The reality and solutions to improve speaking skills of freshmen at English Faculty Thuongmai University

The reality and solutions to improve speaking skills of freshmen at English Faculty Thuongmai University The reality and solutions to improve speaking skills of freshmen at English Faculty Thuongmai University The reality and solutions to improve speaking skills of freshmen at English Faculty Thuongmai University The reality and solutions to improve speaking skills of freshmen at English Faculty Thuongmai University The reality and solutions to improve speaking skills of freshmen at English Faculty Thuongmai University

ABSTRACT The study is aimed at finding out the reality of learning English speaking skills of the first-year English majored students at ThuongMai University and giving some effective solutions to deal with this reality For the objectives, 100 first-year English majored students were invited to participate in this study They were asked to a survey questionnaire and personal interview questions which help to identify the reality of learning English speaking skills The results of the study revealed that students faced up some problems when learning English speaking skills such as mispronunciation, limited listening skills, a limited amount of vocabulary, the habit of translating from Vietnamese into English as well as lack of background knowledge and confidence when speaking English In which, 71% of students have difficulty in speaking English because of limited vocabulary and the majority of people surveyed choose to listen to English news, movies, and English conversation in different fields to help improve speaking skills In addition, some suggestions were proposed to help students solve these problems and enhance their English speaking skills 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Firstly, from the deepest of my heart, allowing me to express my gratitude to my supervisor Ms Duong Thi Hong Tham who supports and assists me greatly in doing my research I am thankful for his enthusiastic guidance, valuable criticism, and meaningful pieces of advice all of which encourage me to overcome all difficulties and finish this research successfully First and foremost, I would love to express thanks to Thuong Mai University and English Faculty department for giving me a good guideline Besides, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to my friends and students at Thuong Mai University for their help in completing my survey questionnaires As they support and share a lot of information, ideas about aspects of my research Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude to our group with members and my family often shared my feelings and gave me timely motivation to complete this study In short, I truly thank all those who have kindly given their advice to help to complete this paper Hanoi, 16th April 2021 Ly Nguyen Thi Ly 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ANU: Ajloun National University TMU: Thuong Mai University EFL: English as a Foreign Language ICELAIC: International conference on Education, Language, Art and Intercultural Communication 4 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES No Charts and Tables Table 3.1 Students’ English learning background Chart 3.2 Students's attitudes towards learning English speaking skills Chart 3.3 Students’ evaluation their level of speaking Chart 3.4 Students’ frequency in practicing English speaking skills Chart 3.5 Students’ feeling in speaking English Chart 3.6 Students’ participation in speaking class Table 3.7 Students’ difficulties and problems faced in speaking English Table 3.8 Students’ solutions to overcome and improve their English speaking skills Page 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 32 CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale As we know, English is the third most popular language in the world after Chinese and Spanish, it is used by more than one billion people in work, education, everyday life, etc Accordingly, if you are good at English and speak English, you will have good opportunities, advancement in work and interesting experiences Knowing English will help you to chat and make friends with foreign friends, colleagues, teachers Because English is used by almost every country in the world, so not only British, American, you can also make friends with Chinese, Korean, and Japanese In addition, without saying that, knowing English will help you connect with other people you love to use English in the country English-speaking people are usually good and interesting people, so reaching out to this community will also bring you a lot of benefits In order to keep ourselves keep up with the global standard in today’s world which is called the international community, we need to have knowledge and understanding of English as an international language The English language is the dominant business language, and it has become almost the necessity for people to speak English It is the key to unlock the door which helps us to explore a new world, new culture and broadens the mind about the big world Furthermore, nowadays, Vietnam becomes one of the members of the World Trade Organization, it is crucial for Vietnamese students of English to have good speaking English skills in order to adapt to the increasing demand for integration into the world economy and exchange culture with other countries As a result, learning English speaking skills is a great advantage for Vietnamese students However, it is not easy for students to become proficient because of a number of influences from different cultures, their native language or their own limited language skills, etc Through my research and experience, I realize that students still face many difficulties