The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Speaking Skill with Special Reference to ESL Students, Faculty of Arts, University of Jaffna.

Abstract

Language learning is emotionally driven. The emotions can optimize the learning experience and contribute to the awareness of learners about their needs, goals and others’ emotions. The speaking skill is considered as one of the most challenging skills by language learners. Sometime, students are reluctant to cooperate and actively engage in English speaking activities. Thus, it is the responsibility of teachers to recognize learners’ real emotions and how they affect their ability to speak in the classroom. The objective of this study is to find out whether Emotional Intelligence (EI) of the students affects their attitudes in terms of active involvement in speaking in the classroom. The design of the study is descriptive and quantitative where the researcher presented data in numerical and descriptive form. In order to achieve this goal, twenty-three ESL social science students from Faculty of Arts, University of Jaffna are randomly selected. The data are collected using EI questionnaire, journal writing and structured interview. The questionnaire focuses on key dimensions of EI: emotional perception, emotional comprehension and emotional regulation. Krashan’s monitor hypothesis is used for the analysis. The findings reported in this study highlight that students with low EI constantly compare themselves with their peers and feel shy to express themselves because of mistakes they may make while speaking. And pair works and group works are preferred by the students with low EI to share their ideas, offer alternative suggestions and linguistic feedback. It is observed that the usage of their mother tongue is also an adding factor occasionally to increase their EI in the second language classroom. The implications of the findings may encourage teachers to focus on the activities which will enhance the emotional intelligence of the students.