Willingness to Communicate in L۲ English: Impact of Learner Variables

Due to the growing emphasis of modern language pedagogy on meaningfulcommunication, L۲ willingness to communicate (WTC) has recently become animportant concept in second language learning and communication. The presentstudy investigated the effects of individual differences on Iranian EFLlearners' willingness to communicate. As many as ۴۳۱ students who were learningEnglish as a foreign language in language centers served as the participants of thestudy. McCroskey's (۱۹۹۲) questionnaire was utilized to measure students'willingness to communicate. A series of independent-samples t-tests and one-wayANOVAs were run to provide answers to the research questions. The resultsindicated no significant difference among the participants in terms of gender, major,age, and personality types; however, significant difference was found with respect toother variables such as proficiency level, length of studying, being abroad, andcommunicating with foreigners. Therefore, the effects of Iranian EFL individualdifferences on their L۲ WTC were partially confirmed. The importance of thepresent study lies in its theoretical contributions to the WTC research and thepedagogical implications for both second language teaching and learning.

Keywords:

Willingness to Communicate , EFL Context , Individual Differences , Second Language Learning