Willingness to Communicate, Possible Selves, Learner Autonomy, and Academic Target Needs: Implications for Sustainable Development in L2 Pedagogy

Abstract Life-long learning requires that language learners be well prepared for the target situations they will be operating in. To achieve this goal and to improve education for sustainable development, language teachers and language educators need to motivate language learners to participate in the target language. The present study, therefore, investigated the relationships between willingness to communicate (WTC) and possible selves, WTC and learner autonomy, and WTC and academic target needs in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) context to open up new horizons for sustainable L2 learning. In addition, the present study was aimed at examining the extent to which WTC, possible selves, and learner autonomy would predict academic target needs. Five hundred and ninety male and female undergraduate students from two state-run universities in Iran participated in this study. The present study used four questionnaires to collect the data, and SPSS (version 25) was used to analyze the data. The findings showed a significant positive relationship between WTC and possible selves. Finally, results from hierarchical multiple regression revealed that WTC, possible selves, and learner autonomy were predictors of academic target needs. The findings suggest that the interplay of several variables should be considered if language learners need to actively communicate in L2 academic settings. Implications for sustainable development in L2 pedagogy are also discussed.