Social Interaction as Mediating Factor for Participation in Extracurricular English Activities and Oral Language Capability of Students

This study aimed to assess the mediating effect of social interaction on the relationship between participation in extracurricular English activities and oral language capability of junior high school students using a non-experimental, descriptive-correlational design. A total of 360 Grade 7–10 students from Cluster 3 public secondary schools in Davao City were selected through simple random sampling. Findings show that students’ participation in extracurricular English activities is generally moderately extensive, with language practice being the most evident. Oral language capability is also moderately extensive, with vocabulary usage ranked highest, while coherence and cohesion is least demonstrated. Social interaction is likewise rated moderately extensive, particularly in peer collaboration and project-based communication. Participation in extracurricular activities significantly correlates with both oral language capability and social interaction, though the link between language skills and social interaction is weaker. Mediation analysis reveals a significant negative indirect effect of social interaction on oral language capability, despite a strong direct effect from participation. This suggests that while social interaction is enhanced, it does not always support language development consistently. Therefore, extracurricular activities must be intentionally designed to balance social engagement with meaningful language practice.