The relationship between learners’ academic goal motives and L2 (second language) Willingness to communicate in English language classes: A look at academic goal motives’ orientations

Abstract

The current study examined the relationship between academic goal motives and learners’ second language willingness to communicate in an EFL (English as a foreign language) context. It also investigated the potential orientations of students’ academic goal motives. A sample of 372 Iranian students on BA, MA, and Ph.D.s of teaching, translation, and linguistic and literature degrees at an Iranian university participated in the study. The participants completed two questionnaires investigating their academic goal motives and willingness to communicate in English language classrooms. The correlation analysis showed that academic goal motive was positively correlated with learners’ WTC(willingness to communicate) in English classrooms. Moreover, the findings revealed that students are motivated by both intrinsic (mastery, self-presentation, fake goodness, and self-made duty) and extrinsic (future achievement, family, peer, and the teacher) factors.