Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 MA in ELT, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, Iran

2 Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics, English Department, Faculty of Humanities, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, Iran

3 PhD in Educational Psychology, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Given the key role communication plays in L2 learning, studies addressing students’ (un)willingness to communicate (WTC) and factors contributing to it are of pedagogical and theoretical relevance. Although studies on Iranian students’ WTC and its relationship with different variables are available, no research has been conducted on how Kuhl’s (1994) Action Control (AC) theory—proposed to carry explanatory potential regarding WTC—relates to it or its pertinent variables. The current study aims at investigating the predictive power of three variables (preoccupation, hesitation, and volatility) underpinning Kuhl’s AC theory and two high-evidence key factors (perceived competence and communication apprehension) vis-à-vis Iranian English students’ WTC in class. To collect data, Willingness to Communicate in L2 Questionnaire, Perceived Competence Questionnaire, Communication Apprehension Scale, Preoccupation, Hesitation, and Volatility Scales were given to four hundred and fourteen English students. Structural Equation Modeling was utilized to analyze the data and test the hypothesized model. Findings indicated that volatility, an AC variable, coupled with perceived competence and communication apprehension are significant predictors of students’ WTC. Results also suggested that hesitation and preoccupation predict WTC indirectly. Findings are used to maintain that Kuhl’s AC theory can help with explaining WTC with reference to a new argument, i.e. state and action orientation. The paper ends with pedagogical suggestions.  

Keywords

Main Subjects

Article Title [Persian]

اشتیاق به برقراری ارتباط و کنترل عملکرد در دانشجویان زبان انگلیسی در ایران

Authors [Persian]

  • پریسا رجبی 1
  • دکتر فرهاد مظلوم 2
  • دکتر مهدی دستا 3

1 کارشناس ارشد آموزش زبان انگلیسی، دانشگاه مراغه، مراغه، ایران

2 استادیار آموزش زبان انگلیسی، گروه زبان انگلیسی، دانشکده علوم انسانی، دانشگاه مراغه، مراغه، ایران

3 دکتری روانشناسی تربیتی، گروه روانشناسی تربیتی، دانشکده روانشناسی، دانشگاه شهید بهشتی، تهران، ایران

Abstract [Persian]

برقراری ارتباط یکی از عناصر کلیدی یادگیری زبان دوم می­باشد. از این روی، پژوهش­هایی که به موضوع اشتیاق برای برقراری ارتباط می­ پردازند و یا عوامل موثر بر آن را واکاوی می­کنند دارای اهمیت نظری و آموزشی می­باشند. هدف از این پژوهش بررسی تاثیر سه عنصر تشکیل دهنده نظریه کنترل عملکرد کوهل (درگیری ذهنی، تردید و بی­ ثباتی) و دو عامل توانش درک شده و اضطراب ارتباط بر اشتیاق برای برقراری ارتباط بین دانشجویان زبان انگلیسی در ایران است. برای گردآوری داده از 5 ابزار استفاده شد: پرسشنامه های اشتیاق برای برقراری ارتباط در زبان دوم، توانش درک شده، اضطراب ارتباط، درگیری ذهنی، تردید و بی­ ثباتی. چهارصد و چهارده دانشجوی زبان انگلیسی به پرسشنامه­ ها پاسخ دادند. برای تحلیل داده ­ها، از مدل معادلات ساختاری استفاده شد. یافته­ ها حاکی از آن است که توانش درک شده، اضطراب ارتباط و بی­ ثباتی به شکل مستقیم بر اشتیاق برای برقراری ارتباط تاثیر دارند ولی این تاثیر برای اولی مثبت و برای دو مورد دوم منفی می­باشد. نتایج همچنین نشان می­دهد تاثیر تردید و درگیری ذهنی بر اشتیاق برای برقراری ارتباط غیر مستقیم است. در پایان، یافته­ ها مورد بحث و بررسی قرار گرفت و ره­آوردهای نظری و آموزشی ارایه ­گردید.

