Willingness to Communicate and Second Language Fluency: Korean-Speaking Short-Term Sojourners in Australia
The current mixed-method study investigated two groups of Korean-speaking short-term sojourners in Australia. One group (students) was composed of learners enrolled in English training programs, whereas the other group (workers) was of learners in the workplace. We administered questionnaires and a...
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MDPI AG
2022-05-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/7/2/112 |
| _version_ | 1827659210618306560 |
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| author | Jeongmin Kim Helen Zhao Chloé Diskin-Holdaway |
| author_facet | Jeongmin Kim Helen Zhao Chloé Diskin-Holdaway |
| author_sort | Jeongmin Kim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The current mixed-method study investigated two groups of Korean-speaking short-term sojourners in Australia. One group (students) was composed of learners enrolled in English training programs, whereas the other group (workers) was of learners in the workplace. We administered questionnaires and a semi-structured interview to examine their willingness to communicate (WTC) in English as their second language (L2) and explored the relationship between this variable and the sojourners’ amount of L2 contact and their oral fluency in English. Our quantitative analyses show that the student group showed a higher level of WTC and amount of L2 exposure than the worker group. For both groups, WTC significantly predicted sojourners’ amount of L2 exposure. However, oral fluency was found neither to be associated with WTC nor with the amount of L2 exposure. Qualitative theme-based analysis suggests that the two sojourn groups demonstrated similarities and differences in their attitudes and motivations related to WTC and unwillingness to communicate (unWTC). The students demonstrated a stronger tendency to engage in L2 interaction than the workers, aligning with their significantly higher frequency of reported L2 exposure. The workers’ attitudes were characterized by feelings of ambivalence, with co-existence of both WTC and unWTC. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:16:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1f2a410fb7cc45ecb3eec4aaaa9e3a4b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2226-471X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:16:19Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
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| series | Languages |
| spelling | doaj.art-1f2a410fb7cc45ecb3eec4aaaa9e3a4b2023-11-23T17:34:08ZengMDPI AGLanguages2226-471X2022-05-017211210.3390/languages7020112Willingness to Communicate and Second Language Fluency: Korean-Speaking Short-Term Sojourners in AustraliaJeongmin Kim0Helen Zhao1Chloé Diskin-Holdaway2School of Languages and Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, AustraliaSchool of Languages and Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, AustraliaSchool of Languages and Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, AustraliaThe current mixed-method study investigated two groups of Korean-speaking short-term sojourners in Australia. One group (students) was composed of learners enrolled in English training programs, whereas the other group (workers) was of learners in the workplace. We administered questionnaires and a semi-structured interview to examine their willingness to communicate (WTC) in English as their second language (L2) and explored the relationship between this variable and the sojourners’ amount of L2 contact and their oral fluency in English. Our quantitative analyses show that the student group showed a higher level of WTC and amount of L2 exposure than the worker group. For both groups, WTC significantly predicted sojourners’ amount of L2 exposure. However, oral fluency was found neither to be associated with WTC nor with the amount of L2 exposure. Qualitative theme-based analysis suggests that the two sojourn groups demonstrated similarities and differences in their attitudes and motivations related to WTC and unwillingness to communicate (unWTC). The students demonstrated a stronger tendency to engage in L2 interaction than the workers, aligning with their significantly higher frequency of reported L2 exposure. The workers’ attitudes were characterized by feelings of ambivalence, with co-existence of both WTC and unWTC.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/7/2/112willingness to communicateindividual differenceslanguage exposurefluencystudy abroadworkplace |
| spellingShingle | Jeongmin Kim Helen Zhao Chloé Diskin-Holdaway Willingness to Communicate and Second Language Fluency: Korean-Speaking Short-Term Sojourners in Australia Languages willingness to communicate individual differences language exposure fluency study abroad workplace |
| title | Willingness to Communicate and Second Language Fluency: Korean-Speaking Short-Term Sojourners in Australia |
| title_full | Willingness to Communicate and Second Language Fluency: Korean-Speaking Short-Term Sojourners in Australia |
| title_fullStr | Willingness to Communicate and Second Language Fluency: Korean-Speaking Short-Term Sojourners in Australia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Willingness to Communicate and Second Language Fluency: Korean-Speaking Short-Term Sojourners in Australia |
| title_short | Willingness to Communicate and Second Language Fluency: Korean-Speaking Short-Term Sojourners in Australia |
| title_sort | willingness to communicate and second language fluency korean speaking short term sojourners in australia |
| topic | willingness to communicate individual differences language exposure fluency study abroad workplace |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/7/2/112 |
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