The Link between Iranian EFL Learners’ Willingness to Communicate and Ambiguity Tolerance: A Focus on the Predictive Power of Ambiguity Tolerance
الموضوعات : Journal of Studies in Learning and Teaching English
Servat Shirkhani
1
(English Department, Khorram Abad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khorram Abad, Iran)
Elham Qalaei
2
(English Department, Khorram Abad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khorram Abad, Iran)
الکلمات المفتاحية: Ambiguity Tolerance, Foreign Language Learning, Inside/Outside WTC Willingness to Communicate, Learner Factors, Willingness to Communicate,
ملخص المقالة :
Willingness to communicate (WTC) and ambiguity tolerance (AT) are two crucial concepts discussed as factors affecting second language learning. Due to the importance of these two factors, the present study explored levels of WTC and AT in Iranian high school students, the relationship between these two variables among the students, and whether AT can be a significant predictor of their WTC. In so doing, 60 female students from a high school in Khorramabad were selected through convenience sampling. The students’ WTC was measured through MacIntyre et al.’s (2001) WTC questionnaire and their AT level was examined using the Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale (SLTAS) developed by Ely (1995). The results of descriptive statistics for WTC scores and two one sample t-tests revealed that the students had an average level of WTC both inside and outside the classroom. Moreover, the results of a paired samples t-test to compare the Inside/Outside WTC of the students showed no significant difference between their inside and outside WTC levels. The analyses for AT scores and a one sample t-test indicated a significantly lower than average AT level for the participating students. Finally, the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient indicated a significant negative relationship between the students’ WTC and AT and the linear regression results showed that AT could significantly predict EFL learners’ Inside/Outside WTC. The implications of the study for language teachers are discussed in light of the significance of individual differences in language education.
Ahmadi Safa, M., & Jamshidi, R. Z. (2017). Introvert and extrovert EFL learners’ willingness to communicate and ambiguity tolerance. The Journal of Applied Linguistics and Applied Literature: Dynamics and Advances, 5(1), 27-41.
Alemi, M., Tajeddin, Z., & Mesbah, Z. (2013). Willingness to communicate in L2 English: Impact of learner variables. Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics, 4(1), 42-61.
Alrabai, F. (2022). Modeling the relationship between classroom emotions, motivation, and learner willingness to communicate in EFL: Applying a holistic approach of positive psychology in SLA research. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2022.2053138
Amirian, Z., Karamifar, Z., & Youhanaee, M. (2020). Structural equation modeling of EFL learners' willingness to communicate and their cognitive and personality traits. Applied Research on English Language, 9(1), 103-136.
Asmalı, M. (2019). How anxious are Turkish EFL learners? Tolerance of ambiguity and self-perceived communication competence as predictors. The Literacy Trek. 5(2), 25-46. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/literacytrek/issue/50626/595224
Atef-Vahid, S., Fard Kashani, A., & Haddadi, M. (2011). The relationship between level of ambiguity tolerance and cloze test performance of Iranian EFL learners. Linguistic and Literary Broad Research and Innovation, 2(2), 149-169.
Chu, W. H., Lin, D. Y., Chen, T. Y., Tsai, P. S., & Wang, C. H. (2015). The relationships between ambiguity tolerance, learning strategies, and learning Chinese as a second language. System, 49, 1-16. doi:10.1016/j.system.2014.10.015
Darasawang, P., & Reinders, H. (2021). Willingness to communicate and second language proficiency: A correlational study. Education Sciences, 11(9), 517. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/educsci11090517
Ebadi, S., & Ebadijalal, M. (2022). The effect of Google Expeditions virtual reality on EFL learners’ willingness to communicate and oral proficiency. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 35(8), 1975-2000. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2020.1854311
El-Koumy, A. S. A. (2000). Differences in FL reading comprehension among high-, middle-, and low-ambiguity tolerance students. Paper presented at the National Symposium on English Language Teaching in Egypt, Cairo (March 21-23). http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2365143
Ely, C.M. (1995). Tolerance of ambiguity and the teaching of ESL. In J. M. Reid (Ed.), Learning styles in the ESL/EFL classroom. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
Ehrman, M. (1999). Ego boundaries and tolerance of ambiguity in second language learning. In J. Arnold (Ed.), Affect in language learning (pp. 68–86). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Erten, İ. H., & Topkaya, E. Z. (2009). Understanding tolerance of ambiguity of EFL learners in reading classes at tertiary level. Novitas-Royal, 3(1), 29-44.