and obstacles in speaking English Being fully aware of the necessity of handling these difficulties for the first-year English majored students of Thuong Mai University, I would like to conduct a study on the topic “The reality and solutions to improve speaking skills of freshmen at English Faculty - Thuongmai University” 1.2 Previous studies There have previously been many studies done relating to this area which will be listed as follows: Firstly, a study on how to improve the English language speaking skills of Ajloun National University Students was conducted by Abdel- Rahman Al- Eiadeh, B A Student, department of English language and literature at Ajloun National University For the objectives, 20 students consist of 12 Females students and Males students were invited to this research All of them are studying the English language, the majority of the objectives were the Seniors and Juniors students, while Freshman were minority students This thesis focused on analyzing and revealing the problems ANU students had to face related to speaking skills such as confusion and embarrassment; students' lack of confidence and background knowledge and face difficulty in pronouncing some words And the study presented some solutions to improve English speaking skills such as practicing English outside and inside the classroom effectively, using modern social media to help students communicate in English, and to express the student's feelings and demands Secondly, an action research project on the understanding and actions taken to improve speaking skills through the game in a public school called “Federico Garcia Lorca” in Columbia accomplished by Urrutia & Vega (2006) The participants in this study were twenty girls and twenty boys from 14 to 18 years old The data collection instruments were used in this study are questionnaires, teacher’s journals, and video recordings The results of the study revealed that the majority of students considered that speaking English is the most complicated skill to work out; the researcher noticed that students sometimes spoke English but the majority of them did not speak English during the English class In addition, another study on how to improve English speaking skills through extra- activities for the first-year English non-major students in Hai Phong Private University conducted by Nguyen Thi Dieu Huyen (2008) The study identified the reality of teaching and learning English at Hai Phong Private University, covered the background knowledge of speaking The research also proposed some appropriate methods for teaching speaking lessons which draw student’s attention to the lesson Besides, Hamzad & Ting (2009) conducted a qualitative and action research study on the success of using group work in teaching speaking in an English classroom in a school called “SMK Damai Jaya” in Malaysia The sample of the study was 33 students and English teachers Questionnaires, observations, and interviews were used as data collection instruments The researchers carried out a series of questionnaires in the Malay language which helped students provide their opinions about the group work activities to improve speaking skills and their consciousness of participation in those activities The results of the study expressed enthusiasm in group work activities and proficiency in spoken language To sum up, obviously, these studies have been researched on different criteria of language learning However, this research study will look into the reality of learning English speaking skills of the first-year English majored students at Thuongmai University and solutions 1.3 Aims of the study This study analyzes the reality of first-year English speaking skills of the University of Commerce and offers solutions to help students improve their speaking English skills The study is carried out with the following purposes: Firstly, the study provides the background theories of speaking skills that help readers wrap up the basic knowledge of speaking Based on the given theories, the readers would understand deeply the context of the study Secondly, the study provides the results of the previous study related to the topic From that, the research paper shows the importance of researching this topic and find out other difficulties and solutions to help freshmen in the English Department improve their speaking skills Finally, it should be noted that this paper shouldn’t be considered exclusive to majored English freshmen at Thuongmai University In fact, the fundamental concepts and results of this paper can be applied to most English learners 1.4 Scope of the study When the first-year students in the Faculty of English, Thuong Mai University (2020-2024 curriculum) start their semester, English speaking course is the compulsory subject for them This paper focuses on researching and analyzing the reality of learning English speaking skills by using the data collected from giving the first-year students in the Faculty of English, TMU makes a questionnaire and personal interview as well as making some suggestions to help students improve their speaking English skills The results of the study are limited to the students participate in this study But it can be a source for anyone who excited and want to practice and enhance speaking English 1.5 Research Methodology 1.5.1 Research design It took about months to carry out this study Firstly, the researcher chose the topic, collected the related previous studies and information through the internet, reference books, and other sources which is useful and support for the researcher during the research After that, the questionnaire and personal interview related to the thesis were designed and taken by 100 first-year English majored students at TMU Finally, the study was