(Luận văn đại học thương mại) difficulties faced by first year english majors at thuongmai university in learning speaking skills and some suggested solutions

DECLARATION I declare that the graduation paper entitled “Difficulties faced by first-year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills and some suggested solutions” is the result of my own work and that it has not been submitted to any other university or institution wholly or partially Hanoi, April 22th 2018 Student Le Thi Oanh i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT Speaking skill is one of the most important skills when learning English Based on the information from the teacher as well as from the reality, the students still face many difficulties in speaking English, even though they study in English major In relation to that reason, the researcher conducted a study about “Difficulties faced by first-year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills and some suggested solutions.” This study aims to point out difficulties of the first-year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills and propose some solutions to improve their speaking skill The study was carried out in first-year classes of English Department at Thuongmai University The researcher took 50 first year students as the subject of the research To collect the data, the researcher used questionnaire and observation as instrument to find the data about the students’ difficulty while speaking English and also the students’ solution to overcome these difficulties After doing questionnaire and observation, the result of the research showed that the students had many difficulties while speaking English such as lack of confidence, idea, vocabulary; mispronunciation; nothing to say; using Vietnamese; using incorrect grammar Moreover, that result also proposed some solutions such as ways to study vocabulary, pronunciation effectively; ways to build the confidence and ways to practice English ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I am deeply grateful to my supervisor M.A Tran Thi Bich Lan for her great support in assisting me to accomplish this study She always guides me with valuable suggestions, helpful comments and guidance during my implementation of this study Without her support, the study would have never been completed I also would like to express my sincere thanks to all the lecturers of English Department at Thuongmai University for their useful lectures and valuable advices that helped me very much to finish my thesis I also want to thank the cooperation of first-year students of English Department at Thuongmai University who have helped me to collect data for the study Last but not least, I would especially thank my family; my close friends who gave me a big encouragement to fulfill my study Hanoi, April 22th 2018 Student Le Thi Oanh iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vii CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Previous studies .2 1.2.1 Lejla Basic (2011): “Speaking anxiety: An obstacle to second language learning” 1.2.2 Lukitasari (2008): “Students’ strategies in overcoming speaking problems in speaking class.” 1.3 Aims of the study .3 1.4 Research subjects 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Research methodology 1.6.1 Questions of the study 1.6.2 Instrumentation 1.7 Organization of the study .5 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .7 2.1 Definition of speaking? 2.1.1 What is speaking? 2.1.2 The purpose of speaking .8 2.1.3 Aspects of speaking .9 2.1.4 The importance of speaking 10 2.2 Oral Language Learning 12 2.3 Difficulties faced by speaking English learners 12 2.3.1 Linguistic difficulties 13 2.3.2 Mother tongue use 13 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 2.3.3 Nothing to say 13 2.3.4 Inhibition 13 2.4 What a good English speaker should do? 14 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS 16 3.1 Data analysis 16 3.1.1 Data analysis from the survey questionnaire .16 3.1.2 Observation results .26 CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS .27 4.1 Suggestions for learning vocabulary 27 4.1.1 Learning new words everyday 27 4.1.2 Ways to learn new words 27 4.2 Suggestions for learning pronunciation 28 4.2.1. Learning from native speakers 28 4.2.2 Listening to yourself 29 4.2.3 Speaking slowly 29 4.2.4 Doing more than just reading and listening 29 4.2.5 Paying attention to intonation and stress 29 4.3 Suggestions for building the confidence 30 4.3.1 Stopping worrying too much about grammar 30 4.3.2 Keeping showing up 30 4.3.3 Mastering fluency .30 4.3.4 Mimicking English TV News presenters 31 4.3.5 Speaking with both small and large groups of people .31 4.4 Frequently practicing your English 31 4.4.1 Participating in public speaking events 32 4.4.2 Going to language cafes .32 4.4.3 Taking part in English speaking clubs .32 CONCLUSION 33 REFERENCES APPENDIX v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Numbe Abbreviations Meanings r EFL English as a Foreign Language M.A The Master of Art vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Chart 1: Student’s experience 16 Chart 2: Time of learning English .17 Chart 3: Students’ attitudes towards the importance of speaking skill 18 Chart 4: Students’ attitudes towards speaking skills in their job 18 Chart 5: Students’ attitudes towards speaking English 19 Chart 6: Students evaluation on their speaking skill .20 Chart 7: Students’ feeling when speaking English 21 Chart 8: Students’ attitudes when feeling nervous, afraid or unconfident 22 Chart 9: Difficulties that students encounter while speaking English 23 Chart 10: Students’ action(s) when they faced with difficulties while speaking English 24 Chart 11: Students’ opinion on speaking skill solutions .25 vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale Nowadays, English