EFL 학습자의 의사소통의지와 구두의사소통능력

Willingness to Communicate and Oral Performance of Korean EFL Students

The purpose of this study was to examine the willingness to communicate (WTC) in English and oral performance of university students who are learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Korea. Correlations between WTC and oral performance were tested from a sample of 101 Korean university students. The results of the study based on descriptive statistics, factor analysis, reliability coefficients, correlation coefficients and multiple regression analysis, suggest that: (1) WTC and oral proficiency were significantly correlated, (2) WTC inside and outside the classroom showed strong positive correlations with oral performance, supporting the results of MacIntyre & Charos (1996) and Hashimoto (2002)’s studies, and (3) female students and high grade students showed higher rates of willingness to communicate outside the classroom, while English major students rated a higher willingness to communicate both inside and outside the classroom than non-English major students. The findings of the study imply that English teachers might consider students’ willingness to communicate inside the classroom and try to elicit students’ willingness to communicate both inside and outside of the classroom. The current study recognizes the potential for using WTC as a strategic approach to develop English oral performance.