Is willingness-to-speak more of a context-sensitive nature or personality?

Abstract

A fundamental issue of L2 research is how to boost the students’ willingness to communicate in classroom settings in order to improve their oral performance and thus further enhance the effectiveness of Second Language Teaching (SLT). Nevertheless, most research which has been conducted in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or Study Abroad situations in countries such as Canada, Japan, Korea and China were carried out using quantitative methods. The purpose of this study was to examine affective variables as predictors of second language (L2) use in Turkish by Iranian students whose first language is Persian. This article investigates results and antecedents of willingness to communicate (WTC) employing an exploratory study in a Turkish university. The three subjects of the research completed a questionnaire and took part in a semi-structured interview. The questions aimed at finding if the situational or personality traits enhanced their WTCs and also to provide the answer to the question whether the context of the second language use affects their willingness to speak. The article provides an overview of previous research into WTC and motivation in Iran and Turkey as the context for these three case studies. In this study, six factors, both trait and situational, were identified as having an effect on these students’ WTC in both countries: self-perceived competence; personality; anxiety; motivation and the importance of Turkish; and the learning context. Based on these findings, pedagogical implications for English teaching and learning were also suggested to increase willingness to communicate.

Keywords

• willingness-to-speak, situational and personality trait, context

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