The Relationship Between Self-Confidence and Perceived Academic Speaking Performance Among EFL University Students in Digital Presentation Settings

Abstract

Oral communication skills occupy a foundational position in English language education, especially in tertiary academic contexts where learners must convey ideas, contribute to discussions, and deliver content in the target language. Yet a significant portion of EFL learners are held back not by insufficient grammar or vocabulary, but by psychological obstacles chief among them a lack of belief in their own speaking ability. The present study sought to investigate how self-confidence relates to the way EFL university learners perceive their own academic speaking performance when delivering presentations through digital platforms. Employing a quantitative correlational framework, the researchers gathered data from 17 participants using an online questionnaire. Statistical analysis yielded a strong and significant positive correlation (r = 0.827, p = 0.000), confirming that greater self-confidence is associated with more favourable self-assessments of speaking performance in online academic settings. The results underscore the need for EFL instruction to move beyond purely linguistic training and intentionally cultivate learners’ affective readiness for oral academic tasks.