A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills

A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills

ABSTRACT English as well as native speaker English as an important medium of international communication is every part of the world No one can deny that English is a global language especially in this internationalization In English skills, communication skills can be considered as the most important skill However, during the learning and communication process, learners also make some mistakes that need to be overcome to improve this skill better Therefore, I would like to discuss the common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills And this is also the topic of my graduation thesis The survey is conducted with the first-year students of the English Faculty to collect survey data I hope that this study will bring students awareness of the common errors in learning communication skills and refer to some useful solutions that will help them improve their communication skills 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Although doing study in a limited time, I received a lot of enthusiastic help from so many people to complete this graduation paper I greatly appreciate the enthusiastic support First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude and profound thanks to Mrs Luong Thi Minh Phuong, one of the enthusiastic lectures of the English Faculty at Thuongmai University and my supervisor Thanks to the thoughtful guidance, I finished the graduation thesis in the most complete way Without any help from her, I can hardly finish this graduation thesis Secondly, I am sincerely thankful to all the first-year students in the English Faculty who helped me a lot in this study They helped me complete the survey and provided me with important data from the questionnaire so that I could analyze and provide the best suggestions for my research Last but not least, I want to thank my family and my close friends for supporting me They helped me to be more spiritual and create good conditions for me to complete my graduation paper well I wish to thank all who have kindly given their advice with source materials during writing I know my graduation paper still has mistakes due to my shortcomings I would like to receive your comments, suggestions and corrections for the perfect of my own graduation paper Hanoi, April 15, 2021 Student Nguyen Thi Quynh Trang 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale English is now a global language Among hundreds of different languages, the world has chosen English as a means of communication so that everyone can understand each other Vietnam is also increasingly developing and popularizing the English language as an inevitable need It is the main language used on the Internet, business and many others fields Learning English includes many skills, in which English communication skills is an important part This study deals with fundamental errors in freshman English communication skills and a number of solutions for improvement As a four-year student in English department, I understand the difficulties that freshman students face when communicating in English They have few opportunities to practice communicating with foreigners and still have many difficulties in English communication That is why I choose the subject of study as: "A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills" I hope that through this research topic, I will point out some common errors in communicating in English and offer some solutions to improve this skill in the best way 1.2 Previous of studies We all know that English has become an international language That is the reason why a lot of researchers and scholars conduct research and analyze it There have been lots of international and local studies which have been done recently relating to English learning In relation to communication skills, Alqahtani Mofareh A, English Department, Civilian Studies, King Khaled Military Academy, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia conducted a study on: "Difficulties Facing Students in English Language Conversation'' (2019) This thesis addresses the poor language proficiency of English language students, 4 particularly in terms of their conversational skills and/or ability to achieve the desired standards of fluency in either the classroom environment or public sphere It aims to identify the inability of students to learn English language conversation skills accurately, the factors behind the difficulties faced by students seeking to communicate in English and the practical solutions which enable students to master English communication skills The results of the study demonstrate that the difficulties and challenges faced by students when speaking in English such as the fear of making errors, imprecise understanding of English vocabulary and grammar, and incorrect word and/or sentence articulation To fully investigate this issue, a quantitative survey instrument containing multiple questions was undertaken in addition to a number of interviews with a random sample of students and teachers in order to elicit the main student challenge in speaking English To this end, the researcher elucidated the research problem, importance, objectives, hypotheses, and methodologies, as well as drawing conclusions Another study on communication skills was implemented by Panida Karachedee, Faculty of Education, Burapha University: " Need analysis for English communication skills of employees at HSBC in Thailand" ( January 2017) The study analyzed aspects of communication skills, with the objective to outline the needs and problems of English communication of the staff, and offer appropriate methods to improve communication skills in English By a quantitative survey instrument containing multiple questions was undertaken, the study demonstrates that listening skill was the English communication skill that Thai employees at HSBC in Thailand thought was the most serious problem The unfamiliarity of the foreigners’ accent and pronunciation was considered as the most serious problem