fulfilled to find out the reality of learning English speaking skills by the first-year students at the Faculty of English, the problems and some solutions were given as well 1.5.2 Research questions In order to determine the current situation of learning English speaking skills of first-year students majoring in English at the Faculty of English, Thuong Mai University and offer solutions, this study focuses on answering the following questions: What is the reality of the first-year English majored student’s English speaking skills? What strategies can be helpful for students to speak English well? 1.5.3 Instruments The study was conducted with the assistance of questionnaires, interviews, documentary studies and observation notes which are summarized from my learning experience The main instrument in this research was a survey questionnaire which was designed by the researcher The participants were asked about their obstacles in improving their English communication skill and strategies recommended for them to limit their problems during their conversation with other special native speakers in the workplace The survey questionnaire The survey questionnaire was contributed to 100 first-year English majored students at Thuong Mai University The questionnaire in this study can help to find out the necessary data and information for this research In this study, the survey questionnaire was included 10 questions are closed, multiple choices, and open-ended questions with the following purposes: - Investigating and getting information about the student’s difficulties and problems in learning English speaking skills - Knowing the student’s frequency in using English to speak and their level - Know the ways students used to improve their English speaking skills 1.5.4 Methods of the study One method was considered and selected to fulfill this research as the following: - Reference materials including reference books, reference previous studies were carefully chosen, researched, and analyzed - A survey questionnaire was conducted by the first-year students at the Faculty of English to collect information for this thesis 1.5.5 Participants There were 100 randomly first-year students in the Faculty of English selected to take part in the study They all were learning English speaking skills Among them, there were males and 81 females They were willing to participate in this study to give the most objective results 10 learned English since childhood According to table 3.1, it can be showed that most of the students have basic knowledge about English - Students’ attitudes towards learning English speaking skills and the importance of learning English speaking skills Chart 3.2 above showed that most of the students (86%) are interested in learning English speaking Because they understand the importance of English in the modern world By speaking English, students can improve their level of English knowledge as well as their pronunciation Many students realized that in today’s modern world, learning spoken English has many advantages English is becoming the international language of many fields, including politics, education, and businesses Not only is English used between native speakers and non-native speakers, but it is also used increasingly as a common language in the interaction between non-native speakers When they are skilled in spoken English, they can have access to knowledge For example, traveling abroad to know more about other countries culture and custom, making friend with foreigners, because they can communicate freely with foreigners in English Moreover, the students claimed that having a good grasp of spoken English helps them to improve their chances of employment It also provides the chances for them to communicate socially with people from many other countries English is the passport that opens a window into other cultures, and other perspectives of the world Therefore, all participants agreed that learning English speaking skills is an important and fundamental tool in today’s global village That was the reason why students are interested in learning English speaking skills On the contrary, it is not easy for some students (14%) to learn and use English fluently They said that they really not want to study English because it is so difficult and their speaking skill is not good The students’ opinions about the reality in speaking skills - Students’ evaluation their level of speaking 30 Chart 3.3 obviously shows the students’ level of speaking English A few students (5%) assess their level of speaking as proficient They can speak English fluently as their mother tongue They prefer speaking English not only in the class but also outside the classroom with their friends Other students (28%) evaluated their English level as good They said that they can understand what others say and communicate with others fluently without pause Most of the students (56%) admit that their level was normal They can understand and know basically about English speaking skills, but it is quite difficult for them to express their ideas in English Other students felt that English speaking skill is so hard and they had a lot of trouble with it 11% of students confirmed that their English speaking level was either bad or too bad They said that they rarely speak and practice English because they not have a rich vocabulary, they have nothing to say when learning English speaking inside as well as outside the classroom - Students’ frequency of practicing English speaking skills Chart 3.4 shows the students’ frequency of practicing English speaking skills Only 16% of the students always practice speaking English inside and outside the classroom They said that they are aware of the popularity of English, so they always try to