Teacher-Student Relationships as a Buffer: Mitigating Anxiety's Impact on Willingness to Communicate across Genders

Based on self-determination theory, the present study investigated the moderation of teacher-student relationships (TSR) in the association between anxiety and willingness to communicate (WTC) among foreign language (FL) learners and further examined potential gender differences. A total of 11,130 Chinese secondary students (51.2% female), ranging from grades 7 to 12 (mean age = 14.601, SD = 1.360), participated in the study, providing self-reported measures as data sources. Moderation analysis revealed that TSR exhibited a negative moderation effect on the connection between anxiety and WTC. Specifically, when TSR was supportive, it could mitigate the detrimental impact of anxiety on FL learners’ WTC. Moreover, it was observed that supportive TSR had a more significant impact on reducing anxiety-related barriers and enhancing WTC, particularly among female students. These findings illuminate the importance of self-determination theory in FL teacher education, highlighting the critical role of fostering supportive TSR to promote communication willingness in FL learners.