Accent stigmatization as a moderator of the relationship between perceived L2 proficiency and L2 use anxiety

Abstract

By integrating the social context model of L2 acquisition with the pyramid model of willingness to communicate in L2, this study examined aspects of the psychological process underlying willingness to communicate (WTC) in Slovak among young Hungarian speakers in Southern Slovakia. The data was collected among Hungarian-speaking secondary school students (N = 310). The results indicated that frequent and pleasant contact with Slovak speakers was related to higher proficiency in Slovak and lower anxiety to use Slovak, and these increased the willingness to communicate in Slovak. However, it was also demonstrated that accent stigmatization moderated the relationship between perceived L2 proficiency and L2 use anxiety. Anxiety was more closely related to proficiency among those who perceived less accent stigmatization than among those who perceived more stigma because of their Hungarian accent. The theoretical implications of these findings for the role of the intergroup context in developing accent stigmatization, and the link between accent stigmatization, L2 use anxiety and willingness to communicate in the majority language are discussed.