Language skills like reading, writing, listening, and speaking are essential for effective communication in English and are closely linked to educational and professional success both locally and internationally. In many non-English-speaking countries, students learn English as a foreign language (EFL) for their future endeavors, making it important to create classroom environments that support effective learning and communication.
A new study reveals that a supportive classroom environment that promotes positive psychological factors boosts student confidence and promotes language learning, as well as learners' willingness to initiate communication, when given a choice.
Education researchers often ponder and debate new strategies to improve language learning and communication. Two years ago, one such informal coffee conversation between Yoshiyuki Nakata, a Professor at the Faculty of Global Communications, Doshisha University, Japan, and Professor Andrew J. Martin at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia, led to a discussion on the role of classroom climate in students' academic development. This laid the foundation for the recent research study, led by Prof. Nakata in collaboration with Professor Yuichi Suzuki at Waseda University, Japan, and Professors Andrew J. Martin and Xuesong (Andy) Gao from UNSW.
"This investigation of foreign language learning reflects the synergy of our respective areas of expertise," says Prof. Nakata, elaborating on their partnership. The study, published on March 13, 2026, in the British Journal of Educational Psychology , examined factors that influence Japanese university students' willingness to communicate in English in EFL classrooms. The team conducted surveys to assess classroom support, satisfaction of learners' psychological needs, and learners' willingness to communicate. Survey data of 396 students from five Japanese universities were analyzed statistically, at the individual student level and at the classroom level, to find factors that influenced willingness to communicate in English.
The researchers applied key principles of self-determination theory (SDT) to language learning. SDT describes three key psychological motivation factors: namely, autonomy, providing a sense of initiative and ownership, competence, providing the sense that one can succeed and grow, and relatedness, providing a sense of belonging and connection. In the context of the EFL classroom, the study assessed how teacher-to-class, self-to-class, and peer-to-class roles each supported or satisfied the SDT-defined psychological needs.
The study found that classroom support correlated with fulfilment of learners' psychological needs, and that satisfaction of psychological needs predicted students' willingness to communicate in English. The findings emphasize that teacher-to-class, peer-to-class, and self-to-class roles jointly contributed to a supportive classroom environment, and the perceived extent of classroom support was key to learners' motivation in initiating communication.
A major finding was that independent of teacher support, learners' own supportive behaviors toward the class contributed to satisfaction of learning. Commenting on the implications, Prof. Nakata says, "Teachers are important for cultivating a nurturing classroom environment that promotes students' foreign language learning. At the same time, when students also contribute to classroom learning, they are in a better position to learn a foreign language. Over time, these mutually reinforcing processes help raise the level of foreign language learning."
Notably, the study presents actionable strategies for improving language learning that include specific techniques grounded in SDT for satisfying learners' needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness to promote willingness to communicate among hesitant speakers.
The authors propose enhancing teacher-to-class support by providing learning tools and appropriate emotional support, fostering self-to-class support where students learn to assist classmates during pair and group work, and finally promoting peer-to-class support through shared regulated learning.
Overall, the findings offer useful guidance for educators by showing that a supportive and inclusive classroom environment can play a crucial role in helping students gain confidence and communicate more effectively in English.
About Professor Yoshiyuki Nakata from Doshisha University, Japan
Dr. Yoshiyuki Nakata is a Professor in the Faculty of Global Communications at Doshisha University, Japan. He received his PhD in Applied Linguistics from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. His research interests include foreign language motivation, self-regulated learning, teacher-learner autonomy, and classroom English. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed papers and is the recipient of the 2016 EuroSLA Yearbook Prize. He was also a Visiting Fellow at the School of Education, the University of New South Wales (April 2024–March 2025), and formerly an Associate Professor at the Hyogo University of Teacher Education, Japan.
Funding information
No funding was received for this study. The first author was a visiting fellow in the School of Education, University of New South Wales (April 2024–March 2025) during the development of the manuscript.
