The Relationship Between Foreign Language Learning Anxiety and Willingness to Communicate Among Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners

The aim of this study was to find the relationship between FLLA and WTC among Iranian intermediate EFL learners. Moreover, this study was going to find the role of gender of the participants on the degree of this relationship. In order to achieve this goal, a correlational survey design was employed. The participants of this study were 30 language learners enrolling at intermediate EFL learners of language institutes in Minudasht, Iran. The participants were of both genders (male= 15, female= 15). The participants age ranged from 20 to 25. The researcher used convenience sampling randomly to select the participants. They were asked to fill out self-report questionnaires about the point of foreign language anxiety they contact throughout their English classes and their WTC in EFL contexts. The first questionnaire, Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) developed by Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope, (1986).The second questionnaire, developed by MacIntyre, Baker, Clément and Conrod (2001) was employed to find out how willing the students are in foreign language classrooms. The findings of the analysis showed that there is a significant relationship between FLLA and WTC among intermediate EFL learners. The results of the analysis obtained that the participant s gender had a significant role in predicting the degree of relationship between FLLA and WTC. The results of this study have several implications for the language learners, teachers and teacher trainers.

The Relationship Between Foreign Language Learning Anxiety and Willingness to Communicate Among Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners Keywords:

Foreign Language Learning Anxiety (FLLA) , Anxiety , Willingness to Communicate (WTC)