FACTORS INFLUENCING STUDENTS’ WILLINGNESS TO

COMMUNICATE IN TRANSACTIONAL SPEAKING COURSES

THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan

SEPTI WULANDARI
112007041

ENGLISH TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM

FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2015
 THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan

SEPTI WULANDARI
112007041

ENGLISH TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM

FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2015
 PERPUSTAKAAN UNIVERSITAS
UNIVERSITAS KRISTEN SATYA W ACANA
JI. Diponcgoro 52 - 60 Salatig. 50711
Jawa Tengah, Indonesia
Tdp. 0298 - 321212, Fax. 0298 321433
Email: Iibrary@.Jdrn.llksw.cdu ; http://librdry.llbw .edu

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i
 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

This thesis contains no such material as has been submitted for examination in any course or
accepted for the fulfillment of any degree or any diploma in any university. To the best of my
knowledge and my belief, this contains no material previously published or written by any other
person except where due reference is made in the text.

Copyright @2015. Septi Wulandari and Athriyana Pattiwael, M.Hum.

All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced by any means without the
permission of at least one of the copyright owners or the English Department, Faculty of
Language and Literature, Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga.

Septi Wulandari:

ii
 PUBLICATION AGREEMENT DECLARATION

As a member of the (SWCU) Satya Wacana Christian University academic community, I verify
that:
Name : Septi Wulandari
Student ID Number : 112007041
Study Program : English Department
Faculty : Faculty of Language and Literature
Kind of Work : Undergraduate Thesis

In developing my knowledge, I agree to provide SWCU with a non-exclusive royalty free right
for my intellectual property and the contents there in entitled:

FACTORS INFLUENCING STUDENTS’ WILLINGNESS TO COMMUNICATE IN TRANSACTIONAL SPEAKING

COURSES

along with any pertinent equipment.

With this non-exclusive royalty free rights, SWCU maintains the right to copy, reproduce, print,
publish, post, display, incorporate, store in or scan into a retrieval system or database, transmit,
broadcast, barter, or sell my intellectual property, in whole or in part without my express written
permission, as long as my name is still included as the writer.

This declaration is made according to the best of my knowledge.

Made in : Salatiga

Date : April 29, 2015

Verified by signee,

Septi Wulandari

Approved by:

Thesis Supervisor Thesis Examiner

Athriyana Pattiwael, M.Hum Y. Calvin G. Mali, M.Hum

iii
 FACTORS INFLUENCING STUDENTS’ WILLINGNESS TO COMMUNICATE IN

TRANSACTIONAL SPEAKING COURSES

SEPTI WULANDARI

Abstract

This study focuses on factors that influence students’ willingness to communicate in

Transactional Speaking courses in English Language Education Study Program of Satya Wacana
Christian University. There were 106 students who enrolled in Transactional Speaking class
participated in filling in an open-ended questionnaire. The data was analyzed qualitatively using
a content analysis to analyze the students’ willingness to communicate factors. Results show four
major factors that influence students’ willingness to communicate in the class. They are students’
familiarity with interlocutor, students’ correctness of speech, teachers’ role and students’
motivation. This study is beneficial for speaking teachers in creating better ways to teach and
avoiding students’ unwillingness to communicate in Transactional Speaking class.

Keywords: students’ willingness to communicate, Transactional Speaking class, students’

familiarity with interlocutor, students’ correctness of speech, teachers’ role,
students’ motivation

INTRODUCTION

The idea to carry out this study originated from the writer’s experience when she took

Transactional Speaking class, a subject that has to be taken by every English Department student

of Satya Wacana Christian University normally on the second semester. In Transactional

Speaking class, students are expected to engage in class activities to improve their English

proficiency. Some activities are having individual or group presentations, having a peer or class

discussions, telling stories and reporting experiences. Considering that students’ active

participation is one of the assessment criteria, the students will try to be communicative in the

class, and thus obtain their teacher’s positive evaluation. However, the writer saw that it did not

always happen. Only few certain students spoke up while the rest remained unwilling to

communicate.
1
 For example, the writer had a classmate called Maria (pseudonym) who generally

participated well in the class. However, on one classroom meeting, she remained silent. The

writer assumed that the topic given might be the cause why she kept silent. To ensure what

caused that, the writer then decided to ask Maria why she was not as communicative as usual.