plays an integral part in the society It is a key factor that helps us succeed It is not only the language used in English speaking countries such as England, US, Canada,…but also in over the world The statistics reveal that more than a quarter of the world’s population speaks English that means that about 1.6 billion people understand and relate with the help of the language of Shakespeare Not to mention that most of the films are in English, the largest film industry, Hollywood, is produced in English Although the English language doesn’t have the largest number of native speakers in the world, it has the widest reach of any language spoken today People speak English to have more job opportunities Businesses need employees who can communicate fluently with English-speaking partners and clients In addition, entrepreneurs can access a far wider range of customers online by using English Knowing English makes it easy to travel because English is spoken as a first or second language in so many different countries, we are always easy to find English speakers as well as printed information in English, especially at hotels and in areas frequented by tourists For these reasons, speaking is an important skill for everyone who learns English because we cannot communicate with each other without understanding what they are saying In Vietnam, learners have a long time to learn English We have learned English from years old to the time we reach the end of high school, which means we have spent 7-10 years learning English However, most of us cannot communicate with foreigners This is also the common situation of the firstyear students of the English Department at Thuongmai University Although the entry mark is very high; however, the speaking English skills of each student is not good So, why don’t they speak English well? What are the difficulties? In order to answer this question, I want to propose the research topic: “Difficulties faced by the first-year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills and some suggested solutions.” LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 1.2 Previous studies In the past, there were many scholars who studied the difficulties faced by learners when speaking foreign languages They gave a lot of arguments and evidences for this topic In my study, I would like to introduce the study of Lejla Basic and Lukitasari 1.2.1 Lejla Basic (2011): “Speaking anxiety: An obstacle to second language learning” Lejla Basic studied the anxiety faced by learners when speaking In his study, he said that the reason which causes fear of speaking is anxiety “Speaking anxiety has to with fear, which in most cases has developed from bad prior experiences It is frequently suggested that children who have not been encouraged to speak from an early stage also create a weaker communicative behavior pattern Becoming silent at an early stage also contributes to limited opportunities to practice oral skills Parents’ behavior and views on outspokenness have therefore a great impact on children’s speaking development When children that are not used to speaking out are confronted with schools’ challenging requirements in oral proficiency, their inhibition often results in silence and withdrawnness.” According to his study, “speaking-anxious people are self-conscious and afraid of making fools of them, being laughed at or bullied” and “speaking anxiety is often triggered by other people that the speaking anxious person does not feel comfortable with.” Lejla Basic’s study showed that students who have speech anxiety are often very calm and passive and can therefore also receive less attention from teachers He pointed out a study that was made with Japanese foreign students at a graduate school in America This study showed that many of the Japanese foreign students were anxious when speaking English with native speakers “The fear of speaking English made many of them remain silent and they avoided speaking English even if the primary reason of coming to the U.S was to acquire English as a second language Out of the 32 participants in the study, 24 confirmed that they were anxious when speaking with native English speakers in informal settings The main LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com reason for this was that they worried about being misunderstood and got stressed about making mistakes.” Lejla Basic’s study stressed on the anxiety of learners when speaking and anxiety is the reason why they cannot have a good speaking skill Fear of exposure and not feeling confident have a direct connection with fear of speaking 1.2.2 Lukitasari (2008): “Students’ strategies in overcoming speaking problems in speaking class.” In Lukitasari’s study, she focused on the students’ strategies in overcoming speaking problems in speaking class The scope of her study was the first semester students of Muhammadiyah University of Malang in Indonesia The results of her study suggest that in speaking class, the students faced some speaking problems including inhibition, lack of ideas, fear of speaking, low or uneven participation and mother tongue use The findings of the study showed that the students’ speaking skill was not good because they did not master the three elements of speaking namely vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation 1.3 Aims of the study My study is aimed at: - Identifying the difficulties facing the first-year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills - Finding out the reasons for these difficulties - Proposing some solutions to improve the speaking skill of first year students of the English Department at Thuongmai University 1.4 Research subjects My study focuses on the difficulties when speaking English of first year students of the English Department at Thuongmai University 1.5 Scope of the study Because of time