Factors Affecting Students Participating in Public English-Speaking Competition

The study aims to examine the factors affecting students’ participation in public English-speaking competitions and explore the students’ motivational strategies for participating in the competition. The sample of the study consisted of a hundred students enrolled at a private English school in the northwest of Cambodia. It employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. The questionnaire was used to examine why students rarely participate in public speaking competitions and the students’ motivational strategies for participating in the competition. The semi-structured interview was utilized to obtain detailed information beyond the questionnaire responses. The results indicated that the linguistic factor was the most essential factor, followed by the physical factor and the environmental factor. Additionally, the findings showed that all the preparation strategies were effective, especially the linguistic improvement, which was the most significant strategy to motivate students to participate. It can be concluded that in order to participate in the English public speaking competition, students need to improve their linguistic skills and follow effective strategies.