Willingness to Communicate in English Among Iranian Non–English Major University Students

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to examine willingness to communicate in the second language (L2WTC) construct and its underlying variables among non–English major students in Iran. The study used WTC and socioeducational models for examining L2 communication and L2 learning. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and t test were used with a sample of 158 non–English major university students. An L2 communication model was also proposed and tested using structural equation modeling. The results showed that L2 self-confidence and attitudes toward international community were two predictors of L2WTC in Iranian context. The paths from motivation to L2WTC and openness to experience to L2 self confidence were not significant and thus were deleted. The model shows a good fit to the data, which indicates the potential for using the L2WTC construct for English as a foreign language context.