Vietnamese English major students’ self-perceived nonverbal communication skills in presentations: Implications for teaching English oral presentations

Nonverbal communication is a crucial component of an effective oral presentation, as it complements verbal communication to express attitudes, enhance audience engagement, and convey meaning. However, in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts, nonverbal communication skills often receive limited instructional attention. This pedagogical imbalance limits students’ ability to show confidence or enhance audience engagement through verbal and nonverbal messages during presentations. Therefore, to propose some pedagogical implications for teaching English oral presentations, this study investigates Vietnamese English major students’ self-perceived nonverbal communication skills in English oral presentations. Using a quantitative design, data were collected from 153 English major students at a university in Vietnam through a structured questionnaire examining students’ perceived importance and use of nonverbal strategies, self-assessed performance, and reasons for their evaluations. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyse the data. The results reveal that students hold positive perceptions of nonverbal communication and actively employ strategies such as vocal modulation and eye contact to enhance engagement and message clarity. However, their overall performance remains at a 'fair' level (M = 2.87), indicating minor inconsistencies and errors in performance. Students identified fear of public speaking, lack of instructional guidance, limited English proficiency, and insufficient topic mastery as major barriers to effective nonverbal communication, while good topic mastery and regular practice were key factors contributing to success. These findings highlight the interplay between psychological, instructional, and linguistic factors influencing students’ nonverbal communication performance. The study underscores the need for explicit instruction, guided practice, and reflective training in nonverbal communication within English major curricula to improve students’ expressive and presentational competence.