Willingness to communicate (WTC) has been considered an important part of the language learning and communication process, playing a pivotal role in the development of language learners’ ...communicative competence. Many studies have been conducted on the relationship between WTC and related variables in learning English as a foreign language. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive meta-analysis concerning the effect sizes of these studies. Thus, the present meta-analysis investigated the overall average correlation between L2 WTC and three key variables influencing foreign/second language learners’ WTC, specifically perceived communicative competence, language anxiety, and motivation. The results of the meta-analysis indicated that all three variables were moderately correlated with L2 WTC, with perceived communicative competence having the largest effect. Finally, tests of the heterogeneity of the effect sizes indicated the possibility of the presence of the moderators which might play an influential role in the relationship of WTC with anxiety, perceived communicative competence, and motivation.
This research highlights the difference between teachers’ assessment of communicative competence and learners’ self-assessment of their own competence. It emphasizes the importance of education in ...self-assessment from the earliest moments of teaching practice to measure learning progress and foster autonomy. The intention of this work is to check the autonomy, awareness, and responsibility of second-year students at Blida 2 University in their learning process. We initially defined key concepts such as communicative competence, assessment, and self-assessment; then we described the instruments used in the research and simultaneously analyzed the data obtained from the survey. Finally, we compared the results obtained from the assessment with those from self-assessment to answer the initial questions.
One of the goals of foreign language (FL) education is to produce intercultural speakers. Telecollaboration can act as a catalyst for promoting language skills development, intercultural ...communicative competence (ICC), and multiple literacies. The significance of multimodal communicative competence (MCC) on the success or failure of a telecollaborative project and its interdependence with intercultural communicative competence (ICC) have already been established. The very few systematic reviews on ICC and second language (L2) or FL learningdo not take into account the different modalities through which learners interact and co-construct meaning and intercultural competence. Drawing on ecological linguistics (EL) and semiotics, the present review contributes to the field of applied linguistics by reviewing online intercultural exchanges (OIEs) and ICC development in relation to the modality used for each exchange that is reviewed. Features of the context of each study that was conducted in either a K-12 or a university setting were coded according to a coding scheme and analysed quantitatively using descriptive statistics. The findings of studies conducted in university contexts, were reviewed in-depth inductively in relation to the impact of Web 2.0 tools - and especially multimodality - on learners' development of ICC. The exclusive focus on university contexts in the in-depth review stems from the frequency at which universities serve as contexts for OIEs, comprising in this case more than two-thirds of the reviewed studies. Analysis of the data suggests that multimodality in Web 2.0 tools and applications affects ICC development in multiple ways but more research on ICC and L2 and FL learners in multimodal environments needs to be conducted.
Aphasia constitutes a very complex clinical entity that requires a "competent" caregiver to interact with the person with aphasia (PWA). The literature lacks a valid and reliable set of standardized ...tools which can offer objective and quantifiable data of a caregiver's communicative competence. The aim of the study was to develop, standardize and validate an evaluation tool suited to measur the caregivers' competence in communicating with family members affected by aphasic disorders. Forty-two patients with aphasia and their respective caregivers were enrolled in the study. Caregivers' communicative competence was assessed through a new evaluation tool called ACCA-cl. Aphasia severity and functional communication abilities of the PWA were also investigated. Our data showed encouraging results regarding the reliability and the validity of the ACCA-cl scale in detecting the caregiver's communicative competence, especially as far as verbal content was considered. This scale can also be used to assess the improvement achieved by the caregiver after a communication training. The analysis provides encouraging findings for verbal content scales of the ACCA-cl and its possible use in clinical settings as a quantitative tool for detecting changes induced by the educational method of the caregiver. The tool is currently available in Italian.
This study investigates the effects of using open social VR for university English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' intercultural communication learning. The project involved two stages: (1) ...carefully designed activities for students to practice different language-learning tasks with their peers; (2) implemented in an open social VR environment for intercultural interactions. Data from multiple sources, including surveys, video-recordings, and oral reports, were collected and analyzed. Findings reveal that the participants perceived the social and physical presences afforded by the VR environment positively. Occurrences of intercultural communicative competence were identified in the participants' interactions with international interlocutors in open social VR spaces. Whereas the participants were doubtful of the effectiveness of the approach when practicing language tasks with their peers, they greatly enjoyed the interactions with international interlocutors via the VR technologies in the digital wild context, i.e., applying the resources outside of the classroom setting. Based on the findings of this study, focuses and directions for future research are discussed and suggested.