Fathi, J., Pawlak, M., Mehraein, S., Hosseini, H. M., & Derakhshesh, A. (2023). Foreign language enjoyment, ideal L2 self, and intercultural communicative competence as predictors of willingness to communicate among EFL learners. System, 115, 103067. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2023.103067
Furnham, A., & Ribchester, T. (1995). Tolerance of ambiguity: A review of the concept, its measurement and applications. Current Psychology, 14(3), 179-199. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02686907
Ghonsooly, B., Khajavy, G. H., & Asadpour, S. F. (2012). Willingness to communicate in English among Iranian non–English major university students. Journal of language and Social Psychology, 31(2), 197-211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0261927X12438538
Hosseini Fatemi, A., Khajavy, G. H., & Choi, C. W. (2016). Testing a model of intercultural willingness to communicate based on ethnocentrism, ambiguity tolerance and sensation seeking: The role of learning English in Iran. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 45(4), 304-318. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2016.1190776
Kamran, K. S. (2011). Effect of gender on ambiguity tolerance of Iranian English language learners. Journal of Education and Practice, 2, 25-34.
Kirkpatrick, R., Vafadar, H., & Mohebbi, H. (2024). A scoping review of willingness to communicate in language education: premises to doubt, lessons to learn, and future research questions to examine. Language Testing in Asia, 14(1), 1-31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40468-024-00284-2
Ma, H., Ismail, L., Noordin, N., & Razali, A. B. (2023). Bibliometric analysis of willingness to communicate in the English as a second language (ESL) context. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02109-8
MacIntyre, P. D. (2007). Willingness to communicate in the second language: Understanding the decision to speak as a volitional process. The Modern Language Journal, 91(4), 564-576. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00623.x
MacIntyre, P. D., Baker, S. C., Clément, R., & Conrod, S. (2001). Willingness to communicate, social support, and language-learning orientations of immersion students. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23(3), 369-388. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0272263101003035
MacIntyre, P., Baker, S. C., Clement, R., & Donovan, L. A. (2002). Sex and age effects on willingness to communicate, anxiety, perceived competence, and L2 motivation among junior high school French immersion students. Language Learning, 52, 537-564. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9922.00226
MacIntyre, P. D., Clément, R., Dörnyei, Z., & Noels, K. A. (1998). Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in a L2: A situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation. The Modern Language Journal, 82(4), 545-562. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1998.tb05543.x
MacIntyre, P. D., & Legatto, J. J. (2011). A dynamic system approach to willingness to communicate: Developing an idiodynamic method to capture rapidly changing affect. Applied Linguistics, 32(2), 149–171. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amq037
MacIntyre, P. D., & Wang, L. (2021). Willingness to communicate in the L2 about meaningful photos: Application of the pyramid model of WTC. Language Teaching Research, 25(6), 878-898. doi:10.1177/13621688211004645
McCroskey, J. C., & Baer, J. E. (1985). Willingness to communicate: The construct and its measurement. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Speech Communication Association (71st, Denver, CO, November 7-10, 1985).
Piechurska-Kuciel, E. (2018). The influence of ambiguity tolerance on willingness to communicate in L2. In M. Pawlak & A. Mystkowska-Wiertelak (Eds.), Challenges of second and foreign language education in a globalized world: Studies in honor of Krystyna Droździał-Szelest (pp. 167-184). Springer, Cham. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66975-5_11
Sadoughi, M., & Hejazi, S. Y. (2024). How can L2 motivational self system enhance willingness to communicate? The contribution of foreign language enjoyment and anxiety. Current Psychology, 43, 2173-2185. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04479-3
Steiger, J. H. (1980). Tests for comparing elements of a correlation matrix. Psychol. Bull, 87, 245-251. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.87.2.245.
Vahedi, V. S., & Fatemi, A. H. (2015). The role of emotional intelligence and tolerance of ambiguity in academic Iranian EFL learners' willingness to communicate. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 7(1), 178-184. http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0701.20
Xue, Y., & Yu, Z. (2023). Bibliometric analysis of ambiguity tolerance: unearthing its role in sustainable language education. Sustainability, 15(15), 11886. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151511886
Zarrinabadi, N., Lou, N. M., & Darvishnezhad, Z. (2023). To praise or not to praise? Examining the effects of ability vs. effort praise on speaking anxiety and willingness to communicate in EFL classrooms. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 17(1), 88-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2021.1938079
Zarrinabadi, N, & Pawlak, M. (Eds.). (2021). New perspectives on willingness to communicate in a second language. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67634-6
