is a somber place, so attentive students are to behave quietly and respectfully This has a number of consequences for the English language learning classroom Students may show reticence to use English because of the potential for embarrassment caused by making errors in front of their peers and in front of the teacher (Tsui, 1996; Sampson, 2012) Tsui (1996) adds that students with lower English proficiencies are the most apt to refrain from participating in a noticeable manner in an English class for fear of being laughed at by their classmates The upshot is that students who look at English class as simply a required subject to be completed rather than as an opportunity for communication may not be particularly encouraged to participate fully in an English class In the case of the present study, we have two distinct groups of students: Japanese students who had entered their university with the understanding that one of the primary purposes was to learn English (International Communication majors) and Taiwanese students, who were studying Marine 59 Assessing Willingness to Communicate Sciences and who may or may not have been interested in studying English Desire to communicate in a foreign language is directly tied to how motivated students are in addressing the task at hand Freiermuth (2006) suggests that EFL university students whose academic goals not include English proficiency goals (even minimally) often lack motivation to study English for even short periods of time because learners see very little purpose in the usefulness of doing so Willingness to Communicate If WTC is to be considered, it is reasonable to expect some type of learner engagement Nevertheless, it is a mistake to assume that a WTC is a natural outcome simply because students are engaged in a communicative activity Elements such as anxiety, lack of self-confidence, power inequities and a lack of affiliation with others can all result in an unwillingness to communicate (Clément, 1986; MacIntyre, 1994; MacIntyre, P., Clément, R., Dörnyei, Z., & Noels, K., 1998; MacIntyre, P., Baker, S., Clément, R., & Conrod, S., 2001; MacIntyre, P., Baker, S., Clément, R., & Donovan, L., 2002; MacIntyre, P., Baker, S., Clément, R., & Donovan, L., 2003) Moreover, in Asian EFL settings, first language homogeneity allows students to rely on their first language Their perceived inabilities to use the TL can easily be what is magnified rather than what abilities they may possess (Yashima, 2002; Yashima, T., Zenuk-Nishide, L., & Shimizu, K., 2004; Freiermuth & Jarrell, 2006) A second factor that affects WTC, especially relevant to the present study, is communication in the TL between learners with different academic objectives (Chen, J., Warden, C & Chang, H., 2005) In one respect, this is highly related to student desires or needs If students not feel a need to communicate in the TL because they view English as a necessary annoyance or an obstacle, they will likely be less willing to communicate One way to address these potential problems is to link global peers by integrating CMC into telecollaboration projects with the goal of enhancing cultural competencies, language proficiencies, and of course fueling more WTC When students with different first languages work collaboratively to complete a task together and communicate in English, they have practically used the language for authentic communication purposes and as a means to learn other cultures through such genuine interactions (Guth & Helm, 2010) Telecollaboration projects have parlayed the phenomenon of English communication into English as a lingua franca The term “English as a lingua franca” in the broader definition refers to communicating in English between speakers with different first languages (L1) (Seidlhofer, 2005) Recent reports have shown that only one out of four users of English is a native speaker of the language and the most predominant use of English takes place between non-native speakers of English (Crystal, 2003) The rise of technology has made this type of communication faster and more authentic sans boundaries of time and space Technological developments have changed the demand for language, as communication technologies allow for faster and more powerful dissemination of information while simultaneously liberating and empowering users of English around the world (Graddol, 2007; van der Kroon, Jauregi & ten Thije, 2015; Lewis & Schneider, 2015) With the rise of Web 2.0 technology, English used as a lingua franca language has enhanced opportunities to interact with global peers around the world Telecollaboration 2.0, facilitated by the interactive capabilities of Web 2.0, has broadened the scope of intercultural exchange through both asynchronic and synchronic means Computer-mediated communicative activity with asynchronous capabilities such as email and weblogs and with synchronous capabilities such as voice-based Skype, messaging, 60 Assessing Willingness to Communicate electronic chat and multi-player gaming, have made international telecollaboration activities simpler and more frequent In this study, we employed web-based chat software as the tool to facilitate dialogue for the collaborative communicative task Specifically, we wanted to see if students who came to the chat session with marked differences from their peers across the ocean would be willing to engage in conversation to resolve a collaborative task We now turn to a discussion on motivation, which is central to WTC (Richards, 2006; Ushioda, 2007; 2011, Sampson, 2012) Motivation and Willingness to Communicate Motivation in the language learning classroom has long been a central issue close to educators’ hearts because success and failure in a communicative-oriented language class depends on whether or not students are motivated sufficiently (Gardner & Lambert, 1959; Clément, 1980; Gardner, 1982; Dörnyei, 1994a; Dörnyei, 1994b; Dörnyei, 2001a; 2001b; Ushioda, 2003) Without motivation, students are likely to be unwilling to communicate Well-designed classroom activities ought to motivate students either intrinsically or extrinsically If a student is motivated by a task extrinsically, the motivation is derived from some kind of aim that falls outside of the task as it is applied in the classroom (Deci, 1980; Deci & Ryan, 1985; Noels, K., Pelletier, L., Clément, R., & Vallerand, R., 2000) Intrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is in imbued within the task itself If the task design and the subsequent application of the task are viewed