Engaging students’ participation is crucial in the EFL classes since it will create active learning atmosphere from both teacher and students. From that, students can master the language skills well. This research was aimed at knowing the students’ level of oral participation in EFL classes, the types of their participation, and also the problems of students in participating.The sample was 100 students of SMA N 5 Purwokerto at the twelfth grade. This research used descriptive-quantitative data with observation, questionnaire, and interview as the instruments to gain the data from the field. The results revealed the percentage of students’ participation in EFL classes was 19 %. It can be categorized in low participation. Most of the students were active in silent or non-oral participation.The highest problem for students in participating was on linguistic barriers.