practice and speak English more to improve their English speaking skills Most of the students (73%) sometimes use English to speak because they not have the diverse vocabulary and their listening skill is not good so they cannot express their idea in English Some other students (11%) confirmed that they rarely speak English It can be noticed that most of the students’ frequency of practicing English speaking is low By this, it is mean that students did not pay more attention to learning and practicing speaking English - Students’ feeling in speaking English 31 From the 3.5 chart above we can see that almost all the students understand the importance of English but a few of them (13%) feel confident when speaking English 38% of students feel normal and 41% of students feel unconfident when speaking English Some other students (8%) accepted that they really feel afraid when speaking English The results show that most of the students feel unconfident when speaking English Because they are afraid of losing their face in front of the crowd or making mistakes when speaking English Therefore, they did not often speak English The results were that their ability to reflect and speak English will be weakened - Students’ participation in speaking class Chart 3.6 answers for question 8: “What you in your speaking class” It shows that 27% of the students actively participate in speaking activities They say that they love speaking English, so they always actively participate in speaking class and actively interacted with their teacher The majority of students (52%) accept that they rarely participate in speaking activities because they not have good English, and they had encountered speaking English and express their idea 17% of the students confirmed that they usually used their mother tongue with their friends in speaking class The reason for this is that by using their mother tongue, they can easily communicate with other students and show their knowledge about English terms Only 4% of the students keep silent and say nothing in speaking class The results show that most of the students were not interested in speaking English and they did not want to enhance their English speaking skills 32 3.1.2 Difficulties in speaking English of the first-year English majored students - Student’s difficulties and problems faced in speaking English Table 3.7 shows students’ difficulties and problems they face in speaking English As can be seen that 71% of them say the limitation in vocabulary has caused difficulty for them when speaking English This difficulty occupied the top of the results according to students’ answers They have problems in memorizing vocabulary and English terms On the other hand, most of the students also have problems in applying derivation rules They also respond that they have suffered from a limited amount of vocabulary inside the classroom because they lack vocabulary, they not have anything to say or express their idea Confusion, worry, embarrassment, shyness, and non-confident are other problems students faced in speaking English 44% of the students said that they have suffered from this problem, they were afraid of losing their face in front of other students in the class A lot of students find it difficult to find vocabulary when speaking and grammar - the sentence is even more "chaotic" when saying it This makes you spend a lot of time choosing words to say and if you cannot find a suitable word, you sometimes use Vietnamese words instead This can be seen as a consequence of the aforementioned reasons: being shy to speak and having less opportunity to practice speaking, leading to poor reflexes when speaking, and which in turn makes you afraid to speak and speak less, which in turn leads to a vicious cycle of less investment in this skill for the students Other students (42%) faced the fear of making mistakes when they speak English Students not dare to speak out loud in front of the teacher and other students One of the biggest reasons students shy away from speaking English is the fear of mispronouncing This makes learners even more embarrassed when the listener does not understand their meaning, or worse, laughs because the pronunciation "does not look like anyone - just like Vietnamese speaking English" of the students This makes students more confident when speaking English and gradually leads to the psychology of not wanting to 33 speak English In addition, due to they have erroneous usage of English grammar and incorrectly utilizing structures of sentence during the conversation, for example using verb forms does not match either the subjects or tense, or using the sentence missing verbs or lacks other parts of the sentences such as wrong adjectives, adverbs or preposition and so on 16% of students have less opportunity to interact with native speakers, so they cannot practice and or can not be familiar with a native accent 15% of the students say that they have a limited background in English This was the reason why they could not express their idea or build the idea in their minds and say them out loud There were 11% of the students faced with some problems such as mispronunciation, feeling that they have nothing to say, using incorrect grammar, etc Through this reality, it requires some solutions to help them overcome these problems in order to make their English speaking skills more fluent and smoother 34 Table 3.8 Students’ solutions to overcome and improve their English speaking skills Table 3.8 above shows that students have several methods to improve their English speaking skills and mainly choose to expand their vocabulary, improve their listening skills and practice speaking English with their friends It can be seen that 76% of students improved their English speaking