An Exploration into the Relationship between EFL Learners' Self-regulation and Willingness to Communicate

Abstract

This study investigated the association between Willingness to Communicate (WTC) and Self-Regulation (SR) among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. In order to fulfill this purpose, male and female EFL learners ( n = 520), between the ages of 19 and 34 ( M age = 26), majoring in English Language Teaching, English Translation, and English Literature at Islamic Azad University, Fars Province, were selected via random selection. These participants were asked to fill in two questionnaires: WTC Scale developed by McCroskey and Baer (1985) and SR Questionnaire developed by Brown, Miller, and Lawendowski (1999). The collected data were initially checked as to meeting the assumptions of normality, linearity, and homoscedasticity. Owing to the violation of the assumptions of linear correlation, Spearman's rank-order correlation was utilized to examine the way SR and WTC are associated. The analysis outcomes suggested a significant direct correlation between SR and WTC, ρ = .56, n = 520, p < .05, standing for a large effect size and a very small confidence interval. In addition, running a Kruskal-Wallis test revealed that there exists a statistically significant difference in WTC scores based on the level of SR, divided into three categories through employing the SD, χ 2 (2) = 157.843, p = 0.000. Subsequently, a post-hoc comparison using the Dwass-Steel-Critchlow-Fligner test reflected significant differences among the three groups on WTC scores. The study concludes with a discussion on the results and making a number of suggestions for further research.