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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Willingness to Communicate in a Foreign Language: Evidence from Those Who Approach and Those Who Avoid L2 Communication

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description

It is still unclear why some learners are willing to communicate in a foreign language while others are disinclined to do so. One of the most promising paths of inquiry in this respect is the study of willingness to communicate (WTC), focusing on the volitional process of initiating, maintaining, and terminating communication. That is the reason why the main purpose of this paper is to investigate the testimonials of Polish students with persistently low or high L2 WTC scores obtained during their 3-year secondary grammar school experience. The qualitative results of the study appear to demonstrate that, independently from the individual’s general predilections towards communication in the native tongue, the basis for one’s willingness to communicate in a foreign language is their affective bias. These results were further confirmed by language anxiety levels, which were very high in the low-WTC students, and very low in the high-WTC ones. Again, it has been confirmed that low levels of WTC are generally connected with passivity, helplessness, and overwhelming fear—precluding any voluntary attempts to initiate communication in L2. On the other hand, high WTC designates language freedom, satisfaction, and security—imprinted in L2 use. Such an attitude allows a student to enjoy a satisfying language experience in spite of perils the foreign language learning process might offer.