The influence of psychological network on the willingness to communicate in a second language.

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of the psychological network on the willingness to communicate in English among Japanese people. Previous studies have shown that psychological factors affect the willingness to communicate in English for Japanese people. However, the network structure of psychological factors and their effects have not been revealed yet. The present study conducted a network analysis with 644 Japanese people. Consequently, the edge between perceived communication competence and the willingness to communicate in the first or second language was very strong. Node centrality strength showed that these factors were central in the network structure. The results of the network analysis show the effect of psychological networks on the willingness to communicate in a second language, which will be beneficial for language education.