An investigation into difficulties in speaking skill faced by the freshmen of english faculty at thuongmai university

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY GRADUATION PAPER Topic AN INVESTIGATION INTO DIFFCULTIES IN SPEAKING SKILL FACED BY THE FRESHMEN OF ENGLISH FACULTY AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY SUPERVISOR TRAN ANH THU[.]

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY - - GRADUATION PAPER Topic: AN INVESTIGATION INTO DIFFCULTIES IN SPEAKING SKILL FACED BY THE FRESHMEN OF ENGLISH FACULTY AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY SUPERVISOR: TRAN ANH THU (M.A) STUDENT: NGUYEN THI HUYEN CLASS: K54N1 STUDENT CODE: 18D170017 Hanoi, 2022 ABSTRACT Speaking is the aspect of English that is most commonly utilized in daily life, it is a crucial component of learning the language Speaking ability is the key to properly and naturally communicating a message Despite the critical need for international communication, Vietnamese students have weak verbal comprehension abilities, especially sophomores majoring in languages, the researcher carries out a study: “An investigation into difficulties in speaking skill faced by the freshmen of English Faculty at Thuongmai University” The study aims to pinpoint the problems that students experience when speaking English The descriptive approach was used to evaluate the issues and identify potential fixes The researcher used both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to research to accomplish the aforementioned objectives Data for the study were gathered through interviews and questionnaires The study's findings will emphasize the challenges freshmen at Thuongmai University's English Faculty have when learning English speaking skills Additionally, the research aids me in learning potential fixes for those issues i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I really would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all the people who have helped me I've received a lot of thoughtful guidance, priceless insights, and timely support as I've been writing this graduation paper to help me fulfill my studies as best I can In the first place, I would like to offer my profound gratitude to my supervisor, M.A Tran Anh Thu, a teacher at the Faculty of Business English at Thuong Mai University, for her invaluable assistance, constructive criticism, and support during the preparation of the graduation paper My thesis would not have been completed by the deadline without her excellent guidance and assistance I would also like to use this occasion to express my gratitude to all of the English Department Faculty at Thuongmai University for their insightful lectures and support when I was a student there In addition, I want to express my gratitude to the first-year K58N students for their eagerness to participate in my questionnaires and interviews I sincerely appreciate all of my classmates' help and cooperation in providing me with useful knowledge Last but not least, I want to express my gratitude to all the writers of the books, magazines, and other materials included in the reference section for their contributions to my ideas Hanoi, November 24th, 2021 Student Huyen Nguyen Thi Huyen ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS No Abbreviations English meaning Vietnamese meaning No Number Số MA Master of Art Thạc sĩ văn chương/ xã hội EFL English as a Foreign Việc giảng dạy tiếng Anh Language quốc gia nơi đa số không sử dụng tiếng Anh phương tiện giao tiếp Etc Et cetera Vân vân IPA International Phonetic Bảng ký hiệu ngữ âm quốc Alphabet tế International English IELTS Hệ thống Kiểm Language Testing System tra Anh ngữ Quốc tế với IELTS kỹ Nghe, Nói, Đọc Viết đồng điều hành ba tổ chức: Hội đồng khảo thí đánh giá ngôn ngữ thuộc Đại học Cambridge, Hội đồng Anh (BC) tổ chức giáo dục IDP Úc từ năm 1989 TOEIC Test of English for Bài kiểm tra tiếng Anh International giao tiếp quốc tế, Communication chứng tiếng Anh quốc tế giao tiếp dành cho người làm iii người sử dụng tiếng Anh làm tiếng mẹ đẻ, đặc biệt đối tượng muốn sử dụng tiếng Anh môi trường giao tiếp làm việc quốc tế TOEFL Test Of English as a Foreign Language Bài kiểm tra lực Tiếng Anh quốc tế ETS nhằm kiểm tra khả tiếng Anh bạn môi trường học thuật, cụ thể môi trường quốc gia nói tiếng Anh Bài kiểm tra bao gồm kĩ năng: nghe, nói, đọc, viết iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .iii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale .1 1.2 Previous studies 1.2.1 Foreign previous studies 1.2.2 Domestic previous studies 1.3 Aims of the study 1.4 Research question 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Research Methodology 1.6.1 Data collection procedures 1.6.2 Data analysis methods 1.7 Organization of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE OVERVIEW 2.1 Overview of speaking skill .7 2.1.1 Definition of speaking 2.1.2 Definition of speaking skill .7 2.1.3 The importance of speaking skill 2.1.4 The characteristics of speaking skills 2.1.5 Types of Speaking 10 2.2 Components of speaking skills .12 2.2.1 Pronunciation 12 2.2.2 Vocabulary 12 2.2.3 Grammar 12 2.2.4 Comprehension 13 2.2.5 Fluency .13 v 2.3 Factors That May Cause Speaking Difficulties to Students 13 2.3.1 Psychological Domain 13 2.3.2 Instructor Domain .14 2.3.3 Social Domain 15 2.3.4 Linguistic Domains 15 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS 17 3.1 Methodology 17 3.1.1 Research question 18 3.1.2 Research setting and participants 18 3.2 The results of research and data analysis 19 3.2.1 The results of the questionnaire 19 3.2.2 The results from the interview questions 26 3.3 Main findings and discussion 28 3.3.1 The difficulties that the freshmen of the English Faculty at Thuongmai University face up with .28 CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS .31 4.1 Summary of the study 31 4.2 Suggested solutions 32 4.2.1.Giving students more attractive topics to boost involvement in Speaking lessons 32 4.2.2 Conducting communication-related activities 32 4.2.3 Applying appropriate error-correction methods in English-speaking classes 33 4.2.4 Helping students to be more confident .33 4.2.5 Increasing the number of opportunities for English language practice 34 4.3 The success of the study .34 4.4 The limitation of the study 35 4.5 Recommendations 36 4.6 Further suggestions for the study .36 REFERENCES 37 APPENDIX 38 vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale  English is becoming more and more integrated into every element of our lives as life progresses You must therefore be fluent in English if you want to comprehend how people communicate today The ultimate goal for language learners is to be able to talk and communicate as extensively as a native speaker because communication is fundamentally linked to life As a result, speaking English is a skill that should be prioritized when learning the language     Verbal skill is the capacity to communicate verbally Speaking is different from other skills like reading, writing, and listening in that speech is