Abstract
In the context of education, public speaking skills are crucial for both students and educators. For students, developing confidence in speaking equips them to participate actively in class discussions, present research, and express their ideas clearly, skills that are foundational to academic success and future leadership roles. This study aimed to examine the relationship between stage fright and public speaking skills among BSED English major students. Employing a quantitative descriptive-correlational research design, the study sought to determine the extent to which stage fright influences students' performance in public speaking. A total of 350 students participated in the study. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire and analyzed using mean scores and the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient. Findings revealed that the students experienced a high level of stage fright, with cognitive anxiety symptoms being the most dominant, followed by behavioral and physiological symptoms. In contrast, their public speaking skills were found to be significantly affected by these anxiety levels, leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis. These results suggest that higher levels of stage fright negatively impact students' public speaking performance. The findings underscore the importance of enhancing self-efficacy, adequate preparation, and confidence-building as key strategies for managing communication anxiety and improving public speaking skills. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of communication-related anxiety in academic settings and offers valuable insights for developing effective interventions to support future educators in honing their public speaking abilities.