positively by language learners, they will tend to work diligently to achieve the task goals (Keller, 1979; 1983; Ramage, 1990; Dörnyei, 1994a; Deci & Flaste, 1995; Brown, 1994; Inyengar & Lepper, 1999; 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2000) Evidence suggests that the motivation to learn a second language will be intensified when students are driven by intrinsic motivation (see particularly Noels, K., Pelletier, L., Clément, R., & Vallerand, R., 2000; Noels, K., Clément, R., & Pelletier, L., 2001) Research has indicated that well-designed language learning tasks using CMC can foster intrinsic motivation; in our case we are employing web-based electronic chat to achieve this end (Warschauer, 1996a; Meunier, 1998; Freiermuth & Huang, 2012) Text-based chatting between language learners possessing different first languages has been shown to motivate students to communicate in their second language Indeed, Freiermuth and Huang (2012) found that Japanese students who chatted via text online with university students in Taiwan found that the attractiveness and the innovativeness of resolving the task online were key factors motivating students Nevertheless, both of these groups were studying English because it was a part of their majors (Applied English and International Communication), so although they were highly motivated, it may not seem surprising that students with a similar interest in studying English would be willing to communicate in the TL regardless of the application The difference in the present study is that the Japanese university students had been studying English extensively for two years and the majority of the students had chosen the university, at least in part, with the understanding that a main component of their coursework would be intensive English study (as International Communication majors) And, although, we make no claim at the outset about the students’ impressions of studying the TL, we assume that the majority of the students in the Taiwanese university chose the university because they wanted to study some aspect of marine science rather more intensively than English It would not be difficult to imagine these students approaching the task with less WTC to communicate using English than their Japanese counterparts In addition, we assume that these Marine 61 Assessing Willingness to Communicate Science majors generally have had fewer opportunities to use English on a regular basis due to the nature of their study In the sections that follow, synchronous chatting will be examined more widely Synchronous CMC One aim of the present research was to facilitate communication between the two groups in a synchronic manner Synchronous computer mediated communication (SCMC) has drawn increasing attention from teachers and researchers in the field of SLA as a socially mediated form of instruction In particular, SCMC has gained popularity as a pedagogical tool due to its capacity for instant interaction and textbased communication (Kim, 2012) Today text-based synchronous CMC, in the form of web chat rooms and especially instant messenger programs, is one of the most prevalent modes of internet communication, particularly among the generation that has grown up with the internet Using SCMC for learning or practicing a target language now seems to be a natural direction to take language learners Chat Rooms Concerning chat, Sykes (2005) investigated the strength of the connection between pragmatic instruction and CMC by measuring the effects of three types of synchronous group discussions (written chat [WC], oral chat [OC], and traditional face-to-face [F2F] discussion) toward the acquisition of speech acts 27 Spanish students participated in the research, together with an instructor whose first language was American English Based on qualitative and quantitative analyses of three types of synchronous group discussions, the results indicated that synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) is a valid tool where pragmatic issues can be addressed in the foreign language classroom Two-thirds of the participants participated in some form of electronic discussion, and all improved in their pragmatic competence They concluded that SCMC is a valuable tool for pragmatic instruction and should be utilized in the foreign language curriculum Alastuey (2011) examined the advantages and disadvantages of synchronous voice-based computermediated communication (CMC) in a blended course of English Forty-eight Spanish undergraduates were split into a control group and an experimental group and chatted with English L1 speakers (either face-to-face (F2F) or via voice-based electronic chat) An array of quantitative and qualitative data was then compared The results indicated that were several perceived benefits associated with synchronous voice-based computer-mediated communication in the foreign language classroom, namely an increased value in satisfaction, a sense of improvement, an increased likelihood of future use and a perception of need, along with decreased speaking anxiety In addition, although there were a few drawbacks like technical glitches, disappointment with absent partners, the subsequent feelings of wasted time trying to get a new partner and discomfort with some partners, these became less of a hindrance when students became more used to this new medium Overall, the use of synchronous voice-based computer-mediated communication in the foreign language classroom may effectively contribute to second language acquisition (SLA) These findings agree with Brown (2016), who obtained similar results when his 48 French English language learners chatted with British students in pairs using Skype He also concluded that students’ confidence level in using English increased as a result of the Skype-based SCMC Kim (2012) explored how the two different modalities of SCMC and F2F oral interaction influence learners’ interactions with their conversational partners In a rather comprehensive manner, this study investigated how SCMC and F2F enabled collaborative learning not only when learners make errors but 62 Assessing Willingness to Communicate also when they engage in interactions where they test their interlanguage, assist their peers, and create language-learning opportunities A small group of twenty intermediate-level ESL students from three ESL classrooms participated in the study A qualitative analysis of data showed that F2F interactions can foster more opportunities for collaborative constructions of a sentence than