skills by epanding vocabulary Most people think that vocabulary is the most important foundation in learning English as well as learning to speak English Because limited vocabulary hinders speaking English, They cannot speak complete sentences or understand what the other person is saying in order to respond In addition, they cannot use the structures and functions that learners may have learned to speak English easily This emphasizes that lexical knowledge is at the heart of English speaking and communication skills 43% of students agree that regularly talking with native speakers helps them to learn to speak English In addition to the school environment, many students practice speaking English by communicating directly with local residents when they go to a place like Hoan Kiem Lake or have a speaking buddy by communicating via social networking sites, the application to communicate with foreigns around the world This is a method that the author highly appreciates in learning speaking skills Because this method not only helps learners improve listening skills but also helps learners more confident, quicker communication reflex and even many native speakers help correct mistakes in learning to speak English To help improve speaking skills, most students (79%) choose to listen to English news, movies, and English conversation in different fields They think this is the most interesting and most receptive method Learning English does not become boring because they can both study and be entertained Often, learners imitate the lines and intonation of characters in movies or news, this helps learners build a habit of speaking English, pronunciation, and intonation of native speakers In addition, listening to news, movies also helps students expand their understanding of culture as well as events In addition, 23% of the students surveyed said that learning grammar helps speaking skills This is an important method in learning any language In particular, learners need to master basic 35 grammar structures to ensure they speak the correct grammar to help them not get misunderstood Furthermore, they also consider it necessary to learn advanced grammar structures for more flexible English speaking And finally, 54% of students choose to practice speaking English with their friends Friends help learners feel closer, so speaking English becomes more comfortable and confident Friends will not pressure you to speak English and help you correct if it is necessary 3.2 Discussion on the reality of speaking skills of freshmen at English Faculty – Thuongmai University Based on data collected from the survey questionnaire and personal interviews, the reality of learning English speaking skills of the first-year English majored students at Thuong Mai University were identified and analyzed The results showed that most of the students understood how important English is They realized that speaking English plays an important role and it has been the key to unlock the door and integrate with other countries The results also revealed the difficulties students faced in learning English speaking skills The majority of the students say that they lack confidence, lack vocabulary as well as lack background knowledge in English In addition, fewer opportunity to interact with native speakers means that they also have other difficulties to encounter when speaking English Besides, some psychological factors such as fear of mistake, confusion, embarrassment, shyness hindered their ability to speak English fluently 36 CHAPTER RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 4.1 Recommendations and suggestions to improve speaking skill for freshmen at English Facuty – TMU This chapter focuses on giving some effective solutions to improve students’ English speaking skills and some recommendations for further study are also addressed 4.1.1 Practising listening skills Practicing listening skills is one of the important solutions to improve students’ English speaking skills The students should listen to the radio, they could get up five minutes earlier and listen to the News, listen to music or listen to any things they are interested in English It is necessary for the students to try to create a habit of regular listening in English Thanks to listening every day, students not only improve their listening and speaking skills but also have more background knowledge about aspects or fields which are useful for them Listening to music in English and sing along is another way to improve listening skills Music is one of the best tools for learning intonation and pronunciation The best way to enhance their listening skill is to practice listening through dictation Students can choose any channel or sources which they love to practice this skill There are many useful channels on the Internet such as CNN News, VOA learning English Through these channels, the student can improve their listening skill as well as broaden their mind about many interesting fields In addition, students can choose a famous person whose accent they admire, record their speech, listen again, and imitate the way he or she speaks When they listen again, they can evaluate their own pronunciation and notices areas where they need to improve 4.1.2 Improving vocabulary Whether you are trying to strengthen and broaden your vocabulary for school or personal growth, the key is a commitment to regularly learning new words Why expand your knowledge and use of words? You'll be able to speak more clearly and concisely, people will understand you more easily, and you will increase 37 the perception that you are an intelligent person Besides, learning new words is a fun activity and one you can even with the people around you Challenge a friend, family member, or roommate to learn