limitation, the study only concentrates on some common difficulties while learning speaking skill of first-year students of the English Department at Thuongmai University From these difficulties, the researcher finds out the reasons and proposes some suggestions to improve the speaking skill LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 3.1.1.5 Students’ opinion on speaking skill solutions What should you to improve your speaking skill? Others 40 Speaking English regularly 90 Focusing on pronunciation 70 Focusing on vocabulary 80 Focusing on grammar 85 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Chart 11: Students’ opinion on speaking skill solutions The table above presented that speaking English regularly was the most students’ favorite solutions 90% chose speaking English regularly It meant this solution was the best suggestion in order to improve their speaking skill It helps students deal with their speaking problems as well as interest them in learning 85% of the student considered that they should focus on grammar; 80% of them chose focusing on vocabulary and 70% of them thought that they should focus on pronunciation Students nowadays tended to prefer taking part in English Club to practice their speaking skill In these English Clubs, they had many chances to communicate with others in English as well as make new friends That was a good environment to improve their speaking skill In brief, the findings from the questionnaires delivered to the students showed that when the students spoke, they encountered many problems The most common speaking problem was that the students were unconfident in themselves They had no motivation to express themselves They spoke very little or nothing in speaking classes They could not think of anything to say In that time, they often used Vietnamese instead of speaking English 3.1.2 Observation results 25 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Class observations were carried out to see how students really performed and what problems they had when they spoke English The researcher randomly chose two classes to observe They were K53N2 and K53N4 The following problems were the most common ones in the classes observed: 3.1.2.1 Before speaking The students were not given enough time to prepare for a speaking task before the task was performed They lacked time to think of ideas, find vocabulary or translate their speaking speech from Vietnamese into English The teacher gave them 10 minutes to prepare for their task However, the researcher saw that the students spent too much time looking up new words in the dictionary They found new word or they used a dictionary to translate into English When the students were asked to work in groups, not all of them were eager to contribute their opinions in English Some of them participated actively but the others spoke very little or not at all 3.1.2.2 During speaking The students looked very nervous and afraid when they spoke in front of the class Sometimes, they did not know what to say and kept silent They felt unconfident because they did not have anything to speak Some of them read what they had written on a piece of paper They did not remember the structures and vocabulary to speak naturally While the students were making performances, the other students in class did not listen attentively They even chatted with the people next to them when their classmates were speaking 3.1.2.3 After speaking After speaking, some of the student gave comments for their friends They pointed out what they felt good or not good from the performance And then, the teachers gave comment The teachers corrected the mistake that the student encountered while speaking English The common mistakes were mispronunciation, incorrect grammar, incorrect word choice 26 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS What has been discussed and analyzed in Chapter shows that the speaking skill of the first-year English major students of the English Department at Thuongmai University is not really good Thus, within the scope of the study, the researcher would like to put forward some recommendations and suggestions to improve the students’ speaking skill 4.1 Suggestions for learning vocabulary 4.1.1 Learning new words everyday Learning new words day by day is a good way to widen your vocabulary You should commit to a certain target with yourself: it can be five daily words or it can be ten daily words Even if you only have time to learn one new word per day, it is still worth trying By learning one word every day, after one year you will have learned 365 new English words Write the number down to remind yourself frequently If you have a learning partner, share it with her so that she can check on your progress Some good resources for words are the news, songs and TV shows, depending on your daily habits If you love listening to music, pay attention to the lyrics and take note of the words you not know. Songs often contain a lot of useful vocabulary, phrases and expressions, therefore, they are great for learning English Moreover, you can read books, newspaper, magazines to expand your vocabulary The more you read, the more words you'll be exposed to As you read and uncover new words, use a combination of attempting to derive meaning from the context of the sentence as well as from looking up the definition in a dictionary 4.1.2 Ways to learn new words Learning vocabulary is a very important part of learning a language The more words you know, the more you will be able to understand what you hear and read; and the better you will be able to say what you want to when speaking or writing However, it’s not enough to just read through a list of words with their definitions or translations and try to remember them It is better to find ways to learn new words quickly and effectively Here are two ways to learn