Impact Of Affective Variables On Non-English Major Postgraduates' Willingness To Communicate In English Class

Since the 1970 s,along with the rise and development of humanistic psychology,English learners' affective states,which can directly have an influence on their learning behaviors and learning outcomes(Arnold,1999),have received more and more attention.MacIntyre(2007)emphasized that the goal of language learning is to master the foreign language knowledge and use them to communicate fluently and smoothly.However,studies have shown that more than 60% of students believe that they have little or no communication with other students or teachers in English class(Shi,2008).Therefore,it is of great significance to research on learners' affective variables and their willingness to communicate in English class.Based on Krashen's Affective Filter Hypothesis,MacIntyre et al.'s and Wen &Clément's modals of willingness to communicate,this study employed questionnaire,classroom observation and semi-structured interview as research instruments to investigate the impact of affective variables on non-English major postgraduates' willingness to communicate(WTC)in English class,aiming to answer the following questions:1.How do non-English major postgraduates perceive their affective states on the four measures(i.e.,motivation,attitude,self-confidence and anxiety)in learning English as a foreign language? And how do students perceive their WTC in English class? 2.To what extent do affective variables correlate to students' WTC in English class? 3.Among the four affective variables investigated,which is the most significant predictor of students' WTC in English class?The data were collected from 162 non-English major postgraduates and analyzed by SPSS25.0 and content analysis.Three major results were established by descriptive,correlation and regression analyses.Firstly,overall,students reported above-average levels of all four affective variables but a below-average score of WTC in class.And among the four investigated affective variables towards learning English,the level ofnon-English major postgraduates' motivation was the highest and the level of self-confidence was the lowest.Secondly,non-English major postgraduates' WTC in English class significantly and positively correlated with motivation,attitude and self-confidence,and negatively correlated with anxiety.The degree of correlation between four affective variables(motivation,attitude,self-confidence and anxiety)and WTC in English class is 0.287,0.403,0.558 and 0.341 respectively.Among them,the correlations between self-confidence and WTC in English class was the highest and the correlations between motivation and WTC in English class ranked the last.Besides,the motivation and attitude,attitude and self-confidence had relatively strong association with each other after detecting the correlations between these four affective variables.Thirdly,by regression analysis,approximately 37.1% of the total variances in EFL WTC in English class could be explained by these four observed affective variables(i.e.,motivation,attitude,self-confidence,and anxiety)and self-confidence was identified as the only predictor of non-English major postgraduates' WTC in English class.In other words,non-English major postgraduates with higher level of self-confidence had higher level of WTC in English class.In addition,this study also analyzed the factors that affect students' self-confidence and WTC in English class and then proposed some suggestions about how to enhance students' self-confidence and WTC in English class.This study provided empirical evidence supporting impact of affective variables on WTC in class,aiming to,on the one hand,advance our understanding of the link between affective variables and EFL WTC,and on the other hand,contribute to improve non-English major postgraduates' English teaching and learning.