new words with you 4.1.3 Practicing speaking English with foreigners and friends Students can find a partner to practice English speaking skill They can invite your English teacher to lunch, find a friend who also wants to improve his or her English A great way to improve students’ speaking ability is to practice situations when they are alone, perhaps practice speaking in front of the mirror Imagine introducing yourself, disagreeing with some’s ideas, being interviewed or asking for information If students can get someone to help, assign parts and role-playing Reading out loud is also a great way to improve students’ speaking skill when there are no conversation partners available This method can give them a chance to focus on pronunciation and intonation Students can find video which have transcript TED talk is useful video channel which include transcript and explain new words specifically By reading out loud transcript, students can check their pronunciation by listening to how the speaker says something Besides, students can join an English club or a global volunteer organization to get to know people and practice speaking English regularly Students also can make friends with the exchange students on their campus Making friends and practice speaking English with them, students not only improve their speaking ability but also expand their knowledge about other cultures 4.1.4 Talking to yourselft Saying your thoughts out loud or narrating your actions can be a very effective way to practice spoken English By talking to yourself, you can become more fluent in translating your thoughts into spoken words Practicing alone is also a lowpressure way to practice since no one will hear your mistakes 4.2 Recommendations and suggestions for teachers to help students improve their speaking skill 4.2.1 Understanding students’ feeling Teacher-student is a close relationship where both sides support and help each other Teachers play an important role in teaching learning English to students They 38 are guider and supporter who show the student ways to learn and improve their English Therefore, to improve students’ English speaking skills, teachers should understand their students’ interests and demands, find a way to improve students’ self-confidence 4.2.2 Finding the effective teaching methods It is necessary for teachers to find out the effective teaching methods to keep their learners involved in the speaking class They should hold more English activities which related to every field in life In addition, teachers should praise and encourage their students to actively participate and speak English in the class It is very important that teachers should build a friendly relationship with their students, make them feel happy in the class, and have a feeling of great excitement and enthusiasm to learn English in general and speak English in particular 4.2.3 Setting a speaking English environment In the class, it is pivotal that teachers should not use mother-tongue when teaching and speaking with their students On the contrary, they need to speak English every time, so students can not only practice their listening skill but also enhance English speaking skill Because they are surrounded by an English environment and they understand how ways teachers used to communicate with others in English Besides, teachers should give their students enough time to speak English in the class, help them overcome their shyness through friendly behaviors to make students feel comfortable when speaking English 4.3 Recommendations and suggestions for Thuong Mai University to help students improve their speaking skills 4.3.1 Using high-tech equipments in the classroom High-tech equipment should be used in teaching English such as a projector, radios, so on Thanks to these modern equipments, students can easily understand the lesson faster and more effectively It also saves time for the teachers because teachers can use its facilities to support their lessons instead of wasting time writing directly on the board 4.3.2 Directing the Faculty of English to employ foreign native teachers For the Thuong Mai University part, it is necessary to focus on teaching English speaking skills rather than just concentrate on other skills such as writing, 39 reading, or grammar University needs to hire more native English teachers to help students familiar and adapt to speak English fluently 4.3.3 Holding more English speaking contest and language seminars It is essential that Thuong Mai University also need to hold more English speaking contests which helps students learn and struggle with other students to enhance their English speaking skills in particular and other knowledge in different fields in general Moreover, holding English seminars with the attendance of language experts also is other ways the university can apply to help students learn more about English knowledge as well as support students understand deeply about the way native speakers speak English and use it in all conversations 4.4 Some suggestions for further studies 4.4.1 Limitations of the research The limitations of this study were as follows: This study was conducted in limited time and the participants were 50 students therefore the results of the study were still not presented clearly and reliably The research has just focused on the reality of learning English speaking skills of the first-year English majored students at TMU Other important skills were not mentioned and analyzed Thus, it does not provide in-depth results on other aspects of the English language And the participants just focused on the first-year English majored students, so the results were not remarkable, it also cannot analyze the reality of learning English of non-majored English students 4.4.2 