Maria told the writer that politics was not a topic that she was interested in and familiar with. If

the topic was something that Maria was interested in, she probably would talk a lot in the class.

Her answer indicated that she did not communicate during the class because she was not

interested in given topic. According to Riasati (2012), the more interested students are in a

certain topic, the more willingness they would display to speak about it. Riasati and Noreen

(2011) found out that participants felt more eager to take part in a discussion whose topic was

familiar to them and they had background knowledge about the topic, and they were interested in

it.

Another student who did not communicate actively in the class was Elijah (pseudonym).

The writer noticed there was a difference between Maria and Elijah. Maria did not communicate

in the class only when she was not interested or familiar with the topic given, whereas Elijah

never talked in the class. He only sat and listened to others. The only thing that made him talk

was when the teacher specifically asked him to answer questions or when he delivered a

presentation. Once after a class, the writer decided to have a conversation with Elijah to inquire

about his unwillingness to communicate in the class. To the writer’s surprise, Elijah blamed his

personality as the cause. He kept saying that being a shy person made him not want to talk in the

class. Every time Elijah had a presentation, he felt so anxious and always sweated. Chu (2008,

cited in Riasati, 2012) found out that there is a correlation between shyness and foreign language

classroom anxiety, which leads to less degree of willingness to communicate. Riasati and Noreen

2
(2011) argued, “Those who reported to be shy were less willing to communicate than those who

perceived themselves as non-shy”.

The above mentioned experiences that happened in her Transactional Speaking class

motivated the writer to know more about students’ willingness to communicate. The writer

suspected that there must be factors that influence students to be willing or unwilling to

communicate in Transactional Speaking class. It is essential to find out whether such an

unwillingness to communicate was triggered by student’s personality, the topic being discussed

in the class, or other factors. Because of that experience, a research was conducted to find factors

influence students’ willingness to communicate in Transactional Speaking courses. The research

question of this study is “what are factors influencing students’ willingness to communicate in

Transactional Speaking courses?” It is to be expected that the findings would be beneficial for

teachers in creating better ways of teaching to avoid students’ unwillingness to communicate in

speaking course.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Definition of willingness to communicate

Based on MacIntyre (1998, cited in Riasati 2012), students’ willingness to communicate

is defined as readiness to enter into discourse at a particular time with a specific person or

persons using a L2. Students’ willingness to communicate is caused by several factors.

3
Topic given

Cao (2009) stated topic given, task type (pair, group and team work), interlocutor and

teacher are factors influencing students’ willingness to communicate. The first factor that

contributes to students’ willingness to communicate mentioned by Cao (2009) is the topic given.

In that case, students would talk more about issues that they found more interesting and they

would feel reluctant to talk about topics that they thought were boring. She added that content

knowledge and familiarity with a certain register is likely to result in a boost in one’s linguistic

selfconfidence, while lack of knowledge about a topic and lack of familiarity with the register

may inhibit communication. Cao (2009) also argued that students were more talkative because

the topic was chosen by the students themselves instead of being allocated by the teacher. Wang

and Wang (2012) also found that topic interest will have mutual influence, and people with great

interest in one area will often show strong ability in that field. When students are interested in a

particular subject, they will achieve better performance there. Due to their strong interest,

students might take the initiative to read books on this subject and participate actively in class

activities to get more information.

Task type

Task type (pair, group and team work) is the second factor affecting students’ willingness

to communicate. Cao (2009) stated that students expressed preference for the project work which

involved teamwork rather than teacher-fronted activities. Cao and Philp (2006) argued that

running a pair-or group work in class gives individuals greater opportunities to speak than in the

case of speaking individually. Cao (2009) also described that students expressed preference for

the project work which involved teamwork rather than teacher-fronted activities. Students

4
reported that this was not just because they had more opportunities to talk to the team members

and to share their own ideas, but also because it gave them opportunities to learn other skills that

might be useful for future job prospects. Ur (2000, cited in Riasati, 2012) also described that

such activities create a more relaxed atmosphere in classroom, reduce anxiety, and thus result in

an increase in both quantity and quality of practice.