Keywords [Persian]

  • اشتیاق برای برقراری ارتباط
  • درگیری ذهنی
  • تردید
  • بی‌ثباتی
  • توانش درک شده و اضطراب ارتباط
Alemi, M., Tajeddin, Z., & Mesbah, Z. (2013). Willingness to communicate in L2 English: Impact of learner variables. Research in Applied Linguistics, 4(1), 42–61.
Allahyar, N. (2021). What does students’ willingness to communicate or reticence signify to teachers? In N. Zarrinabadi & M. Pawlak (Eds.), New perspectives on willingness to communicate in a second language, Second Language Learning and Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67634-6_5.
Altiner, C. (2017). Willingness to communicate in English in the Turkish EFL classroom context. [Unpublished PhD dissertation]. Hacettepe University, Ankara.
Amirian, Z., Karamifar, Z., & Youhanaee, M. (2020). Structural equation modeling of EFL learners' willingness to communicate and their cognitive and personality traits. Applied Research on English Language9(1), 103-136. https://doi.org/10.22108/are.2019.116248.1451 
Baker, S. C., & Macintyre, P. D. (2000). The role of gender and immersion in communication and second language orientations. Language Learning, 50, 311–341. https://doi.org/10.1111/0023- 8333.00119
Baran-Łucarz, M. (2021). The mediating effect of culture on the relationship between FL self-assessment and L2 willingness to communicate: The Polish and Italian EFL context. In N. Zarrinabadi & M. Pawlak (Eds.), New perspectives on willingness to communicate in a second language (pp. 85-117). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67634-6_5.
Barry, E., Chaney, B., Piazza-Gardner, K., & Chavarria, A. (2014). Validity and reliability reporting practices in the field of health education and behavior: A review of seven journals. Health Education & Behavior, 41(1), 12-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1090198113483139 
Cao, Y. (2011). Investigating situational willingness to communicate within second language classroom from an ecological perspective. System, 39, 468–479. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2011.10.016 
Cao, Y., & Philp, J. (2006). Interactional context and willingness to communicate: A comparison of behaviour in whole class, group and dyadic interaction. System, 34(4), 480–493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2006.05.002 
Clément, R., Baker, S. C., & Macintyre, P. D. (2003). Willingness to communicate in a second language the effects of context, norms, and vitality. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 22(2), 190–209. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X03022002003
de Saint Léger, D., & Storch, N. (2009). Learners’ perceptions and attitudes: Implications for willingness to communicate in an L2 classroom. System, 37(2), 269–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2009.01.001
Donovan, L. A., & Macintyre, P. D. (2004). Age and sex differences in willingness to communicate, communication apprehension, and self-perceived competence. Communication Research Reports, 21(4), 420–427. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824090409360006
Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Lawrence Erlbaum.
Friederichs, K. M., Kees, M. C., & Baumann, N. (2020). When tough gets you going: Action orientation unfolds with difficult intentions and can be fostered by mental contrasting. Personality and Individual Differences, 161, Article 109970. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.109970
Fushino, K. (2010). Casual relationships between communication confidence, beliefs about group work, and willingness to communicate in foreign language group work. TESOL Quarterly, 44(4), 700–724. http://dx.doi.org/10.5054/tq.2010.235993 
Ghonsooly, B., Khajavy, G. H., & Asadpour, S. F. (2012). Willingness to communicate in English among Iranian non-English major university students. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 31(2), 197–211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0261927X12438538 
Halupka-Rešetar, S., Kneževi´c. L., & Topalov, J. (2018). Revisiting willingness to communicate in English as a foreign language: The Serbian perspective. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 39(10), 912–924. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2018.1454456 
Hashimoto, Y. (2002). Motivation and willingness to communicate as predictors of reported L2 use: The Japanese ESL context. Second Language Studies, 20(2), 29–70.
Henry, A., Thorsen, C., & Macintyre, P. D. (2021). Willingness to communicate in a multilingual context: part one, a time-serial study of developmental dynamics. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2021.1931248 
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125–132. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1986.tb05256.x.
Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6, 1-55.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
