An investigation into factors affecting students perspective in learning speaking skills in the modern time a survey at phu hoa high school

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

The practice of teaching and learning a foreign language has risen to become one of the most global trends in the twenty-first century because language is considered to be an important tool of communication in human lives (Natalia, 2015) People use it to exchange their thinking in daily life and get knowledge around the world as well In other words, Walija’ study (as cited in Wibowo, 2014) showed that one of the most effective function of language in communicating is to deliver ideas, thoughts, implications and feelings Therefore, mastering a foreign language which means speaking that foreign language fluently is believed to be one of the most necessary tools for globalizing in every aspect of human life (Le, 2017).

English is obviously an international language, which is commonly spoken as a second language or a foreign language in many countries (Susanto, 2007) InVietnam, English has been recently required to learn as a mandatory subject in the national curriculum by the Ministry of Education and Training Students have to learnEnglish from primary school to university (Tran & Richard, 2007) About ninety four percent of students at universities in Vietnam learn English language compared with other foreign languages (Hoang, 2008) Consequently, learning English has occupied an important position or become an obligatory part in Vietnamese education system (Luu, 2011).

Siddiqui (2014) claimed that “of the four language macro-skills - listening, reading, writing, and speaking - learning to communicate in a foreign language is the most difficult” (p.47) Nunan (1999) defined that speaking abilities are closely related to language competency since the learners have to use sufficient vocabulary and syntax to speak the language as well as combine the linguistic competence, sociolinguistics competence and conversational skills in speaking process Similarly, several studies which conducted in the fields of applied linguistics and English language instruction indicated speaking skills are complicated process (Kenworthy, 1987; Brown & Yule, 1998; Shumin, 2002; Harmer 2007 and Gilakjani, 2016) In addition, Hoang et al.

(2006) stated that the basic aim of learning English is to have the ability to use English to communicate with other people accurately and fluently It is normally believed that a student's proficiency in a language is typically measured by the manner in which they speak the language.

Even though Nguyen (2019) showed that the value of speaking ability in the process of learning English language is evident, most high school students are facing numerous obstacles in improving this skill Furthermore, Pham (2020) indicated that these students should be well-prepared for higher education at this point, such as colleges or universities because they must fairly acquire all of four language skills to meet the outcome requirement of tertiary level Le (2017) notes that the majority of students lack the requisite language abilities to pass the standards of recruiters or employers, mainly oral communication in English As a result, that their proficiency in using English to communicate is not particularly high could be one of their failure in future career due to the global integration.

Problems of the study

There are many studies in Vietnam that have been carried out to improve the quality of English speaking skills (ESS) for students at high school However, it is unlikely that the situation has been changed completely According to Hoang (2011), students learn English mostly to satisfy the requirement of national curriculum. Nguyen and Tran (2015) indicated that students are facing various factors when performing ESS at high school Consequently, it is not easy for students to learn ESS effectively.

According to Susanto (2007), students can not speak the English language appropriately without practicing in daily communication Beside, Richard (2008) stated that mastering ESS is one of the prior objectives brought to English language classes by many students In the context of Vietnam, although various strategies have been managed by the Ministry of Education and Training to heighten the feature of high school English language learning, students still seem to be unlikely to master the spoken English (Le, 2017; Nguyen, 2019; Pham, 2020) Based on the Vietnamese general education program 2018, the objectives of learning English at high school level are to help students develop their communicative competence in English and to provide them with life-long autonomous learning skills However, Tuan & Mai (2015) showed students have been continuously facing challenges in learning ESS Additionally, Nhung (2010) pointed out that the Vietnamese students have been in the shortage of practicing the language which is considered to be an indispensable part in learning ESS.

Many researchers concluded that the majority of Vietnamese students achieve low proficiency in speaking English (Hoang et al., 2006, Tran, 2013, Shimura,

2017) Besides, several problems which students are facing in learning English have been studied For instance, Nguyen (2013) stated that high school students are normally arranged to sit in classroom environment and learn English in a passive way.

