A SEM Analysis of Motivational Intensity, Enjoyment, Boredom, and Willingness to Communicate among Iranian EFL Learners

Motivational intensity and enjoyment are considered two incentives that boost Willingness to Communicate, while boredom diminishes it. However, going through the existing literature, almost no studies have ever explored these interrelationships among the four variables -Boredom, Willingness to Communicate, Enjoyment, and Motivational intensity- in the Iranian setting. To address this gap, 300 high-schoolers between the ages 11 and 19 took part in the study. From among this number, 83 were beginners, 107 were intermediates, and 110 were advanced learners based on the results obtained from OPT (Oxford Placement Test). All the participants were surveyed using questionnaires administered via Google Docs. The study used Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to interpret these statistics, revealing mediation effects and showing direct and total effects between motivational intensity, enjoyment, boredom, and Willingness to Communicate. Statistics confirmed that boredom had a notable direct impact on Willingness to Communicate, though its indirect effect through enjoyment was insignificant. In contrast, motivational intensity positively influenced Willingness to Communicate through both direct and indirect pathways. The study suggests that boosting motivation and enjoyment in the second-language classrooms would dramatically enhance the learners’ WTC in both formal and informal settings. Teachers should be initiative and creative in designing fascinating and new classroom tasks, transform the class into a lively environment in which all students are actively involved in the interesting classroom activities in a relaxed manner, and promote a friendly and humorous group-work atmosphere so that classroom becomes a welcoming space where students learn without boredom or anxiety.