| Summary: | In this paper, the focus is on oral participation during lectures. Oral participation refers to the active engagement of learners in the lecture by speaking, asking, giving comments, and participating in pair or group discussions. The students are supposed to participate and practice the language to improve their speaking skills. The main question in this study is: Why students do not speak and engage during lectures? Hence, the aim of the paper is to find out the factors that affect their performance. In this study, the researcher examined the main reason behind the lack of participation of English Foreign Language students in the English department at Cihan University-Erbil to find solutions for improving their speaking skills. A questionnaire was prepared based on the most common reasons affecting class engagement and it was divided into four sections: Personal factors, the role of the teacher, environmental factors, and linguistic factors. The participants were students at the English department at Cihan University-Erbil. After conducting the questionnaire, the researcher had an interview with the students and their teachers. The results showed that there are many reasons and factors that hinder learners from speaking and turn them into passive listeners. The personal factors and the effect of the teachers were the most prominent factors that had an impact on the learner’s performance.
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