new words effectively: 27 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com  Writing the words in a notebook with their translations or definitions With each new word, you describe it through a picture Seeing the picture and describe it, remember to use the new word as much as possible  Writing the words and definitions on small cards Write the word you want to learn on the front of the card On the back of the card, you write the translation of the word in your language, or a definition of the word, or a gap sentence If you write or all of these you will learn the word more quickly and give yourself extra English practice Of course, you could copy the definition and example sentence from English learning websites but writing your own is the better choice And then you can test yourself by many different ways For example, you can look at the word and try to remember the translation or definition; you can look at the gap sentence and try to think of the word that fits in it; you can look at the word in your language and see if you know the English 4.2 Suggestions for learning pronunciation Pronunciation is an important part of learning any language The way your speech sounds can have a big impact on whether or not people understand what you are saying and their initial impression of you The tricky thing about pronunciation is that it is not just a question of acquiring knowledge, it’s a physical skill that you need to practice regularly There are no shortcuts to perfect pronunciation; however, there are some ways you can practice more effectively and improve your skills faster: 4.2.1. Learning from native speakers When you have a word that you not how to pronounce it correctly, it is necessary to learn the mouth movements of native speakers Looking at the position of their mouths and then try to replicate their exact methods by speaking in front of a mirror or camera Listening to foreigners’ programs, movies and repeat what you are hearing even if you are not sure what they are saying yet You can also sing a song in English What you need to is to imitate the lyric which you are hearing Singing a song helps you relax as well as improving your intonation and your rhythm 28 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 4.2.2 Listening to yourself If you cannot hear your pronunciation problem, it is hard to correct it Therefore, recording your speech and comparing it to native speakers helps you recognize your problem and change it 4.2.3 Speaking slowly Many English learners say that speaking too quickly reinforces their bad habits Practice a few basics each day Start with single sounds, then move on to words, and finally, string several words together 4.2.4 Doing more than just reading and listening A trap which many learners of English fall into, which stops their pronunciation from improving as quickly as it should, is to spend all their study time either reading or listening to English learning materials It’s important to actively use the language, even if you not have a partner to speak with Read out passages, record audio and even sing in the shower 4.2.5 Paying attention to intonation and stress Good pronunciation is more than just mastering individual sounds It is also understanding intonation (the rise and fall of the voice) and stress (some sounds in words and some words in sentences are louder or clearer than others) Individual English words have a “strong” syllable, for example:  Table – stress on the first syllable  Provide – stress on the second syllable If you get the word stress wrong, the word can sound completely different and impossible to understand! Also, for some English words, their meaning changes when the stress is different:  object (noun) = a thing, an item  object (verb) = to disagree, to speak up against an idea In natural spoken English, complete sentences also have stress. We not say each word in the sentence equally, like a robot! Consider this sentence: “Last Saturday, I went to a party on the beach with my friends.” 29 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com When spoken naturally, the stress is on the words Saturday, went, party, beach, and friends 4.3 Suggestions for building the confidence Lacking of the confidence while speaking English is the common problem of most first-year students of English Department at Thuongmai University This feeling can cause them to get discouraged and give up So, how to build the confidence? There are some suggestions to become a confident English speaker: 4.3.1 Stopping worrying too much about grammar You not need to worry too much about grammar Native and non-native English speakers still can understand what you mean if you make some minor grammar mistakes Indeed, the grammar of spoken English is often more flexible than written English grammar Also, be positive Celebrating what you know and do not be frustrated about what you don’t know 4.3.2 Keeping showing up Woody Allen said 90% of success is showing up And Woody Allen made an important point here If you lack confidence and you are afraid or nervous, not stop or give up You continue attending classes and keep speaking even when you make mistakes You also not hide from your feelings of discomfort. They should harness your fear and make use of it as positive energy. You get laughed at many and many times until you just not care anymore Try to be consistent in your English learning efforts and your confidence will develop 4.3.3 Mastering fluency A part of being confident is speaking well If you speak clearly and loudly, you will appear and feel more confident A simple technique that will help is learning to read with fluency What does that mean? It means that you practice reading a piece of text so that you sound confident not only in what you say, but how you say it You can read material you are already familiar with, such as something