Title: University students’ perception of unwillingness to use their multilingual oral capacity outside the classroom and the impact on continuous learning
Names of presenters: Eeva Boström, senior lecturer; Riitta Koskimies, senior lecturer
Affiliation and academic titles: Centre for Language and Communication Studies, University of Turku, Finland
Email addresses: Eeva.Bostrom@utu.fi, Riitta.Koskimies@utu.fi
Key words: motivation, hidden multilingualism, willingness to communicate, plurilingual identity
Abstract:
Our research question is why some of the students, who have studied at least two languages in addition to their mother tongue and English, do not use the multilingual oral skills they have acquired.
Willingness to communicate is a crucial aspect of language learning, especially in second language (L2) contexts (Darasawang & Reinders 2021), as well as language motivation and aptitude to learn languages (Dörnyei & Ushioda 2010). The motivation to learn languages other than English is also important.
The target group are students in the course Communication in Public Affairs. They have studied several languages and appear to be communicatively proficient. However, they report that they do not speak all the languages they have studied. A key aspect of the study is students’ hidden multilingualism.
This analysis uses case-study methods to find out what thoughts, feelings, or barriers are associated with the fact of not using the multilingual competence. Central topics are students' perceptions of their own multilingualism, their motivation for language learning, and the barriers to acquiring, using, and maintaining oral competence outside the classroom. Responses are examined through factors related to multilingual identity, communication situation, interaction competence and communication apprehension (Spitzberg 1983), self-imposed demands, as well as motivational and emotional factors.
References:
Darasawang, P. & Reinders, H. (2021) Willingness to Communicate and Second Language Proficiency: A Correlational Study. , 11(9), 517–. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11090517
Dörnyei, Z. & Ushioda, E. (2013) Teaching and Researching: Motivation, 2nd Edition, London, Routledge, eBook ISBN9781315833750
McCroskey, J. C. (2001) An introduction to rhetorical communication. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, p. 40.
Spitzberg, B. (1983) . July 1983. Communication Education 32(3):323-329 DOI:10.1080/03634528309378550