SCMC Furthermore, output modality may affect the ways learners produce language, attend to linguistic forms, and deal with communicative problems Learners may engage in activities and produce language differently depending on output modalities as different physical, social, and interactional contexts affect their communication strategies Nevertheless, this is in direct contrast to the findings by Freiermuth and Jarrell (2006) who put relatively low EFL Japanese university students into F2F groups and electronic chat groups The F2F groups had great problems maintaining the target language while the electronic chatters were able to engage one another and resolve the task-prompt together The participants preferred electronic chat over F2F because they were actually able to communicate their ideas; they felt relaxed and the task could be resolved in a more egalitarian manner with all members participating In addition Nguyen and Langevin (2016) employed a combination of voice-based chat and text-based chat By looking at the created dialogues in both modes using conversation analysis, they concluded that voice-based chat was reinforced by text-based chat and that text-based chat also proved useful as means of metalingual analysis of the spoken texts (repair, clarification, grammar, humor, etc.) From recent research involving technology and interaction, there seems to be a trend towards voice and visual electronic chatting over text-based chatting However, researchers should proceed with caution As technological capabilities allow for an ever greater sense of being F2F (albeit electronically), some of the very elements that have provided students with a sense of safety and security while communicating by electronic means are being eroded On the one hand, students are engaged in new and exciting technologies, but on the other, they are now once again facing their peers in a realistic setting Hence, it is quite possible that some of the impediments associated with being physically F2F with your language partners may become more prevalent With this in mind, we chose here to use text-based chatting as the platform of electronic communication Text-Based Online Chat and Willingness to Communicate The final element of our study is the marriage of technology and WTC One way in which students’ L2 WTC may be facilitated is by engaging others using computer-mediated communication (CMC) CMC tasks are generally viewed positively by language learners, suggesting that such tasks promote WTC when studying an L2 Warschauer (1996a) identifies three primary sources of satisfaction learners consistently mention when using CMC—all of which contribute to a WTC First, students wish to be a part of the community of language users of the target language (TL) CMC affords them more opportunities to have contact with not only native-speakers but also with other non-native speakers (including classmates) as well as their teachers Second, CMC empowers students; they feel less isolated and less-threatened, making it easier for them to take opportunities to use the TL Finally, students have the perception that computers help them learn better, and they feel as if they have some control over their language learning These feelings contribute to an overall positive attitude towards the language being learned One form of CMC that warrants significant investigation in the CALL lab is text-based online chat because it retains the interactive features of spoken F2F conversation while simultaneously reducing some of the pressures of F2F communication and fostering more egalitarian communication between group members manifest in the number of turns taken and in word frequency per member (Kelm, 1992; 63 Assessing Willingness to Communicate Kern, 1995; Warschauer, 1996b; 1997; Warschauer, M., Turbee, L., & Roberts, B., 1996; Beauvois 1999; Freiermuth, 1998; 2001; 2002; Freiermuth & Jarrell, 2006; Darhower, 2002; Nguyen & White, 2011) One of the benefits consistently mentioned by researchers who employ online chat as a classroom tool is that students find that it allows them to communicate in TL rather freely Both Beauvois (1995; 1999) and Meunier (1998) looked at the effect text-based chat had on communication Both researchers concluded that online chat was motivating to their language learners by fostering communication in the L2 Meunier found that her French and German students gained a sense of community with other learners motivating them to study the TL, while Beauvois mentioned that her French students felt less anxious while chatting, suggesting that they felt more comfortable using the TL When considering group-based text chat tasks (similar to this study), Sykes (2005) found that third year university students (in groups of three) studying Spanish were more adept communicating with pragmalinguistic competence (when using ‘refusals’) while text-chatting online than the oral group of chatters In addition, Bower and Kawaguchi (2011) used chat software (eTandem) to connect Australian university students learning Japanese with Japanese university students learning English They found that learners were comfortable negotiating meaning with their partners using their L2 They suggest that along with corrective feedback, communicative competence and accuracy can be achieved through text-based chat tasks In a more recent study, Wan-Tsai and Eslami (2015) found that when they paired both high-proficiency and low-proficiency language learners with native-speakers (NSs) of English using text-based chat, the non-native speakers (NNSs) used about the same number language-related episodes (LREs)—a kind of metalingual analysis of language use—irrespective of proficiency However, when the groups were reshuffled pairing high-proficiency NNSs with low-proficiency NNSs, the lower groups used LREs significantly more frequently This speaks to the importance of not only using SCMC to connect NSSs with NSs but also to use applications to connect different groups of NNSs Willingness to Communicate via Task Perceptions Innovativeness How a task is viewed by students plays a role in whether or not students gain motivation to communicate in the TL Tasks are considered to be innovative and consequently motivate students to communicate if they are viewed as non-conventional by the students (Freiermuth & Jarrell, 2006; Freiermuth & Huang, 2012; 2015) A novel aspect of a task can stimulate students to engage others with intensity As for the present study, we believe that the innovativeness of the task is threefold