Between silence and speaking: Willingness to communicate and global competence in Japanese EFL classrooms

Global competence in Japanese EFL policy

Global competence and EFL education are closely intertwined in Japan, where there has been a tendency to view the ability to communicate effectively in English as ‘the hallmark of a global citizen’ (Aspinall, 2013: 117). Government global competence development strategies identify FL proficiency (conflated with EFL proficiency) as the fundamental cornerstone of global competence (CPGRGD, 2012). Despite the strong EFL focus in governmental global competence policies, both EFL education practices and language performance outcomes continue to receive negative media attention (e.g., McNeil, 2022; Osaki, 2022). A lack of WTC and tendency towards insularity among students has often been cited as a contributing factor (e.g., Yonezawa and Shimmi, 2018), but Sato (2024) emphasizes the complex relationship between silence and WTC in the Japanese context and highlights the need for a deeper understanding of the interplay between the two.

WTC as a social construct

Willingness to communicate refers to how willing an individual is to take advantage of an opportunity to speak (Nakahira et al., 2010). According to Swain's (1993) Comprehensible Output Hypothesis, learner output is essential to the development of L2 communicative competence, and MacIntyre et al. (1998) contend that promoting L2 WTC should be the foremost goal of FL education.

Willingness to communicate has been ascribed to both enduring factors (such as personality and intergroup climate) and situated factors (such as classroom atmosphere and task engagement) (MacIntyre and Wang, 2021; Yashima et al., 2018). In the Japanese context, Yashima (2002) argues that English is often associated with the international community rather than a clearly delineated group of native English speakers and proposes international posture (a learner's orientation toward international communication in English) as a more relevant construct than intergroup climate. Both enduring and situational dimensions of WTC have typically been theorized at a relatively abstract level. Less attention has been paid to how learners interpret the social legitimacy of speaking in specific classroom interactions, particularly in contexts such as Japan, where international posture coexists with local norms governing appropriate participation.

Silence, participation, and classroom norms in Japanese EFL contexts

Scholars have suggested that a lack of WTC is problematic for the development of English communication skills in Japan. This has often been operationalized by taking a deficit view of reticence and classroom silence, in which reduced verbal participation is treated as evidence of limited engagement or competence. King et al. (2020: 61), for example, take an ‘unapologetically negative view of silence’ when that means a lack of oral participation in the target language. Across WTC research in Japan, the implication is often that in addition to linguistic proficiency, students need to take the initiative in conversation and vocalize more. In other words, they need to conform with Western communication norms that prioritize talk as the primary form of participation. Harumi (2020) problematizes this essentialized view of interaction and argues the importance of considering cultural context. Harumi (2020: 37) explains that silence is ‘highly valued’ by learners and teachers in Japan and can function as a pedagogical and interactional resource. In this sense, silence may support cognitive processes such as reflection and formulation, as well as interactional practices such as turn-taking.

Extending this perspective, Harumi (2023: 147) situates silence within learners’ interactional competence, suggesting that ‘silent participation’ can constitute a ‘desirable interactional space’ shaped by cultural expectations around attentiveness and timing. From this viewpoint, the ability to manage silence appropriately (by attending to group dynamics, interpreting turn-taking norms and responding to interactional cues) emerges not as a deficiency but as a context-sensitive communicative skill. Taken together with findings from studies in other contexts (e.g., Thein Win et al., 2025), this suggests that silence should not be treated as a uniform indicator of disengagement, but rather as a multifaceted practice whose pedagogical, cognitive and interactional functions are differently realized across contexts, including but not limited to Japan.

Linking global competence and WTC: A conceptual gap

Global competence-oriented education seeks to prepare graduates to ‘survive and thrive in a globalized world’ (Sakamoto and Roger, 2022: 3), with desirable outcomes typically categorized in terms of attitudes, skills and knowledge that facilitate effective and appropriate global communication. While many global competence frameworks omit a linguistic component, English language proficiency plays a pivotal role in mediating global communication and is thus regarded as a critical pillar of global competence education in many parts of the world (Egitim and Harumi, 2026). Egitim and Harumi (2026: 17) contend that global competency entails ‘linguistic proficiency,’ 'cross-cultural knowledge,’ ‘adaptability in communication styles’ and ‘values beyond our horizon,’ with adaptability encompassing both more assertive, overtly verbal communicative practices and more implicit, context-sensitive forms of participation.

