L2 Willingness to Communicate, Openness to Experience, Extraversion, and L2 Unwillingness to Communicate: The Iranian EFL Context

• Published in: RELC journal 2017-08, Vol.48 (2), p.241-255
• Main Authors: Khany, Reza, Nejad, Ali Mansouri
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Communication (Thought Transfer); English (Second Language); English as a second language; English as a second language learning; Extraversion Introversion; Foreign Countries; Goodness of Fit; Majors (Students); Measures (Individuals); Motivation; Personality; Personality Measures; Personality Traits; Predictor Variables; Regression (Statistics); Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Statistical Analysis; Structural Equation Models; Undergraduate Students; Willingness to communicate
• ISSN: 0033-6882; 1745-526X
• DOI: 10.1177/0033688216645416

This study examines the relationship between L2 willingness to communicate (L2WTC), L2 unwillingness to communicate (L2UWTC) and the personality traits of openness to experience and extraversion in an Iranian context. The Pearson correlation and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the results from a study with 217 English major students. A model for L2WTC was proposed and examined by employing structural equation modelling (SEM). The results showed that openness to experience and extraversion were the main predictors of L2WTC. The paths from openness to experience and extraversion to L2UWTC were not significant. In addition, a negative path was found from L2UWTC to L2WTC. The proposed model proved to be a good fit to the data collected. The results provided implications for the applicability of the L2WTC model to the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context.