Anxiety and its correlation with oral expression in English

Abstract

This systematic review investigates the relationship between communicative anxiety and oral English performance among university students in English as a foreign language (EFL) context. Communicative anxiety is widely recognized as an affective factor that constrains learner’s participation and performance in oral tasks, which are among the most demanding aspects of language learning. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a systematic search was conducted in Scopus, ERIC, Redalyc, and Google Scholar to identify empirical studies published between 2020 and 2025. Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria and were examined using descriptive and thematic synthesis. The findings indicate a consistent inverse association between communicative anxiety and oral performance across higher education EFL settings. Most studies adopted quantitative correlational designs and relied on self-report measures particularly the Foreign Language Anxiety Scale alongside task-based assessments of oral performance, although methodological variability was evident. Overall, the evidence positions communicative anxiety as a salient educational variable closely linked to oral English performance rather than a clinical condition. This review underscores the importance of addressing affective factors in EFL pedagogy and calls for future research employing longitudinal and mixed method approaches to deepen understanding of this relationship.