Exploring willingness to communicate vis-à-vis learner talk in an EAP classroom: An observation-assisted repeated Q methodology study

Abstract

Extensive scholarship has investigated willingness to communicate (WTC) concerning its intensity, antecedents, and correlations with other learner variables. Yet, empirical research into the dynamic interplay of factors through which WTC translates into talk, and the relative salience of such factors in the interactions, remains underexplored. To address this gap, the present study examines how English for Academic Purposes (EAP) students translate WTC into classroom talk within a pre-sessional English course, targeting the combined effects and relative strength of factors underlying their WTC–talk interface. Methodological triangulation integrated two rounds of Q methodology (n = 38), semi-structured interviews conducted at two timepoints, and one round of classroom observations. This repeated mixed-methods design revealed two profiles which remain largely consistent across both timepoints: 1) Internally driven and externally aided communicators (Profile 1, n = 23), and 2) Internally restrained and externally reliant communicators (Profile 2, n = 8). Two learner groups consistently identified with these two distinct profiles, and a third group (n = 7) transitioned between them. The findings empirically substantiate that factors are neither indiscriminately activated nor equally impactful across different communicative moments and scenarios. By illuminating salient factors and their interactional patterns underlying students’ WTC–talk processes, the study highlights between-group stability, within-learner stability and variability, thereby yielding context- and agent-contingent, pedagogically actionable implications.