How are Learners’ Willingness to Communicate and Their Oral Language Proficiency Related in an EFL Context?

Willingness to communicate (WTC),which is defined as the intention to communicate given a choice, continues to establish itself as a determining construct in bringing about success or failure in language learning (Dӧrnyei, 2005, Peng & Woodrow, 2010). The majority of studies done on the issue are oriented towards ESL contexts. The paucity of studies in EFL contexts caused us to investigate whether WTC and language learners’ oral proficiency were related in an Iranian context. To this end, 70 male and female language learners,as the participants of the study, who werelearning English as a foreign language at a private institute at intermediate level were randomly selected. The WTC questionnaire was given to the participants and a standard speaking test was administered. Also, individual semi-structured interviews with some of the participants were used to obtain supportive data. The results of a correlational analysis revealed that there was a positive and noticeable relationship between learners’ WTC and their oral proficiency. The possible reasons for the correlation are discussed with regard to different motivational, contextual, and attitudinal factors.

Keywords:

Willingness to communicate , EFL/ESL contexts , Individual differences , Speaking proficiency