A Case Study of South Korean and Saudi English Learners
The Influence of Cultural Characteristics on Anxiety and WTC in the L2 Classroom
A case study of a South Korean and a Saudi Arabian Learner
Abstract
The present case study was designed to compare the language anxiety and willingness to communicate of one Korean and one Saudi adult English Language Learner. The literature suggests that cultural characteristics and perspectives about language learning contribute to the extent of anxiety which learners experience. The topic was investigated by collecting qualitative data through ethnographic research on the participants. The data shows a correlation between cultural perspectives on English as an L2 and participants responses on the Willingness to Communicate scale but there are no significant trends in the findings related to anxiety. Because the researcher was the also the participants’ teacher, the discussion will focus on the divergence between the data collected on participants and their observed classroom behavior.
I. Introduction
What makes a successful learner? Ames (1986) suggested that the success of a learner must be examined in relation to those beliefs and perceptions that enable learners to become involved, independent, and confident in their own learning (in Gan et al., 2004). Such attitudes are composed of three components: (1) cognitive, (2) affective, and (3) behavioral (Gan et al., 2004). This case study investigates the affective domain of a learner’s success, specifically anxiety and willingness to communicate. Anxiety and willingness to communicate are individual differences that fall under the category of “Propensities”; one of Ellis’ (2008) four factors responsible for individual differences. While working with learners form both South Korea and Saudi Arabia, their learning styles, strengths and weakness, anxieties, and cultural perceptions have often clashed and
A case study of a South Korean and a Saudi Arabian Learner
Abstract
The present case study was designed to compare the language anxiety and willingness to communicate of one Korean and one Saudi adult English Language Learner. The literature suggests that cultural characteristics and perspectives about language learning contribute to the extent of anxiety which learners experience. The topic was investigated by collecting qualitative data through ethnographic research on the participants. The data shows a correlation between cultural perspectives on English as an L2 and participants responses on the Willingness to Communicate scale but there are no significant trends in the findings related to anxiety. Because the researcher was the also the participants’ teacher, the discussion will focus on the divergence between the data collected on participants and their observed classroom behavior.
I. Introduction
What makes a successful learner? Ames (1986) suggested that the success of a learner must be examined in relation to those beliefs and perceptions that enable learners to become involved, independent, and confident in their own learning (in Gan et al., 2004). Such attitudes are composed of three components: (1) cognitive, (2) affective, and (3) behavioral (Gan et al., 2004). This case study investigates the affective domain of a learner’s success, specifically anxiety and willingness to communicate. Anxiety and willingness to communicate are individual differences that fall under the category of “Propensities”; one of Ellis’ (2008) four factors responsible for individual differences. While working with learners form both South Korea and Saudi Arabia, their learning styles, strengths and weakness, anxieties, and cultural perceptions have often clashed and
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