Students' willingness to communicate in a Malaysian ESL classroom.

Abstract This study investigates students’ willingness to communicate (WTC) in a Malaysian ESL classroom. To investigate the factor that influences students’ WTC in the classroom, a classroom observation guide is used to record observations on students’ communicative behaviour during a lesson. Students’ perception on factors that influences their WTC was also investigated by way of group interview using a set of interview questions (including stimulated recall). The data obtained from both were compared to see the correspondence between students’ self-report WTC and students’ communication behaviour in the classroom. The analysis was based on recurring themes or influences throughout the literature concerning WTC. The findings of this study reveal that students’ self-report WTC and actual communication behaviour do correspond to a certain extent. This is attributed to the complex interrelationship between the factors that influences WTC. These findings, although by no means definitive, contribute to an understanding of students’ WTC in a Malaysian classroom