The Effects of Foreign Language Anxiety and Speech Disfluencies on EFL Speaking Performance among Indonesian Junior High School Students

Abstract

Although previous studies have separately investigated speaking anxiety and speech disfluencies, little is known about their combined quantitative contribution to speaking performance among junior high school EFL learners. This study aimed to examine the effect of anxiety, speech disfluencies, and their simultaneous effect on the English-speaking skills of eighth-grade learners. A quantitative correlational design was used with 54 students selected via cluster sampling. Anxiety was measured using FLCAS, disfluency was classified into five types, and speaking skills were assessed using an adapted rubric. All students experienced anxiety, mostly at a moderate level, while repetition and silent pauses were the most frequent disfluencies. Anxiety had a significant negative partial effect on speaking skill, while disfluency showed a more dominant effect. Both variables jointly accounted for 87.1% of the variance in speaking skill, indicating a strong combined effect. These findings highlight the importance of addressing both anxiety and disfluency in speaking instruction. The findings provide practical implications for English teachers in designing anxiety-reducing and fluency-oriented speaking instruction.