Determinants of Chinese University Students’ Willingness to Communicate in English: A Structural Equation Model (SEM)
List of Authors
Melissa Ng Lee Yen Abdullah, Rao Fu
Keyword
willingness to communicate, ideal L2 self, English language learning
Abstract
Low willingness to communicate (WTC) in English among Asian students, particularly Chinese students, is known as the mute English phenomenon, where students remain silent during learning. This study aimed to identify the determinants of Chinese students' WTC in English within a classroom context and examine the mediating role of self-perceived communication competence. The sample consisted of 400 Chinese university students taken from five public universities in Shaanxi Province, China. The influence of the ideal L2 self and the classroom environment on WTC as well as the mediating role of self-perceived communication competence were analyzed with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results showed that Chinese university students’ WTC in English was influenced by their ideal L2 self and the classroom environment, with the former exerting a stronger influence. Together, these two factors explained 52.6% of the variance in WTC (R² = 0.526, p < 0.01). The relationships between these variables were significantly mediated by students' self-perceived communication competence. This study offers new insights into the determinants of WTC among Chinese university students, with the implications of these findings discussed in this paper.