Big Five personality traits and willingness to communicate among foreign language learners in Turkey

In this study I investigated the relationship between personality traits and willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language (L2 WTC). Participants were 168 university students majoring in English as a foreign language at a major state university in Ankara, Turkey. Data were collected using the International Personality Item Pool and the Willingness to Communicate Scale. I found that 20% of participants had high L2 WTC, 66% moderate L2 WTC, and 14% low L2 WTC. The Big Five factors of extraversion, agreeableness, and openness to experience were significant in predicting and setting the psychological context for WTC in English. There was also a positive correlation between participants’ academic achievement and L2 WTC. I concluded that the interaction of the Big Five personality traits may greatly contribute to the production and promotion of WTC in learning a second or foreign language.