The roles of class social climate, language mindset, and emotions in predicting willingness to communicate in a foreign language

Abstract

Willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language (L2) is of great importance in second language learning. The present study examined L2WTC among 811 Chinese college students learning English as a foreign language. A hypothesized model integrating class social climate, language mindset, academic emotions (i.e., enjoyment, pride, anxiety, and boredom), and L2WTC in and out of class was tested using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The results showed that the effects of class social climate on L2WTC in class were fully mediated by the four academic emotions; and the effects of language mindset on L2WTC in class were fully mediated by enjoyment, pride, and boredom. Unexpectedly, pride was negatively associated with L2WTC in class, and boredom was positively related to L2WTC in class. Moreover, L2WTC inside the classroom and language mindset had direct effects on L2WTC outside of class.