Masoud Bahraini (M.A Student, Department of foreign language, Science and Research branch, Department of English Language, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran) &
Dr. Maryam Niami (Department of English Language, Parand branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Iran)
Abstract
Inappropriate strategies used by teachers based on erroneous perceptions or diagnosis may decrease learners’ Willingness To Communicate (WTC) rather than strengthen it. This study aimed to investigate teachers’ perception of willingness to communicate encouraging strategies with observing their practices during the class, learners’ interactions and the amount of their WTC. The present study is an experimental research with comparative method adopting a qualitative experimental design with supplementary quantitative analyses. Five Iranian EFL teachers and 31 students from three private language institutes in Tehran participated randomly in this study. The data were collected through questionnaires and observation. The teachers’ and learners’ behaviors were observed by utilizing two checklists. The analysis of data was performed through independent One Samples t-test and Pearson correlations. Finally, it was concluded that WTC of Iranian EFL learners was more effective under the supervision of high-level teachers’ perception of WTC encouraging strategies compared with that of low-level teachers. In teachers’ perception of WTC and their actual practices, correlation between high-level teachers and high-level learners and also, between low-level teachers and low-level learners had a positive linear relationship. It is assumed that the actual learners’ interaction was more effective in the high-level learners’ group.
Key words: Willingness To Communicate (WTC), Teachers’ Perception of WTC Encouraging Strategies, Learners’ Interaction
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