From Anxiety to Confidence: Implementing Communication-Orientation Motivation Therapy in Analytical Exposition Speaking
Keywords:
communication-orientation motivation therapy; EFL speaking anxiety; analytical exposition; pre-task planning; qualitative case studyAbstract
Public speaking in a foreign language can intensify anxiety when learners interpret a classroom presentation as an evaluative performance. This qualitative single-case study investigated how Communication-Orientation Motivation (COM) Therapy was implemented in analytical exposition speaking at SMAN 5 Banda Aceh. COM reframes public speaking as purposeful communication with an audience rather than a performance before judges. The case involved one English teacher with more than ten years of experience and a Grade XI science class of 31 students. Data comprised a semi-structured teacher interview and non-participant classroom observation and were analyzed thematically. Four themes characterized the implementation: communicative reframing of the speaking task, pre-class preparation of analytical exposition content, guided presentation followed by peer interaction, and teacher and institutional support for a low-threat classroom climate. The teacher assigned students to study the material before class, clarified the communicative purpose, encouraged speakers to engage classmates as interlocutors, and followed presentations with discussion and language support. These practices positioned COM as a classroom routine that integrates cognitive reframing, task readiness, and interaction. The findings show how the approach can be operationalized in a secondary EFL setting; however, they do not establish causal reductions in anxiety or gains in speaking proficiency because the study did not collect student self-report or pre- and post-performance measures.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rizka Marlisa Aini, Latifah Nur Oktaviani, Feni Aurila, M Rayyan, Putri Humaira, Ainun Nurhidayah, Amanda Shulma Zuhra
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