Oral communication competence (OCC) is now a core learning outcome for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in the globalized higher education landscape, yet persistent psychological barriers continue to hinder its development, particularly in non-immersion university contexts. While decades of research have documented the negative impacts of foreign language speaking anxiety on oral performance, the combined predictive role of communicative uncertainty and anxiety, alongside the mediating mechanism of classroom participation, remains under-explored. This gap is especially notable in Chinese application-oriented universities, where exam-oriented curricula and limited authentic speaking opportunities create unique barriers to oral development. This paper develops a conceptual framework integrating Anxiety/Uncertainty Management (AUM) Theory, Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT), and Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory to explain how psychological factors shape OCC through the mediating pathway of classroom participation. We further outline an explanatory sequential mixed-methods research protocol designed to test this framework among 150 English-major undergraduates at Guangdong Technology College, China, with a key methodological innovation: multi-source OCC assessment combining student self-report with independent teacher ratings to address common method bias in self-reported competence measures. The paper concludes with expected theoretical contributions to EFL affective research and evidence-based pedagogical implications for reducing psychological barriers and improving oral English instruction in non-immersion contexts.
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