First, students needed to communicate with their peers by using internet chat Although it is true that most of the students were accustomed to using chat, they did not regularly use chat as a means to communicate in the TL and certainly not as a normal classroom activity (Bax, 2003; Chambers & Bax, 2006) The second aspect is related to the first Although most of the students had used online chat, it is unlikely that they had spent much time using chat to communicate in English in small group discussions Third, students were chatting with other EFL students whose first language was different from their own, i.e., Chinese native speakers chatted with Japanese native speakers In Asian EFL settings, this represents a very unusual situation because in typical language learning classes, students can rely on their native tongue whenever they feel a task is too demanding for their capabilities With that said, if one of the primary goals of an innovative task is to engender WTC, it must also be intrinsically motivating In other words, the students must consider the task as attractive (or enjoyable) When learners either see value in a task or find a task interesting, or both, students will be more inclined 64 Assessing Willingness to Communicate to address the task objectives (Deci & Ryan, 1985) Deci and Ryan (1985) also go one step further, saying that a task can only be called attractive if it is able to maintain its appeal from beginning to end One of the goals of the present study is to see if students feel the task is attractive not solely because of the content but also because it is being resolved online using text-based chatting If such is the case, students should demonstrate a WTC in the TL Ideal Self and Willingness to Communicate In many EFL contexts—in this case the East Asian world in particular—the notion of integrative motivation as proposed by Gardner (2001) may lack application for language learners especially those students who can neither realistically imagine real opportunities to ‘integrate’ into a culture where English is spoken nor get a true sense of drawing cognitively closer to a culture where English is the primary language This is especially true for students who are not studying English as their primary subject (Yashima, 2003; Irie, 2003; Sampson, 2012) English is often viewed as a means to end, for example scoring well on an entrance exam so that one may enter the university of one’s choice, or making sufficient gains on a standardized test to get a promotion or a salary increase (Irie, 2003) Gardner and his associates assert that language learners may be motivated by such personal goals and as such labels this type of motivation as ‘instrumental.’ This too may not be a satisfactory definition for the Asian EFL context because students may not be particularly or consistently motivated by instrumental goals but still possess a positive attitude towards learning English Dörnyei (2005, 2009) and Dörnyei, Csizer and Nemeth (2006), using a foundation based upon research in psychology (Markus & Nurius, 1986), address this issue directly Dörnyei and his colleagues reconceptualize the notion of integrative motivation to a more personal reflective view as to how individuals see themselves within the process of learning languages This reconceptualization of motivation for language learners includes three parts (Dörnyei, 2009, p 29): The Ideal L2 Self: If the learner envisions the person he or she would like to become, and sees that person as speaking the L2 with a certain proficiency, the gap between the actual self and the future self can be a powerful intrinsic motivator The Ought-to Self: If a learner pursues goals to meet certain language expectations and to avoid negative consequences incurred by not achieving those expectations, the learner is being extrinsically motivated by what he or she ought to achieve The L2 Learning Experience: If language learners are motivated by something that involves the present learning experience, they are being motivated by elements from their immediate environment (e.g the influence of the teacher, the curriculum, the peer group, the experience of success, the activity at hand) Yashima (2009) posits that it is oft times more relatable and realistic for a student in an EFL setting (such as Japan and Taiwan) to envision a future self who has an international posture rather than focus on a non-relatable and unrealistic view associated with integration She goes on to say that envisioning such an L2 future self is likely to lead to greater self-confidence in using English and result in increased WTC In light of this, we must consider WTC keeping the notion of ideal self in mind 65 Assessing Willingness to Communicate OBJECTIVES The purpose of this research is to qualitatively examine and then discuss students’ WTC exhibited during an online chat task, which was generated from data taken from Japanese and Chinese students’ comments that they provided on a wide-ranging, primarily open-ended questionnaire Using student comments, we discuss their attitude towards resolving a task using electronic text-based chat as well as their attitude towards the chat application We surmise here that students will recognize that the need to use English as a means to communicate will facilitate and stimulate students’ WTC irrespective of academic background More specifically and in keeping with the points previously mentioned in the research, we pose the following questions: If students indicate a willingness to communicate in the TL based upon the aspects of the task and by using online chat software, what evidence they provide through their commentary? If students indicate a willingness to communicate in the TL based upon a need to engage others to resolve an online chat task, what evidence they provide through their commentary? METHODOLOGY This online chat session took place in the computer labs of a national university in Taiwan and a prefectural university in Japan There were 16 Taiwanese (10 males and females) and 27 female Japanese participants who took part in the chat session The time of the chat session was arranged so that both groups of students could be in the CALL lab simultaneously One of the common misgivings about employing computers as a means to electronically connect users is the potential for various kinds of problems Such was the case for this project as the schedules of the participating classes did not align perfectly (O’Dowd & Ritter, 2006) The Taiwanese group had been given the task prompt the