Discussion
One focus of this study was the relationship between self-report of L2 WTC and WTC
behavior in classroom contexts. The mismatch between self-report of WTC and learners’
actual classroom behavior suggests that learners’ WTC behavior in each of the class contexts was influenced both by trait-level and state-level WTC. The self-report questionnaire
was not restricted to instructional settings, but also concerned general willingness to interact with others in other aspects of daily life. AsMacIntyre et al. (1999)point out, trait
WTC may bring an individual into situations in which communication is likely, but once
in a particular situation, in this case classroom interaction, state WTC could influence
whether communication actually takes place. Thus in this sense, state WTC appears to
be observed when a learner actually takes up an opportunity perceived as suitable to communicate within a particular situation. This distinction between trait-like WTC and situational WTC could account for the discrepancy between self-report WTC and WTC class
behavior among the majority of participants in the present study, where group size, interlocutor familiarity and interlocutor participation, among other factors, may have affected
behavior. These results are thus in keeping with the notion of situational WTC, as seen in
other research (Baker and MacIntyre, 2000; Kang, 2005). In particular, Kang proposed