Relationship between Willingness to Communicate in English and Classroom Environment

Under a hybrid theoretical perspective involving positive psychology (PosPsy) and ecological paradigm, this research attempts to explore the interrelationship between classroom environment and willingness to communicate (WTC) in English among EFL (English as a foreign language) learners in the normal universities in Shandong province, China. A survey method is used engaging a questionnaire comprised of demographic information and items on classroom environment and L2 WTC. The statistical analysis was conducted based on 128 returned questionnaires. The findings confirmed that the EFL students in Shandong normal universities perceived themselves as having a high level of L2 WTC and classroom environment. What's more, a statistically significant positive relationship that is moderately strong between L2 WTC and classroom environment was found. Moreover, the multiple regression analysis identified that teacher support is the classroom environment dimension that is a statistically significant predictor of L2 WTC. The fitness indexes of the proposed structural model achieved the fitness required for Ratio Chisq/df (Chi-square/ Degrees of Freedom), CFI (Comparative Fit Index), and RMSEA (Root Mean Square of Error Approximation) at an acceptable level. Hence, the proposed structural model was established for this research.