Similarly, Dil (2009) found that classroom environment can not generate a vibrant setting for students to improve their speaking skills Therefore, students at high schools are not very successful in obtaining the speaking skills In addition, students often fail in the process of speaking English because they have limited vocabulary, grammar structures and different sounds between Vietnamese and English language (Nhung, 2010).

Up to the present, students at PHHS have been struggling with learning ESS though they have had at least four-year experience in learning English This study is expected to get the understanding into students’ perspective in learning ESS and discuss some strategies that assist students in improving their learning ESS.

Research aims and research questions

This study is in attempt to investigate the students’ perspective in learning English speaking skills at PHHS and to find out the factors that have influence on their learning ESS.

In line with those aims of the study, the following research questions are proposed:

[1] What is students’ perspective in learning English speaking skills at Phu Hoa high school?

[2] How do factors influence English speaking skills at Phu Hoa high school?

The significance of the study

Conducting the research at Phu Hoa High School, the researcher may help to raise students’ awareness of learning ESS which has become important in foreign language teaching and learning especially in the time of international and global integration With the findings of this study, teachers can make some adjustments suitably in planning their teaching technique as well as choosing the appropriate materials and applying various means of technology in teaching ESS Furthermore, the findings of this study may support the students with strategies in improving their English language speaking ability.

In recent years, the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has caused a vast number of damage to all activities in the world and education has undergone considerable changes Particularly schools and universities have to close and change from offline to online form which is not only strange to high school students but also for teachers in Vietnam As a result, the quality of learning English subject has been affected negatively because it is hard for the teacher to control students’ learning and practice the language To adapt to that new circumstances, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training officially has encouraged to combine online teaching with traditional one from the beginning of this school year The findings of the study help to make some contribution to the school’s plans and teachers’ preparation for implementing online speaking lesson as well as discuss some recommendations on teaching ESS more effectively in digital era in terms of understanding students’ learning perspective.

Hopefully this study can make a brief contribution to the larger development on learning and teaching ESS at other high schools in the rural region from this point of time Additionally, the results of this research would be beneficial for teachers and educators to think of practical methods for learning and teaching ESS.

The rationale of the study

Generally English is one of the compulsory subjects in high school curriculum and not many students learn to speak English successfully Moreover, they mostly attach more special intention to getting marks in tests than speaking English ability Although speaking for accuracy is considered as a basic academic element and for fluency as a communicative tool in FLL, students at PHHS are facing many obstacles in learning this skill This study is trying to examine how students behave and what influences students’ behaviour in learning ESS.

Along with the demand of modern generation, students do not only learn knowledge of the English language but also learn to be global citizens who need to be good at communicating in English Since English is chosen to be a compulsory requirement in the outcome standard at most universities in Vietnam For example, the university students have to get one of the certificates such as B1, TOFEL, IELTS, TOEIC, etc.in order to graduate university beside their major subject And those certificates require students to learn all four skills - reading, listening, writing and speaking Therefore, they need to enhance their speaking skill to prepare well for the higher learning and competitive working environment.

Up to now, many studies have been conducted about students’ learning ESS and factors that affect students’ learning ESS However, it is difficult for all educators to generalize those findings because they were carried out in different places and at different levels of language learning Therefore, the results of mentioned studies are inappropriate for teachers to employ in the context of PHHS Beside, this study is considered to be one of the pioneer projects to explore and discuss students’ perspective in learning ESS at PHHS Consequently, this study help to define students’ perspective and factors that influence students’ perspective in learning ESS in order to have deeper understanding of it before giving some suggestions on teaching and learning ESS at PHHS.

Scope of the study

This study focuses on investigating students’ perspective in learningEnglish speaking skills at Phu Hoa high school Because of the limited time, the researcher only makes a brief description of the current situation of students’ learningEnglish speaking skills at this high school However, students’ perspective in learning

English speaking will be identified to explore their preferences and demands In addition, the factors affecting the students’ learning English speaking skills will be examined and some recommendations will be given to encourage students to speakEnglish and overcome their difficulties in learning speaking skills.

The organization of the study

This study is composed of five chapters.

Chapter 1- Introduction - presents the general information includes the background of the study, statement of the study, research aims and research questions, significance of the study, the rationale of the study and the organization of the study.