produced by combining a variety of factors Speaking is a unique kind of human ability that is neither innate nor inherited As part of the communication process, learners learn and practice various communication behaviors, which helps them build their speaking skills Speaking well is viewed as the outward sign of intelligence and competence Language barriers are the many obstacles that learners face when trying to speak English such as different dialects, academic communication, and different cultures,  These barriers make it increasingly difficult for learners to speak English and take longer to get to know the country and the language There are various strategies to increase your English-speaking proficiency Most essential, learners need to persist in speaking English every day and see it as their language to grow and practice consistently This can be done by listening to English and mimicking it The importance of speaking English will be highlighted through the study "An investigation into difficulties in speaking skill faced by freshmen of English Faculty at Thuongmai University" 1.2 Previous studies 1.2.1 Foreign previous studies According to the research “Problems and Difficulties of Speaking That EncounterEnglish Language Students at Al Quds Open University” (2016) by Dr Ahmed Maher Mahmoud Al Nakhalah, there are three main language barriers that these students must overcome These are Pronunciation, Grammar, and Fluency That is based on a speaking proficiency test Fluency abilities received a medium relative weight, followed by grammatical skills and pronunciation, which received the lowest relative weight The research provides several strategies to overcome English speaking challenges in response to the question, "What are the suitable solutions for speaking difficulties?" enhancing students' oral English communication skills; reducing fear by encouraging them to talk effectively even when they make a mistake; refraining from reading more and more Effective foreign language teaching strategies are discussed in the Jibye Kim report, "Effective Communication Language Teaching in a Test-Preparation Class: Is it Possible?" The author brings up a topic that many educators and scholars are currently thinking about: "Can the goal of teaching good communication be attained in a grammar class?" The report discussed the current state of English language instruction as well as a few issues in IELTS, TOEIC, or TOEFL classes and offered several suggestions for improving the learning environment, teaching strategies, or learning objectives By doing this, it increased the efficiency with which Korean students learned listening and speaking skills when they had access to a new foreign language, particularly the English language 1.2.2 Domestic previous studies Because being able to converse in different languages has become one of the most crucial concerns, our nation is getting closer to the era of global integration Foreign language instruction has been a required topic in the educational system since the 1990s The majority of Vietnamese students who study English from primary school through higher education (colleges, high schools, etc.) receive ongoing instruction in the language It may be argued that, on average, a student has studied English for more than ten years, significantly longer than other disciplines, by the time he or she graduates from college But many college students, including graduate students, still struggle with using English fluently What is the reason? It can be the case that the training plan, the teaching strategies, or the assessment strategy are ineffective and not capture the essence The assessment results fell short of the student's expectations and goals As a result, various authors in our nation have researched the issues with teaching pupils how to speak English as well as potential remedies The quality of foreign language teaching and learning has been the subject of numerous studies in Vietnam These studies, however, have not covered every facet of the problem in detail, nor have they addressed ways to overcome them and enhance foreign language ability, particularly speaking abilities As an illustration, consider the article "Difficulties in studying English" by Hoang Van Lan, a Vietnamese ex-pat living in the US who is very passionate about teaching and learning English in Vietnam The amount of knowledge presented in this essay, which is just over 160 pages long, is extremely extensive and varied To assist readers in learning English successfully and speaking English fluently in a short period, the author describes in detail communication scenarios in everyday life In particular, Hoang Van Lan stressed the crucial role that foreign languages in general and the English language in particular play in both the current state of foreign language learning and the policy of the Vietnamese educational system The author then suggests ways to get around these issues, like changing how English is taught in schools and letting students plan their English learning programs The study, "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", was undertaken on this subject by Nguyen Thi Dieu Huyen (Hai Phong University, 2009) Her research aims to enhance the speaking abilities of Hai Phong Private University's firstyear English non-major students through extracurricular activities and to prepare them for the fundamentals of speaking skills with higher standards for the following grade The study's objectives are to provide background information on speaking; investigate the realities of teaching and learning English at Hai Phong Private University, and identify effective teaching strategies for speaking courses that engage students and make them feel engaged She used the following techniques to complete the study: conducting her research in reference materials and websites; attending English-speaking sessions in English-nonmajor classes at Hai Phong Private University; conducting interviews with first-year English-non-major students at Hai Phong Private University; and conducting a survey to learn about their perceptions of the issue, attitudes toward it, and challenges they face when using English In general, prior research has highlighted the significance and factors that contribute to learning a new language, particularly English, and then has provided recommendations for how to enhance the effectiveness of English study There has been a lot ... English and mimicking it The importance of speaking English will be highlighted through the study "An investigation into difficulties in speaking skill faced by freshmen of English Faculty at Thuongmai. .. ? ?An investigation into difficulties in speaking skill faced by the freshmen of English Faculty at Thuongmai University? ?? The study aims to pinpoint the problems that students experience when speaking. .. background including the theory of the definition of speaking English, difficulties in speaking, and how to improve English skills Chapter 3: Research students of the English Faculty at Thuongmai University'' s