The role of informal digital learning of Korean in KFL students’ willingness to communicate

This mixed-methods study examines how Informal Digital Learning of Korean (IDL-K) affects willingness to communicate in a second language (L2 WTC). Data were collected from 221 Korean as a Foreign Language (KFL) students (21 nationalities; mean age = 21.8 years). The quantitative analysis revealed that students who engaged in more receptive IDL-K than others reported greater L2 WTC in class, which yielded greater L2 WTC outside of class. However, students who engaged in more productive IDL-K than others reported greater L2 WTC only outside of class. The qualitative findings detailed how IDL-K benefited one KFL student by improving his vocabulary and topic knowledge (receptive) and increasing his interaction with Korean speakers (productive), both of which enhanced his L2 WTC. This is the first study to show how IDL-K affects L2 WTC both in and out of class and to provide new research agendas and innovative pedagogical insights in languages other than English.