Psychological Factor Affecting English Speaking Performance for the English Learners in Indonesia

Youssouf Haidara

doi:10.13189/ujer.2016.040701

Abstract

In every learning situation or environment, human psychology plays a significant role. English speaking is a language skill that is highly affected by human psychology. This research aimed at describing the psychological factor that affects negatively the English speaking performance for the English learners in Indonesia. A descriptive qualitative design was used to conduct this research. The research was consisted of theoretical review, field notes, observations, and unstructured interviews. The participants were 20 students. The data were analyzed using the interactive analysis technique developed by Miles and Huberman (1994). The results of the research reveal that the psychological factor truly affects negatively the students' English speaking performance. Although most of the students think that they have good level of English vocabulary and grammar, they are insecure while speaking English. Most of the problems were (1) Fear of making mistakes (2) Feeling shy (3) Feeling hesitated (4) lack of confidence while speaking English. Finally, some suggestions expected to be significant remedies to overcome the problem were proposed by the researcher.

Highlights

In this era of globalization, knowledge of a foreign language serves students well in the interconnected world, it opens the door to job opportunities in the global economy and makes more media accessible, enriching public discussion of current issues
In reference to the above explanation presented by Creswell, the research purposefully selected 20 students in Applied Linguistics field at the Graduate School of Yogyakarta State University to act as the research participants.According to McNiff [76], there are various traditional methods in data collection procedure like personal field notes, audio tape recording, diaries, interviews and discussion, videotapes, recording, questionnaires, documentary evidence, slide, tape, photography
The results show that the students have been learning English for many years as they have good level in English grammar and English vocabulary but most of them used to be speechless when using English for communicative purposes is concerned

Summary

Introduction

In this era of globalization, knowledge of a foreign language serves students well in the interconnected world, it opens the door to job opportunities in the global economy and makes more media accessible, enriching public discussion of current issues. “In the era of globalization and rapid diffusion of knowledge, all the nations are aware of the need to prepare their citizens to perform in ways that would ensure their prosperity and eminence in the world. In order to be competitive, they have to be able to function well in multinational industrial enterprises, international trade, diplomacy, and scientific technological areas of expertise. They have to be innovative and contribute to the knowledge-based of the world. In order to achieve these goals, they need to be able to utilize the most widely used medium, English.”

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Discussion

Conclusion