Affect and Students’ Reluctance in EFL Oral Classrooms

Abstract

Oral interaction in the oral EFL classrooms remains a prominent concern of many scholars. In addition, students in the LMD system are taught under the Communicative Approach seeking to enhance their oral proficiency. Yet, an important number of learners are reluctant to speak English. Considering that learners do not actually take an active involvement in their oral classes, an investigation was conducted among 36 young adults studying English at the University of Mostaganem. First, it is an attempt to shed light on the reasons behind the students’ reluctance in the classroom, and then, focus would be to find out the affective factors related to their lack of participation. Four aspects of affect have been considered; namely, motivation, anxiety, risk-taking, and concern for grades. Results revealed that each variable had a direct effect on the students’ hesitation to take part in the oral activities, and that those factors were interrelated as well.