Abstract:

Intercultural and global studies are at the core of conversations in academia and research in recent years, and yet there is much that remains uncertain. Zimmerman (1995) extended that there is an alarming amount that instructors don’t know about designing, facilitating and assessing curriculum in intercultural contexts. Yashima, Nenuk-Nishide, & Shimizu (2004) discuss the nature of intercultural students and what truly effects their ability to learn in a second language (L2) context. Research conducted in the 1990’s provided new ways to understand intercultural learning, yet little has been done recently to extend these ideas. Much of this research focuses on recently discovered elements that impact a student’s overall learning experience abroad. Surprisinly, much of these elements deal in perceptions of the self.
Aune, Hunter, Kim, Kim, & Kim. (2001) investigate this idea and suggest that much of the way that we interact in the intercultural classroom is a direct reflection of our personal and cultural identity. This notion coupled with Mertin’s (2009) position, in that we can only truly learn by communication and interaction in the L2 classroom, provides researchers and instructors with a very difficult task. The challenge becomes understanding the link between the perception of self and willingness to communicate. A person’s desire or willingness to verbally communicate essentially becomes their medium for learning to occur even when the motives for learning are not language driven. Although the link between willingness to communicate (WTC) and learning outcomes is firmly established, there is little research examining students’ reported self-perceptions and their effect on willingness to communicate.
Through a review of the literature from the late 90’s to mid 2000’s several trends in the way that we see communication manifested in L2 settings has changed. Not only are the perceptions of ‘self’ defined differently, but the phenomenon itself is theoretically framed very differently throughout the years (Peng, 2007). Summarizing the literature on WTC in intercultural settings thus far provides researchers with a direction for research in advancing more innovative strategies for L2 learners in culturally diverse classroom settings even when there is proficiency in the second language. It also could serve to highlight gaps in the literature that prevent a true and holistic synthesis of information needed to fully evolve in both the institutional education setting and as a global market.
This research, firstly, details how the constructs perception of self, and WTC have evolved through educational research to better understand the history of the variables. Through a mixed methodology approach, L2 learners are asked to first, report on WTC in a longitudinal research design. Second, students assess the perceptions of self and discuss learning in an L2 context via open-ended responses. Findings yield possible relationships between positive perceptions of self and increased WTC. L2 context of learning is additionally discussed as a mediator to encourage positive perceptions of self. Implications and directions for future research include insights into instructional design, instructional approach and research methodologies to measure student learning.

Keywords:

International Learning, Willingness to communication, Perceptions of Self.