Interlocutor

The third factor influencing students’ willingness to communicate is interlocutor. Cao

(2009) described that students preferred to talk to interlocutors who were more competent than

them, who were talkative and outgoing, also who had a lot of ideas that could stimulate more

ideas. She also added that the more familiar the students were with their interlocutors, the more

comfortable they felt talking to them. Cao and Philp (2006) claimed that interlocutor is a key

factor contributing to students’ willingness to communicate or not. For L2 communication,

another important aspect is the L2 proficiency level of the interlocutor relative to the speaker and

particularly, whether the interlocutor is a native speaker of the L2 or not (MacIntyre, Cle’ment,

Dornyei and Noels, 1998).

Teacher

The fourth factor contributing to students’ willingness to communicate is teacher. Based

on Cao (2009), Students tended to be more willing to ask questions and participate more actively

in class when they liked the teacher of that class. Cao (2009) continued that teacher support

refers to teachers’ dedication to and skills in providing both linguistic and non-linguistic aids and

fostering a safe classroom environment to boost L2 communication. Teacher’s classroom

management skills and teaching styles, termed classroom organization, also have a role to play in

5
influencing students’ L2 willingness to communicate. Cao (2009) stated that, “Conversely, the

teacher could also have a negative effect on learners’ willingness to communicate in class. When

the students had difficulties with listening or reading comprehension, they would expect the

teacher to explain.” Nazari and Allahyar (2012) also argued that teachers have been

institutionally bestowed the right to create, manage and decide the different types of students’

interactions carried out in the classroom.

For the purpose of this study, the analytical framework is founded on the factors

influencing students’ willingness to communicate discussed above, such as: topic, task type

(pair, group and team work), interlocutor and teacher.

THE STUDY

Context of the study

The setting of the study was English Department, Faculty of Language and Literature of

Satya Wacana Christian University. It was located in Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia. The

subjects were seven groups of Transactional Speaking students 2013/2014. Transactional

Speaking course aims at improving students’ English skill in a higher level. In Transactional

Speaking course, the students are required to perform some individual and group presentations in

certain and various topics. They are also expected to engage in some pair and group discussions

aiming at making the students more active in using English. There were one American teacher,

one Australian teacher, one Dutch teacher and five Indonesian teachers who taught this course.

They had about sixteen students in every class. There were three meetings each week, conducted

one hour per meeting and it ran for fourteen weeks.

6
Participants

The participants of this study were Transactional Speaking students in English

Department of Satya Wacana Christian University from the second semester of 2013/2014.

Purposive sampling (Zacharias, 2012) was used to determine the participant because the

participants were groups of people who were taking Transactional Speaking course. 106

questionnaires were spread out to fill. There were 39 male participants, 64 female participants

and 3 participants did not mention their gender. The questionnaire was intended to obtain

students’ reason why they are willing or unwilling to communicate in the Transactional Speaking

class. They were about 17 – 24 year old students. Most of them were taking Transactional

Speaking for the first time and two of them were repeating this course. The names of the

participants here are pseudonym.

Instrument of data collection

In order to get some data about the factors, an open-ended questionnaire that contained

short-answer questions was used in this research. The questionnaire asked the participants to

identify factors that make them willing or unwilling to communicate in the class. McKay (2006)

said, “Short-answer question provides a space for detailed information regarding some aspects of

researched topics”. By using short-answer questions, the participants could be asked to describe

factors contributing to their willingness to communicate. The aim of using open-ended

questionnaire was making the participants feel free to share and getting more information about

factors that influence students’ willingness to communicate. The questionnaire was in Bahasa

Indonesia to make the participants easier to answer the question. Zacharias (2012) also stated

that in an open-ended response, participants are free to write their responses to the question given

7
instead of being controlled by choices designed by researcher as in closed-ended questionnaires.

A total of 106 students filled the open-ended questionnaire items.

Data Collection Procedure

After the questionnaires were ready and the permission to collect the data was given by

Transactional Speaking teachers, the writer conducted the data collection in every Transactional

Speaking class. The distribution of the questionnaires always took place at the end of the class so

it did not bother the learning process. The questionnaires were distributed to 106 students from

seven different groups of Transactional Speaking classes. Participants were given 10-15 minutes

to complete the questionnaires. The teachers stayed in the class while the participants were

completing the questionnaires. After the questionnaires were collected, the writer grouped them

based on the date students completed the questionnaires. Table 1 is the data collection date.

