Exploring attributes impeding students’ classroom oral interactions and participation in EFL classes: Kotebe University of Education in Focus

Abstract

This study explores the attributes impeding students’ classroom oral interaction and participation in EFL classes. Descriptive survey research design was employed to carry out the study. The research included fifty (50) students out of 148 target population, which is 33.8%. It also involved twelve English language instructors out of 34 members using a convenient sampling technique. As the student population was grouped into sections, stratified and random systematic sampling techniques were employed to determine the specific representative samples. Data were collected using a questionnaire, semi-structured interview, and rating scale. The collected data were analyzed using mixed research methods (qualitative and quantitative approaches). The result reveals that eleven classroom oral interaction and participation-impeding attributes are found to be rated by more than 50% of the respondents. Most of the identified attributes are allied to teachers’ and students’ personal perceptions, lesson delivery styles, learning topics, fear of criticism, external pressures, classroom social impacts, lack of prior experience, and overuse of mother tongue as a way out of  English speaking stress. It was concluded that most impeding classroom attributes were found to be rooted in psychological, social, pedagogical, linguistic, and communicative competencies.