The relationship between second language competence and willingness to communicate: the moderating effect of foreign language anxiety

• Published in: Journal of multilingual and multicultural development Vol. 44; no. 2; pp. 129 - 143
• Main Authors: Zhou, Li, Xi, Yiheng, Lochtman, Katja
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 07.02.2023; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Anxiety; Chinese languages; Classroom Communication; Classrooms; College Students; Communication; Competence; Correlation analysis; English as a second language learning; English Learners; Foreign Countries; foreign language anxiety; Foreign languages; Interpersonal Communication; L2 competence; Language Acquisition; Language Proficiency; Linguistic competence; moderating effect; moderator; Reading Skills; Reading-writing relationship; Second Language Learning; Second language writing; Second Languages; Statistical analysis; Study Abroad; Willingness to communicate; Writing Skills; Belgium; China
• ISSN: 0143-4632; 1747-7557
• DOI: 10.1080/01434632.2020.1801697

The present study aimed to explore the potential moderating effect of foreign language anxiety (FLA) on the relationship between second language (L2) competence and willingness to communicate (WTC) in 129 Chinese study-abroad English learners in Belgium. Descriptive analyses revealed fairly low levels of FLA and high levels of WTC of the participants. Furthermore, correlation analyses confirmed strong links between L2 competence (including overall competence and listening, speaking, reading, and writing competence) and WTC of Chinese study-abroad learners beyond the classroom context. More importantly, hierarchical regression analyses confirmed that FLA moderated the relationships between overall competence and WTC, between reading competence and WTC, and between writing competence and WTC, whereas it did not moderate the relationships between listening competence and WTC, and between speaking competence and WTC.