The Relationship between Teacher–Student Rapport and Willingness to Communicate among Iraqi EFL Learners: A Mixed-Method Study
Keywords:
teacher–student rapport, willingness to communicate, Iraqi EFL learners, teacher–student relationship, foreign language anxietyAbstract
Creating positive rapport between teachers and students is now considered to be a significant affective component of foreign language acquisition, particularly in a student-centered environment with an oral language focus, where students’ willingness to communicate (WTC) is substantially based on the quality of the relationship between the teacher and students in the classroom. However, little attention has been directed toward the role of rapport in fostering WTC in the context of Iraqi students studying English as a foreign language (EFL), where traditional, teacher-centered methodologies are prevalent. In this mixed methods study, we examined the relationship between rapport and WTC of Iraqi EFL undergraduate students. Quantitative data were obtained with standardized measures of rapport and WTC, while qualitative data were collected from semi-structured interviews and classroom observations to gain insight into how students perceive teachers’ classroom behaviors to influence their willingness to speak. The quantitative analysis demonstrated that students generally had a positive rapport with teachers and a moderate WTC, as well as a strong positive relationship between the two constructs. Qualitatively, the findings corroborated the positive relationship between rapport and WTC by clearly indicating that students’ communicative confidence and willingness to participate are enhanced through teachers demonstrating supportive, empathetic, and encouraging behaviors, especially those that reduce anxiety and fear of negative evaluation. This study emphasizes that the relational and affective dimensions of teaching are crucial to developing WTC in Iraqi EFL classrooms, and proposes directions for future research and pedagogical implications.
Downloads
References
1. MacIntyre PD, Clement R, Dornyei Z, Noels KA. Conceptualizing Willingness to Communicate in a L2: A Situational Model of L2 Confidence and Affiliation. The Modern Language Journal. 1998;82(4):545-62. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4781.1998.tb05543.x.
2. MacIntyre PD. Willingness to Communicate in the Second Language: Understanding the Decision to Speak as a Volitional Process. The Modern Language Journal. 2007;91(4):564-76. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00623.x.
3. Yashima T. Willingness to Communicate in a Second Language: The Japanese EFL Context. The Modern Language Journal. 2002;86(1):54-66. doi: 10.1111/1540-4781.00136.
4. Peng JE, Woodrow L. Willingness to Communicate in English: A Model in the Chinese EFL Classroom Context. Language Learning. 2010;60(4):834-76. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9922.2010.00576.x.
5. Cao Y. Investigating Situational Willingness to Communicate within Second Language Classrooms from an Ecological Perspective. System. 2011;39(4):468-79. doi: 10.1016/j.system.2011.10.016.
6. Ghonsooly B, Khajavy GH, Asadpour SF. Willingness to Communicate in English Among Iranian Non-English Major University Students. Journal of Language and Social Psychology. 2012;31(2):197-211. doi: 10.1177/0261927X12438538.
7. Frisby BN, Martin MM. Instructor-Student and Student-Student Rapport in the Classroom. Communication Education. 2010;59(2):146-64. doi: 10.1080/03634520903564362.
8. Cornelius-White J. Learner-Centered Teacher-Student Relationships Are Effective: A Meta-Analysis. Review of Educational Research. 2007;77(1):113-43. doi: 10.3102/003465430298563.
9. Buskist W, Benassi VA, Wilson J, Ryan R. Developing Student-Teacher Rapport in the Undergraduate Classroom. Developing Student-Teacher Rapport in the Undergraduate Classroom: SAGE Publications, Inc.; 2012. p. 81-90.
10. Caballero J. The Effects of the Teacher-Student Relationship, Teacher Expectancy, and Culturally-Relevant Pedagogy on Student Academic Achievement: University of Redlands; 2010.
11. Zarrinabadi N. Communicating in a Second Language: Investigating the Effect of Teacher on Learners’ Willingness to Communicate. System. 2014;42(1):288-95. doi: 10.1016/j.system.2013.12.014.
12. Khajavy GH, Ghonsooly B, Hosseini A, Choi CW. Willingness to Communicate in English: A Microsystem Model in the Iranian EFL Classroom Context. TESOL Quarterly. 2016;50(1):154-80. doi: 10.1002/tesq.204.
13. Zhang Q. Immediacy, Humor, Power Distance and Classroom Communication Apprehension in Chinese College Classrooms. Communication Quarterly. 2005;53(1):109-24. doi: 10.1080/01463370500056150.
14. Zhang Q, Oetzel JG. Constructing and Validating a Teacher Immediacy Scale: A Chinese Perspective. Communication Education. 2006;55(2):218-41. doi: 10.1080/03634520600566231.
15. Khajavy GH, MacIntyre PD, Barabadi E. Role of the Emotions and Classroom Environment in Willingness to Communicate: Applying Doubly Latent Multilevel Analysis in Second Language Acquisition Research. Studies in Second Language Acquisition. 2018;40(3):605-24. doi: 10.1017/S0272263117000304.
16. Wang L. Correlation Between Teacher-Student Communication and Emotional Intelligence of Primary School Students Based on Positive Psychology. SHS Web of Conferences. 2023;180:04008. doi: 10.1051/shsconf/202318004008.
17. Hosseini SA, Mohammadi F. The relationship between the quality of teacher-student communication and teachers' self-efficacy. Quarterly Journal of Educational Psychology. 2023;20(1):45-68.
18. Xiao J, Chen M, Yang Y, Liu M. An exploratory multimodal study of the roles of teacher-student interaction and emotion in academic performance in online classrooms. Education and Information Technologies. 2025:1-21. doi: 10.1007/s10639-025-13426-7.
19. Guo H. The SNS-mediated Communication Modes and Teacher-Student Relationships in Internet Era: Undergraduates’ Perceptions From Four Chinese Universities. 2022. doi: 10.2991/assehr.k.220107.033.
20. Khaleghi Yeleh Gombadi M, Ghayourpour S, Sheikhverdipour A, Ghazi Pour S, editors. The impact of project-based learning, teacher-student interaction, and teacher creativity on improving students' academic performance and sustainable learning2025.
21. Najafi R, Sedaqat M, Hosseini SZ, Rahi Maleki A, editors. Creativity in teacher-student interaction: Innovative strategies for more engaging and effective learning2025.
22. Liu L. Innovation of teacher-student interaction patterns in the context of cultural and creative teaching. Frontiers in Art Research. 2024;6(1). doi: 10.25236/FAR.2024.060119.
23. Fu Z. A Contrastive Study of Teacher-Student Interaction Patterns in Spanish Classrooms Between Chinese and Spanish Universities-An Empirical Analysis Based on the University of Alcalá and Fujian Normal University. The Educational Review, USA. 2025;9(4). doi: 10.1080/11356405.2016.1237339.
24. Valinejad H, Hanafi AB, Eskandarli R, Shahraki Ghayoor F, Khorramshad Z, editors. The impact of teacher-student interaction on fostering creativity in learning environments: A systematic review2025.
25. Olsson J, Granberg C. Teacher-student interaction supporting students' creative mathematical reasoning during problem solving using Scratch. Mathematical Thinking and Learning. 2024;26(3):278-305. doi: 10.1080/10986065.2022.2105567.
Downloads
Published
Submitted
Revised
Accepted
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mohammad Afzali Shahri; Mahmood Salimi (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