Jamarillo, F., Locander, W. B., Spector, P. E., Harris, E. G. (2007). Getting the job done: the moderating role of initiative on the relationship between intrinsic motivation and adaptive selling. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management 27, 59-74. http://dx.doi.org/10.2753/PSS0885-3134270104 
Joe, H. K., Hiver, P., & Al-Hoorie, A. H. (2017). Classroom social climate, self-determined motivation, willingness to communicate, and achievement: A study of structural relationships in instructed second language settings. Learning and Individual Differences, 53, 133–144.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.11.005 
Kang, S. J. (2005). Dynamic emergence of situational willingness to communicate in a second language. System, 33, 277–292. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2004.10.004 
Kemper, C. J., Leue, A., Wacker, J., Chavanon, M. L., Hennighausen, E., & Stemmler, G. (2008). Agentic extraversion as a predictor of effort-related cardiovascular response. Biological Psychology, 78(2), 191–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2008.02.009
Koole, S. L., Jostmann, N. B., & Baumann, N. (2012). Do demanding conditions help or hurt self-regulation? Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 6(4), 328–346. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2012.00425.x.
Kuhl, J., (1994). A theory of action and state orientations. In J. Kuhl, J. Beckmann (Eds.), Volition and Personality, (pp. 9-46). Gottingen.
Lee, J. H. (2018). The effects of short-term study abroad on L2 anxiety, international posture, and L2 willingness to communicate. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 39(8), 703–714. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2018.1435666 
Liu, M., & Jackson, J. (2008). An exploration of Chinese EFL learners’ unwillingness to communicate and foreign language anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 92(1),71–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2008.00687.x 
Liu, N. F., & Littlewood, W. (1997). Why do many students appear reluctant to participate in classroom learning discourse? System, 25, 371–384. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0346-251X(97)00029-8 
Lockley, T. (2013). Exploring self-perceived communication competence in foreign language learning. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 3(2), 187–212. http://dx.doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2013.3.2.3 
Macintyre, P. D. (1994). Variables underlying willingness to communicate: A causal analysis. Communication Research Reports, 11(2), 135–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824099409359951 
Macintyre, P. D. (2007). Willingness to communicate in the second language: Understanding the decision to speak as a volitional process. The Modern Language Journal, 91(4), 564–576. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00623.x 
Macintyre, P. D. (2020). Expanding the theoretical base for the dynamics of willingness to communicate. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 10 (1), 111–131. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2020.10.1.6
Macintyre, P. D., & Charos, C. (1996). Personality, attitudes, and affect as predictors of second language communication. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 15, 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X960151001 
Macintyre, P. D., Clément, R., Dörnyei, Z., & Noels, K. A. (1998). Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in a L2: a situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation. The Modern Language Journal, 82(4), 545–562. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1998.tb05543.x 
Macintyre, P. D., Baker, S., Clément, R., & Conrod, S. (2001). Willingness to communicate, social support, and language-learning orientations of immersion students. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23(3), 369–388. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263101003035.
Macintyre, P. D., Baker, S. C., Clément, R., & Donovan, L. A. (2003). Sex and age effects on willingness to communicate, anxiety, perceived competence, and L2 motivation among junior high school French immersion students. Language Learning, 53, 137–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-9922.00194 
Macintyre, P. D., & Doucette, J. (2010). Willingness to communicate and action control. System, 38, 161–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2009.12.013 
Macintyre, P. D., & Legatto, J. J. (2011). A dynamic system approach to willingness to communicate: Developing an idiodynamic method to capture rapidly changing affect. Applied Linguistics, 32(2), 149–171. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/applin/amq037 
Macintyre, P. D., & Blackie, R. A. (2012). Action control, motivated strategies, and integrative motivation as predictors of language learning affect and the intention to continue learning French. System, 36, 533–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2012.10.014 
