The Relationship between Speaking Anxiety and Willingness to Communicate among Pre-Service EFL Teachers

Abstract

Limited research on the relationship between pre-service English language teachers' foreign language speaking anxiety and their willingness to communicate, particularly in Turkish context, paved the way for the present inquiry. Considering the utmost importance of the two interrelated concepts, this quantitative study investigates the relationship between speaking anxiety and willingness to communicate within a correlational research design. Eighty-four first-year ELT students from a Turkish university participated in this study. The Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety Scale (FLSAS) and the Willingness to Communicate (WTC) Scale were administered to participants to assess their speaking anxiety and WTC levels. Data collected through two scales were examined by use of quantitative data analyses. The results showed that (1) students had a moderate level of speaking anxiety, while they indicated a high level of WTC, and (2) female learners had a higher level of speaking anxiety than their male peers, in terms of WTC levels, no difference was observed between genders, and (3) speaking anxiety had a significant impact on willingness to communicate and vice versa. The findings of the study are discussed along with the related literature and several implications and suggestions are presented both for practitioners and future studies.