Closeness facilitating interaction among Japanese learners of English

Abstract This study investigates the perceived effect of friendship on the difficulty arising from the fear of negative evaluation experienced by Japanese university students when engaging in pair work and speaking English. Furthermore, this study aims to determine the perceived effectiveness and opinions towards friendship-building activities in an L2 English classroom. The investigations administer a questionnaire to students after 14 weeks of friendship-building activities that include icebreakers, games, and randomly assigned seating. Students report their perceived level of difficulty when engaging in pair work and speaking English with friends and non-friends. Additionally, students report on their perceived effectiveness and opinions towards friendship-building activities. The investigations find that learners associate less difficulty with pair work and speaking English among friends. Moreover, the results indicate that learners perceive friendships as a mitigator of the fear of negative evaluation and its effects. The results also suggest that friendship-building activities facilitate the creation of friendships and are perceived as necessary and positive by learners. The study promotes the use of friendship-building in the classroom, particularly for learners with sociocultural backgrounds that are more prone to experiencing the fear of negative evaluation.