of listening skills Besides, The inability to use correct grammar in communication seemed to be a problem of Thai employees at HSBC in Thailand Finally, the research has clarified the problem and devised a strategy to improve communication skills including internal training and taking English courses at a language academy 5 The study: " A study on how to improve English communication skills of receptionists in Muong Thanh grand Ha Noi hotel" (2018) by Tran Thuy Dung of English Faculty, Thuong Mai University The aim of this study is to identify problems in English communication and find out some appropriate solutions to improve English communication skills of receptionist in Muong Thanh Grand Hanoi hotel in which, the study focuses on finding the reality of the staffs in Reception Department 's using English in communicate with foreigns guests and giving them the suggestions for better communication The expectation is that the receptionists at MTGH hotel can communicate in English confidently and fluently to achieve high efficiency at work Besides, another study “English communication skills of students with foreigners - proposing solutions to join NGOs” (2008), the author selected English - major students from four typical universities in Hanoi: VNU University of Languages and International Studies,Vietnam National University, Foreign Trade University and Hanoi University of Science and Technology Foreigners mentioned in the study are good at English communication skills and qualifications, most of whom are from Europe, Australia and North America using English as their mother language Research methodology used in the article is investigation, interview and observation The research results show that when students communicate with English speakers in different countries, the most common errors they encounter are intonation, accent and regional culture 1.3 Aims of the study My research is to find out the basic mistakes that freshmen students of English Faculty at Thuong Mai university encounter in their English communication, and find solutions to help them improve their English communication skills My research aims at the following basic goals: ● Cover background knowledge of communication ● Analyze the situation of communication in English by first-year students of English Faculty at Thuong Mai university and the common errors encountered by themselves ● Provide solutions to improve English communication skills for Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University 1.4 Research question In order to accomplish the above mentioned aims, the study targets at finding the answer to the following questions - What is the attitude of first-year students of English Faculty at Thuongmai University towards the oral English communication skills? - What are the common errors that the freshmen of English Faculty at Thuongmai University encounter when communicating in English? - How to improve the oral English communication skills of freshmen students of English Faculty at Thuongmai University? 1.5 Research subject The research subject is to find out the common errors faced by English - major freshman at Thuong Mai university in communication in English and offer some solutions to improve this skill in the best way 1.6 Scope of the study Research topics are conducted on the scope of Thuong Mai University The research focuses on the freshmen in the English Faculty at Thuong Mai University to point out their common mistakes when communicating in English and offer some solutions to improve this skill in the best way The study is conducted in the second semester of the academic year 2020-2021 Due to time constraints, this study carries out about 60 randomly selected students 1.7 Research methodology In this study, the author decided to use the quantitative and qualitative methods The data and information has been collected from two sources: the questionnaire and interview 7 A questionnaire is set up which includes both open-ended and closed-ended questions, allowing the respondents to give their opinions and views in the most convenient way Part one consists of the student’s background and basic information and part two proposes some questions relating to common errors and the solution to improve the oral communication in English The interview was designed into three questions to dip deeper into the issue 1.8 Organization of the study This study consists of four main parts: • Chapter 1: Overview of the study General research topics include the reason for selecting this study, provide previous research topics, aims of the study, identify research subjects, scope of the study, research methodology and structure of this study • Chapter 2: Theoretical background This chapter gives an overview of what communication is, types of communication, the importance of English communication skills and English communication errors Thereby, the author finds the common errors that English learners encounter and find out the solutions to improve • Chapter 3: Data analysis and research findings This chapter focuses on analyzing research results and it is also the major part of the study Through the survey, the author learns the views of students about the common errors in communicating in English with foreigners and the solutions to improve the oral communication in English The figures which were collected from the study would be shown and analyzed in this chapter This is the crucial part of all the studies • Chapter 4: Recommendations and suggestions This chapter proposes and suggests some solutions to overcome common errors in oral communicating in English in general and the first-year students of the English Faculty at Thuongmai University in particular 8 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 Definition of communication There are many definitions of communication posed by different writers According to Dwyer (2000), “Communication is the transfer of meaning Communication is any behavior, verbal or nonverbal, that is perceived by another Knowledge, feelings or thoughts are encoded and sent from at least one person and received