Article: ‘JHS students’ willingness to communicate: dyads, meetings, public speaking and with strangers’ by David Ockert

[ELTWeekly Volume 6, Issue 4 | February 17, 2014]

In the November/December issue of The Language Teacher, internationally renowned author and educator Jack Richards commented that “Affect refers to a number of emotional factors that may influence language learning and language use” (Richards, 2012, p. 49). These emotions may range from excitement and enthusiasm to boredom, stress and anxiety. The first two are commonly found in extroverted students everywhere, while the latter three are very often present in introverted and reticent Japanese students. In addition, the latter may hinder students desire to communicate in English. As Richards (2012) mentions, “Two important aspects of affect are anxiety and willingness to communicate.” (p. 49). Therefore, this paper reports the results from a willingness to communicate (WTC; McCroskey & Baer, 1985) survey, which tests for perceived Anxiety (nervousness), WTC and Confidence or perceived competence (see Hashimoto, 2002, p. 57) for 30 scenarios requiring the use of English. It has been found that “both language anxiety and perceived competence influence(d) WTC” (Hashimoto, 2002, p. 40). (more…)

Continue ReadingArticle: ‘JHS students’ willingness to communicate: dyads, meetings, public speaking and with strangers’ by David Ockert

Article: ‘Language is Power’ by Dharmendra Sheth

[ELTWeekly Volume 6, Issue 3 | January 27, 2014]

Language is power. Everyone knows that. Or ought to, at any rate. We often see some professionals more successful than others, not only because of their competence in their field of work, but also their command of language, whether it is written or spoken, their mother tongue or some other tongue. A good command of language helps one carve a niche for oneself in one’s personal and professional circles. And yet not many take this power of language seriously. And some do pay the price of neglecting it.

That one would love one’s mother tongue seems obvious. But isn’t it a fact that most people speak their mother tongue badly? Their writing skill in their mother tongue too leaves a lot to be desired. If one doesn’t speak or write one’s mother tongue properly, how can we expect one to perform well in another language, foreign or indigenous? (more…)

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