Psychological fears, not vocabulary, block Chinese students' English speaking

Cultures · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: A survey of non-English major students at Nanjing Tech University examined what makes speaking English hard and how motivated they felt to do it. Respondents linked their struggles more to psychological factors—anxiety, fear of mistakes, and worry about being judged—than to linguistic gaps like limited vocabulary or grammar. The results also suggested their motivation to speak English leaned slightly more toward practical goals than a desire to connect with English-speaking culture.

The study used two questionnaires and follow-up interviews to explore why speaking is often considered the hardest skill in learning a foreign language, and whether confidence or knowledge was the bigger obstacle.

The sample was a convenience sample of students from one university department, so the pattern may not generalize to other learners or settings.

Why it matters: Reducing anxiety and fear of judgment may matter as much as vocabulary or grammar for helping EFL learners speak confidently.

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