A Survey on the Relationship between Willingness to Communicate and Learner Autonomy of Turkish EFL Students

Abstract

This study was designed with an aim to investigate the relationship between willingness to communicate (WTC) and learner autonomy (LA) in EFL settings at a Turkish university context. The primary purpose of the study was to reveal the possible statistically significant relationship between L2 WTC and learner autonomy of EFL learners in the classroom setting. The study was based on a mixed-methods research design. 211 students majoring at the Department of English Language and Literature of a state university in Turkey participated in the study. The instruments which were used to collect data were a willingness to communicate scale, a learner autonomy scale, and classroom observation. The results revealed that there was a moderate but significant relationship between EFL learners’ WTC and LA. The autonomy levels of the EFL learners had a predictive role in their L2 WTC. The difference between the self-reported L2 WTC and the behavioural L2 WTC of the Turkish EFL students was higher when the autonomy level of the students was lower. Based on the results, implications for enhancing L2 WTC of EFL learners are discussed.

Project-based Learning to Promote Learner Autonomy in Training Hospitality Education at a Technical and Vocational Education and Training College

“…This study aims to contribute insight into how PjBL, as a teaching and learning pedagogy, promotes hospitality students' autonomous learning in gaining work-related skills and competencies based on their beliefs around and perceptions of LA in a TVET context. The study addresses a gap in the research, which is currently dominated by literature on students' beliefs and perceptions in promoting LA in the context of the English language and English as a foreign language (EFL) (Barin & Eyerci, 2021;Bhattarai, 2021;Iamudom & Tangkiengsirisin, 2020;Jose et al, 2020;Kim & Yoon, 2021;Pham, 2021;Reswari & Kalimanzila, 2021;Yaprak, 2021;Yu, 2020;Yuliani & Lengkanawati, 2017;Zourez, 2019), or has been conducted at either the primary and secondary schooling level (Wirapatni et al, 2021;Yuliani & Lengkanawati, 2017;Zaidi et al, 2020) or the university level (Padmadewi et al, 2020;Tran, 2020;Yasmin et al, 2020). There is a dearth of research into how PjBL can promote LA, especially within TVET hospitality education, to enable students to acquire employable skills and competencies.…”