Teacher support, task design, and ICT integration: Unraveling the mediating role of communication anxiety in second language students' willingness to communicate.
Gespeichert in:
| Titel: | Teacher support, task design, and ICT integration: Unraveling the mediating role of communication anxiety in second language students' willingness to communicate. |
|---|---|
| Autoren: | Wang J; College of Chinese Language and Literature, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, Shandong, China; Department of College English Teaching, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, Shandong, China. Electronic address: wangjuan2003@qfnu.edu.cn., Fan C; Department of College English Teaching, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, Shandong, China., Wang X; Department of College English Teaching, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, Shandong, China. |
| Quelle: | Acta psychologica [Acta Psychol (Amst)] 2025 Oct; Vol. 260, pp. 105427. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Sep 03. |
| Publikationsart: | Journal Article |
| Sprache: | English |
| Info zur Zeitschrift: | Publisher: North Holland Publishing Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 0370366 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1873-6297 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00016918 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Acta Psychol (Amst) Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Amsterdam : North Holland Publishing Original Publication: The Hague. |
| MeSH-Schlagworte: | Anxiety*/psychology , Students*/psychology , Multilingualism* , Communication* , Information Technology* , School Teachers*, Humans ; Male ; Female ; China ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Adolescent ; Universities |
| Abstract: | Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this manuscript. No financial or personal relationships with other people or organizations have influenced the research, authorship, and decision to submit the work to Acta Psychologica. All authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose that could be construed as influencing the outcomes of the reported research. Additionally, no commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this manuscript has or had any influence on it. We confirm that we do not have any associations that would pose a conflict of interest in connection with this submission. The influence of communication anxiety on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) is well-documented. However, the role of teachers, including task design, teacher support, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration on L2 WTC in the context of digital transformation of education remains underexplored. This study investigates how these teacher-related factors affect learners' L2 WTC by considering the mediating effect of communication anxiety. An online survey was administered to 620 EFL learners from three universities in eastern China, yielding 607 valid responses. Structural Equation Modeling was applied for data analysis. Key findings reveal that: task design significantly influences both communication anxiety and learners' L2 WTC. Interestingly, while the integration of ICT significantly mitigates communication anxiety, it does not translate into an enhanced L2 WTC. Furthermore, teacher support, despite its acknowledged importance, does not significantly alter the levels of communication anxiety or L2 WTC among learners. This null effect warrants further exploration and suggests that the influence of teacher support may be more nuanced than previously thought. Most notably, communication anxiety mediates the relationship between task design and ICT use with L2 WTC, emphasizing the centrality of affective factors in language acquisition and highlights the need to address communication anxiety as a key component in the design of language learning interventions. This study contributes valuable knowledge to the field of language learning and instruction, offering practical implications for educators and learners. (Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Communication anxiety; EFL learners; ICT use; Task design; Teacher support; WTC |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20250904 Date Completed: 20251107 Latest Revision: 20251107 |
| Update Code: | 20251107 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105427 |
| PMID: | 40907125 |
| Datenbank: | MEDLINE |
Full Text Finder 
Nájsť tento článok vo Web of Science | Abstract: | Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this manuscript. No financial or personal relationships with other people or organizations have influenced the research, authorship, and decision to submit the work to Acta Psychologica. All authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose that could be construed as influencing the outcomes of the reported research. Additionally, no commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this manuscript has or had any influence on it. We confirm that we do not have any associations that would pose a conflict of interest in connection with this submission.<br />The influence of communication anxiety on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) is well-documented. However, the role of teachers, including task design, teacher support, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration on L2 WTC in the context of digital transformation of education remains underexplored. This study investigates how these teacher-related factors affect learners' L2 WTC by considering the mediating effect of communication anxiety. An online survey was administered to 620 EFL learners from three universities in eastern China, yielding 607 valid responses. Structural Equation Modeling was applied for data analysis. Key findings reveal that: task design significantly influences both communication anxiety and learners' L2 WTC. Interestingly, while the integration of ICT significantly mitigates communication anxiety, it does not translate into an enhanced L2 WTC. Furthermore, teacher support, despite its acknowledged importance, does not significantly alter the levels of communication anxiety or L2 WTC among learners. This null effect warrants further exploration and suggests that the influence of teacher support may be more nuanced than previously thought. Most notably, communication anxiety mediates the relationship between task design and ICT use with L2 WTC, emphasizing the centrality of affective factors in language acquisition and highlights the need to address communication anxiety as a key component in the design of language learning interventions. This study contributes valuable knowledge to the field of language learning and instruction, offering practical implications for educators and learners.<br /> (Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1873-6297 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105427 |