OVERCOMING SPEAKING BARRIERS IN ENGLISH: ADAPTIVEAPPROACHES FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ COMMUNICATIONPROFICIENCY
Keywords:
English speaking barriers, foreign language anxiety, university students, adaptive approaches, communicative language teaching, speaking proficiency.Abstract
Many university students, particularly non-native English speakers in
countries like Uzbekistan, face significant barriers in developing English speaking proficiency. These include psychological factors (anxiety, fear of mistakes, lack of confidence), linguistic challenges (limited vocabulary, poor pronunciation, grammar issues), and environmental obstacles (insufficient practice opportunities, unsupportive classroom atmosphere). This paper explores the main speaking barriers through a review of existing literature and proposes adaptive, student-centered approaches to
overcome them. Strategies include technology-assisted practice (YouTube, language apps), communicative and task-based learning, positive feedback mechanisms, pair/group work, scaffolding techniques, and creating low-anxiety classroom environments. The study emphasizes the importance of adaptive methods tailored to university students’ needs for improving communication proficiency, motivation, and overall academic performance. Findings suggest that combining psychological support
with regular, low-stakes speaking practice yields the best results.
