The Chicken or the Egg? Examining the Impacts of a Brief Bilingual Exchange on Willingness to Communicate

Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations. Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Tel: +61-29351-2022; e-mail: [email protected]; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.afmlta.asn.au

Y

8

Second Language Learning; Questionnaires; Language Skills; Language Proficiency; Bilingualism; Comparative Analysis; French Canadians; English; French; Native Speakers; Self Evaluation (Individuals); Language Usage; English (Second Language); Intercultural Communication; Exchange Programs

0005-3503

This study compares the willingness to communicate (WTC) of Canadian Anglophone and Francophone students to measures of their self-assessed, multiskilled second language proficiency and strategy use before and after a short-term intracountry bilingual exchange experience. The central question is whether a student's WTC exists before an opportunity for authentic second language use or whether authentic second language opportunities enhance WTC. Data were collected via questionnaires. In this paper, I report on the questionnaire findings examining WTC in relation to the participants' self-assessments pre- and post-exchange. The questionnaire results show statistical increases in ease of speaking for the Anglophone group and in all language skills for the Francophone group. Notably, however, there were no significant changes in the WTC elements pre- and post-exchange. (Contains 9 tables.)

As Provided

18

2012

EJ958709