Vocabulary Mastery and Public Speaking Confidence Among Grade 12 HUMSS Students: A Correlational Study

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between vocabulary mastery and public speaking confidence among Grade 12 Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) students at Mantalongon National High School in Dalaguete, Cebu, Philippines. Using a quantitative correlational design, data were gathered from 117 respondents selected through simple random sampling from a population of 156 Grade 12 HUMSS students. Vocabulary breadth and receptive vocabulary, the Word Associates Test (WAT) for vocabulary depth, and the Productive Vocabulary Levels Test (PVLT) for productive vocabulary. Public speaking confidence was assessed using the Youth Public Speaking Self-Efficacy Survey Tool grounded in Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory. Descriptive statistics and Spearman Rank-Order Correlation were employed. The findings indicated that students demonstrated an overall low level of vocabulary mastery, characterized by intermediate breadth but negligible depth and restricted productive ability. In contrast, students exhibited a high level of public speaking confidence across all four sources of self-efficacy, with a composite mean of 3.82. Correlation analysis yielded a Spearman Rho of 0.152 (p = 0.102), indicating a very weak, statistically non-significant relationship between vocabulary mastery and public speaking confidence. These results suggest that vocabulary knowledge alone does not substantially predict speaking confidence, and that psychological and experiential factors play a more prominent role. The study highlights the need for integrated instructional approaches addressing both lexical development and socio-emotional learning.