Willingness of Omani students to communicate in English: a comparative study of in-person and synchronous online interaction (camera on/off) across gender-composition contexts

This study investigates how various communication modes, online with camera on/off and face-to-face (F2F), impact the willingness to communicate (WTC) in English as a foreign language (EFL). The manner in which online interactions occur, especially with different camera settings (on/off), mainly influences WTC in EFL. A questionnaire was administered to 248 non-native English speakers enrolled in the General Foundation Program at Sohar University and at several vocational colleges in Oman. The analysis revealed that WTC in English in students was the lowest in online environments with cameras on, increased in F2F contexts, and was the highest in online mode with camera off across different scenarios. In addition, the Self-Perceived Communication Competence (SPCC) of participants was lower in camera-on mode than in other modalities. Communication anxiety was slightly higher in face-to-face contexts than in online modes, with small effect sizes across all scenarios ( η 2 p = 0.012–0.020), indicating that communication mode has a limited practical impact on anxiety. The lowest frequency of communication was observed in small groups with mixed-gender contexts, whereas other settings showed a higher frequency of interaction. Gender composition also moderated the willingness of learners to communicate, with same-sex contexts consistently yielding higher engagement than mixed-gender ones, particularly under camera-on conditions. Collectively, these findings indicate that camera-on mode is associated with lower WTC and SPCC levels among EFL learners, whereas communication anxiety was somewhat higher in face-to-face contexts. Educational environments prioritizing choice, privacy, and familiar social dynamics are likely to encourage more confident participation. These insights highlight the significant impact of visual exposure on WTC and have important implications for developing more effective hybrid and online EFL instructional strategies.