On the Relationship between Schwartz’s Value Orientation and Willingness to Communicate: The Case of Iranian University Students

Values have always been one of the fundamental concepts in social studies. This is while the reconstruction of our values deeply influences language proficiency and willingness to communicate in a second language. Therefore, the present study attempts to investigate any probable interaction between individuals’ value orientations and their willingness to communicate. To this end and in order to determine the values of the participants, a Persian-translated Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ) was distributed among 500 Iranian university students (296 females and 204 males). Additionally, the same group of participants filled out the Persian modified version of MacIntyre, Baker, Clement, and Conrod’s Willingness to communicate questionnaire (MacIntyre et al, 2001) which was employed to put a figure on the participants’ willingness to communicate in the context of the classroom. The conclusions derived from this study revealed that the existence of a positive relationship between overall WTC and value orientation as well as WTC subcomponents and that of value orientation. Furthermore, the results obtained through stepwise regression analysis indicated that in terms of values, openness to change, self-enhancement, universalism, tradition, and self-direction are better indicators of overall WTC. The findings also indicated that although gender affected participants’ willingness to read and speak in the classroom, it did not have any significant effect on their value orientations. The results of the study can improve the researchers’ comprehension of the nature of the connection among basic human values and willingness to communicate among Iranian university students.