The academic paper titled "Impostor Phenomenon and L2 Willingness to Communicate: Testing Communication Anxiety and Perceived L2 Competence as Mediators" investigates the relationship between the Impostor Phenomenon (IP) and the willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language (L2) context. The primary focus is on examining whether communication anxiety and perceived L2 competence mediate the relationship between IP and WTC among Iranian adult L2 learners.
The purpose of the study is to extend existing knowledge on the impact of IP in the educational domain, particularly in the context of L2 acquisition. The study aims to determine how self-perceptions of intellectual fraudulence, as described by IP, affect learners' willingness to engage in communication in a second language, considering the mediating effects of communication anxiety and perceived competence.
The methodology involves a sample of 400 adult Iranian L2 learners, predominantly BA students, who participated in the study through online self-report questionnaires. The study used validated scales to measure IP, WTC, communication anxiety, and perceived L2 competence. The data were analyzed using regression and mediation analysis to explore the direct and indirect relationships between the variables.
Key findings indicate that IP is negatively associated with WTC, though the direct effect is small. The study found that this relationship is fully mediated by perceived L2 competence, meaning that higher levels of IP lead to lower self-perceived competence, which in turn reduces willingness to communicate in L2. The mediating role of communication anxiety was found to be negligible.
The study concludes that while IP directly plays a minor role in L2 learners' willingness to communicate, its impact is more significant when considering its effect on perceived competence. The findings underscore the importance of addressing IP-related self-perceptions in educational interventions to enhance L2 communication outcomes. The paper suggests future research should explore these relationships longitudinally and in different cultural contexts to further validate the findings.