Conceptualization of L2 WTC
The concept of WTC was introduced in 1987 in a first language (L1) communication study based on the construct of Burgoon’s (1976) ‘Unwillingness to Communicate’. It is defined as ‘a presumed trait-like predisposition toward communication’ when the opportunity is presented (McCroskey & Richmond, 1987, p. 134). McCroskey and Richmond (1987, 1991) proposed several factors thought to affect L1 WTC, including introversion, self-esteem, communication competence, and communication apprehension.
Introducing WTC construct to L2 learning, MacIntyre and his associates believed that L2 WTC was an important construct in L2 acquisition (MacIntyre & Charos, 1996). L2 WTC was described as ‘a readiness to enter into discourse at a particular time with a particular person or persons, using an L2’ (MacIntyre, Clément, Dörnyei, & Noels, 1998, p. 547). L1 WTC is regarded as a trait-like construct that is relatively stable, because it is closely related to one’s personality (McCroskey & Richmond, 1991), L2 WTC is considered as a state construct, because communication in a L2 involves factors other than one’s personality, such as learners’ language proficiency (MacIntyre, Dörnyei, Clément, & Noels, 1998). For instance, we often observe that a person can be quite talkative in one’s own language, but he/she may keep silent in communications using L2 due to his/her limited language proficiency.
In a seminal work, MacIntyre et al. (1998) conceptualized a heuristic model of L2 WTC, in which WTC is described as a highly complex construct and can be influenced by various factors from linguistic, communicative, social, and psychological aspects of learners’ characteristics, such as personality, communicative competence, intergroup climate, social situation, attitudes, motivation, and self-confidence. The heuristic model synthesizes situational, social, and individual variables ‘in an organic manner’ (Dörnyei & Skehan, 2003, p. 621), and has been adopted as a theoretical framework for most of L2 WTC research.