Willingness to communicate in a second language has become an important area of research recently. However, different factors which influence learners' willingness to communicate have not been widely investigated in the Turkish classroom context. Motivation is considered as an important factor which has a direct influence on learners' willingness to communicate. Thus, this study will look into the relationship between English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) in Turkish EFL context and their motivation about English learning through the participation of 106 EFL students who were registered in the one-year preparatory school at Usak University, Turkey. Language Learning Orientation Scale and Willingness to Communicate Scale were adopted for the study. Descriptive statistics and simple linear regression analysis were carried out to find out the relationship between WTC and motivation. Findings indicated that participants were somewhat willing to communicate and there was a significant correlation between learners' WTC and motivation. The findings of this study is useful in terms of the pedagogical and theoretical implications which emphasize the role of motivation in encouraging L2 learners' willingness to communicate.
Motivation is one of the most crucial factors in language learning achievement and it should be taken into account for a good language education program. However, research has shown that language teachers often do not have enough knowledge about students' specific motivations for studying second language. Hence, the main goal of this study is to explore Turkish EFL learners' motivation in studying a second language. Also, the relationships between learners' motivation and different variables such as gender, interest in continuing English language learning and achievement scores were investigated. A total of 105 voluntary English learners enrolled in a preparatory school participated in this study. Wen's [1] motivation questionnaire was adopted in order to investigate the motivation of English language learners. With regard to gender differences in language learning motivation, this study found no significant difference between female and male students in their English learning motivation. Secondly, the findings revealed that it is highly possible for learners who possess positive attitudes towards L2 culture, appreciate their learning context, and follow the cultural media to continue their language learning in their lives. Lastly, positive learning attitudes/experience and intended efforts were found to have the greatest influence on participants' latest English midterm scores.
English permits certain non-prototypical sentence forms that have focusing or foregrounding effect. Focus structures place certain elements of the basic version of the sentence in different positions in order to make them more prominent. Due to the widespread usage of them, EFL/ESL teachers should be familiar with the grammar of these structures and how they are usually used, the points learners have difficulty with, and the necessary pedagogical implications for teaching these structures. However, the problems that ESL/EFL students have while using English focus structures have not been widely investigated. Thus, this paper firstly looks into the cleft sentences, formed through movement of constituents and other changes, and the sentences with fronting and left-dislocation involving only movement. Then, studies which reveal a clearer picture of learners' problems with these structures are presented. Finally, some activities are designed in order to show how focus structures can be handled in language learning classroom. IntroductionEnglish permits certain non-prototypical sentence forms that have focusing or foregrounding effect. Focus structures place certain elements of the basic version of the sentence in different positions in order to make them more prominent. These structures have also been termed information-packaging structures, as by Hudleston and Pullum (2002). They use the term to refer to sentences that have a corresponding S-V-O, or -basic canonical form‖ and are used for several functions: (1) maintaining given-new flow of discourse; (2) focusing; (3) shifting heavy NPs; and (4) topicalizing. Focus structures are widely used in both conversation and writing; thus EFL/ESL teachers should understand the grammar of these structures and how they are usually used. This paper will look into the cleft sentences, formed through movement of constituents and other changes, and the sentences with fronting and left-dislocation involving only movement. FrontingFronting refers to the initial placement of core elements which are normally found in post-verbal position. There are patterns which differ in stylistic effect and in register distribution. A full understanding is not possible without also considering variation in the order of the subject and the verb (Biber et al.,1999). Fronting has different functions such as organizing information flow to achieve cohesion, expressing contrast, enabling particular elements to gain emphasis. Fronting with subject-operator inversionIn some instances, fronting a negative adverbial constituent or an adverbial constituent expressing extent, degree, or comparison gives a more emphatic or exclamatory reading to the sentence as a whole; in such cases, subject-operator inversion accompanies the constituent fronting (Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman,1999). Present participle frontingOur missing uncle was sitting at the kitchen table.Sitting at the kitchen table was our missing uncle. Past participle frontingSeveral barrels of wine were hidden in the cellar.Hidden in the cellar were...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.