L2 Psychology Constructs and L2 Willingness to Communicate of L2 Learners in a Context of Low Exposure to English

Abstract

Recently, there has been a rapid growth in the number of studies related to emotions and positive psychology constructs in language teaching and learning. However, there is scant research in the context of low exposure to English. Thus, the present study aimed to examine the relationship between Thai EFL secondary school learners’ L2 positive and negative psychology constructs and their L2 Willingness to Communicate (WTC) in the context of low exposure to English. A total of 1,601 Thai EFL secondary school learners completed the questionnaire. The results of several statistical analyses (i.e., path analysis, hierarchical multiple regression, and correlation) indicated that there was a significant inter-correlation among all variables. The findings revealed that the amount of exposure to Extramural English (EE) had the strongest positive correlation with L2 grit and the strongest negative correlation with L2 anxiety. In addition, L2 attention, L2 anxiety, L2 enjoyment, and L2 grit exhibited statistical significance as predictors of L2 WTC when considering limited exposure to English, with intended effort and positive views failing to reach significance. Pedagogically, the findings suggest a shift in instructional approaches to focus on a psychologically informed approach, highlighting the important influence of positive psychology on language learning.