and decoded by at least one other Meaning is given to this message as the receiver interprets the message A connection is made between the people communicating Communication lets us learn more about ourselves and the world around us, share experience with others, persuade and influence others, and relax and enjoy ourselves.” Verderber, R.F., Verderber, K.S & Berryman- Fink, C (2008) define “communication is the process of creating and sharing meaning in informal conversation, group interaction, or public speaking” Another definition is set by Hybels, S & Weaver II, R.L (1992) According to them, “communication is any process in which people share information, ideas and feelings That process involves not only the spoken and written word, but also body, personal mannerisms and style, the surroundings- anything that adds meaning to a message.” From the definition, it can be summarized that Communication is the process of sending and receiving information among people It is a way of reaching others by transmitting ideas and thoughts, feelings and values 2.2 Types of communication 2.2.1 Oral communication According to Bovee and others: “Verbal communication is the expression of information through language which is composed of words and grammar.” And another definition about verbal communication according to Penrose and others: “Verbal communication consists of sharing thoughts thought the meaning of words.” 9 Verbal communication can be defined as communicating your thoughts through words Such thoughts may be ideas, opinions, directions, dissatisfaction, objections, your emotions and pleasures For example, when you conduct a meeting, have a conversation over the phone, talk to a friend, write letters, emails or any other forms of conversation that you perform with others using words 2.2.2 Nonverbal communication According to Levine and Adelman (1993) non-verbal communication is the silent language, including the use of gestures, facial expressions, eye-contact and conversational đistance, etc The phrase nonverbal communication refers to communication affected by means other than words to most people We need to understand that separating verbal and nonverbal behavior into two separate and distinct categories is virtually impossible For example, how we categorize sign language into verbal or nonverbal communication? Under some circumstances, sign language can be translated to verbal meaning word by word; On the other hand, it communicates without sounds and words and carries meaning through gestures Generally, when people refer to nonverbal behavior, they are talking about the signals, to which meaning will be attributed, not the process of attributing meaning Nguyen Quang (2008) gives his own view on the definition which seems to cover most important dimensions of nonverbal communication Nonverbal communication, according to this author, refers to "all the components of the message that, when taken together, constitute the communication which is not verbally coded but both vocally and non-vocally channeled” 2.2.3 Written communication According to the study about "Effective oral and written communication" ( 2018) of R Prabavathi and P C Nagasubramani, written communication is the oldest known 10 10 vocabulary always plays an important role in all skills of English, for communication skills, too, having a rich vocabulary will help us avoid mistakes such as lack of ideas to communicate, or using words in the wrong context Learners should equip themselves with a notebook to update new vocabulary to help you be more flexible in communication You can reinforce and enrich your vocabulary by reading a lot of books, newspapers, movies, etc Especially learners should focus on words that learners find useful, and limit learning difficult vocabulary ❖ Improve pronunciation and listening skill Regarding the method of improving listening and pronunciation skills, through chart 3.8, 38% of students chose it This is also an effective method to improve English communication skills, the improvement of listening and pronunciation skills helps learners feel better how native speakers’ pronunciation and attachment will gradually resemble the tone of their speech more foreigners ❖ Learn about communication cultures Regarding the learning about communication cultures method, the results obtained from table 3.8 show that only 10% of students use this method Thus, communication culture is not a big problem for students when communicating with foreigners However, this is also an effective method, to communicate well with foreigners, first of all, learners should have a basic understanding of their culture, which will help you confidently communicate As a result of the research in chart 3.8 on cultural communication errors, most of you will have the error about lacking calm when not understanding what foreigner says So, to fix this error by confidently asking the information you don't understand, native speakers will always be happy and ready to answer questions for you ❖ Seeking foreign friends In terms of the seeking foreign friends method, through graph 3.8 we can see that 82% of students choose this method It can be seen that this is the method most chosen by students Making friends with foreigners and practicing daily communication is a very effective learning method They will help learners correct their mistakes in 30 30 pronunciation and grammar Learners will progress greatly in a short time and will feel more confident in communicating in English ❖ Participate in English communication courses Based on the results in table 3.9, 68% of students used Participate in English communication courses This is an effective skill improvement method, participating in communication English courses will help you have an environment to practice communication, especially with native teachers and friends who share the same learning needs English However, with this method, learners will spend a large amount of money on students In addition to the methods suggested by the researcher, the results obtained from open-ended questionnaires about some of the popular