The role of socio-affective strategies in enhancing ESL university students’ speaking motivation and speech fluency

Despite the integration of socio-affective strategies into the English for Oral Communication (EOC) course, ESL students at a Malaysian public university continuously face persistent challenges in speaking motivation and speech fluency, which potentially affect their speaking performance and future employability. Addressing this issue, the present study investigated how socio-affective strategies can enhance ESL students’ speaking motivation and speech fluency from both lecturers’ and students’ perspectives including examining the gender influence on the strategies used. Guided by Oxford’s (1990) socio-affective strategies framework and employing a mixed-methods design, data were collected from 115 lecturers and 238 students. Findings revealed that lecturers employed strategies such as expressing humour and giving constructive feedback while integrating online materials to foster supportive and conducive speaking environments. They observed that students benefited from group work, peer feedback, and rehearsals in building speaking confidence and improving speech delivery. Students reported using peer interaction, relaxation techniques, and online platforms to manage speaking anxiety and enhance speech fluency. They valued lecturers’ approaches that encouraged learner autonomy, emotional regulation, and motivational support throughout the learning process. Gender influenced lecturers’ teaching preferences, with female lecturers using affective strategies in the classroom more frequently. However, students’ use of socioaffective strategies was not influenced by gender but shaped by classroom contexts and individual experiences. Overall, the findings highlight the critical role of socioaffective strategies in enhancing students’ speaking motivation and speech fluency by fostering social and emotional supports. This study offers practical implications for ESL educators, curriculum developers, and policymakers in developing socially engaging and emotionally responsive pedagogical practices at tertiary level.