day prior to the online chat session and was the later starting group The Japanese students were given the task prompt on the day of the task and prior to the arrival of the Taiwanese students and so had sufficient time to read the task prompt The task prompt was designed to accommodate both groups of students Because the Japanese students’ were enrolled in a course called Tourism English Seminar, the task prompt contained a tourism aspect, and because all of the Taiwanese students had entered the university with a strong emphasis on marine sciences and as such were presumed to be interested in the ocean, the task prompt contained elements where their background knowledge could be advantageous Specifically, the task prompt asked students how they would like to jointly develop the newly discovered Niwan Island as a possible tourist destination In addition to the task prompt, a map of the discovered island was included (replete with various features such as mountains, ocean beaches, rivers, jungle, potential oil fields, coral reefs, etc.) The online chat took place using LECS, an online chat software system that is freely available for teachers (developed for language teachers by Taoka Harada and Tomohiro Yasuda) A screenshot of the front page of LECS is shown in Figure 1.2 66 Assessing Willingness to Communicate likely result in student failures, which in turn can severely dampen any willingness by students to interact with others (Covington, 1992) WTC via Consideration of the Task Innovativeness We analyzed student comments, and at the outset, we intended to determine whether or not students found the task to be attractive As a means to gauge whether or not students felt the task was innovative, we looked for comments that indicated students’ WTC based upon the newness of the activity, comments that hinted at or mentioned directly that the task was something that they had never or rarely experienced in a language learning classroom or comments that the task gave them some kind of satisfaction, such as learning something in the TL or overall enjoyment Here are some of the comments from students.3 T1: …this activity made the course more meaningful, and it made me feel refreshed.*4 T2: Talking with people from other countries is rare but exciting.* T3: If we have more chance to using online chat to communicate with students overseas will be better T4: I think if it is just chatting very casually, there might be little effect on learning the TL as was the case when I chatted on the site “Englishbaby.” Usually, I just greet someone and finish, and then the next person starts with a greeting all over again That wasn’t effective for learning, especially when compared to the chat activity we did this time, which made me learn.* T5: I could learn some conversational techniques Not everyone used the same vocabulary and grammar on the same topic, so I learned various usages of the TL.* J1: It’s new style to study for me It was interesting.5 J2: In usual, we can not such as things so, this activity is precious experience for us J3: I think chat is a good start to communicate with students overseas because it is difficult to talk on the phone and email is not real time J4: It was so fun I want to it again We can learn real English It is the most important point, I think J5: I wish you’ll keep your relation with Taiwanese school (teachers?) and give us more chance to use English as a tool ? THANK YOU SO MUCH.! From the comments, we can see that the students realized and appreciated that they could use chat to communicate, but what they considered more important was that online chat allowed them to communicate with students from another country To them, this chat task represented “real” communication and the chat software was a tool they could use to make communication a reality This concurs with Freiermuth and Huang (2012) who suggest that students who experience rare opportunities for intercul- 71 Assessing Willingness to Communicate tural collaboration with overseas peers, feel that their English use seems more “real” and consequently facilitates a WTC in the TL In addition, the vast majority of the comments expressed a positive view of the task There were a number of students who had hoped that online chat could be incorporated as a part of future classroom activities, and from the comments, it was clear that most of the students were quite willing to engage their counterparts in English The Taiwanese students felt that they had learned vocabulary and grammar from the Japanese students This reflects their perceived abilities; Taiwanese students viewed themselves as less proficient English users compared to their Japanese partners, but this did not deter them from participating The comments also pointed to their enjoyment of the task, indicating that the task had intrinsic value towards motivating them to communicate Deci and Ryan (2000) also comment regarding the potential value of intrinsically motivating tasks, “ intrinsic motivation results in high-quality learning and creativity ” (2000, p 55) Besides the intrinsic value, student comments also pointed to the utility of the task, which means that the task had extrinsic motivation as well (Deci & Ryan, 2000) Not all of the comments were positive, however A number of students mentioned the shortness of the activity as being a drawback As researchers viewing the activity, we sensed that students felt somewhat rushed If an additional session could have been arranged prior to the activity, this would have been agreeable to the students T1: It’s fun and interesting, but we need more time to enjoy the chat T2: I must have more ideas to talk to, but I didn’t discuss yet, I hope we have more time to chat~ J1: The chatting content we are discussing has already finished, that’s the most regrettable thing…the time we could interacted was a little short, I think J2: It was a little short to chatting From a pedagogical perspective, it is important to note the lack of comments about frustration participants had using online chat software to resolve the task prompt Instead, all point to the time allotted to them for chatting with one another In brief, and from the viewpoint of WTC, the comments given in this section generally point to students who are motivated to communicate based upon their experiences and the successes they achieved (Dörnyei, 2009) Willingness to Communicate via Engagement In this section, we analyzed student comments looking for indicators of WTC as it relates to student engagement Specifically, we looked for student comments that directly related to a desire to communicate in the TL, that pointed to a feeling of some sense of community, that indicated an affiliation with their overseas counterparts, that mentioned a sense of ease while chatting in the TL or that expressed a need to communicate in the TL Here are some of the comments from the students T1: My motivation has increased because learning English through interaction using online chat is less boring and is not simply talking to the teacher.