Macintyre, P. D., & Wang, L. (2021). Willingness to communicate in the L2 about meaningful photos: Application of the pyramid model of WTC. Language Teaching Research25(6), 878-898. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688211004645
McCroskey, J. C., & McCroskey, L. L. (1988). Self-report as an approach to measuring communication competence. Communication Research Reports, 5, 108–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824098809359810 
McCroskey, J. C., Richmond, V. P. (1991). Willingness to communicate: differing cultural perspectives. The Southern Communication Journal, 56, 72-77. https://doi.org/10.1080/10417949009372817 
Mercer, S. (2011). Language learner self-concept: Complexity, continuity & change. System, 39(3), 335–346. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2011.07.006 
Mystkowska-Wiertelak, A. (2018). Fluctuations in willingness to communicate during a semester: A case study. The Language Learning Journal. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2018.1469660
Mystkowska-Wiertelak, A., & Pawlak, M. (2017). Willingness to communicate in instructed second language acquisition: A micro and macro perspective. Clevedon. Multilingual Matters.
Nematizadeh, Sh., & Wood, D. (2021). Second language willingness to communicate as a complex dynamic system. In N. Zarrinabadi & M. Pawlak (Eds.), New perspectives on willingness to communicate in a second language (pp. 7-23). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67634-6_5.
Öz, H., Demirezen, M., & Pourfeiz, J. (2015). Willingness to communicate of EFL learners in Turkish context. Learning and Individual Differences, 37, 269–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lin dif.2014.12.009
Parks-Stamm, E. J., Gollwitzer, P. M., & Oettingen, G. (2007). Action control by implementations: effective cue detection and efficient response initiation. Social Cognition, 25(2), 248-266. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1521/soco.2007.25.2.248 
Peng, J. E. (2007). Willingness to communicate in an L2 and integrative motivation among college students in an intensive English language program in China. University of Sydney Papers in TESOL, 2(1), 33–59.
Peng, J. E. (2014). Willingness to communicate in the Chinese EFL university classroom: An ecological perspective. Multilingual Matters.
Peng, J. E., & Woodrow, L. (2010). Willingness to communicate in English: A model in the Chinese EFL classroom context. Language Learning, 60(4), 834–876. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467- 9922.2010.00576.x
Piechurska-Kuciel, E. (2021). Positive predictive value of extraversion in diagnosing L2 WTC. In N. Zarrinabadi & M. Pawlak (Eds.), New perspectives on willingness to communicate in a second language, Second Language Learning and Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67634-6_5.
Sheybani, M. (2019). The relationship between EFL Learners’ Willingness to Communicate (WTC) and their teacher immediacy attributes: A structural equation modelling. Cogent Psychology, 6, 1–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2019.1607051 
Shi, D., Lee, T., & Maydeu-Olivares, A. (2018). Understanding the model size effect on SEM fit indices. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 79, 310–334. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164418783530 
Shirvan, M. E., Khajavy, G. H., Macintyre, P. D., & Taherian, T. (2019). A meta-analysis of L2 willingness to communicate and its three high-evidence correlates. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 48, 1241–1267 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10936-019-09656-9
Teven J., Richmond, V. P., McCroskey, J. C., & McCroskey, L. L. (2010). Updating relationships between communication traits and communication competence. Communication Research Reports, 27, 263–270.
Yashima, T. (2002). Willingness to communicate in a second language: The Japanese EFL context. The Modern Language Journal, 86, 54–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1540-4781.00136 
Yashima, T., Zenuk-Nishide, L., & Shimizu, K. (2004). The influence of attitudes and affect on willingness to communicate and second language communication. Language Learning, 54(1), 119–152. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2004.00250.x 
Zarei, N., Saeidi, M., & Ahangari, S. (2019). Exploring EFL Teachers’ Socioaffective and Pedagogic Strategies and Students’ Willingness to Communicate with a Focus on Iranian Culture. Education Research International, 2019, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/3464163 
Zhang, J., Beckmann, N., & Beckmann, J. S. (2018). To talk or not to talk: A review of situational antecedents of willingness to communicate in the second language classroom. System, 72(1), 226–239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.01.003.