| This study investigated the differences in willingness to communicate (WTC) between Americans and Chinese in China and in the United States, and the factors that contributed to WTC differences. A battery of questionnaires was administered to 47 Americans and 54 Chinese at universities in Beijing and Chengdu, China, and 51 Americans and 42 Chinese at the University of Wyoming (UW) in America.; Overall immersion experiences were found to have positive effects on WTC. In addition, Americans were more willing to communicate cross-culturally than Chinese. 53.9% of the variance in Americans' WTC and 64.8% of variance in Chinese' WTC were explained by the combination all independent variables. SPCC and CA were the most significant variables that contributed to WTC in Americans, while SPCC and motivation affected WTC of Chinese most significantly. Among Chinese, SPCC and perception of others' language competence were found to be positively related to WTC, while CA, cultural expectation, self-perceived language competence, and motivation were negatively related to WTC. Among Americans, SPCC was positively related to WTC, while motivation, perception of others' language competence, and CA were negatively related to WTC. Lastly, the longer participants stay in a different culture, the more they are willing to communicate cross-culturally. Moreover, participants are more willing to communicate when they get older. The implications of these findings were further discussed. |