* 72 Assessing Willingness to Communicate T2: This kind of activity made our course more meaningful and can motivate students to learn English In the process of chatting online, we learned some basic English conversation skills that were not overly difficult Students who have little ability can increase their confidence, while at the same time, because they want to express themselves, they need to push themselves.* T3: The Japanese students in the chat room responded to me in a very positive manner We felt so comfortable discussing the topic with each other that we came to an agreement quickly We even felt that that the time was not long enough for us Everyone contributed their opinions, which made me feel at ease—it wasn’t awkward at all.* T4: At the beginning we were not familiar with each other, and we talked about things not related to the topic, but we could still gauge their feelings toward us right from the start One of the Japanese student’s online chat alias was, “Hello kitty,” because she apparently likes that character very much, and she knew that many Taiwanese students also like Hello Kitty She was happy to talk about this with me I think she must be a lovely person.* T5: I feel that online chat interaction is very interesting I wanted to know what Japanese students were thinking because they are from a different country.* J1: I could be a good way to learn about our own language skills and about other cultures, I think J2: When we communicate with them, we need to use English, I realized I need more English skill i wanted to chat with them longer J3: I believe “to comunicate with foreigners” (in English) definitely encourage us to get motivation to learn English J4: It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be If we use it well, It could me a good way to learn about our own language skills J5: Through this class, we could enjoy to communicate with Tiwanese students by ENGLISH!! I want improve my English skill for more enjoyable communication What is noteworthy from these comments is that the chatters, who seemed nervous at the start, quickly grasped that this was an egalitarian playing field, and this fostered students’ willingness to communicate Comments indicate that preconceived notions related to fear of the unknown ‘foreigner’ dissipated, stimulating active participation Since the Taiwanese students were not English majors their overall lower perceptions about their own English proficiency levels may have caused them discomfort at the start Taiwanese students’ Likert scores revealed that they felt they were the more proficient only in reading in the TL—a highly receptive and low interactive skill Online chat allowed them to enter into an interactive activity without external pressure and anxiety often associated with F2F conversation, which has the potential to shut down communication (Freiermuth, 2001) Engagement engendered WTC despite any real or perceived differences in language proficiencies In EFL settings where English is not used regularly outside of class, English language courses should offer students chances to use the TL to 73 Assessing Willingness to Communicate interact in the TL regardless of their overall academic aims or their communicative skills Text-based chat may be a worthwhile tool to give students with lower proficiencies a chance to engage others in the TL As students were clearly willing to communicate, it was interesting to note what actually motivated them to communicate First, not even one of the Taiwanese students mentioned anything related to the importance of applying their own scientific knowledge or how the task was related to their chosen field of expertise (neither in their comments nor in the actual chat discourse), and tourism was mentioned but once by a Japanese student On the other hand, both Taiwanese and Japanese students indicated by way of their comments their intrinsic need to communicate—a satisfaction gained from being able to participate with their overseas counterparts Comments indicated a strong sense of empathy and consideration for the “other.” In addition, the task given to students represents an actualization of an imagined international community coming together towards achieving communicative goals where the “other” is viewed in a positive manner As Yashima (2009) mentions an ideal L2 self can envision language being used to communicate in the global arena Certainly some students were apprehensive at the start of the activity; they were worried about whether they could communicate at all Nevertheless, they were willing to interact with their peers because it was important to them, and from their comments, they indicated a desire to be better at communicating in the TL In addition, at the heart of the aforementioned comments is that students quickly developed a personal interest in their overseas partners One Taiwanese student had become acutely aware of this during the online chat session as is mentioned in this reflective comment T1: I think English is very important We don’t need to learn Japanese to communicate with Japanese people and they don’t need to learn Chinese to communicate with Taiwanese Because English is an international language, it would be very difficult to communicate without it.* Such comments support Yashima’s (2009) notion of the importance of an international posture as a future L2 self Yashima (2009, p 145) has suggested, English is something that connects us to foreign countries, and with people whom we can communicate with in English, including Asians and Africans This student has drawn the same conclusion, while pointing to the value of English to her personally The Enjoyment Factor Deci and Ryan (2000) mention the vitality of intrinsic motivation as it gives learners a sense of enjoyment If students enjoy a task, they will likely express their enjoyment through focused communication with their peers to resolve it To gauge intrinsic desire, we simply asked students the following question: Did you enjoy the task? Of the 35 students who answered the questionnaire, 33 of them said they enjoyed the task, while one Japanese student mentioned it was only “so-so,” and one Taiwanese student gave no opinion other than he had to “get up early” and so was “not passionate.” One of the primary reasons for student enjoyment of the chat session can be linked to the use of English as the only means to communicate with the overseas partners Here are some of their responses: T1: We don’t often get a chance to talk to people from other countries.