The Predicators of Students´ Willingness to Communicate in Foreign Languages: State-of-the-Art Review

The concept of willingness to communicate in a foreign language classroom describes the readiness to enter foreign language communication at a particular time with a specific person or persons using a foreign language influenced by situation-specific circumstances and individual variables. This state-of-the-art review deals with outcomes of eleven selected studies in the period 1999-2018 based on a computerized database search in the Web of Science database. The selected studies focus on the relationship between willingness to communicate and (a) context and (b) individual variables like foreign language anxiety and motivation. The review presents samples, instruments, and outcomes of each study. Based on the literature review it is possible to assume that the role of the students motivation plays a more significant role concerning willingness to communicate than foreign language anxiety. The article attempts to answer the question whether it is the fear of speaking a foreign language or motivation that is more significant for students willingness to communicate.