To talk or to remain silent? Foreign language enjoyment and perceived classroom climate as drivers of change in Chinese EFL learners’ willingness to communicate: a latent growth curve analysis

Classroom communication helps learners ameliorate their language proficiency, particularly speaking skills. Considering this, factors that bring favorable variations in language learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) need to be identified. To address this need, many SLA researchers have strived to disclose the predictors or antecedents of L2 learners' WTC. However, no researcher has examined the internal and external sources of this variable and the growth of L2 learners' WTC via complexity-informed approaches. To bridge the gaps, using latent growth curve analysis (LGCA), the present study investigated the rate of change in Chinese EFL learners' WTC at the beginning, middle, and the end of the semester and measured the role of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and perceived classroom climate in predicting Chinese EFL learners' WTC. To accomplish this, three self-report scales were administered to 894 EFL learners at three different times. Results indicated that Chinese EFL learners' WTC significantly increased during the semester and uncovered that FLE and perceived classroom climate brought positive and significant variations in Chinese EFL learners' WTC. The findings would be of great help to language teachers, notably English teachers, in raising L2 learners' WTC.