摘要：This preliminary study attempts to examine the potential factors that enable EFLlearners working in an English-only self-access learning center (SALC) to overcometheir fear of making mistakes when they communicate in English with their peers.Through the interviews with those student workers called “SALCers,” it was revealedthat the degree of their Willingness to Communicate (WTC) (McCroskey & Baer,1985) was quite high when they interact with other SALCers in the SALC. On theother hand, their WTC is low when they are instructed to communicate in English intheir English classrooms. The findings seem to indicate that some of the distinctivecharacteristics of the SALC work environment free the learners from the fear ofmaking mistakes in English. Moreover, an analysis of interviews conducted with theSALC student staff indicated they had strong identities as SALCers and a sharedsense of community, which also seemed to enhance their WTC. In this paper, theprominent characteristics of both the SALC and the SALCers themselves which seemto enhance their willingness to communicate by reducing the anxiety of makingmistakes will be delineated with examples
关键词：Willingness to Communicate; Community of Practice;Japanese learners of English
