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Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Background of the Research
Communication and second language acquisition are closely tied together(MacIntyre & Charos, 1996). Skehan (1989) points out that learners have to talk inorder to learn, which can find good expression in the trends toward a conversationalapproach to second and foreign language instruction. With the ever increasingemphasis on authentic communication as an essential part of second/foreign languagelearning and instruction, willingness to communicate (WTC), which is the intention tocommunicate, has been proposed as one of the key concepts in second language (L2)learning and instruction. It is assumed that learners’ willingness “to talk in order tolearn” (Skehan, 1989: 48) is crucial to their second language acquisition; learners’willingness to communicate in an L2 can facilitate their language learning. Skehan’snotion of talking in order to learn implies that learners with higher L2 willingness tocommunicate would seek out more opportunities, both in class and out of class, toengage in L2 communication than those with lower willingness to communicate.According to researches, seeking opportunities to communicate would greatlyincrease the chances for intercultural contact (Clément, 1986), L2 communicationpractice (Larsen-Freeman, 2007) and comprehensible input (Krashen, 2003).Similarly, Berns (1984: 5) proposed that language is interaction; language studyhas to look at the use (function) of language in context, both its linguistic context andits social, or situational, context. Krashen and other second language acquisitiontheorists consistently emphasize that language learning takes place while usinglanguage communicatively, believing that using the language for real communicationis the basic process involved in developing language proficiency; students who aremore active with L2 use have more potential to develop L2 competence.
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1.2 Research Questions
As is mentioned in the previous section, the objective of College Englishinstruction in China has shifted from the mastery of vocabulary and structure to theability to use the language for communicative purposes. Being a key variable relatedto cultivating competent communicators, the comprehensive and systematic study ofwillingness to communicate in L2, therefore, will contribute to the realization of theobjective of fostering students’ communication competence in English.The past two decades has witnessed substantial research into willingness tocommunicate as a key concept in L2 learning and instruction (McCroskey &Richmond, 1991; Baker & MacIntyre, 2000; MacIntyre, Baker, Clément, & Conrod,2001; MacIntyre, Baker, Clément, & Donovan, 2002, 2003; Wen & Clément, 2003;Donovan & MacIntyre, 2004; Yashima, 2002; Yashima, Zenuk-Nishide, & Shimizu,2004; Kang, 2005; Cao & Philp, 2006). Despite the large number of studies inwillingness to communicate, they have been mostly conducted in western countriesand a few Asian countries such as Japan (Yashima, 2002; Yashima et al., 2004, 2008;Hashimoto, 2002; Matsuoka, 2005), South Korea (Kang, 2005; Kim, 2004 ), Turkey(Cetinkaya, 2005), and Thailand and Netherland (May Kamprasertwon, 2010).Chinese college students’ L2 willingness to communicate may be unique and differentfrom their counterparts in other countries due to its cultural expe本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。