Abstract:

The present study investigated how much the WTC model (MacIntyre, 1989) was capable of providing explanation for the relationship among social-psychological and communication variables in the EFL context. The participants in this study were 45 Iranian engineering students who took TOEFL and then filled out a WTC questionnaire (MacIntyre, 1998). For data analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation and ANOVA were run. The results revealed that university students’ WTC is to function as a trait and it is low not only in the classroom, but also outside since they don’t need to communicate in English for their basic needs. The results also indicate that no relationship exists between any sources of support and any components of orientation. Furthermore, in terms of orientation, the learners showed to have more integrative motivation than instrumental one. Among social support factors, teachers had the main role. Moreover, among all skills, learners were more interested in reading and the reason they are not willing to communicate inside the classes is that they might be afraid of being evaluated; therefore, Language instructors need more authentic L2 communication and foster more friendly relationship with learners.

Keywords:

Willingness to communicate, EFL learners, Engineering students.