Chapter 2 - Literature review - analyses related studies and illustrates relevant theories about speaking for accuracy, fluency, proficiency, as well as challenges in teaching and learning speaking skills and factors influenced on speaking skills Research gap is also mentioned at the end of this chapter.

Chapter 3 - Methodology - describes the method design of the study This chapter gives detailed explanation about the method, the design in which the study is conducted such as research site, materials, participants, sample, instruments and data collection procedures.

Chapter 4 - Findings and discussion - presents findings and analyses the data.Chapter 5 - Conclusion and recommendations - summarizes the study, makes some recommendations and gives some implication for further research.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Some notable works in the field of learning English speaking skills

Perspective in language learning is also known as behaviourism in terms of psychology, which is believed to be one of the most determinant elements in learning a certain language It focuses on the environment determinants of human behaviour. From this perspective, human behaviour is under the control of the environmental stimuli that precede behaviour and the consequence that follow it There have been numerous notable works of English language learning in terms of psychological behaviors for many decades.

In the article written by MacIntyre et al (1998), Conceptualizing Willingness to Communicate in a L2: A situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation, demonstrated that confidence plays a vital role in learning speaking skills The content of this article discussed the students’ willingness to communicate which is a derivation from confidence The researchers described various variables affecting students’ willingness to communicate as well as the relations among these variables.

The explanation of a psychological element - anxiety - was shown in the book “Language Anxiety and Achievement” (Horwitz, 2001) In this book, the researcher gave the definition of anxiety which means the association between tension,apprehension, nervousness and learning context Furthermore, he wrote that students should pay attention to examine the anxiety in language learning because it may affect students’ speaking performance and cause the influence on the students’ fluency in speaking English.

Hashimoto (2002) worked on a psychological term named Motivation and Willingness to Communicate as Predictors of Reported L2 Use In this study, the activities for students to practice speaking are planned carefully so that the students can participate in the learning process freely The researcher aimed to discover the Malaysian students’ most preferred strategies to enhance their speaking skills Thus, he suggested that all the speaking activities should be able to increase students’ learning motivation.

The relationship between students’ anxiety, self-confidence and oral performance was investigated in the study L2 Learners’ Anxiety, Self-confidence and Oral Performance (Hyesook, & Adam, 2005) The results of this study presented the significant impacts of students’ anxiety and self-confidence on their speaking performance The higher anxious the students were about their speaking, the lower scores they gain on their speaking performance The higher confident the students were, the higher oral performance they expressed.

Other psychological problems were investigated in the study called

Psychological Problems of Middle-School Students in English Learning (Xinghua,

2007) These problems prevent students from speaking English well, which often affect their emotional and physical health, relationships, work efficiency or life amendment. The results of this work showed that psychological problems are those problems such as nervousness, lack of self-confidence and fear of speaking The researcher found that these problems had an influence on students with their speaking performance.

Tanveer’s study in 2007, Investigation of The Factors That Cause Language Anxiety for ESL/EFL Learners in Learning Speaking Skills and The Influence It Casts on Communication in The Target Language, was an inside exploration about students’ anxiety in learning speaking skills In this study, some factors that students’ anxiety originates from were examined in both inside and out of classroom circumstances or in wider social context The findings showed that students’ anxiety can stem from their own sense of self, their self-related cognition, their difficulties in language learning, different cultures, different social status and their fear of losing self-identity.

In the study, English Language Learning Anxiety among Foreign Language Learners in the Philippines, Rochelle et al (2011) examined the causes of anxiety in students’ learning English language in the Philippines The researchers also explored some strategies that were employed to deal with anxiety in English language class The findings of the study suggested that these students used “vocabulary strategy” to learn English language effectively and to release their anxiety This study concluded that the use of this strategy helped students improve their learning all macro skills in English.

Another significant study in the field of psychological factors is

Psychological Factors That Hinder Students From Speaking In English Class: A Case Study In A Senior High School In South Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia (Juhana, 2012).

