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Iranian EFL Learner's Willingness to Communicate: The Roles of Motivation, Communication Anxiety, Linguistic Self-confidence, and Attitude

Mesbah, Zahra | 2012

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: English
  3. Document No: 43672 (31)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Languages and Linguistics Center
  6. Advisor(s): Alemi, Minoo; Tajeddin, Zia
  7. Abstract:
  8. Willingness to communicate (WTC) has recently received great attention in the area of second language learning. Thus, the concept of willingness to communicate and what would influence the students' willingness to communicate gain importance. The current study employed a hybrid design to probe Iranian students' willingness to communicate. First, self-report questionnaires were administered to 431 language learners to collect quantitative data. Then, interviews were conducted with 41 randomly selected learners who had already completed the questionnaires. Pearson correlation coefficient, one-way ANOVA, independent t-test through SPSS .16 and the Structural Equation Model (SEM) analyses through LISREL 8.2 were applied to examine the interrelations among students’ willingness to communicate in English, their individual difference variables, language learning motivation, communication anxiety, perceived communication competence, and attitude toward the international community in line with each research question. The results indicated individual difference variables such as gender, major, age, and personality types had no effect on students' willingness to communicate; however, significant difference among participants were found with respect to other variables such as proficiency level, length of studying, being abroad and communicating with foreigners. Broadly speaking, students were reported to be somewhat willing to communicate and motivated to learn English, held a positive attitude toward the international community, had approximately low communication apprehension, perceived themselves somewhat competent to communicate in English. The correlation analysis denoted statistically significant relations among all the variables. These learners’ willingness to communicate was found to be directly related to their communication anxiety and self-perceived communication competence. Students’ motivation to learn English and their attitude toward international community were indirectly related to their willingness to communicate. The present study has pedagogical implications for both English language learning and teaching
  9. Keywords:
  10. Motivation ; Willingness to Communicate ; Linguistic Self-Confidence ; Attitude Toward International Community ; Individual Difference Variables

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