The model of willingness to communicate in English based on general trust

The present study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the Willingness to Communicate (WTC) model by examining general trust and other psychological factors such as confidence in a second language and international posture which predict WTC directly by using the reconstructed items of the WTC scale with 74 detailed communication situations, targeting Japanese general population. The reconstructed items outline specific communication scenarios from three angles: whether it was an active or passive interaction, whether the conversation would develop or not, and whether the conversation partner was a native or non-native speaker. As a result of structural equation modeling, general trust indirectly influenced WTC in English. Individuals with higher levels of general trust exhibited greater confidence in second language communication and international posture, leading to higher levels of WTC in English. Furthermore, the examination of various situations involving WTC indicated that, irrespective of the variations in 74 English communication scenarios, general trust had a positive influence on each WTC. This study demonstrated the theoretical contribution of introducing general trust as a distal factor underlying WTC and examined contextual differences across various English communication situations.