頁籤選單縮合
題 名 | Peer Pressure and the EFL Students’ Reticence to Speak English |
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作 者 | Jenkins, John R.; | 書刊名 | Journal of Applied English |
卷 期 | 2 2009.03[民98.03] |
頁 次 | 頁79-101 |
分類號 | 521.21 |
關鍵詞 | |
語 文 | 英文(English) |
英文摘要 | The topic of this qualitative research concerned peer pressure and reticence to speak English in a classroom setting for students studying in Taiwan’s private universities. As a continuation of an original study concerning reticence to speak English conducted 1 year earlier that included 10 participants (5 male and 5 female sophomore students), 4 participants from that study participated in the current study. The 2 male and 2 female junior students were interviewed 3 times each in addition to the 4 interviews each participated within during the original study. The purpose of the study was to identify what factors concerning peer pressure inhibit participation in classroom discussions. The factors that contributed to the students’ reticence to speak English in a classroom setting in this study included face saving issues such as embarrassment because of the level of their English ability, knowledge of vocabulary, the participants’ self-perceived English language ability, and the perceived English language ability of other students. Personality factors such as self-confidence, extroversion, or introversion further enhanced the students’ reticence to speak English. A critical finding of the study related to Taiwan’s educational system and the students’ response to the opportunities that the entrance examination score provided for them within that system. All of these factors were related to the issue of peer pressure by the participants, and were found to be so intermingled that it was difficult to discern which of these factors played an important role in their reticence to speak English except the issue of peer pressure itself. Peer pressure was found to be the major factor contributing to the students’ reticence to speak English. When students were uncomfortable with group members or had personality conflicts with individuals within the classroom setting, the students were more reluctant to speak English and to actively participate. Students did not want to be embarrassed on the one hand, or thought to be “showing off” their English ability on the other hand, and as a result even those students with an advanced ability in English were reluctant to participate. The English ability of classmates alsoinfluenced the willingness to participate in classroom discussions. The participants in this study were concerned with embarrassing students whose English ability was inferior to their own or reveal their own inadequacies to students with a superior English ability. The relationship that students had with peers was found to be the motivating factor involved in their willingness to participate in a classroom discussion or respond during a question and answer period due largely to the collective nature of the Taiwanese and the importance of relationships and face saving in the Taiwanese culture. In mediating peer pressure influence on reticence to speak English, the students indicated that participating in discussions with friends or classmates with whom they were comfortable permitted their active participation. The participants indicated that classmates, with whom they had a conflict, or a dislike for, jeopardized their willingness to participate. Small class sizes and small group discussions were preferred by the participants. Furthermore, the atmosphere established by and the expectations of the instructor were identified as factors enhancing their willingness to participate, but to some extent the ability of the instructor to promote discussion was viewed as limited. The topic of discussion was also an important issue to the participants who indicated that topics of interest, topics familiar to the students, topics of which they had prior knowledge, and topics that were practical to them in using English encouraged their participation. |
本系統中英文摘要資訊取自各篇刊載內容。