Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the impacts of interaction through social networking (WhatsApp) vs. face to face (FtF) interaction on Iranian intermediate English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) and anxiety. This study employed quasi-experimental design. The initial sample was 100 Iranian EFL learners that studied English at Speaking House institution in Ankara, Turkey. After administering Oxford Placement Test (OPT), 60 EFL learners were selected based on the results of the OPT test for the purpose of the present study in which 22 students were male and 38 were female. Then, language anxiety questionnaire and WTC questionnaire were administered to the participants as the pretest. Next, they were divided into two groups: experimental A group and experimental B group. Experimental A group received instruction in class, and it was the studies' FtF interaction group. Experimental B group received instruction through composing a group in WhatsApp application, and the learners interacted with each other and the teacher in WhatsApp. At the end of the treatment sessions, language anxiety questionnaire and WTC questionnaire were administered again as the posttest. The findings revealed that interaction through social networking developed WTC and decreased anxiety. The findings also revealed that in comparison with FtF interaction, social networking was significantly more effective in developing the EFL students' WTC and reducing their anxiety. Pedagogical implications of the study for the similar contexts under investigation are also discussed.