Speaking Anxiety and Communicative Competence in the Post-Pandemic Classroom: A Narrative Review
Reanne Leopardas
Received: 04 June 2026; Revised: 04 August 2026; Accepted: 17 August 2026; Published: 27 August 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.66074/F5G8H3J6K9
Abstract
Background: The return to face-to-face schooling has restored opportunities for oral interaction, yet post-pandemic evidence suggests that secondary learners remain hesitant to recite, present, and speak spontaneously in English. This concern is consequential because oral participation is a learning process and assessed outcome in senior high school English.
Objective: This narrative review examined how speaking anxiety relates to communicative competence and academic performance, and identified classroom conditions and language support approaches that can strengthen oral participation in post-pandemic senior high school settings.
Methods: A structured narrative search covered peer-reviewed and official sources published mainly from 2019 to 2025. Searches combined terms for speaking anxiety, foreign language enjoyment, willingness to communicate, communicative competence, communicative language teaching, peer support, secondary education, COVID-19, and the Philippines. Twenty-seven sources met the review criteria and were synthesized according to the Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles.
Results: Across meta-analytic, correlational, intervention, and qualitative evidence, language anxiety showed a consistent negative association with achievement, willingness to communicate, and oral performance. Foreign language enjoyment, supportive teacher behavior, peer interaction, task-based communication, and low-risk digital speaking practice were associated with greater participation and stronger speaking outcomes. Philippine studies likewise documented substantial public speaking anxiety among Grade 11 learners, with fear of negative evaluation prominent.
Conclusion: Post-pandemic speaking difficulty is best addressed as an affective and instructional problem rather than a deficit of knowledge alone. Senior high school English programs should combine graduated oral exposure, peer-supported rehearsal, communicative tasks, formative feedback, and psychologically safe assessment routines.Keywords: community partnership, cross-cultural competence, IPEd integration, social isolation, teacher well-being.
Keywords: English, enjoyment, Philippines, recitation, willingness
Author Information: Department of Education-Davao City Division, Philippines; reanne.leopardas@deped.gov.ph
Volume 1, Issue 1, September 2026