from your lesson or a piece of text you’ve read before And then you read it aloud in front of a mirror Notice what your body language is like Are you standing up tall or hunching over? Speaking loudly, or quietly? Doing it until you memorize it, and you can now start working on how you stand and speak to your 30 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com audience Go ahead and practice with a trusted friend when you feel more comfortable 4.3.4 Mimicking English TV News presenters If you are not sure how to act confidently, a great way is to study English TV News presenters You want to be able to understand what they that makes them so confident There is no better way to understand this than by watching people who have to speak in front of millions of people every day – news reporters and presenters While it may be tempting to watch the news in your native language, it is better to watch it in English First, you get to practice your listening skills Second, you want to be able to mimic their tone so you can the same in English If you don’t think you can this, just remember that even native English speakers have a hard time speaking in front of an audience Those newscasters can it because they have practiced for many hours over many years You, too You also can be as confident as them – but you need to put in the time and effort 4.3.5 Speaking with both small and large groups of people Most English learners say that it is easier to understand and keep up with a conversation when they are in a one-on-one situation It is great to build your English skills by speaking with people individually but you should also try to involve yourself in large-group conversations if possible If you get in a conversation with or people, start by just trying to get the idea of what they are saying Later you can join in if you feel more confident 4.4 Frequently practicing your English Practice makes perfect, so do speak English in plenty Some people think that they not have the opportunity to practice speaking because they not live in the US or another English-speaking country They might also be discouraged because English is not used at their workplace, or they not know any native speakers There is some validity in those excuses, but not let them hinder your learning Thanks to the growth of globalization and technology, you have more chances than ever to practice speaking English You will find many ideas below 31 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 4.4.1 Participating in public speaking events Big universities, learning English centers or culture societies often organize events like open debates, spoken word readings and improvised storytelling gatherings These are places where you can come and mingle with like-minded people and practice speaking English 4.4.2 Going to language cafes If you have free time and you want to improve your speaking skill, you can go to language cafes Those cafes create a friendly and relaxing atmosphere for people who want to practice and exchange languages In here, there are many native speakers as well as many people who want to find a chance to practice English Therefore, this is a good environment for you to improve your speaking skill 4.4.3 Taking part in English speaking clubs English speaking clubs is a great choice for you to practice English By talking in English with new friends in the club, you have great time to sharpen your English skills, especially listening and speaking in a total English environment English club holders often design many different and interesting activities including: warm-up activities, discussions, presentations and games in order to attract participants Through the discussion and presentation activities, you have a lot of opportunities to practice speaking and listening skills with teachers of English and with friends who love English It is really a great and meaningful environment to rehearse English vocabulary, grammar and use English to communicate more efficiently 32 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CONCLUSION In the modern society, English become an important part in our life and speaking seems to be the most important of all the four language skills So, everyone must try best to master English language so as to create more opportunities for themselves Unfortunately, while some good learners; others meet many difficulties in speaking English Trying to help them overcome the obstacles is actually important and imperative This graduation paper has been conducted with the aim to investigate the common difficulties faced by first-year English majors at Thuongmai University To some extent, it succeeded in answering the research questions From the results of the research, the researcher discovered the difficulties the students face and effective solutions that students can apply to improve their speaking skill However, due to the limitation of time, experience and knowledge, the research cannot cover all difficulties of student Therefore, the researcher is glad to receive comments from readers Finally, the researcher hopes this study can be useful material for students who concerns speaking skill and suggested solutions to improve speaking skill as well 33 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com REFERENCES Books: Boonkit K (2010) Enhancing the development of speaking skills for nonnative speakers of English Faculty of Arts, Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand Brown (1994), Burn and Joyce (1997), Teaching Speaking Skills, Masaryk University Brown, G G Y (1983), Teaching the Spoken Language, Cambridge, CUP Bygate, M (1987), Speaking, Oxford, OUP Byrne, D (1986), Teaching Oral English, Harlow, Essex, Longman Carter, R & McCarthy, M (1995), Grammar and Spoken Language, University of Nottingham, UK Do Thi Thanh Binh (2010), Using stimulating activities