The Role of Stay Abroad in Perception of Oral Proficiency and Willingness to Communicate

This master’s thesis investigated the effects of an international student exchange program “Work and Travel” (W&T) on students’ perceived oral proficiency and willingness to communicate in English. Three groups of respondents were chosen: students of the English language and literature who did not participate in the program, and two groups of students of other faculties, non-language majors, – one that participated in the program and one that did not. Statistically significant differences among the groups suggest that the W&T program benefited students’ oral proficiency development and their willingness to engage in communication in English. Correlations between the variables were also examined. A medium strength positive correlation between perceived oral proficiency and willingness to communicate was found for the whole sample as well as for students of the English language and for non-language majors who participated in the W&T program. A large strength positive correlation between perceived oral proficiency and willingness to communicate was found for non-language majors who did not participate in the W&T program.