INVESTIGATING PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING EFL STUDENTS’ SPEAKING PERFORMANCE

Despite many studies have discussed the effect of psychological factors on
students' speaking ability. The results are still contradicted on the main
psychological factors that affect students' speaking ability, and very scant studies
have focused on students' speaking performance. Therefore, this study aims to
find out the main psychological factors that affecting EFL students' speaking
performance in the academic speaking class of the third semester English
education study program at University of Bengkulu in the academic year
2023/2024. The researcher used descriptive quantitative method with survey
design. The participants in this study were 96 students of the English Education
Study Program of Bengkulu University from the class of 2022 who participated in
the Academic Speaking course in the third semester of the 2023/2024 academic
year. This study used total sampling technique with two types of questionnaires as
research instruments. The data from open-ended questionnaire supported the data
from the close-ended questionnaire. The results showed lack of confidence was
the main factor most experienced by EFL students affecting EFL students'
speaking performance, especially in individual presentations. The average score
on the lack of confidence type reached 72.87%. It was followed by anxiety with
an average score of 71.36%; for the shyness type it reached 69.90%, the fear of
mistakes type reached 67.76% and last lack of motivation reached 64.84%.
Therefore, it can be said that all psychological factors significantly affect EFL
students' speaking performance. In addition, the results of this study also revealed
that almost all types of psychological factors are interrelated.
Key Words: Psychological Factors, Speaking Performance, EFL Students