A Review of the Relationships Among Speaking Anxiety, Speaking Self-Efficacy and Speaking Achievement in Chinese EFL learners

Main Article Content

Mohan Cheng
Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai), Weihai, Shandong, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.70267/jlce.2026.v3n3.1017

Keywords

speaking anxiety, speaking self-efficacy, speaking achievement

Abstract

This paper systematically reviewed studies on the relationships among speaking anxiety, self-efficacy and speaking achievement in Chinese students. Existing research shows that speaking anxiety is generally negatively correlated with speaking achievement, although moderate levels of anxiety can have a facilitative effect; speaking self-efficacy is positively correlated with speaking achievement; speaking anxiety and self-efficacy are negatively correlated and display a bidirectional relationship to some extent. Current studies still face several limitations, including uneven coverage of research participants, relatively limited research methods, insufficient localization of measurement tools, and a lack of in-depth exploration of underlying mechanisms. Based on these findings, this paper summarizes the research limitations and proposes several directions for future studies, aiming to provide insights for subsequent research and teaching practices.

Abstract 6 | PDF Downloads 6

References

  • [1] Wu, W. (2010). Examination of Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety Self-Schema For Undergraduate Students. https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CDFD&dbname=CDFD0911&filename=2010030161.nh.
  • [2] Cai, J. 2002. “Pressures Facing Current College English Teaching in China.” Foreign Language Teaching and Research 34, no. 3: 228–230. https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CJFQ&dbname=CJFD2002&filename=WJYY200203013.
  • [3] Liu, Q. 2008. “A Study on Chinese College Students’ English Speaking Proficiency.” Modern Foreign Languages (Quarterly) 31, no. 1: 83–89. https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CJFQ&dbname=CJFD2008&filename=XDWY200801009.
  • [4] Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition.
  • [5] Arnold, J. (1999). Affect in Language Learning. 0-521. https://book.douban.com/subject/2109019/
  • [6] Phillips, E. M. (1991). Anxiety and Oral Competence: Classroom Dilemma. The French Review, 65(1), 1-14.
  • [7] Lü, H. (2010). An Empirical Study of the Correlation between Speaking Anxiety and Speaking Strategies of Non-English Majors. Foreign Languages Research, (5). https://doi.org/10.13978/j.cnki.wyyj.2010.05.022
  • [8] Wang, T. (2010). A Study on the Relationships of Anxiety and Self-efficacy to Speaking and Writing Skills With SEM. Foreign Languages and Their Teaching, (1). https://doi.org/10.13458/j.cnki.flatt.000290
  • [9] Hewitt, E., & Stephenson, J. (2012). Foreign Language Anxiety and Oral Exam Performance: A Replication of Phillips’s MLJ Study. The Modern Language Journal, 96(2), 170-189. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2011.01174.x
  • [10] Hu, X., Zhang, X., & McGeown, S. (2024). Foreign language anxiety and achievement: A study of primary school students learning English in China. Language Teaching Research, 28(4), 1594-1615. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688211032332
  • [11] Li, Y. (2012). The Relationship Between High School Students’ Oral English Anxiety, English Learning Strategies And Oral English Perforance. https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CMFD&dbname=CMFD2012&filename=1011014641.nh
  • [12] ALPERT, R., & HABER, R. N. (1960). Anxiety in academic achievement situations. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 61, 207-215. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0045464
  • [13] Zeng, X. (2012). A Study on the Correlation Between Self-efficacy, Speaking English Learning Strategies, and Speaking English Performance of Non-English Major College Students, QunwenTiandi (23). https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CJFQ&dbname=CJFD2012&filename=QWTD201223068
  • [14] Zhang, X. (2011). The Mediating Role of Oral English Strategy between Self-efficacy of Oral English and Oral English Achievement. JOURNAL OF ZUNYI NORMAL COLLEGE, 13(3). https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CJFQ&dbname=CJFD2011&filename=ZYSF201103025
  • [15] Zhang, Z. (2017). An Investigation of Relationship among Oral English Self-Efficacy, Speaking strategies and Oral Proficiency of Non-English Majors. https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CMFD&dbname=CMFD201701&filename=1016169574.nh