Table 1

No. Date Transactional Speaking Class

1. 12 March 2014 Transactional Speaking Class group C

2. 14 March 2014 Transactional Speaking Class group B

3. 14 March 2014 Transactional Speaking Class group E

4. 17 March 2014 Transactional Speaking Class group A

5. 18 March 2014 Transactional Speaking Class group D

6. 20 March 2014 Transactional Speaking Class group F

7. 24 March 2014 Transactional Speaking Class group G

8
Data Analysis

This study was analyzed using content analysis approach (Zacharias, 2012). After the

questionnaires were collected, the first thing done was reading the responses several times to

make the writer “feel” what the participants actually tried to explain. Then it was analyzed using

content/thematic analysis. Zacharias (2012) stated that, “This analysis focuses on the contents or

themes (factors that influence students’ willingness to communicate in Transactional Speaking

course) across the participants”. Categories were assigned to classify the ideas towards factors

influence students’ willingness to communicate, such as: task type, students’ familiarity with

interlocutor, degree of interlocutor, topic familiarity, topic interest, topic preparation, teachers’

role, personality, motivation, grading of speech, correctness of speech, perceived speaking

ability, self-confidence, class atmosphere and mood.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

From the data analysis, it was found that there are four major factors that influence

students’ willingness to communicate in Transactional Speaking courses. Two factors

(familiarity with interlocutors and teachers’ role) are in accordance to Cao (2009) and the other

two (students’ correctness of speech and students’ motivation) are new findings. The findings of

factors affecting students’ willingness to communicate in Transactional Speaking courses are

presented in the chart 1 below.

9
 Chart 1 . Factors influencing students’ willingness to communicate in Transactional Speaking courses

From the chart above, it shows that 22% of the participants perceived that factor affecting

their willingness to communicate in the class was their familiarity with interlocutor. 25% of the

participants apprehended that their correctness of speech influenced them to be willing to

communicate in Transactional Speaking classes. The chart also shows that 25% of the participant

stated that teachers’ role contributes to their willingness to communicate. There are 28% of the

participants thought that they were willing to communicate in the class because they have a

motivation in L2 learning.

Students’ familiarity with interlocutor

The first major factor that influences students’ willingness to communicate in

Transactional Speaking classes is students’ familiarity with interlocutor. On the chart above,

there are 24 out of 106 students stated that students’ familiarity with interlocutors takes an

important part in their willingness to communicate. If the students are familiar with their

interlocutors, they tend to keep communicating in the class. There are some statements from

10
participants about their familiarity with interlocutor influencing their willingness to communicate

in the class:

‘Biasanya nggak komunikasi banyak di kelas, soalnya nggak tertarik ngomong sama
orang yang nggak kenal.’ (Zora, 18 Maret 2014)
(I usually do not communicate much in the class because I am not interested in talking to
someone that I am not familiar with)

‘Cuma aktif komunikasi di kelas pas temen-temen deket sekelas. Soalnya temen deket itu
biasanya support pas ngomong di kelas dan ngomongnya jadi enak.’ (Titin, 12 Maret
2014)
(I will communicate actively in the class if my classmates are my close friends. It is
because my close friends will support me in communicating during the class and the
communication will go well)

‘Kalo ngomong sama temen tu lebih gampang soalnya bebas mau ngomong apa aja. Trus
temen tu nggak bikin stres dan nggak bikin bosen. Pokoknya fun kalo ada temen.’ (Eric,
12 Maret 2014)
(It is easier to me to communicate with my friends because it makes me feel free to say
anything. My friends do not make the situation stressful and boring, so the class will be
fun)

As Zora stated in her questionnaire, she did not feel comfortable talking to someone that

she did not know well in the class. It indicates that students will communicate in the class only

with interlocutor that they are familiar with. According to Chu (2008, cited in Riasati, 2012),

when interlocutors are not familiar with each other, they seem to be reluctant to speak to each

other. On the questionnaires, Titin and Eric also added that talking to some interlocutors that

they were familiar with make the communication go well because they feel that familiar

interlocutors support them and make the situation less stress during the class. Kang (2005, cited

in Riasati & Noreen, 2011) came to the conclusion that learners feel more secure when talking to

11
somebody whom they are familiar with. Students tend to communicate with familiar interlocutor

in the class because they feel that talking to someone that they know well make them feel secure

and comfortable. MacIntyre, Cle’ment, Dornyei and Noels (1998) argued the importance of

relationship between individuals. Elements that effects willingness to communicate includes

feelings of power inequity, intimacy level, extend of background knowledge in common, and

social distance between interlocutor. From those statements, it is obvious that students’

familiarity with interlocutors affects students’ willingness to communicate.