EFL education in Japan has traditionally adopted a native-speaker ideal (Galloway, 2013), and a tendency among English learners to want to speak ‘the correct and beautiful pronunciation produced by native speakers’ persists (Iino, 2019: 84). EFL educators have also been criticized for promoting an essentialized view of English communication that assumes American cultural norms as representative of ‘good’ communication in English (Bouchard, 2017). This assumption has been increasingly challenged by Global Englishes and ELF-informed perspectives (e.g., Galloway and Rose, 2015; Jenkins, 2015), which emphasize the plurality of English use and the need for flexible, context-sensitive communicative practices in global communication.

Japan's persistent native-speakerism is particularly salient in the context of global communication, where interactional norms based on Western cultural expectations will not always be appropriate. Indeed, being sensitive to one's interlocutor and the nuances of an interaction and able to adjust communicative behavior accordingly have been identified as important aspects of global competence (Sakamoto, 2022). In this sense, communicative ‘willingness’ cannot be reduced to overt verbal production alone but may also involve the capacity to participate appropriately through more implicit, context-dependent and interactionally contingent modes of engagement.

While WTC is important for EFL acquisition and effective communication, willingness may therefore manifest in different ways, and reticence will not always indicate a lack of communicative engagement. Participation may include both verbal and non-verbal interactional contributions, depending on contextual expectations and classroom norms. WTC research has acknowledged situational variability, but few studies have examined how students interpret the social legitimacy of English-speaking acts within local classroom cultures. This study examines the opinions and experiences of Japanese university students majoring in English in relation to global competence-oriented EFL education, focusing on the role and relevance of WTC within the local educational context.

Focus group

A 90-minute mini FG with student participants (n = 4) was convened to investigate opinions and word choices when speaking about global competence and EFL education. Participants were undergraduate English-language majors recruited via flyers distributed at the first author's institution. The FG size was kept small to encourage active participation and in-depth discussion (Liamputtong, 2011). The participants completed a series of card-sorting and discussion tasks to reflect on clarity, difficulty and perception changes resulting from the use of different terms and question phrasings related to global competence (see Figure 1). The session was conducted bilingually and audio recorded. Insights informed the design of the subsequent questionnaire.

OPEN IN VIEWER

Figure 1.

Focus group flow.

Questionnaire

An anonymous online bilingual questionnaire was distributed to four stakeholder groups (university teachers, university students, researchers and transnational workers). The present paper analyzes responses from the student subgroup (n = 46). Participants responded to open-ended questions addressing: (a) the nature of global competence; (b) challenges involved in its development; and (c) the role of EFL educators in global competence education. Recruitment employed a criterion-based snowball sampling strategy using online mailing lists and social media. Thematic content analysis was conducted on responses from all stakeholder groups to identify salient themes, which informed the design of the subsequent Delphi rounds. In this paper, only the student responses are reported and analyzed in depth.

Delphi study

A three-round bilingual Delphi study was employed to facilitate structured, iterative and asynchronous group discussion to further explore and understand themes identified in the questionnaire. The Delphi Technique is a group communication method used to gather and refine opinions through multiple rounds of feedback (Linstone and Turoff, 2002). Four stakeholder groups (university teachers, university students, researchers and transnational workers) joined the Delphi panel and responded to several rounds of questions. The present study focuses on the student subgroup (n = 8), who were all English-language majors studying at Japanese universities.

In Round 1, panelists rated and commented on questionnaire-derived statements concerning: (a) requirements for global competence in Japan; and (b) challenges to its development. Statements prioritized by the group were carried forward to Round 2, where Q-methodology was incorporated within the Delphi process to structure participants’ prioritization of key statements (see Brown, 1993 for an overview of Q-methodology). Participants completed two Q-sorts: one ranking items by importance for global competence; and another ranking items by perceived level of challenge. For each Q-sort, participants arranged statement cards along a forced-choice continuum (e.g., from ‘most important’ to ‘least important’). They then responded to open-ended questions to explain their sorts. By-person factor analysis of the full panel's Q-sorts generated shared viewpoints, which were characterized through a process of factor interpretation and then returned to participants for final ranking and comment in Round 3. While the Q analysis was conducted on data from all stakeholder groups, the present article focuses specifically on how the student subgroup engaged with and responded to the shared viewpoints.

WTC: Having something to say and being willing to say it – In English

The first research question sought to investigate student perspectives concerning the connection between WTC in English and global competence. Participants identified communication skills, particularly in English, as an important facet of global competence, with 91% of questionnaire participants listing communication skills as necessary and 87% specifically commenting on FL/EFL skills. Students in the FG confirmed that being able to communicate in English is crucial for global communication, but pointed out that linguistic ability is only relevant if one has an opinion to share and the willingness do so.

