To praise or not to praise? Examining the effects of ability vs. effort praise on speaking anxiety and willingness to communicate in EFL classrooms

ABSTRACT

This study examined the effects of praise for intelligence and praise for effort on Iranian EFL learners’ language mindsets, perceived communication competence, speaking anxiety, and willingness to communicate (WTC). The students in three English classes (N = 63, all junior high school students) in a private language institute filled in self-report scales on language mindsets, perceived communication competence, speaking anxiety, and WTC, and then were assigned to praise for effort, praise for intelligence, and control conditions for 14 classroom communication sessions. They answered the same scales in the last session of the experiment. The results of quantitative analysis indicated that praise for effort enhanced learners’ growth mindsets, communicative competence, and WTC, and decreased their speaking anxiety. In contrast, praise for intelligence and no praise decreased students’ growth mindsets. Praise for intelligence further decreased students’ WTC and increased their speaking anxiety. Follow-up qualitative data gathered by interviews with 12 students further suggested that praise for effort facilitated learners’ WTC by increasing their growth mindsets and lowering their speaking anxiety. Finally, we discussed practical implications for how language teachers enhance students’ success in classroom communication.

KEYWORDS:

• Praise
• willingness to communicate
• language mindsets
• speaking anxiety
• perceived communication competence

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nourollah Zarrinabadi

Nourollah Zarrinabadi (PhD) is an adjunct lecturer at University of Isfahan, Iran. His research interests include psychology of language learning and teaching, language and social psychology, and intercultural communication. He has published several books and articles on these subjects.

Nigel Mantou Lou

Nigel Mantou Lou is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Victoria, Canada. His research focuses on psychology of language learning, immigration, and intercultural communication.

Zeinab Darvishnezhad

Zeinab Darvishnezhad is an MA student of TEFL at University of Isfahan, Iran. She is interested in research on language teaching and learning and language testing.