Students’ correctness of speech

The second factor that affects students to be willing to communicate in Transactional

Speaking class is their correctness of speech. From the chart above, it shows that 26 out of 106

participants did not communicate in the class because they were concerned about their

correctness of speech. If the students were not sure the way they speak was correct, they

preferred not communicating. These are several statements shared by Aline, Fandy and Riana:

‘Jujur pengen banget ngomong di kelas tapi takut soalnya takut grammarnya salah.’
(Aline, 12 Maret 2014)
(Honestly, I really want to talk in class but I am always afraid of using incorrect grammar
in English)

‘Di kelas kadang ada keinginan untuk komunikasi atau tanya pake bahasa Inggris tapi
saya sadar nggak tau grammar, vocab ma pronuncenya yang bener gimana. Jadi nggak
jadi ngomong deh soalnya nggak tau grammar dan vocabnya yang betul.’ (Fandy, 17
Maret 2014)
(In the class, sometimes there is willingness to talk or ask questions in English but then I
realized I have to say that using right grammar, right vocabulary, and right pronunciation.
That is why I remain silent because I do not know right grammar and vocabulary)

12
 ‘Menurut saya yang bikin saya aktif atau nggak di kelas tu grammar, vocab sama
pronunciation. Kalo bisa bikin kalimat pake grammar yang betul trus vocab nya bagus,
pengucapannya benar, pasti saya ngomong di kelas. Tapi kalo nggak tau vocab,
grammar yang bener juga ngomongnya gimana ya mending diam.’ (Riana, 24 Maret
2014)
(I think I communicate actively or not in class depends on grammar, vocabulary, and
pronunciation. If I can create sentences using right grammar, good vocabulary, and fluent
pronunciation, I will communicate actively in class. But if I do not know the words I
want to say in English, or how to pronounce it, or what the right grammar to use, I prefer
keeping silent in class)

As Aline, Fandy and Riana stated on the questionnaires, using incorrect grammar,

pronunciation and vocabulary made them afraid to communicate using English in the class. They

would not communicate if they were not sure they used right grammar, pronunciation, and

vocabulary. From those excerpts, it can be seen that students are afraid of their correctness of

speech when they want to talk in the class. If they are not sure they use correct term in English,

they will decide not to communicate in the class. Liu and Littlewood (1997, cited in Lockley,

2011) stated that in general, students are perfectionist by nature, and as a result, they may feel the

need to be absolutely certain of the correctness of their grammar before speaking. Students tend

to communicate in the class when they think they speak English correctly. If students feel that

they cannot create sentences using correct terms in English, they will avoid communicating in

class. Riasati (2012) also described that while speaking, learners are overly concerned with the

correctness of speech and if they are not sure of this, they avoid speaking. Riasati and Noreen

(2011) argued that if individuals do not see themselves as being competent enough to initiate or

engage in communication, it is natural that they would feel apprehensive about communication

and less willing to communicate. From that reason, it can be concluded that students’ correctness

of speech influences student to be willing to communicate in the class.

13
Teachers’ role

The third factor that affects students to communicate in the Transactional Speaking class

is teachers’ role. From the questionnaires, it shows that at least 26 out of 106 participants did not

communicate in the class because of their teacher. Some participants think that teachers’ ability

to deliver materials makes them willing to communicate in the class. Here is statement from

Amanda that shows her willingness to communicate in the class which affected by her teachers’

ability to deliver materials.

‘Itu tergantung gimana dosen nyampein materi di kelas. Mahasiswa tertarik nggak sama
materi yang disampein atau nggak.’ (Amanda, 18 Maret 2014)
(I think it depends on how the teacher delivers the materials. Can he/she make the student
interested in the materials or not?)