FG3: First I think the people have to have their opinion, own opinion. [noises of agreement]

Delphi student panelists echoed the importance of having and sharing ideas, explaining that exchanging opinions facilitates deeper mutual understanding and effective problem solving for a better society. The types of communication and interaction described by students as desirable involved each party expressing their own opinions without fear or embarrassment, which they suggested was not common in Japan. One student explained thus:

‘[Students in Japan] need to express themselves, for the reason that [it is] the only way for people to understand each other. In order to do this, those students who are afraid of taking risks should become more brave. It is going to be a big challenge for them because it is not something that they are familiar with.’ (DS3)

Participants in the FG, questionnaire and Delphi study agreed that WTC with others in English was important, but some disparity emerged regarding the form this willingness should take. While many questionnaire participants opined that students needed to be bold or extroverted and able to initiate conversation, after reflection Delphi panelists determined that global competence entails more nuanced communication skills. At the culmination of three rounds of asynchronous discussion, participants concluded that being sensitive to the situation and adjusting one's communication style and behavior accordingly is critical:

‘The best [global communicators] are those who balance both [outspokenness and reticence] and respond appropriately depending on the situation.’ (DS5, translated from Japanese)

In short, participants explained that global competence entails communication with people all over the world, which in turn necessitates English language skills and a willingness to use English to communicate. However, being more globally competent is not simply a matter of speaking fluently, or loudly, or frequently; rather it requires students to develop a nuanced ability to tailor their language and communication style flexibly according to each specific interaction. While WTC emerged as important, the findings indicate that it may not always (and should not have to) manifest as outspokenness.

Key challenge: Balancing conflicting sociocultural norms

A second goal of this study was to identify what students perceived as particularly challenging pertaining to global competence development and WTC in English. In the FG session, each student arranged a set of word cards related to global competence according to their own ideas. One student explained his visual organization of the cards thus: ‘Me being, like, Japanese [gestures to left] and me trying to be international [gestures to right]’ (FG4). A similar picture of two separate and conflicting identities arose in many participants’ descriptions of the challenges they saw to becoming more globally competent. Participants explained that on the one hand, they seek to be more independent and forthright in order to adhere to perceived global communication norms; and on the other hand, they strive to meet opposite local expectations around appropriate communication patterns. One FG participant went so far as to explain: ‘maybe I think that some sort of idea of Japanese is interfering us to be effective communicator maybe’ (FG4).

Responses from all the Delphi student participants converged around the opinion that cultural norms in Japan made it very difficult to be outspoken and communicate their ideas in the way that they felt was necessary for global communication. Maintaining group harmony and avoiding standing out from the crowd emerged as powerful disincentives to speaking up or sharing personal opinions. One panelist explained that ‘it's embarrassing to be wrong, and as Japanese people we tend to worry about what other people think, so we try to avoid saying our own opinions’ (DS4, translated from Japanese). Another pointed out that ‘formal education instills us with a sensitivity to group harmony and at school it is usually not good to stand out even among your friends’ (DS2, translated from Japanese).

When students are asked to use English to complete communicative classroom tasks, something of an inner struggle appears to take place. Several participants explained that in their own experience, the need to conform to local conventions usually won out. One Delphi participant reported deliberately speaking in ‘katakana English’ (pronouncing words according to the Japanese syllabary) to blend in. Another was so worried about standing out that she avoided speaking entirely. These participants maintained that they had opinions they wanted to share, but that the risks involved made it impossible for them to do so in the classroom environment.

Educators need to provide spaces for low-risk English communication

The third research question focused on what educators can do to increase student levels of WTC in English and facilitate global competence development. Findings demonstrated that quietness is not necessarily an indication of lacking WTC but can be a result of local classroom and communication norms. Questionnaire responses suggested that if students had access to spaces where they were liberated from some of the constraining influences present in the Japanese classroom, they might be more willing to use their English to communicate and express themselves. The Delphi panelists supported the provision of increased communicative opportunities in the classroom, but noted that against a continued backdrop of social norms that value reticence, it would be difficult to actually capitalize on such opportunities:

‘While I feel that being able to express one's own opinion is important… I feel like there are limits to how much that kind of ability can really be developed in the classroom.’ (DS1, translated from Japanese)

Some participants felt that increased opportunities to interact with people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds were needed, suggesting that moving beyond classroom-based inter-student activities may be necessary to create the ‘spaces’ that students feel they need. However, specific suggestions about how this could be achieved were not forthcoming.

Overall, participants agreed that WTC in English is important for global competence, but reported tension between expectations for assertive communication and norms governing appropriate classroom behavior in Japan. Responses also indicated that silence is not necessarily an indicator of insufficient WTC, but may be shaped by interactional content.