The influence of shyness on the development of English- speaking skills in students learning as a foreign language

Resumen

The present study aimed to understand how shyness influences the oral participation of students learning English as a Foreign language. The research used a mixed-methods approach with a descriptive, non-experimental, cross-sectional design. The participants were 27 second-semester students enrolled in the National and Foreign Languages Education program. Data were collected through a Likert-scale questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were examined through thematic analysis. Finally, the findings were integrated through methodological triangulation. The results showed that shyness, fear of making mistakes, speaking anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation reduced students’ willingness to participate in speaking activities. Specifically, 56% of the students reported that shyness decreased their willingness to participate, while 44% reported experiencing speaking anxiety. It was also observed that shyer students mainly participated when the teacher asked them to do so and had greater difficulty speaking in front of the whole class. Overall, the findings suggest that emotional factors play an important role in students’ oral participation in English.