This paper reports on our inquiry into how language teachers' identities relate to their efforts to teach intercultural communicative competence. In the study, we collected data through in-depth ...interviews with and observations of 16 Chinese language teachers in Hong Kong's international schools. The analysis revealed that the participants simultaneously embraced multiple professional and sociocultural identities related to intercultural communicative competence teaching. Specifically, the professional identities included a Chinese language teacher identity and a school staff member identity, while the sociocultural identity comprised a Chinese culture bearer identity, a multicultural identity, a cultural transmitter identity, a culture learner identity, and a cultural bridge identity. These identities were found to compete with or reinforce each other in mediating the participants' efforts in relation to teaching intercultural communicative competence; different identities were often associated with different understandings of and approaches to teaching intercultural communicative competence. The findings suggest that language teacher educators need to recognise teacher identities as an important pedagogical resource when preparing language teachers for teaching in cross-cultural contexts.
This study aims to open up a new avenue for the study of intercultural communication in higher education, through exploring the structural relationships among eight individual differences factors ...that affect intercultural communicative competence (ICC). A group of Japanese university students participated in the study by answering a questionnaire addressing these factors. Willingness to communicate (WTC) was introduced into the ICC model for the first time to connect the field of second-language acquisition to the field of intercultural communication. Constructive conflict resolution, was integrated for the first time into the ICC model, reflecting Hoff's (2014). 'A Critical Discussion of Byram's Model of Intercultural Communicative Competence in the Light of Bildung Theories.' Intercultural Education 25 (6): 508-517. Doi:10.1080/14675986.2014.992112 argument that disagreement and conflict could potentially be beneficial situations for enlightening individuals through profound discourse between self and other. The model presented new perspectives, and the pedagogical implications are discussed.
Intercultural communicative competence (ICC) is the ability to interact and communicate appropriately with people from different cultures. The lack of ICC among non-native speakers has resulted in ...misunderstandings during interactions. Although Malaysia is a multicultural country, there has not been much emphasis in developing ICC in the curriculum. Students in higher education institutions have low levels of ICC. This is also true among students taking Mandarin as a Foreign Language (MFL) in Malaysian polytechnics. Virtual reality (VR) can engage students in the cognitive and affective domains. There is a potential for using VR to improve students’ ICC, particularly when students are engaged in producing their own immersive VR environments. Hence, a quasi-experimental research was designed to determine whether utilizing and developing VR environments related to Chinese culture could improve the level of ICC among students. The participants were 31 students enrolled in a MFL course at a polytechnic. The findings indicated a significant increase in the measures of ICC after the implementation and was verified from student feedback through surveys and interviews. VR has the potential for improving ICC levels as it could be used to develop positive attitudes towards another culture. Further studies could be done to investigate whether VR could be used to develop ICC and engage other Malaysian students. ICC is important and needed for cross-cultural collaborations and interactions to promote respect and compassion for other cultures in a community.
As technology has advanced, so have opportunities for language socialization and practice. This reciprocal relationship has resulted in the emergence of a subfield of Computer Assisted Language ...Learning (CALL): Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE). IDLE has manifested in various forms, including the more notable extramural and extracurricular varieties. Given the recent attention given to IDLE by Applied Linguists and language educators, this scoping review provides a roadmap for future research and explores the potential of IDLE to support English language teaching and learning in informal digital contexts. A Web of Science core eight database search for relevant research published between 1980 and 2019 using 35 IDLE-related key terms resulted in 38 studies of which 30 aligned with the inclusion criteria. Results showed the studies were conducted mostly under a mixed-method and qualitative paradigm and were published between 2017 and 2019. Only two studies used longitudinal data collection methods. Topics investigated included the linguistic dimension of CALL, the affective and cultural dimension of CALL, and the agency and digital literacies dimension of CALL. The small, yet salient, body of emergent IDLE literature points towards three trends: a growing relevance of langua-technocultural competence, the importance of digital literacies to communicative competence, and the importance of non-professional translation and interpreting to digital language learning.
Guided by the framework of internationalization at home (IaH), this study employed a mixed-methods approach investigating the development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) among a group ...of tertiary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in Taiwan, facilitated through the means of telecollaboration. The telecollaboration incorporated 30 EFL learners and 30 learners of Chinese from Australia and New Zealand. Data collection encompassed EFL learners' responses to a self-assessment questionnaire, their reflective essays, alongside instructors' reflective journals. The findings showed that EFL learners held positive perceptions regarding their telecollaboration experience and reported substantial growth in ICC across three dimensions: cognitive, affective and behavioral. In applying various multimodal communication strategies, EFL learners realized and valued cultural similarities and differences. Their reflective accounts exhibited evidence of enhanced linguistic and cultural competences. The telecollaboration enabled them to increase their confidence in utilizing English, hone their digital literacy skills for effective communications, and establish conducive environments for their relational and emotional development with their teammates and instructors. The latter provided indispensable emotion in varying contingent situations. Incorporating the insights drawn from the instructors' reflective journals, the study argues that telecollaboration as a pedagogical practice is the significant essence of effective IaH curriculum design and implementation.
