Students perceptions on the factors that influence their willingness to orally communicate in the EFL classroom in Ecuadorian high schools

Abstract

Ecuadorian educational authorities have demonstrated great interest in improving teachers’ language skills to help students to improve their English learning process, specifically their oral communication. However, it is common for an English teacher to deal with students who remain silent and reluctant to speak in class activities. Being the main goal of language teaching to help students to use English communicatively, it is important to determine why some learners do not participate actively in oral activities. Therefore, this research has as main purpose to answer these research questions: How does motivation influence students’ willingness to orally communicate? How does proficiency level influence students’ willingness to orally communicate? How does personality influence students’ willingness to orally communicate? Through responding those inquiries authorities and teachers would be able to develop new strategies to motivate learners and help them to communicate in the foreign language. The language communicative learning process is a fundamental goal in teaching, since it engages students in authentic activities that develop a real sense of oral communication and gives students the main skill of speaking.