Strategies and Techniques for Fostering Oral Communication Confidence in EFL Students

Abstract

This article is concerned with strategies and techniques for fostering EFL students " confidence and reducing their oral communication apprehension. This paper aims to explore strategies and techniques that could be implemented in the EFL classroom to encourage students " oral communication and foster their confidence. The first part starts with a brief introduction to present the research topic. It states the aims, purpose, research questions, and significance of the study. The second part features the relevant literature review, focusing on the current body of knowledge. The literature review provides a detailed description of the substantive findings as well as methodological and theoretical contributions to this topic. The study furnishes a wide range of reflections on English as a foreign language, and the special needs of students learning the language. It can be described as the impact of confidence on EFL students " oral communication apprehension in EFL students. In the third part, the paper discusses the methodology used in this study, followed by a discussion of an analysis of the findings in the fourth part. These two areas, i.e. discussion and findings answer the research questions and justify the research hypothesis. The last part of this work provides a conclusion to the study, accompanied by some recommendations. 1. Introduction 1.1 Background of the Study Students with English as a foreign language generally regard being confident in oral communication in the target language as very challenging. This is mainly due to oral communication apprehension. It also sheds light on how the EFL students reduce oral communication apprehension. In order to explore the strategies and techniques for increasing oral communication confidence, a qualitative research approach has been used in the study. The findings reveal that the oral communication apprehension of EFL students mainly depends on their confidence, and that a lack of confidence leads them to be apprehensive to communicate effectively in the English language. Efficiency in oral communication is highly appreciated for career success. This is why most of the institutions offering higher learning are familiar with the importance of oral communication in their curriculum. (Hall, 2013). In 2014, the researcher conducted a case study on EFL students at King Khalid University. He found that EFL students participate more in interpersonal conversations and group discussions compared to other contexts, such as meeting situations and public places. Students are reluctant to speak in various communicative situations due to their communication apprehension. According to Mahdi (2015), most students desire to learn how to speak English well and are willing to interact with others in oral English language classrooms. However, due to various reasons, for example a lack of practice, low English proficiency, lack of confidence, anxiety, shyness, personality, and the fear of losing face, more than two-thirds of the students remain reluctant to respond to the teacher and keep quiet until singled out to answer questions. Sabri & Qin (2014) revealed that more than sixty thousand graduate students living in Malaysia are unable to enter their professions of choice as they " lack English language competency " and have " poor oral communication skills " (p. 46). They thus remain unemployed. Other studies conducted on Malaysia graduates conclude, " Inevitably, most language teachers and instructors agree that many students in Malaysia face problems communicating in English, as it is not their native language. Even at the university level, students feel apprehensive, awkward, shy, and insecure when asked to speak English in the classroom, let alone in public " (Mustapha, Ismail, Singh, & Elias, 2010, p. 23). It is a fact that a large number of students, speaking languages other than English, struggle to speak in English. Their primary aim is to have confidence when they are required to communicate in English language. (Sabri & Qin, 2014). Although English is a foreign language for a large number of people living across the world, its significance internationally in almost every field, from educational to business, is undisputed. Language is a strong medium of communication through which people are connected in various settings; thereby it be ignored. When people do not have a firm grasp of the English language, whether spoken or written, they face several barriers concerning their academic progress. This is a major reason why English has been made a compulsory subject in curricula the world over.