on the role of willingness to communicate and critical thinking in receptive/productive lexical knowledge of gifted and nongifted efl learners

This study investigated the receptive and productive vocabulary command of learners based on their willingness to communicate (wtc) and critical thinking skill. the study also aimed to compare gifted and nongifted learners in terms of the abovementioned variables. to this end, 112 gifted and nongifted iranian efl learners were picked out and given four instruments (wtc questionnaire, critical thinking skill test, receptive, and productive vocabulary tests). having analyzed data through twoway anova and independent samples ttests, the study revealed that, first, no significant difference was found between high and low wtc learners and also high and low critical thinkers in their receptive lexical command; and second, high and low wtc learners, high and low critical thinkers, and also gifted and nongifted learners showed significant differences in their productive lexical command. thus, while for receptive vocabulary knowledge, giftedness is a more influential factor than wtc and critical thinking, for productive vocabulary knowledge, wtc, critical thinking, and giftedness are all influential. the pertinent theoretical and practical implications of the study will also be explicated.