The Comparative Effect of Audio-taped Homework/Feedback and Written Homework/Feedback on EFL Learners’ Willingness to Communicate

Willingness to communicate emerges as a concept to account for an individual’s personality orientation and readiness toward talking and entering into discourse with a specific person and a particular time (McCroskey Baer 1985; McCroskey Richmond 1991). This is also valued in language learning as a crucial goal and achievement. Moreover an indispensable tool for stepping forward in the subject is a form of learnt activities reactivation during outofclass time, which is called homework (Paudel, 2012). This is considered as a vehicle through which language learners reach the planned academic achievements faster (Amiryousefi, 2016). Two wellknown subcategories of homework are seen as audiotaped and written ones. The use of audio homework comments (through MP3 files) versus written homework comments have become highly focused. Thus, the present study aimed at exploring the comparative effect of audiotaped and written homework/feedback on EFL learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC). The current study included 40 female intermediate language learners, learning English at a private institution. They were divided into two twentymember experimental groups as Audiotaped homework/feedback and written. The participants mean age was about 18. Both groups received equal treatments, however the way they were asked for homework and the way to correct the handed in assignments were completely different (auditaped ones were supposed to hand in their homework by recording their voice and also the teacher used the same technique making comments, but in written group the participants and the teacher were both required to have written homework and comments respectively). The results obviously indicated the considerable development of willingness to communicate through the application of audiotaped homework/feedback.