to improve 10 th form student’s English speaking skill: A case study at Thuan An Upper Secondary School in Thua Thien Hue, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University (VNU), Ha Noi Eckard & Kearny (1981), Teaching Conversation Skills in ESL, ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics, Washington, DC Ellis, R (1994), The Study of Second Language Acquisition, Oxford, Oxford University Press Holec, H (1981), Autonomy and Foreign Language Learning, Oxford, Pergamon Jin, Y (2007), Adapting communicative language teaching approach to China's context, Sino-US English Teaching Kong, Y (2009), A Brief Discussion on Motivation and Ways to Motivate Students in English Language Learning, International Education Studies Lescano, A A (1995), The remedial English project, FORUM 33(4): 40 Lightbown, P and N Spada (1993), How Languages are Learned, Oxford, Oxford University Press Littlejohn, A (2001), Motivation: Where does it come from? Where does it go?, English Teaching Professional 19 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com MacIntyre, P D (1999), Language anxiety: A review of the research for language Teachers, Boston, MA, McGraw-Hill Lejla Basic (2011), “Speaking anxiety: An obstacle to second language learning”, University of Gävle, Faculty of Education and Business Studies Lukitasari (2008): “Students’ strategies in overcoming speaking problems in speaking class”, University of Muhammadiyah Malang O'Malley, J and A Chamot (1990), Language Learning Strategies, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press Paul, D E and D Kauchak (1994), Educational psychology: classroom connections, The United States, Macmillan Shaimaa Abd El Fattah Torky (2006), The Effectiveness of a Task- Based Instruction Program in Developing the English Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students, Ain Shams University Takeuchi, O (2003), Synopsis: Searching for better language learning strategies: Studies on good language learners in the Japanese FL context, Tokyo, Shohakusha Wenden, A (1986), Helping language learners think about learning, ELT Journal 40: 3-12 Wenden, A (1986), What second-language learners know about their language learning? A second look at retrospective accounts, Applied Linguistics LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Websites: https://prezi.com/58ar1n5ij-mg/problems-in-speaking-english/ https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/how-to-improve-english-speakingskills/ https://saptaabimanyu.blogspot.com/2013/02/aspects-of-speakingperformance.html https://englishlive.ef.com/blog/language-lab/10-tips-perfect-englishpronunciation/ https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/33321007.pdf https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED523922.pdf http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf? pid=diva2%3A453921&dswid=3433 http://eprints.umm.ac.id/5210/ LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com APPENDIX Survey Questionnaire for Students This questionnaire is conducted with a view to find out the difficulties of learning speaking skill of first-year student of English majors at Thuongmai University and possible solutions for those difficulties Please put a tick (√) on your option Your completion of this questionnaire is highly appreciated The data collected are used in the research paper only, not for any other purpose Thank you for your cooperation! Part I: Demographic data □ Male Age … □ Female Part II: Survey Questionnaire “Speaking skill and difficulties faced by first-year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills.” Did you learn English before college? □ Yes, I did □ No, I didn’t How long have you been learning English? □ Under year □ 2-5 years □ 5- years □ More than years Do you think speaking skill is important? □ Yes □ No How much you like speaking English? □ Very much □ Rather □ Normal □ Little □ Not at all LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com How often you practice speaking outside the classroom? □ Always □ Usually □ Sometimes □ Rarely □ Never What you think about the necessity of speaking skills to your future job? □ Very necessary □ Necessary □ Normal □ Unnecessary □ Very unnecessary How you feel when speaking English? □ Very confident □ Confident □ Normal □ Unconfident □ Anxious □ Afraid □ Others Can you evaluate your speaking skill? □ Very good □ Good □ Normal □ Bad □ Very bad Which problems you encounter while speaking English? (You can tick more than one choice) □ Using incorrect grammar □ Mispronunciation □ A lack of ideas LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com □ Being unconfident □ Speaking very little or not at all □ A lack of vocabulary □ Using Vietnamese □ Others 10 What you often when you feel nervous while using English? □ Relaxing and then continuing □ Stopping and giving up 11 What you often when you have difficulties in learning English speaking? □ Asking for help from teachers or higher proficiency-level students □ Keeping silent 12.What should you to improve your speaking skill? (You can tick more than one choice) □ Focusing on grammar □ Focusing on vocabulary □ Focusing on pronunciation □ Speaking English regularly □ Others LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ... University in learning speaking skills and some suggested solutions. ” This study aims to point out difficulties of the first- year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills and. .. topic: ? ?Difficulties faced by the first- year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills and some suggested solutions. ” LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com... Part II: Survey Questionnaire ? ?Speaking skill and difficulties faced by first- year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills. ” Did you learn English before college? □ Yes,