Factors Causing Reticence for Non-English Majored Students in Speaking Performance

Abstract

Among the four macro skills, speaking skill is always considered to be challenging to most students at all levels of education, including tertiary level because there are many factors may prevent them from improving their speaking skill. Therefore, this study aims to explore the extent of reticence of non-English majored students in English speaking performance in class as well as to investigate the factors which cause reticence in their English speaking performance at a university in Ho Chi Minh City-Vietnam (hereafter called HCMU). The instruments used for collecting data were questionnaire surveys, semi-structured interviews, and class observations. The participants of the study were 147 non-English majored students. The findings of the current revealed that most of the students felt reticent about speaking English performance in class. Furthermore, the study showed that context-related factors such as the text-book and the class environment caused more speaking reticence for non-English majored students than the other factors. Last but not least, several pedagogical implications were provided not only for teachers and students at HCMU to improve students’ speaking performance but also reduce their reticence in English speaking classes.