The Effect of EFL Learners Gender and Second LanguageProficiency on Willingness to Communicate

With day-increasing emphasis on communication as the chief objective ofsecond language learning, willingness to communicate (hereafter WTC)has come into focus by many researchers, teachers, and foreign languageinstitutes. Previous studies show that WTC is highly correlated with thetwo variables of perceived competence and communication apprehension.This study aimed to investigate the difference in WTC between male andfemale English major students at Khorasgan University, Iran. Firstly, 55English major students were asked to respond to three questionnaires onWTC, perceived competence and communication apprehension. The datawas analyzed using independent sample t-test. The results showed nosignificant difference between male and female students in WTC,perceived competence and communication apprehension. The resultsrelated to the effect of language proficiency on WTC, perceivedcompetence, and communication apprehensions were also analyzed usingone way ANOVA. The results showed no significant differences betweenthe three different groups of students with different levels of languageproficiency in their WTC, perceived competence, and communicationapprehension

Keywords:

willingness to communicate , perceived competence , communication apprehension