The Predictability of Chinese English as a Foreign Language Students’ Willingness to Communicate Through Teachers’ Immediacy and Teacher–Student Rapport

Abstract

The teacher–learner relationship is not just a simple action and reaction on both sides of the relationship but a complete exchange that takes shape in the context of the factors that affect it. To understand the factors affecting this relationship, the present study investigated the predictability of Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ willingness to communicate (WTC) through teachers’ immediacy and teacher–student rapport. To conduct the study, 858 EFL students from Xinyang Normal University in Henan province of China were invited to participate in the study. To collect the required data, the researcher employed the Willingness to Communicate Questionnaire, Verbal and Nonverbal Immediacy Questionnaire, and Professor–Student Rapport Scale. Pearson product–moment correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to analyze the data. Results revealed that there was a strong positive relationship between teacher immediacy and teacher–student rapport and learners’ willingness to communicate. The findings also demonstrated that teachers’ immediacy and teacher–student rapport were positive predictors of learners’ willingness to communicate. The paper argues that teachers need to enhance their interpersonal relations with their students to make them willing to communicate in their classes.

Toward the Role of Teacher Caring and Teacher-Student Rapport in Predicting English as a Foreign Language Learners’ Willingness to Communicate in Second Language

“…So far, a plethora of research has been undertaken to delve into the impact of teacher-student rapport on students and their academic behaviors (e.g., Frisby and Housley Gaffney, 2015;Quin, 2017;Henry and Thorsen, 2018;Snijders et al, 2020;Thornberg et al, 2020;Cai, 2021;Li and Yang, 2021;Noble et al, 2021). For example, Thornberg et al (2020) explored the effect of teacher-student rapport on students' involvement.…”

“…The results showed that Chinese students viewed teacher-student rapport as a strong predictor of their self-efficacy. More recently, Cai (2021) assessed the role of teacher-student rapport in predicting Chinese students' L2WTC. In doing so, 858 university students were invited to answer two pre-developed questionnaires.…”

“…Yet, interpersonal behaviors as another source of learners' L2WTC have not been widely explored (e.g., Sheybani, 2019;Lee, 2020b;Chen et al, 2022). Among interpersonal behaviors, teacher caring and teacher-student rapport received far less attention (e.g., Peng, 2020;Cai, 2021). Moreover, no empirical inquiry, neither in general education nor in language education, has simultaneously inspected the role of these two factors in learners' L2WTC.…”

“…Despite the value of rapport and caring behaviors in promoting students' L2WTC (Dewaele, 2019;Martin and Collie, 2019), the effects of these interpersonal behaviors on EFL learners' L2WTC have remained unclear. This implies that few investigations (e.g., Peng, 2020;Cai, 2021) have been undertaken to inspect the impact of these interpersonal variables on EFL learners' L2WTC. Moreover, to the researchers' knowledge, no inquiry has delved into the role of these two interpersonal behaviors at the same time.…”

Students’ Classroom Silence and Hopelessness: The Impact of Teachers’ Immediacy on Mainstream Education

“…The former speaks about all the activities which are performed by the teachers. Providing the learners with immediate feedback, carrying on conversations before and after classes while guiding the learners through the conversations are some to mention which consequently result in improving learners' motivation and their involvement (Cai, 2021). The latter refers to the teachers' attitude toward their students and how they can minimize their physical and psychological distances with their students and how well they can build up a friendly relationship with them.…”