A Dynamic System Approach to Willingness to Communicate: Developing an Idiodynamic Method to Capture Rapidly Changing Affect

Willingness to communicate (WTC) can be conceptualized as changing from moment to moment, as opportunities for second-language communication arise. In this study we present an idiodynamic methodology for studying rapid changes in WTC. The methodology consists of recording responses from six young adult, female speakers to second-language communication tasks, their self-ratings of changes in WTC during those tasks, and reporting of their experience and attributions for fluctuations in WTC. The role of stable personal characteristics of the speakers is taken into account, as are observations made by an observer during the respondents’ speech. Conceptualizing WTC as a dynamic system allows for an examination of the variation in WTC over time. The results show both consistency and variation in WTC even among a relatively homogeneous sample of speakers. Searching memory for vocabulary was identified as a key process affecting WTC, though it is argued that other factors (including language anxiety) are also operating to affect WTC. After concluding that WTC can be seen as a dynamic system, limitations of the methodology and future research directions are discussed.