Factors Influencing Female Students’ Participation in Speaking Skill of English Lesson: The Case of Grade 10 in Hassasa High School

This study was designed to assess factors that influence grade 10 female students’ participation in English speaking lesson at Hassasa High School. The participants of the study were teachers and students of Hassasa High School. 174 students and 6 English teachers of grade 10 were participated in this study. Descriptive research design and three instruments of data collection, namely, interview, FGD and questionnaire were utilized. The collected data were analyzed using both qualitative (thematic analysis) and quantitative (frequencies, percentage and mean). The findings of the study showed that female students have poor English speaking background, low motivation to speak, limited initiation to ask and answer in English language. In addition, female students’ individual and group participation were found to be low. The psychological factors like fear and lack of confidence were found to be among the factors. The study has also identified that teachers lack of encouragement, insufficient feedback and restricted use of teaching aids. Furthermore, teachers did not facilitate female students’ participation through interactive methods like drama, debate, demonstration of pictures, etc. Finally, based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that teachers should encourage female students, apply interactive methods, give feedback and use teaching aids to enhance their speaking performances. Key words: Influence, Participation, female students, speaking skill DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/104-03 Publication date: January 30th 2025