Impact of Opinion-Exchange and Information Gap Tasks on EFL Learners’ Willingness to Communicate

Abstract The present study sought to investigate the effect of two types of tasks; namely, ‘information-gap’ and ‘opinion-exchange’, on EFL learners’ Willingness to Communicate (WTC). To this end, the needed data was collected from ۹۰ female EFL learners in Koushesh Language Institute in Isfahan, Iran, and the participants were divided into one control and two experimental groups (A and B). The latter received treatments in one of the two experimental situations and were measured for their level of L۲ Willingness to Communicate (WTC). Group A received ‘information gap’ for a period of ۱۶ sessions, and group B received ‘opinion-exchange’ tasks. The control group received no task of specific type. At the end of the treatment, the participants filled a questionnaire on their WTC. The results indicated that members of both the experimental groups outperformed those of the control group. Furthermore, it was revealed that opinion-exchange tasks had better effects on the enhancement of the participants’ WTC. The findings of this study may be very beneficial for the teachers of the English language who wish to improve their EFL learners’ speaking ability. In fact, creating environments for learners to communicate in English inside and outside the classroom through tasks would enhance learners’ willingness to communicate. 

Keywords:

willingness to communicate , information-gap task , opinion-exchange task