Junior High Students' Perception and Need In English Speaking Classes

Abstract

This study showed how junior high school students in Indonesia feel and what they need in English-speaking classes. Even though the national curriculum stresses communicative competence, students often struggle with severe anxiety, low self-esteem, and a limited vocabulary, which makes them less engaged and less able to do well. Psychological problems, like shyness and performance anxiety, are often harder to deal with than cognitive problems when it comes to making progress. Purposive sampling was used to select 30 eighth-grade students from a public junior high school in West Lombok for this study, which used a qualitative descriptive methodology. Open-ended questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and non-participant classroom observations were used to carefully collect data. Thematic analysis, bolstered by triangulation, ensured the robustness and depth of the findings. According to the findings, which are in line with Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA), students view speaking classes as both essential and intimidating, mostly because they are terrified of making mistakes and receiving a poor grade. Additionally, monotony, an overemphasis on grammar, and a lack of opportunities for genuine communication are common characteristics of instructional practices. Crucially, students expressed a strong desire for dynamic, real-life activities like role-plays, games, and storytelling. They also underlined how important it is to have teachers who are encouraging and create a culture that accepts mistakes. This study emphasises how urgently student-centered pedagogical approaches are needed to foster speaking development that is more efficient and empowering