The researcher aimed at exploring some psychological factors that students encountered in learning speaking skills The findings revealed that students are facing some psychological factors such as following:

- Feeling afraid of making mistakes: students often keep silent and refuse to practice speaking due to negative thoughts of doing something wrong and being evaluated by teacher or fear of loosing face in front of their friends.

- Shyness: students do not actively take part in the speaking activities and this emotion makes their mind go blank, then they can’t remember what to say.

- Lacking of confidence: students feel unconfident when they find their friends can’t understand them or they don’t understand their friends.

- Demotivation: this can be considered to be an important concern from which makes students reluctant in speaking English.

These psychological factors have significantly influenced on students in their learning English speaking skills.

The summary of the above notable works related to psychological behaviours in learning English can be listed in the following table:

Table 1: Summary of some notable works

No Author Year Name of work Main content

A situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation

- Students’ willingness to communicate: derivation from confidence.

- Various variables affecting students’ willingness to communicate.

- The relations among these variables.

- The definition of anxiety: the association between tension, apprehension,nervousness and learning context.

- The anxiety: affect students’ speaking performance and influence on the students’ fluency in speaking English.

Willingness to Communicate as Predictors of Reported L2 Use

- The activities for students to practice speaking.

- Students’ most preferred strategies to enhance their speaking skills.

- Speaking activities increase students’ learning motivation.

Self-confidence and Oral Performance

- The significant impacts of students’ anxiety and self-confidence on their speaking performance.

Problems of Middle- School Students in

-Psychological problems affect students’ emotional and physical

English Learning health, relationships, work efficiency or life amendment.

- Psychological problems: nervousness, lack of self-confidence and fear of speaking.

- These problems influence students’ speaking performance.

Factors That Cause Language Anxiety for ESL/EFL Learners in Learning Speaking Skills and The Influence It Casts on Communication in The Target Language

- An inside exploration about students’ anxiety in learning speaking skills.

- The origination of students’ anxiety: inside and out of classroom circumstances or in wider social context.

- Students’ anxiety from their own sense of self, their self-related cognition, their difficulties in language learning, different cultures, different social status and their fear of losing self-identity.

7 Rochelle et al 2011 English Language

Learning Anxiety among Foreign Language Learners in the Philippines

- The causes of anxiety in students’ learning

- Some strategies to deal with anxiety in English language class.

- “Vocabulary strategy” to learn effectively, to release their anxiety.

- This strategy improve students’ learning all macro skills in English.

That Hinder Students From Speaking In English Class: A Case Study In A Senior High School In South Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia

Some psychological factors: Feeling afraid of making mistakes,

Nakhalah (2016) noted that the transmission of language through the mouth is referred to as speaking People use a variety of body parts, including the tongue, vocal chords, mouth, teeth, and lips, to produce sounds when they speak In other words, speaking is defined as speech or utterances convey the objective of the speaker implied and the listener sort out the remarks to achieve the speaker's intention (Gert and Hans, 2008).

From the definition given above, it may come to the conclusion that speaking is a useful skill or capacity to communicate one's thoughts to others It is clear that the value of English as a second language or a foreign language for oral communication is beyond question Al-Sibai (2004) clearly demonstrates that speaking skill is one of the most prevalent but highly complex activities which must be taken into account when learning the English language, particularly given that we live in a time when being able to speak English fluently has become essential for those looking to advance in a number of human endeavors.

Zhang et al (1995) stated that children automatically pick up oral language and that this happens naturally It is believed that speaking skills improve with age, but this does not imply that perfection will follow Moreover, speaking is regarded as being extremely vital in our daily lives and it is a method for verbally exchanging thoughts, ideas, or messages Although speaking is one of the four fundamental abilities in learning the English language to which students are introduced from elementary school, it is still difficult for them to communicate in the target language.

Many people throughout the world dream of learning a second or foreign language since it gives them the opportunity to interact with each other for information and work from different nations Recently, many nations have recognized the value of teaching and learning English from an early age due to the adoption of English as an international language (Susanto, 2007) The last few years have seen an increase in the number of people learning English as a second language The significance of English speaking abilities has been highlighted by Boset and Asmawi (2020), especially for people learning English as a second or foreign language The use of English is essential in many facets of modern life, including business, technology, medical, and tourism.

