This study was conducted in order to determine the factors that affect the English language performance of English Essentials students of Mindanao State University Students. The variables considered in this study were categorized into personal, psychological and social This study used the qualitative-quantitative design. To gather the three variables, the researcher modified participant background questionnaire adapted from Balut (1985) and Araya (1999) and used an instrument patterned after that of Pasao (1985; cited in Caballas, 1994). The researcher found out that factors affecting students' performance include educational attainment of their parents and the respondent's choice of college program to pursue. The study revealed that public schools have weak preparation for their students to pass entrance exams. The study shows that although the respondents’ attitudes towards English are positive, their home languages and language(s) used with peers show that English is not much used in these domains. The study also revealed that respondent’s ages, field of specialization, use of imagery as strategy to employ English language learning and exposure to mass media have significant relationship to the respondent’s performance in their English subject. Furthermore, the reapondents' age and field of specialization affects their performance in English. It is recommended that relevance and utility of teaching method that involves visual aids and Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences theory should be used.