Indonesian Teachers’ Affective Roles And Students’ English Speaking Confidence In A Multilingual Learning Environment At Nonformal School Context In Malaysia

Abstract

This study investigated Indonesian teachers’ affective roles in supporting English-speaking confidence and explored how a multilingual learning environment shaped elementary students’ confidence in a nonformal school in Malaysia. A qualitative case-study design involved ten elementary students and two English teachers selected purposively. Data were collected through online questionnaires, semi-structured teacher interviews, and classroom observations, and analyzed through data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing following Miles and Huberman. Findings related to the first research question showed that teachers supported learners through emotional care, encouragement, constructive responses to errors, interactive classroom practices, and repeated opportunities to speak. In the second research question, students described Indonesian, Malay, and English as useful resources for understanding lessons and communicating; peer participation and flexible language use often supported confidence. However, code-switching, limited vocabulary, fear of mistakes, and anxiety remained challenges. Overall, teacher affective support and a psychologically safe multilingual environment appeared to encourage participation, although multilingual flexibility needed to be paired with purposeful opportunities to practice English. The study highlights the value of supportive feedback, collaborative speaking tasks, and gradual movement toward more sustained English use in nonformal multilingual education.