  • [16] Ma, Y. (2022). The triarchy of L2 learners’ emotion, cognition, and language performance: Anxiety, self-efficacy, and speaking skill in lights of the emerging theories in SLA. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1002492. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1002492
  • [17] Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety.
  • [18] Woodrow, L. (2006). Anxiety and Speaking English as a Second Language. RELC Journal, 37(3), 308-328. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688206071315
  • [19] Young, D. J. (1990). An investigation of students' perspectives on anxiety and speaking. Foreign language annals, 23(6), 539-553.
  • [20] Gao, C. (2013). Study on the Current Status and Development Proposals of High School Students ' Oral English Anxiety. https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CMFD&dbname=CMFD201302&filename=1013295346.nh
  • [21] Bandura, A. (1978). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Advances in Behaviour Research and Therapy, Perceived Self-Efficacy: Analyses of Bandura’s Theory of Behavioural Change, 1(4), 139-161. https://doi.org/10.1016/0146-6402(78)90002-4
  • [22] Dong, Y. (2025). The Impact of English Self-efficacy on English-speaking Performance of Chinese Junior High School StudentsAn Empirical Study . https://doi.org/10.27159/d.cnki.ghzsu.2024.001890
  • [23] Wu, Q. (2022). An Investigation into the Influence of Oral English Self-efficacy of Junior High School Students on Their Spoken-English Levels. https://doi.org/10.27833/d.cnki.gjlhw.2022.000041
  • [24] Wang, D. (2015). An Investigation of Relationship between English Self-Efficacy and English Scores of Senior High School Students. https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CMFD&dbname=CMFD201501&filename=1014345123.nh
  • [25] Demirdöken, G., & Okur, S. (2023). Psychometric properties of speaking anxiety scale and an interdisciplinary investigation with serial mediation analysis. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 17(3), 706-722. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2022.2123920
  • [26] Diert-Boté, I. (2022). “You feel a little bit embarrassed, but you get over it”: EFL students’ beliefs and emotions about speaking. Porta Linguarum. An International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Learning, (37), 143-160. https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi37.15924
  • [27] Passiatore, Y., Pirchio, S., Oliva, C., Panno, A., & Carrus, G. (2019). Self-efficacy and Anxiety in Learning English as a Foreign Language: Singing in Class Helps Speaking Performance. Journal of Educational, Cultural and Psychological Studies (ECPS Journal), (20), 121-138. https://doi.org/10.7358/ecps-2019-020-passi
  • [28] Sun, P. P., & Teng, L. S. (2021). Why so nervous? Revisiting the sources of speech anxiety in Chinese as a second language. System, 103, 102647. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102647
  • [29] Zhang, H. (2024). A Study on the Correlation Between Speaking Anxiety and Speaking Self-efficacy of Senior High School Students -A Case of Xi’an Foreign Language School. https://doi.org/10.27815/d.cnki.gxawd.2022.000303
  • [30] Chen, X., & Li, C. (2025). Latent Profiles of Chinese Undergraduates’ English Speaking Anxiety and Enjoyment: Associations With Speaking Self-Efficacy. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, n/a(n/a). https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.70078
  • [31] Zhang, X., & Ardasheva, Y. (2019). Sources of college EFL learners’ self-efficacy in the English public speaking domain. English for Specific Purposes, 53, 47-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2018.09.004
  • [32] Trisnaningati, Z. R., & Sinambela, F. C. (2021). Self-efficacy, Emotional Regulation, Communication Competence and Public Speaking Anxiety Towards Students: International Conference on Psychological Studies (ICPSYCHE 2020). https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210423.010

Article Sidebar

PDF
Published
May 9, 2026
Issue
Vol. 3 No. 3 (2026)
Section
Research Articles
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Cheng, M. (2026). A Review of the Relationships Among Speaking Anxiety, Speaking Self-Efficacy and Speaking Achievement in Chinese EFL learners. Journal of Language, Culture and Education, 3(3), 10-17. https://doi.org/10.70267/jlce.2026.v3n3.1017