Correlation Between Inhibition and Speaking Performance Among Vietnamese EFL Teenage Learners

Abstract

Inhibition, defined by anxiety or fear of unfavorable judgement, is a outstanding psychological obstacle to enhancing speaking skills. This quantitative research, together with multiple regression analysis, aimed to find out predictors of inhibition as well as explored the interrelation between inhibition and speaking performance among Vietnamese teenage learners of EFL (English as a Foreign Language). The participants were 190 Vietnamese EFL teenagers at the age of 13 to 18. Inhibition was examined via a 20-item Likert-scale questionnaire survey, while speaking ability was judged based on IELTS Academic Speaking Test scores. The findings indicated a notable negative correlation between inhibition and speaking ability, where increased inhibition correlates with decreased IELTS speaking scores. Multiple regression analysis revealed that cultural factors and peer pressure were prominent predictors of inhibition. After all, the outcomes proposed some helpful solutions for EFL teenagers to overcome these psychological barriers and to perform speaking better.