What Amanda said shows that teachers’ ability to deliver materials takes an important

effect on students’ willingness to communicate in the class. Nazari and Allahyar (2012) stated

that teachers have been institutionally bestowed the right to create, manage and decide the

different types of students’ interactions carried out in the classroom. Students tend to

communicate in the class if teachers are able to make the students interested in participating in

the class. On the contrary, students will not participate in the class if the teachers do not have

ability in delivering materials in the class that can make students interested in participating in

the class. Riasati (2014) said that, “The way a teacher conducts a lesson and the way he or she

interacts with the students determine the learners’ willingness to participate.” Weaver (2013)

added that teachers with a number of important insights into the affective factors underlying L2

use and the potential for its use. Perceived communicative competence continues to be an

14
important influence not only for increasing students’ willingness to communicate, but also their

use of the L2.

Not only teachers’ ability to deliver materials but also the fairness of the teacher

influences students in Transactional Speaking classes to be willing to communicate. Here is

statement that was given by Wulan.

‘Ada dosen yang cuma focus sama yang aktif saja. Yang tidak aktif kadang tidak
diperdulikan.’ (Wulan, 14 Maret 2014)
(Some teachers only focus on teaching active students. They do not care about the
passive ones)

Wulan’s statement mentions that students’ willingness to communicate is influenced by

the fair teacher. Sun (2008) confirmed that role of teacher can be facilitating or inhibiting

learners’ participation. Teacher who treats the passive and the active students equally tend to

make students communicate in the class. Students will not communicate in the class because the

teachers give the attention and focus only on the active students. The passive students feel that

teacher who does not give attention to them makes them unwilling to communicate. Riasati

(2014) stated that if a teacher pays equal attention to all members of the class, encourages

everybody to take part in classroom debates and activities, and gives enough time to students to

participate, he or she can considerably enhance the students’ willingness to speak. Zou (2004,

cited in Riasati, 2014) mentioned that creating a sense of cooperation rather than competition

among students puts them at ease to use the language.

Another reason why students keep communicating in Transactional Speaking classes is

because of teachers who can create supportive classroom atmosphere. Here is statement from

15
Budi who thought friendly and fun situation made him willing to communicate in Transactional

Speaking class.

‘Kalau dosennya ramah dan fun ya saya sama temen-temen pasti pd buat ngomong di
kelas dan pasti lebih aktif.’ (Budi, 17 Maret 2014)
(If the teacher in the class is friendly and fun, other students and I are confident to speak
in the class and we will be very active communicating in the class)

As Budi said, students will communicate and feel confident if the teacher is fun and

friendly to the students. Friendly and fun teacher here may create a fun atmosphere that makes

the students comfortable to communicate in the class. Students need a stress-free class

atmosphere to make them keep communicating in the class. Riasati (2014) argued that students

feel more willing to speak in a stress-free environment where there is a friendly rapport between

the teacher and the students. Teacher who creates supportive classroom atmosphere contributes

to the willingness to communicate. Riasati (2014) also added that the responsibility of creating

such an atmosphere lies primarily with the teacher who needs to be very deliberate in making

choices that can make a classroom an inviting place to learn or conversely a threatening

environment for the learners. Hence, it is clear that teacher’s role affects students’ willingness to

communicate.

Students’ motivation

The last factor that influences students’ willingness to communicate is their motivation.

The study shows that 30 out of 106 participants think that student’s motivation determent the

student to communicate or not in the class. Students who have certain motivation tend to be

willing to communicate in the Transactional Speaking classes. These are statements made by

Fina and Allan:

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 ‘Soalnya saya mau lancar bicara bahasa Inggris jadi latihan speaking terus.’ (Fina, 12
Maret 2014)
(Because I want to speak English fluently, so I need more practice in speaking)

‘Ada 2 alasan kenapa saya bicara dalam kelas. Pertama pengen lancar bahasa
Inggrisnya. Kedua biar berani dan PD ngomong di depan orang lain.’ (Allan, 18 Maret
2014)
(I have two reasons why I keep communicating in the class. Number one, I want to be
fluent in English. Number two, I want to be brave and confident speaking in front of
people.)