learning methods that students used were shown, such as watching foreign movies or TV shows and take advantage of any free time to listen to English In addition to the results gathered from the questionnaire, the researcher conducted direct interviews with the students with the question: "What you ofen to improve your oral English communication skills?" and received the following results: Nga replied: "Because the error I often have is the lack of pronunciation and lack of confidence when communicating with foreigners, my method is to watch movies and watch the entertainment programs suitable for my hearing ability At the same time, I participate in communication course with foreigners to improve my communication skills.” Linh shared that: "The mistake that I often make is fear of making mistakes in grammar and pronunciation, besides I often use" ah "," uhmm "while speaking, I often practice parodying native speakers with topics that I liked, then recording I applied it for two months and I found myself improving a lot " After asking students about their learning methods, the research continued questioning whether those methods are effective to them or not and then in the next part in terms of solutions would suggest useful ways for them Questions 31 Options 31 No of staff Percentage (%) Is the strategy you have applied Yes 12 40 effective in improving your listening No 18 60 skills? Table 3.2 The effectiveness of solutions to improving communication skills As shown at table 3.2, 40% of students reported that those methods they have applied work well on them and 60% of respondents said that their speaking skills have not been improved by applying those methods In summary, the most popular learning methods that staff have applied to improve their English communication skills is the cultivate vocabulary, seeking foreign friends and participate in English communication courses methods.Other common way that students have used is that they imitated the native speaker and recorded their voice and then listen them to see what mistakes they often make and then looking for the solutions 3.2.5 Discussion This chapter presents findings which researcher collected data for the study The results of the research are transferred and shown by tables and charts Through the paper, the researcher received the two main opinions: the common errors of the students and the solutions to improving oral English communication skills The big errors perceived by the first-year students of English faculty at Thuongmai University is lack of intonation, using words with the wrong context and lack of confidence In which, the lack of confidence when communicating with foreigners is still the most noticeable error Research can prove that some students feel shy about communicating in English with foreigners and have a lot of difficulties in practicing it According to the survey results obtained, the majority of first-year students in the English department of Thuongmai University have chosen a suitable study method, which is to find a native friend to communicate with, take a communication English course and cultivate vocabulary to deal with the basic mistakes of English communication skills that most of them encounter 32 32 Based on all the findings that are presented and discussed in this chapter, some suggestions for improving English communication reflex skill to the first-year students at English faculty at Thuongmai University will be provided in the following chapter CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 4.1 Limitations After completing the survey of students’ common mistakes when communicating in English and finding solutions to improve their skills in chapter III, the author analyzed and pointed out the common they are having and solutions to improve However, there are several limitations in the study that should be noted Firstly, there are limitations regarding time and how to conduct a survey Due to encountering unexpected objective factors, the author could not meet students directly to proceed the questionnaire and conduct face-to-face interviews with more people Besides, in this study, the author just can evaluate and give some reasons which led to the weakness of students in oral communication in English In spite of the mentioned limitations, the author wishes that this research will contribute to the better situation of oral communication in English in English Faculty at Thuongmai University 4.2 Recommendations The findings of this study suggest that students encounter some English communication errors that can be overcome by putting more emphasis on speaking and listening skills In order to enhance oral English communication skills of the students, the author gives some possible solutions below Hopefully, these suggestions will help students to have a good English communication skill • 33 Practice pronunciation 33 One of the things that makes learners hesitate to communicate in English is that their pronunciation is not good They not hear clearly and are afraid to mispronounce For that reason, learners should start practicing their pronunciation very well if they want to understand native speakers and speak English well There are many ways for them to carry out The first step for people with weak pronunciation to pronounce correctly is to learn the IPA alphabet Then, learners can seek other learning resources such as BBC learning English, VOA learning English or videos by teachers on YouTube Besides, students can also apply these lessons and practice yourself in the mirror every day This way can take a lot of time but day by day they will see their pronunciation improved significantly • Expand vocabulary To get better in any skills, it is very important to expand vocabulary In other words, students should learn new words every day In fact, many students always feel a lack of vocabulary when communicating in English with foreigners, so expanding it is one of the best ways to improve English communication ability The students can put a suitable target, it and complete it daily For example, the target of each day is to