Investigating Non-English Students’ Emotional Intelligence in English Debate Competition

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to describe the Non-English students’ emotions, students’ emotion management and the importance of emotion in English Debate Competition. This study used a qualitative-descriptive research method with phenomenological study techniques. In collecting the data, interviewing was used as the instrument which was then processed based on data reduction techniques, data presentation, and drawing a conclusion. The informants of this study were six students of the Non-English Students’ Program who joined in English Debate Competition. The result showed that students experienced two kinds of emotions, those are positive and negative emotions. The positive emotions are happiness, excited, and enthusiastic, while the negative emotions the students experienced nervousness, anxiety, panic, scared, and insecurity. Each student experienced several emotions, but the most often felt by the students when speaking are negative emotions; nervous and insecure. In the non-English students` emotional management, the results showed that they used only three of his five emotional intelligence abilities to recognize and manage emotions when the students joining English debate competition. The three types of emotional intelligence are seen to have a strong impact on the performance of non-English students participating in English debate competition. These are self-awareness, self-regulation, and motivation. Emotional intelligence abilities of non-English students participating in English debate competition are important because the ability of Emotional Intelligence can control themselves to convey arguments properly and calmly during English debate competitions.