Some suggestion for further studies Through the research findings, some suggestions for further studies were presented: This paper focused on the reality of learning English speaking skills of the first-year English majored students at TMU Further studies about learning English speaking need to be conducted in other Departments at Thuong Mai University in particular and other universities in general Other studies related to listening, writing, and reading skill also need to be investigated to find out the difficulties and problems students faced when learning these language skills Moreover, it is necessary to carry out more studies related to speaking skills on a large scale with large samples, so the results will become more reliable and remarkable 40 CONCLUSION With the rapid development of international communication, English has become one of the international languages Therefore, it is necessary to foster learners to grasp more language abilities Speaking English is a pivotal part of modern life Having well English is a great opportunity to help people climb their career ladder as well as broaden their minds in many fields Therefore, they can easily keep up with and integrate with today’s modern world Realizing the importance of speaking skills, the researcher conducted this study to find out the students’ perception of the importance of English speaking skills, revealed students’ problems and difficulties in learning English speaking skills Through this study, many students stated that it is difficult to express themselves in English This study indicated that students faced difficulties such as limited vocabulary, few opportunities to interact and speak with native speakers, and so on Some solutions were given to improve their English speaking skills as follows: practice more and more, improve listening skills as well as expand the vocabulary and grammar Due to the limited time and comprehension knowledge, this paper will remain short and cannot mention all aspects of the English language I hope that this study is a useful source for those who are interested in learning English and want to improve their English speaking skills 41 REFERENCES Burns, A., & Joyce, H (1997) Focus on Speaking Sydney: National Center for English Language Teaching and Research Bygate, M (1987) Speaking Oxford: Oxford University Press Urrutia & Vega (2006) “The understanding and actions taken to improve speaking skill through game in a public school called “Federico Garcia Lorca” in Columbia” Nguyen Thi Dieu Huyen (2008), A study on how to improve English speaking skill through extra- activities for the first-year English non-major students in Hai Phong Private University Lukitasari, N (2003) Students’ Strategies in Overcoming Speaking Problems in Speaking Class University of Muhammadiyah Malang Lai-Mei Leong & Seyedeh Masoumeh Ahmadi (2016), An analysis of factors influencing learner’s English speaking skills Pham Thi Huyen Huong (2012), A study on technique to improve speaking skill for secondary student in Quang Ninh Zhanli Yang (2014) International conference on Education, Language, Art and Intercultural Communication (ICELAIC 2014) Strategies of improving spoken English for learners Dr Ahmed Maher Mahmoud Al Nakhalah (2014), International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention Problems and Difficulties of Speaking That Encounter English Language Students at Al Quds Open University 10 https://effortlessenglishclub.com/improve-english-speaking-skills 42 APPENDIX APPENDIX 1: Post survey questionnaire Part 1: Students’ English background information skills Circle the best answer to you Question 1: Have you ever learned English before University? A: Yes B: No Question 2: How long have you learned English? A: From to 10 years B: From 10-12 years C: Over 12 years Question 3: Are you interested in learning English speaking skills and why? A: Yes B: No Question 4: Can you evaluate your English speaking skills? A: Proficient B: Good C: Normal D: Bad E: Very bad Question 5: Why you prefer to learn English speaking skills? A B C D To find a good job To communicate fluently with foreigners To broaden your mind Because English is becoming an international language 43 Question 6: How often you speak English? A B C D Always Sometimes Rarely Never Question 7: How you feel when you speak English? A B C D Confident Normal Unconfident Afraid Question 8: What you in your English speaking class? A B C D I actively participate in all speaking activities I rarely participate in speaking activities I use mother- tongue with my friends I keep silent and say nothing Question 9: What are the problems and difficulties you faced in speaking English? A B C D E F Fear of mistakes Limited amount of vocabulary Confusion, worry, embarrassment, shyness and non-confident Less opportunity to interact with native speakers Limited background in English Others Question 10: Which solutions you choose to overcome with these problems? A B C D E Expanding vocabulary Speaking with native speakers Listening to English News, Films, and English Conversations in different fields Developing grammar Practice speaking with friends 44 ... difficulties they have faced and also some ways that they have used to overcome and improve their speaking skills 3.1 Data analysis 3.1.1 The reality of speaking skills of freshmen at English Faculty Thuongmai. .. for the first-year English majored students of Thuong Mai University, I would like to conduct a study on the topic ? ?The reality and solutions to improve speaking skills of freshmen at English Faculty. .. outside the classroom They said that they are aware of the popularity of English, so they always try to practice and speak English more to improve their English speaking skills Most of the students