The Relationship Between Willingness To Communicate And Communication Confidence

Abstract

Willingness to communicate (WTC) plays a crucial role in Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach at higher education institutions. However, the willingness to communicate (WTC) among undergraduates in Malaysia is low. This paper aims to identify the relationship between willingness to communicate and communication confidence. This study employed a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire from MacIntyre’s and Weavers’s to collect data from 187 undergraduates. This study employed stratified sampling and systemic random sampling technique. This study used Pearson bivariate correlation to measure correlation analysis. The findings showed that willingness to communicate is positively correlated with communication confidence and self-perceived communication competence. The findings also revealed willingness to communicate is negatively correlated with communication apprehension. This study contributes towards enhancing understanding about willingness to communicate (WTC) and its connections, self-perceived communicative competence and communication apprehension specifically in the field of English Language Teaching in tertiary education in a Malaysian context. This study also suggests that if the effectiveness of English language learning is to be improved, aspects of willingness to communicate and communication confidence should be given special attention.