As Fina shared on her questionnaire, she kept communicating in the class because she

wanted to be fluent in English. From what Fina shared, we can find that students who have

certain motivation in language learning process tend to communicate in the class. According to

Wang & Wang (2012), students with strong motivation are more willing to take the initiative to

communicate and their English is better. Hashimoto (2002) also described that motivated

students would take every opportunity to perfect their second-language skills, and they would

use the classroom as an opportunity to use their L2. On the questionnaire, Allan also stated that

being fluent in English and being confident became a motivation in his learning process that

made him keep communicating in the class. Students will keep communicating in the class to

achieve what they target in language learning. Hashimoto (2002) confirmed that students who

have greater motivation for language learning report using the language more frequently and

students who are more willing to communicate are more likely to do so. Highly motivated

learners are expected to sustain their efforts in learning, which can in turn enhance their

proficiency, increase their confidence and thus their L2 WTC (Yashima, 2002). From those

statements, it can be inferred that students’ motivation contributes to students’ willingness to

communicate.

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 CONCLUSION AND PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATION

This paper reports on a study intended to explore factors that influence students’

willingness to communicate in Transactional Speaking course in English Department of Satya

Wacana Christian University. The study found four major factors that make students in

Transactional Speaking willing to communicate, they are students’ familiarity with interlocutor,

students’ correctness of speech, teachers’ role and students’ motivation.

The finding shows that students’ familiarity with interlocutor determines the students’

willingness to participate in the class or not. Students decide not to communicate in class if they

are not familiar with their interlocutors. However, they will communicate actively during the

class if they know their interlocutors well. Students think that having familiar interlocutors in the

class make the situation comfortable and stress-free.

The second factor contributing to willingness to communicate found on the study is

students’ correctness of speech. Some students will communicate in the class only when they

feel that their sentences are correct. However students avoid communicating in the class when

they are not sure whether or not they create sentences correctly.

From the research, it can be found that the third factor influencing students’ willingness

to communicate is teacher’s role. Some students think that their willingness to communicate in

the class is affected by the way their teachers conduct the class. Teachers’ role is important

because some students will communicate during the class if the teachers deliver materials that

make students interested in communicating in the class. Students also will communicate if the

teacher treats passive and active students equally. Teacher who creates supportive and relaxing

atmosphere in the class will make the students actively participate during the class as well.

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 The last factor found from the finding is students’ motivation. Student who has certain

motivations in language learning tend to communicate actively during the class. Some students

are active in communicating because they want to achieve their target in language learning.

Highly motivated students think that the best way they can achieve their target is through

practice.

In essence, the findings of the study are expected to improve students’ willingness to

communicate in Transactional Speaking courses. By knowing the reasons why students keep

communicating in the Transactional Speaking classes, it is expected that teachers would choose

certain approach aims at facilitating students to participate more during the class. Besides,

teachers can also select teaching techniques that attract students to participate actively in the

class. Teachers are suggested to create activities that involve students who are not familiar with

one another, such as: students need to interview one another about their personal details in the

class. It may make the students know each other better and make them confident to communicate

to one another. Teachers need to motivate the students by ensuring them that making mistakes

are something normal to happen in language learning process. Teacher needs to tolerate the

student’s mistake and gives motivations to make them confidently speak during the class. Further

research needs to be conducted to explore strategies to help students reduce even eliminate

unwillingness to communicate in the speaking class.

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 Acknowledgement

I would like to express my gratitude to Allah SWT who has lead, guided and protected

me every single time. This thesis would not have been possible without support of many people.

I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Athriyana Pattiwael, M.Hum whose stimulating

suggestions and encouragement helped me all the time in writing this thesis. Also, I want to

thank my second reader, Yustinus Calvin G. Mali, M.Hum who gave valuable advice to enhance

my thesis’ development. I want to thank students of Transactional Speaking class UKSW for

their participation in this study. I want to thank my workmates in Language Training Center

UKSW Salatiga for giving me valuable support in writing this thesis. I also want to thank my

friends in “IdiPinuk” who are always available whenever I need them. Especially, I would like to

give my special thanks to my mom whose love and prayer enabled me to complete this thesis.

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 REFERENCES

Cao, Y. (2009). Understanding the notion of interdependence and the dynamics of

willingness to communicate. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. The University of
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.

Cao, Y. & J. Philp. (2006). Interactional context and willingness to communicate: A

comparison of behaviour in whole class, group and dyadic interaction.
System, 34: 480-493.

Fu, L., Wang, X., & Wang, Y. (2012). The Research on Willingness to Communicate in
Chinese Students’ EFL Study. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 3(1),
112-117.

