Emotional Factors in L2 Communication: Enjoyment, Anxiety, and Willingness to Communicate in English Among Saudi ESL Learners

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the way in which willingness to communicate (WTC) in English is impacted by affective variables—specifically foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language anxiety (FLA)— among Saudi university students. While research in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) has been concerned mainly with negative emotional factors, recent studies have increasingly acknowledged the role of positive emotions, such as enjoyment, as significant variables. However, limited work has explored how enjoyment and anxiety jointly affect WTC in educational settings such as Saudi Arabia, where classroom practices and sociocultural norms often restrict communicative opportunities in English. The study investigates how FLE and FLA predict WTC, and whether gender, self-rated proficiency, and years of English study moderate these relationships. To address these questions, a quantitative, cross-sectional approach was used in the study. An online questionnaire was employed to collect the data from 204 Saudi undergraduates enrolled in three public universities. The survey included validated scales for FLE, FLA, and WTC, alongside demographic measures. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, multiple regression, and moderation analyses, conducted using R. Findings revealed that learners reported high levels of FLE and WTC, but moderate and varied FLA. The results of the correlation and regression analyses indicated that foreign language enjoyment was a strong positive predictor of willingness to communicate, whereas foreign language anxiety exerted only a weak and marginally significant negative influence. Gender had a small direct effect, with male students reporting slightly higher WTC, but it did not significantly moderate the influence of enjoyment or anxiety. Years of English study strengthened the link between enjoyment and WTC, while proficiency had no moderating effect. The study concludes that fostering enjoyment in language classrooms is more effective for promoting communicative confidence than solely reducing anxiety. These findings contribute to affect-oriented SLA research and have practical implications for Saudi EFL pedagogy, highlighting the importance of supportive, engaging classroom environments that prioritize learners’ emotional well-being alongside linguistic competence.