MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING QUY NHON UNIVERSITY NGUYEN TRAN THANH THUY PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING ENGLISH SPEAKING PERFORMANCE OF 10TH GRADERS AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN NHA TRANG Field: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching Code: 8140111 Supervisor: BUI THI ĐAO, Ph.D BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUY NHƠN NGUYỄN TRẦN THANH THỦY NHỮNG YẾU TỐ TÂM LÝ ẢNH HƯỞNG ĐẾN KHẢ NĂNG NÓI TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH LỚP 10 TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC Ở NHA TRANG Ngành: Lý luận và phương pháp dạy học bộ môn tiếng Anh Mã số: 8140111 Người hướng dẫn: TS Bùi Thị Đào i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify my authority over the submitted thesis, titled PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING ENGLISH SPEAKING PERFORMANCE OF 10TH GRADERS AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN NHA TRANG in fulfillment of the requirements for Master Degree Except when noted in the text, this thesis contains no material already published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis for which I have qualified for or been granted another degree or diploma No other person's work has been used without proper acknowledgement in the thesis This thesis has not been submitted to any other educational institution for the award of a degree or diploma Quy Nhon, 2023 Nguyễn Trần Thanh Thủy ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr Bùi Thị Đào, for spending significant time offering me directions, guidance, constructive comments, and encouragement This thesis would not have been completed without the invaluable assistance of my supervisor Secondly, I would like to thank my colleagues for their encouragement and sharing of their thesis-writing experience Thirdly, I am appreciative to all of the students in my class who participated in the study and provided me with valuable insight into the research problem Finally, I also owe my special thanks to my family, who have always expressed their warmest love to me Without their encouragement and support, this present paper would not have been completed in time iii ABSTRACT Regarding English language learning, speaking is recognized as a vital skill that needs continuous development and enhancement to facilitate effective communication However, many students at Ly Tu Trong High School in Nha Trang encounter difficulties in developing their speaking skills This research investigates the impact of psychological factors on the English- speaking performance of 10th-grade students The study uses mixed-methods approaches combining surveys, interviews, and observations The research uncovers the significance of motivation, anxiety, confidence, shyness, fear of making mistakes, and the learning environment The participants taking part in the survey questionnaire include 90 tenth grade students from Ly Tu Trong high schools in Nha Trang Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participation of five students and one teacher The researcher observed 4 sessions in 2 classes The study employs a quantitative research approach and qualitative descriptive method Data for the research was collected through questionnaires, observations, and interviews The findings of this research provided insights into the specific psychological factors that significantly impact students' speaking abilities Many students voiced their hesitation to speak English, primarily citing difficulties with pronunciation The majority of these students have openly admitted that they avoid using English in conversation because they fear making errors The results of this study can contribute to the development of targeted interventions to improve English speaking performance among 10th graders The study also proposed a number of implications, focusing on aiding the students to improve their speaking performance iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii ABBREVIATIONS AND CONVENTIONS vii LIST OF TABLES viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Rationale 1 1.2 Aim and objective of the study 4 1.3 Research questions 4 1.4 Scope of the study 5 1.5 Method of the study 5 1.6 Significance of the study 6 1.7 Organization of the study 6 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 8 2.1 Definition of speaking skills 8 2.2 Psychological factors 9 2.2.1 Lack of motivation 11 2.2.2 Anxiety 13 2.2.3 Lack of confidence 14 2.2.4 Shyness 16 2.2.5 Fear of making mistake 17 2.2.6 Performance condition 18 2.2.7 Learning environment 18 2.3 Speaking performance 19 2.4 Aspects of speaking performance 19 2.4.1 Pronunciation 20 2.4.2 Structural view 20 v 2.4.3 Function view 20 2.4.4 Fluency 20 2.4.5 Relating forms to meanings 21 2.5 Types of speaking performance 21 2.5.1 Imitative 21 2.5.2 Intensive 21 2.5.3 Responsive 21 2.5.4 Interactive 22 2.5.5 Extensive (Monologue) 22 2.6 The importance of teaching English speaking 22 2.7 Review of previous studies 23 2.8 Summary 25 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 27 3.1 Research design 27 3.2 Participants 28 3.3 Data collection instruments 28 3.3.1 Questionnaire 28 3.3.2 Interview 30 3.3.3 Observation 31 3.4 Data collection procedure 32 3.5 Data analysis 32 3.5.1 Quantitative analysis 32 3.5.2 Qualitative analysis 33 3.6 Summary 34 CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 35 4.1 Research questions 1: What are psychological factors that influence 10th-grade students’ speaking skills? 35 4.1.1 Lack of motivation 35 4.1.2 Anxiety 39 4.1.3 Lack of confidence 42 vi 4.1.4 Shyness 46 4.1.5 Fear of making mistake 49 4.1.6 Performance condition 52 4.1.7 Learning environment 55 4.2 Research question 2: What solutions can be taken to enhance the speaking performance of high school students? 59 4.2.1 Results from teachers’ interviews 59 4.2.2 Results from students’ interviews 61 4.3 Discussion 63 4.4 Summary 63 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 64 5.1 Conclusions 64 5.2 Recommendations 65 5.2.1 Recommendations for educators 65 5.2.2 Recommendations for teachers 66 5.2.3 Recommendations for students 67 5.3 Limitations of the research 67 5.4 Suggestions for further studies 68 REFERENCES 70 APPENDICES EFL vii TESOL ABBREVIATIONS AND CONVENTIONS English as a foreign language Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages viii Table LIST OF TABLES Page number number Table 3.1 Title 30 Table 4.1 Description of the psychological factors used for the Table 4.2 survey 36 Table 4.3 Students’ lack of motivation for English speaking 39 Table 4.4 performance 42 Table 4.5 Students’ anxiety on English speaking performance 46 49 Table 4.6 Students’ lack of confidence in English speaking 52 performance Table 4.7 Students’ shyness on English speaking performance 56 Students’ fear of making mistake on English speaking performance Students’ Performance condition on English speaking performance Students’ learning environment on English speaking performance