Objective: The aim of the present research was to investigate the relationship between perfectionism and language speaking anxiety, with the mediation of language learners’ emotional creativity.

Method: The research employed a descriptive correlational design based on structural equation modeling (SEM). The statistical population consisted of female high school students (second secondary level) during 2024–2025 academic year. Considering the number of observed variables and assigning a coefficient of 15 participants per observed variable, and accounting for the possibility of incomplete questionnaires, a sample size of 232 participants was selected. Data were collected using the Foreign Language Anxiety Questionnaire (Ali Khalaf Ali, 2017), the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Hewitt & Flett, 1991), and the Emotional Creativity Questionnaire (Averill et al., 1999). For data analysis, descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used, and at the inferential level, structural equation modeling was conducted using SPSS 18 and AMOS 23 software.

Findings: The findings indicated that perfectionism and emotional creativity have a direct effect on language speaking anxiety among students. Additionally, perfectionism had an indirect effect on language speaking anxiety through the mediating role of emotional creativity. Overall, the proposed model was confirmed, and the variables of perfectionism and emotional creativity jointly accounted for 41% of the variance in students’ language speaking anxiety.

Conclusion: The results highlight the importance of cognitive and emotional factors in explaining language speaking anxiety among students. Therefore, reducing excessive expectations alongside fostering emotional creativity may serve as an effective strategy for managing language anxiety in educational settings.