* T2: We don’t often get the chance to talk with Japanese students.* 74 Assessing Willingness to Communicate T3: The Japanese students responded to my ideas positively We reached an agreement quickly because we felt comfortable discussing things with them We even felt the time wasn’t enough Everyone was willing to share their opinions, so I didn’t feel awkward being the only Taiwanese student J1: We rarely have the chance to use English in daily life J2: I can discuss with foreign student J3: It was the first time to chat with Taiwanese for me, so it was different from my other chat friends There were other factors as well Table provides a summary of reasons students gave for their enjoyment Again, we consider here the importance of Yashima’s (2009) notion of international posture and ideal self The two attributes students mentioned most—opportunity to use English and affinity with overseas partners—point to a desire to communicate with others making English the only vehicle available to achieve success Yashima (2009) emphasizes that tasks that get students to think outside of their present situation can be very motivating for learning and communicating in English Concerning the EFL situation in Asia (Japan), she states, studying English (e.g memorizing words, reading texts aloud) is unconnected to the ideal L2 self An alternative approach shown here is to create a situation in which task-related possible selves are linked to the English using ideal self For this, communication and learning take place for knowledge creation that itself is meaningful Learners learn to think critically and form opinions while learning English (p 159) In this study, through the use of text-based chat, a diverse group of students from Japan and Taiwan engaged one another in a meaningful task that engendered communication with one another in English whereby various opinions were pondered in the hopes that ideal L2 selves would be encouraged to develop Final Observations and Recommendations The research questions of this study revolved around whether or not Asian EFL university students with limited opportunities to use English outside of the classroom would be willing to communicate using Table 4: Attribution of task enjoyment Attribution of Enjoyment Number of Students Opportunity to use (real) English Affinity with overseas partners 11 Using online chat Fun or interesting Topic of discussion Ease of communication No reason given 75 Assessing Willingness to Communicate text-based chat with peers who they did not know and whose first language and culture were different from their own In addition, because the two groups had different academic aims and language proficiencies, we wanted to see if these differences in particular would hamper students’ WTC What was found is that both groups of students indicated that the application, the task and most of all communicating with their overseas partners facilitated a WTC in the TL Specifically, students mentioned that they could learn something from their overseas partners, and many also expressed a desire to set-up additional chat sessions Students also expressed satisfaction they derived from the activity because they needed to use the TL to communicate, which gave the task meaning Meaningful activities promote WTC If students cannot visualize the importance of a language learning activity, it will be that much more difficult for students to address the activity with focus and consistency Moreover, the meaning derived from the task was directly related to having an affiliation with their peers Student comments indicate that they recognized the activity as helping to foster an ‘international posture’ likely because they could see the value of communicating in English as a virtual lingua franca while using the chat software to connect with their newfound peers When English is used in such a meaningful way, even in cases where students are presented with virtual dream scenarios, they are much more likely to be willing to communicate In this case, in the process of trying to resolve such a dream scenario, most students became motivated to communicate, and as a result their ideal self image was likely enhanced In brief, the foundation for students’ WTC was their capacity to empathize with the ‘other’ and a strong desire to communicate for practical reasons; by assuming an international posture, students were able to find meaning and purpose in the task (Yashima, 2002; Yashima, T., Zenuk-Nishide, L., & Shimizu, K 2004; Yashima, 2009; Sampson, 2012) In addition, the Taiwanese students, who were marine science students, enjoyed the task and were willing to communicate in English interactively They derived intrinsic motivation from the online chat task because it afforded them an opportunity to express themselves in English to others (Keller, 1979; 1983; Dörnyei, 1994a) Teachers involved in curriculum design for English language programs, especially for those who are involved in EFL settings where English is scarcely used outside of class, need to provide ample opportunities for students to communicate for pleasure, so they can develop their communicative competency skills This is not to say that TL communicative activities should be the focus of every task but that interaction in the TL is a need for students and should complement the passive language learning activities such as reading or solving grammar problems Moreover, interactive communication with others should be represented as one of the ultimate goals of even passive language learning activities, so students can see the potential for using the TL and subsequently develop a positive ideal self as a potential future TL user As Savignon and Wang (2003) rightly point out, teaching for communicative competence appears to be the appropriate guiding principle of English pedagogy in settings such as Taiwan where learners and the society as a whole expect and value communicative skills (p 240) As Brown (2001) mentions, motivation does not have to be pegged as either solely