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

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the students’ perceptions on the factors that influence their willingness to orally communicate in the EFL classroom in Ecuadorian high schools. This study aims at answering the following questions: How does motivation influence students’ willingness to orally communicate, how does proficiency level influence student's willingness to orally communicate, and how does personality influence student’s willingness to orally communicate. The research was conducted in two private high schools in the city of Guayaquil. A hundred students were surveyed, they were between eleven to fourteen years old from eighth to tenth grade of basic education. The selected schools are from different social status with an average of 20 students per class. The instruments used were questionnaires, and observation sheets. Data was collected through a combination of qualitative and quantitative approach in order to collect, explain, tabulate, and analyze the students' perceptions on the factors that influence their willingness to communicate in EFL classrooms in Ecuadorian high schools. After a thorough analysis, it can be concluded that students' willingness to orally communicate depends on different factors such as, motivation, students' proficiency level and personality