learn by heart ten new words Even if students only have time to learn one new word per day, it is still worth trying There are many sources that students can find vocabulary such as the Internet, books, TV shows, teachers, even from their friends One of the good ways is read It not only helps students expand vocabulary but also enhances reading ability The students still learn English words from reading For instance, they find that every couple of months the New York Times uses a word that either they never heard before, or that they have heard but they are not totally solid on the meaning Then students look it up, learn the meaning and then go back to the sentence and solidify it One good idea is to think of another word that they know that they could replace within that sentence A word that would not change the meaning After that students say the sentence with that word Tying the new word to a word they already know, and studying it in the context of the sentence will help them remember it This way may take much time but it is very useful for a long time 34 34 • Read aloud Reading out loud also is a great way to practice speaking when there are no conversation partners available Reading aloud gives students a chance to focus on pronunciation and pacing without worrying about coming up with words For example, students can find videos that have transcripts By reading aloud from a transcript, students can check your pronunciation by listening to how speaker says something This allows students to it everywhere even if you are not confident There are many channels which can help to it such as TED talks, English Speeches, BBC learning English, VOA learning English, etc If the students can take at least 15 minutes per day to listen and read aloud a video, definitely they will see how their English is improving.  • Find native speakers to practice with It is also essential to find native speakers to practice with It becomes useless when students communicate with native speakers and not understand what they are saying Therefore, having a friend who is a native speaker is a good way to improve your English communication skill In fact, students who are living around many English speakers may be able to find informal opportunities to chat with neighbors and local business people On the other hand, joining a club or volunteer organization can be a great way to get to people informally If that is not an option, the students also can consider hiring a private tutor A lot of students find and meet with tutors online via tools like Skype or Google Hangouts It is also an effective way to improve students’ English communication skill in Faculty English at TMU when students practice with native speakers daily, the natural reaction as well as grammar of each person will be improved • Use mass media, book, newspaper in studying English communication Mass media is an indispensable part of our life today In fact, it is very useful for students to study English communication For example, every day, they spend a little time reading newspapers or magazines to enrich English vocabulary or collect the correct structure Listening to English news on television is also a good method to learn 35 35 to speak In fact, it is necessary to understand much information through this news, especially students in English faculty However, it really boosts the students’ listening skill Mass media consists of main means of mass communication such as newspapers, television & radio, books, magazines, adverts, cinema, videos, internet ( personal website pages, blogs, etc) which occupy a central and pivotal role in our lives The students can learn an enormous number of vocabulary and the sentence structures as well from this Importantly, this information is very up-to-date and denotes the fact of each event happening every day in detail Practising the four basic skills in English will be better when studying from mass media 4.3 Some suggestions for further research Due to the limited scope and duration of the study, the topic cannot fully exploit all aspects of the problem Therefore, here are some research proposals for future topics to learn more about this issue Firstly, errors are formed from many different factors, different aspects and it directly affects learning or anything The researcher can focus on analyzing a certain aspect, such as focusing on subjective difficulties or objective difficulties Thus, readers will have a better insight into the difficulties in communication in English with foreigners Secondly, further studies should collect more than one assessment to affirm correct research findings as the result makes the study more persuasive Thirdly, further studies should be conducted in a longer period and set up specific plans for conducting To sum up, the author hopes that there are other opportunities to continue the study on other aspects of this subject to help people have good communication English skills 36 36 CONCLUSION Common English communication is to apply in practice Learning English communication does not require too much effort to memorize, but to be able to confidently communicate in English, it is very important to create a habit of maintaining daily practice Because everyone cannot learn once and remember forever Therefore regarding learning a foreign language, it is indispensable to maintain practice every day However, in order to have absolute motivation to persistently practice listening and speaking English regularly, the first step, we must define our goal: What is learning English for? You must understand clearly that you learn to exchange jobs in a foreign enterprise, to work with foreigners, to travel, or to study abroad Only when you find yourself a practical goal, then you can find out the most effective English learning method In this graduation paper, the author has consulted a number of English books and websites to explore what factors learners of English consider important, the common errors when communicating in English with foreigners An overview of communication in chapter II, the author gave them a general understanding