The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Willingness to Communicate among Iranian EFL Learners

Abstract

English has changed into an international language after second world war and over a million people speak into it as their first, second or third language across the world. However, knowing a language is accompanied with speaking skill and the ability to communicate with it. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to find the factors which affect EFL students’ willingness to communicate (WTC). To find the relationships between willingness to communicate and students’ emotional intelligence (EQ- i) two questionnaires were used and 130 intermediate students were selected randomly from 6 language institutes in Saveh. Their level of language proficiency was determined through administering Cambridge Language Proficiency Test (Language, PET) and results of the Person Correlation Test showed a positive relationship between EFL Learners’ WTC and four factors of the EQ-i named: Interpersonal Relationship (IP), Empathy (EM), Assertiveness (AS), and Emotional Self-Awareness (ES) and emotional intelligence.