On the Relationship between Willingness to Communicate and Decultuartion

Abstract

Language learning issues coupled with cultural concerns have been the focus of language researchers within the last decades. This study makes an innovative attempt to scrutinize a new concept in cultural issues, i.e. deculturation. Hence, the relationship between willingness to communicate (WTC), one of the most controversial issues in language learning circles, and deculturation was the matter of research in this study. As far as the sample of current study was concerned, 50 upper- intermediate female English students were selected from among 80 participants from Radmehr English Language Centre in Shariar, Iran. The data was collected by means of two kinds of questionnaires, a Home Culture Attachment Scale (HCAS) and Willingness to Communicate (WTC) questionnaire. The results of the study revealed that there were meaningful relationships between the underlying constructs of the deculturation questionnaire (consisting constructs such as Religious, Iranian, Cultural, Artistic and Western Attachments) and WTC.  One of the correlations demonstrated that Deculturation applied mostly for those who were willing to communicate inside the classroom. The implications of this study will best suit language practitioners and language policy makers.