Résumé:
The objective of the present research is to investigate the correlation between self-confidence
and students’ speaking performance at the Department of letters and English language at the
University of Guelma. Students of English are facing problems that affect their speaking skill;
the lack of self-confidence is one of them. Thus, we hypothesize that if students have high
level of self-confidence their oral performance would increase. To test this hypothesis, a
qualitative (descriptive) research has been conducted. Group of first year students LMD has
constituted our sample. A questionnaire has been conducted to both teachers and students to
gather data about students’ self-confidence and speaking performance. Based on the
questionnaires’ results, our hypothesis was confirmed that self-confidence has a great impact
on students’ oral performance; having a high level of confidence may lead to better oral
performance. Thus, we recommend the implementation of public speaking techniques as
successful tools for enhancing learners’ self-confidence, as well as; teachers' role in
improving learners’ speaking skill.