Unpacking Learners’ Global Perspective and Willingness to Communicate in English among Different English Proficiency University Students in China

The correlation between students’ Global Perspective (GP) and Willingness to Communicate in a second language (L2 WTC), particularly in the context of China, remains an under-explored area. Additionally, few studies have compared the GP and WTC among students with varying English proficiency levels or examined whether there are specific similarities and differences among these students. This study aimed to bridge these gaps within the context of traditional and English Medium Instruction (EMI) universities in China. Data were collected through two online questionnaires ( n = 1061) and interviews ( n = 10). The analysis of the questionnaire data unveiled that there were significant differences regarding GP and WTC among participants of different English proficiency levels. Moreover, there was a moderate positive correlation between students’ GP and WTC. The findings of the interviews further unraveled that students with different English proficiency levels share similarities in terms of their interest in the news, motivation for studying abroad, frequency of English communication, communication partners, and their perceptions of the role of English. Conversely, these students with different English proficiency levels exhibit variations in their strong versus weak interests in foreign cultures, their preference for using mostly English versus Chinese to learn about foreign cultures, their approaches to addressing difficult classroom problems, and their levels of concern about their English speaking skills. The pedagogical and theoretical implications derived from these findings were discussed.