of the definition, the importance, and aspect of communication and general errors when practicing English communication A questionnaire was used to discover their attitudes about English communication skill and analyze the difficulties of students Descriptive statistics and principal component analysis were done in chapter III and this result indicated that students are facing up many errors to enhance their English communication skill with foreigners 37 37 However, because of the limitation of time, of knowledge as well as of experience, mistakes in this paper are unavoidable Because of that, I would like to receive feedback from my teachers and friends Once again, I would like to express many of my thanks to my supervisor Mrs Luong Thi Minh Phuong for her wholehearted help in my study and also to all my teachers, my friends and my family members, who have encouraged me to accomplish this graduation paper REFERRENCES http://www.sciedupress.com/journal/index.php/irhe/article/download/16260/101 31 https://silo.tips/download/needs-analysis-for-english-communication-skills-ofemployees-at-hsbc-in-thailand https://123doc.net/document/5930569-a-study-on-how-to-improve-englishcommunication-skills-of-receptionists-in-muong-thanh-grand-hanoi-hotel.htm https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/phamphi95/a-study-on-difficulties-and- solutions-in-english-listening-skill-of-the-secondyear-students-in-faculty-offoreign-language-at-utehy https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/147421711.pdf http://ethesisarchive.library.tu.ac.th/thesis/2016/TU_2016_5821042206_7187_6 070.pdf https://text.123doc.net/document/2899094-a-survey-on-students-attitudestowards-learning-speaking-skills-at-university-of-social-sciences-andhumanities-vnu.htm https://media.neliti.com/media/publications/213730-the-attitude-towards- speaking-english.pdf 38 38 QUESTIONNAIRE I am Nguyen Thi Quynh Trang, the final year student at Thuongmai University This survey questionnaire is designed for my graduation paper namely: “A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills ” To complete these questions, please choose the answers among the items in a checklist or express your idea in the blanks Your assistance in responding to the following questions will help me a lot with the study Please answer the question sincerely as this ensures the success of the study The data collected are used in the research paper only, and not for any commercial purposes Thank you for your cooperation! Part 1: Student's English background information Question 1: How long have you learned English? □ 1- years □ 3- years □ 5- years □ More than years Question 2: How often you use English to communicate? □ Often □ Sometimes □ Rarely Question 3: What you think about the importance of English communication skills □ Extremely important 39 □ Very important 39 □ Fairly important □ A little important □ Not important Question 4: How you feel when communicating in English? □ Excited □ Fun □ Shy Question 5: What locations help you connect with foreigners to practice communication skills? (More than answer) □ Social media: Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, etc □ School □ English course □ Ho Guom □ Your own methods: …………………………………………………………… Question 6: Do you think that methods work well in improving your communication skills? □ Yes □ No Please specify the reason why you think that methods improve or not improve your communication skills …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Part 2: Common English communication skill errors and strategies to improve English communication skills Question 7: What are your common mistakes when you communicate in English with foreigners? Please indicate your level of consent to the statement below with the convention as follows: 40 40 Always Often Sometimes Never Mistake Pronunciation Ending sound is not pronounced Emphasize incorrect word stress Do not have intonation Vocabulary Use words with the wrong context Grammar Focus too much on grammar Talk too fast Communication Lack of calm when not understanding culture what foreigner says Do not look directly into foreigner's eyes while speaking Self - confidence Lack of confidence Use "uhm”, “ah" too much Question 8: In your opinion, which are the main factors affecting oral English communication errors? Please indicate your level of consent to the statement below with the convention as follows: Agree Neutral Disagree 41 41 Reasons Limitation of vocabulary knowledge Be afraid of making pronunciation and grammar mistakes Lack of knowledge about communication cultural with foreigner Lack of professional environment to speak Lazy in practicing speaking English with native speaker Worried about making mistakes and fearful of criticism Question 9: Which solutions you choose to improve oral communication skills in English with foreigners? □ Improve pronunciation and listening skill □ Cultivate vocabulary □ Learn about communication cultures □ Seeking foreign friends □ Participate in English communication courses □ Your own method (Please specify): …………………………………………… You can tick more than one answer Question 10: Are the solutions you have applied effective in improving your communication skills? □ Yes 42 □ No 42 INTERVIEW Question 1: Why are English communication skills important to you? Question 2: What error you often encounter when communicating English that you find it most difficult to overcome? Question 3: What you ofen to improve your oral English communication skills? 43 43 44 44 ... at Thuongmai University This survey questionnaire is designed for my graduation paper namely: ? ?A study on common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong. .. leading to the grammatical and pronunciation errors 2.5.3 Lack of professional environment to speak It is essential to have a professional environment to practice English Hyland in the survey “Asian... common English communication skill errors made by Faculty of English freshmen of Thuong Mai University and how to improve their communication skills" I hope that through this research topic, I will