Experiences of Japanese University Students’ Willingness to Speak English in Class

English as a foreign language (EFL) in Japan is becoming a mandatory subject in all compulsory educational systems. Currently, the average Japanese student will study EFL for at least 8 years. Yet despite this period of time, Japanese continually score low on international English tests. Using a qualitative descriptive multiple case study method, the willingness to communicate (WTC) in a Japanese university setting was researched. Twelve student participants, ranging in age from 18 to 20, were interviewed in one Japanese university classroom. Data were gathered by classroom observations and post-class interviews. Data were analyzed by using qualitative software to aggregate the data into five themes. The results revealed that although the prior experiences with learning English has been mostly positive, students believe that the grammar-based learning has not been helpful in developing oral communication competency and what would help is an earlier start to oral English communication. Other findings revealed that the classroom environment has a severe impact on students’ WTC and the interaction with other students in the class. Recommendations for future research include gathering more case studies to compare and test students who have had an opportunity to start English learning earlier and the benefits of grammar-based learning.