Hashimoto, Y. (2002). Motivation and willingness to communicate as predictors of reported

L2 use: The Japanese ESL context. Second Language Studies, 20(2): 29-70.

Lockley, T. (2011). Is Grammar Anxiety Hindering English Speaking in Japanese Students?

JALT journal, 33 (2), 175-190. Ozyeign University, Turkey

MacIntyre, P. D., Cle’ment, R., Dornyei, Z. & Noels, K. A. (1998). Conceptualizing

willingness to communicate in a L2: A situational model of L2 confidence and
affiliation. The Modern Language Journal, 82(4): 545-562.

McKay, S. L. (2006). Researching second language classrooms. Mahwah, NJ.: Lawrence

Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Nazari, A., & Allahyar, N. (2012). Increasing Willingness to Communicate among English
as a Foreign Language (EFL) Students: Effective teaching strategies.
Investigations in university teaching and learning, 8.

Riasati, M.J. (2012). EFL Learners’ Perception of Factors Influencing Willingness to Speak
English in Language Classrooms: A Qualitative Study. Islamic Azad University,
Iran.

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Riasati, M. (2014). Causes of reticence: Engendering willingness to speak in language
classrooms. International Journal of Research Studies in Language
Learning, 3(1), 115-122.

Riasati, M.J. and N. Nooreen. (2011). Antecedents of willingness to communicate: A review

of literature.Studies in Literature and Language, 3(2): 74-80.

Sun, Y.F. (2008). Motivation to speak: Perception and attitude of non-English major
students in Taiwan. Unpublished doctoral dissertation.Indiana University.

Weaver, C. (2013). Situational Influences Underlying Japanese University Students’

Willingness to Communicate and their Reported Use of English in an EFL
Context. Repository for Academic Resources . Toyo University .

Yashima, T. (2002). Willingness to communicate in a second language: The Japanese EFL

context. The Modern Language Journal, 86(1): 54-66.

Zacharias, T. N. (2012). Qualitative Research Methods for Second Language Education a

Course book. Newscastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

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APPENDIX I
The Questionnaire
(English version)

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 QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear friends,

The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors that influence students’

willingness to communicate in Transactional Speaking courses. This questionnaire is not

affecting any students’ grade in Transactional Speaking courses. The names of the participants

here are pseudonym.

I. Answer briefly!
1. Do you communicate actively in the class?

2. How often do you communicate in the class?

3. What kind of communication do you do in the class?

4. What factors do you think influence you to be willing to communicate in the class?
Explain below!

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 5. What factors do you think obstruct you to be willing to communicate in the class?
Explain below!

II. Personal information

Gender : M/F
Age : ______ years old

III. If you are willing to be interviewed for supporting this study, please fill in the template
below.

Name : ___________

Phone Number : ___________

Email : ___________

Thank you 

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APPENDIX II
The Questionnaire
(Indonesian version)

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 QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear friends,

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi keinginan
untuk berkomunikasi (willingness to communicate) pada siswa di kelas Transactional Speaking.
Questionnaire ini tidak akan berpengaruh pada nilai mahasiswa di kelas transactional Speaking.
Nama partisipan dalam penelitian ini akan ditampilkan dalam nama samaran (pseudonym).

I. Jawablah dengan singkat!

1. Apakah Anda termasuk siswa yang aktif berkomunikasi di dalam kelas?

2. Seberapa sering Anda berkomunikasi di dalam kelas?

3. Bentuk komunikasi apa yang Anda lakukan di dalam kelas?

4. Menurut Anda, faktor apa sajakah yang mempengaruhi keinginan Anda untuk
berkomunikasi (willingness to communicate) di dalam kelas? Jelaskan

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 5. Menurut Anda, faktor apa sajakah yang menghambat keinginan Anda untuk
berkomunikasi (willingness to communicate) di dalam kelas? Jelaskan!

II. Biodata
Gender : L/P
Usia : tahun
III. Jika Anda bersedia untuk diwawancara guna menunjang penelitian ini, mohon untuk
mengisi keterangan di bawah ini.

Nama : ___________

Nomor Telepon : ___________

Email : ___________

Terima Kasih 

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APPENDIX III
Samples of the Questionnaire Data

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