Understanding the factors that contribute to speaking anxiety is essential for vocational students, as this anxiety factor can significantly impact their speaking performance in English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms. However, validated instruments tailored to this subject remain limited. This study aimed to adapt and validate the Students’ Speaking Anxiety Scale (SSAS) for 274 students enrolled at the six vocational colleges (VC) in Sarawak, Malaysia, with the goal of identifying the factors these students perceived as contributing to their speaking anxiety. The adaptation and validation process were conducted in two phases. In Phase 1, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to identify the three potential dimensions of the scale: Communication Apprehension, Fear of Negative Evaluation, and Test Anxiety. Phase 2 applied confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to verify the scale’s robust overall fit. The results showed high internal consistency, along with strong construct, convergent and discriminant validity. Overall, these findings offer empirical evidence supporting the SSAS as a reliable and valid instrument for assessing speaking anxiety among VC students and guiding future efforts to improve their speaking performance in ESL settings. © Authors.
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