integrative or solely instrumental In this study, we designed a prompt based upon what we believed were the instrumental needs of students; what unfolded, however, was students who were enthralled with the chance to communicate and learn from and about their overseas chat partners 76 Assessing Willingness to Communicate There are a number of limitations in a study such as this First, it is exceedingly difficult to set-up an overseas chat session In our case, schedules from both universities had to be considered, and it turned out that the Taiwanese students needed to come to the university prior to their regularly scheduled classes As a result of shifting the schedules, a few of the Taiwanese students needed to leave the chat session a little bit early and some arrived a bit late Additionally, the chat time of one hour seemed too short (O’Dowd & Ritter, 2006), despite the fact that both students had been given the task prompt in advance of the chat session, students seemed to be rushing The results of this study are difficult to generalize based upon the fact that the study was relatively small It was also conducted with Taiwanese and Japanese students in an EFL setting where English is not used widely outside the university walls Additionally, online chat activities with other culturally different groups would undoubtedly affect outcomes Gender may also play a role in such interactions In our study, 100% of the Japanese students were female while only 37.5% of the Taiwanese students were It is possible that all female groups, all male groups or even all mixed-groups would produce different results CONCLUSION In this study, our goal was to see if students with different cultural backgrounds, different languages and different academic interests would be willing to communicate in online chat interaction in English Our results show that both groups were willing to communicate because they wanted the chance to communicate using real English As a result, the students, despite perceived and actual differences, navigated the activity successfully using English We believe this to be encouraging news for language teachers with access to CALL labs Their situations and students may be markedly different from one another; however, if teachers are able to create meaningful tasks for students and find a way to connect their students using online chat technology, 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is dependent on the interaction between two (or more) different cultures or societies Apart from the learning of the target language, the deeper aim includes promoting affiliation and understanding between the two cultures International Posture: This term refers to a psychological stance that foreign language learners take regarding the cultures associated with the language being learned If they have a strong international posture, they may be more willing to communicate in the target language even if they have no means or opportunities to live in or even visit one of those places where the target language is being spoken Motivation: From a language learning perspective, it refers to the amount of psychological effort learners are willing to put forth towards learning the language Synchronous Communication: From the viewpoint of electronic communication, it generally refers to communication that is simultaneously dialogic A good example is Skype chatting Text-Based Chat: Keyboard-generated electronic chat that is simultaneously dialogic There is also voice-based chat, video and voice-based chat, as well as either of these in combination with keyboardgenerated chat Web 2.0: Web 2.0 is the second iteration of the web, which incorporates users as producers of web content There is also the notion that the web is a place of collaboration and where learning can take place through interaction with the web and with others using the web Willingness to Communicate: A psychological concept associated with motivation From a language learning perspective, simply put, it is the amount psychological effort language learners are willing to expend to communicate with others in the target language ENDNOTES 84 Obviously there are additional elements that affect motivation and willingness to communicate, which have not been examined in this study Elements such as attitude, self beliefs, goals, level of involvement, teacher support, personal attributes (such as age, intelligence, language learning experiences, etc.), level of success and cultural affinity are not considered here as individual elements of communicating in the TL but we believe are, nonetheless, subsumed within the broader qualitative categories (Gardner 1983; Wong-Fillmore 1991; Oxford & Shearin 1994) Screenshots from LECS have been used with permission Those who wish to investigate or use the chat software can find the URL at this address: http://home.kanto-gakuin.ac.jp/~taoka/lecs/ Assessing Willingness to Communicate The designations J1 and T1 not indicate a particular student but are shown to here to simply indicate that the comments came from different students—one simply being Japanese and the other Taiwanese Thus, J1 and T1 indicate that what follows the designations are “a comment labeled number one taken from a Japanese student and a comment labeled number one taken from a Taiwanese student.” All comments marked with a “*” have been translated from Chinese to English Consequently, we would like to acknowledge the efforts of Chi Chuh “Lily” Chuang, who took great care in helping us to translate many comments from Chinese into English All Japanese students wrote their comments in English As the texts were transcribed from the original questionnaires letter by letter, any misspellings in English by the Japanese students are reflected here Some Taiwanese students also wrote their comments in English (but the majority did not) Misspellings in English made by Taiwanese students are also reflected in their comments 85 ... chance to talk to people from other countries.* T2: We don’t often get the chance to talk with Japanese students.* 74 Assessing Willingness to Communicate T3: The Japanese students responded to. .. LECS is shown in Figure 1.2 66 Assessing Willingness to Communicate Figure Top Page of LECS website LECS easily allows teachers to create and place students into text-based chat groups, which... classroom will 70 Assessing Willingness to Communicate likely result in student failures, which in turn can severely dampen any willingness by students to interact with others (Covington, 1992) WTC