Willingness to communicate in English among non-English major Malaysian Undergraduates

Abstract

Current policies to second language teaching (L2) put great emphasis on improving the communicative skills of the learners. Teachers, however, found that some learners avoid L2 communication despite their excellent proficiency level in the target language. The literature on learners' reticence highlights the considerable number of studies available on willingness to communicate (WTC). However, most of the studies were conducted in the contexts that bear little resemblance to a multicultural Malaysia. The present study aimed to explore how interlocutors and contexts contribute to the participants' WTC level. Data were gathered through face-to-face interviews (n = 14). The findings revealed that the participants' WTC fluctuate across interlocutors and contexts. The evidence from the current findings confirms the notion that WTC is a dynamic variable. However, the present data offers an alternative view concerning fluctuation across interlocutors. The paper concludes with pedagogical implications.