Factors Affecting L2 Willingness to Communicate in Adolescent EFL learners

Around the world, many studies have investigated Willingness to Communicate (WTC) in language learning. However, few studies have explored adolescent EFL learners’ WTC. This study attempted to investigate what factors affect L2 WTC of 135 Japanese junior high school students through regression analyses of quantitative data. A questionnaire was administered to measure their L2 WTC, communication variables (e.g., task attitudes, L2 motivation) and sociodynamics in L2. Also, the results of English proficiency tests were used to measure their L2 competence. The findings revealed that three enduring communication variables―perceived L2 communicative competence, L1 WTC, and L2 anxiety—predict the participants’ L2 WTC, confirming the previous research results. This suggests how well learners perceive they can communicate in an L2 without feeling anxious is vital in sustaining learners’ L2 WTC. Also, L1WTC, a personality-based predisposition, was found to play an important role in L2 learners’ volitional choice to initiate communication,