A Visualization Analysis of Research on Foreign Language Willingness to Communicate

Willingness to communicate (WTC) in oral communication is one of the key factors influencing learners' spoken language production and has attracted widespread attention in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) since the mid-1990s. To systematically examine the development, research hotspots, and emerging trends in international research on second language (L2) WTC, this study employs CiteSpace 6.4.R1 to conduct a visual analysis of 166 publications retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection for the period 2008–2026. After data processing in CiteSpace, 165 publications were retained for analysis. The analysis focuses on annual publication trends, collaboration networks among countries and institutions, highly cited publications, and keyword co-occurrence and clustering. The results show that the overall number of publications in this field has increased, with growth accelerating after 2022. Three domains stand out as the major research hotspots: emotions and affect, motivation, and individual differences. Beyond these established lines of inquiry, topics concerning artificial intelligence (AI) and technology-mediated communication have attracted increasing attention. Through keyword clustering and burst detection, emotion and technology are identified as important research directions in this field, and the research contexts have gradually expanded toward digital and AI-mediated environments. The present study helps elucidate the knowledge structure and developmental trends of international research on L2 WTC, while offering insights for L2 speaking instruction and future empirical research in China.