OVERCOMING SPEAKING ANXIETY: PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES TO ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING

Speaking anxiety is one of the major psychological barriers that prevents students from developing effective English communication skills. Although many learners possess sufficient grammatical knowledge and vocabulary, they often experience nervousness, fear of making mistakes, and a lack of confidence when speaking English. This article examines the psychological causes of speaking anxiety and analyses pedagogical approaches that can help learners overcome this difficulty. Particular attention is given to communication apprehension, fear of negative evaluation, classroom atmosphere, supportive feedback, gradual speaking practice, and student-centred activities. The study is based on an analysis of established research on foreign language anxiety, including international meta-analytical findings. The results demonstrate that language anxiety has a measurable negative relationship with language achievement and that creating a supportive learning environment is essential for improving students’ speaking confidence.