As a result, it may be claimed that English strongly influences students' success in their future life.

Le (2017) writes “students with high English skills are clearly more advantageous than those who are not proficient at English” (p.138) Similarly to this view, Devi and Rao (2018) claim that without proficiency in the English language, people cannot increase their possibilities in any area of life because people from many nations can converse with one another by using English Both the global environment and the growth of human society heavily rely on the English language Therefore, speaking skills can be regarded as the primary method of communication between people, communities, and nations.

According to Sirisrimangkon (2018), speaking is regarded as the most crucial skill of the four language skills -listening, speaking, reading and writing - because it is utilized to communicate for a variety of purposes and goals Saeed, Ghani,Eng, and Kharksari (2016) infer that students who can speak English fluently may have more job options In relation to the role of speaking, Devi and Rao (2018) assert that speaking is one of the active and useful skills Furthermore, speaking is a fundamental skill for students to interact with one another (Harmer, 2001).

Characteristics of speaking skills

According to Harmer (2007), speaking is a complex skill because it is concerned with some important components such as grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, fluency and comprehension.

Grammar is a set of rules which describe how we use a language The aim of grammar is also to learn the right way to gain expertise in oral written forms of language Consequently, grammar is required for students to arrange words in correct sentences in conversation.

Vocabulary is also another important component which means the suitable diction used in communication Without having a sufficient vocabulary, one cannot communicate effectively or express ideas.

Pronunciation is the way for students to produce clearer language when speaking There are two features of pronunciation: phonemes and supra segmental features A speaker who constantly mispronounces a range of phonemes can be extremely difficult for a speaker from another language community to understand.

Fluency can be defined as the ability to speak fluently and accurately. Sign of fluency include a reasonably fast speed of speaking and only a small number of pauses and “ums” or “ers” which indicate that the speakers do not have to spend a lot of time searching for the language items needed to express the message.

Comprehension is the mind, act power of understanding exercise aimed in improving The speaker can be understood by the listener in their conversation.

The majority of linguists concur that the ability to communicate is the capacity to generate words, to convey or to transmit ideas, thoughts, and even feelings.Furthermore, learning it takes time and is not something that can be done overnight.

According to Ruby and Thomson (1994), language is a complicated system with a variety of systems that each require pupils to think differently and receive a lot of experience Students must therefore practice in order to acquire English more effectively According to Richards (2008), there are three main categories that can be used to categorize the purposes of speaking: interaction, transaction, and performance.

As a result, speaking serves as a tool for communication, hence having good speaking skills is important.

Fundamentally, speech is done to communicate and be able to express one's thoughts clearly In order to accurately express the learners' concepts, speakers must not only comprehend the content and make an effort to communicate, but also assess the impact of their interactions with listeners According to Tarigan (1985), speaking can be done for a variety of reasons, including to discuss, convince, inform, and entertain.

Speaking is seen as a difficult skill to learn and one that is challenging to master precisely According to Lado (1977), there are various elements that are universally acknowledged in the analysis of the speech process, such as pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and fluency Students are able to control the sound of the precise words associated with the appropriate structures that indicate the best manner to transmit their ideas at an acceptable speed in this area of language.

It is undeniable that speaking skill is a complex requirement in learning a language In terms of proficiency, this skill connects to numerous aspects rather than the language only Richards and Renandya (2002) assumes that the major aim of almost language learners is to achieve fluency in the language Nonetheless,most foreign language learners feel frustrated because they are unable to take part in speaking activities Both learners and teachers think that speaking problems may be resolved with practicing vocabulary and structure more often In fact, speaking for proficiency is not simple as most learners’ view In addition, students who want to gain proficiency in speaking are not only required to construct grammatical sentences precisely as well as to pronounce the words correctly, they are also asked to get to know the use of the language According to Hinkel (2005), communicative factors usually take place because the students deal with a word they do not know or the word formation they can not use and they find that they are incapable of expressing their opinions.

English language ability has been valued in nearly every level of education in Vietnam In particular, it has become so crucial during the current globalization age Due to this impact, speaking fluency and proficiency have become one of the primary goals of the English curriculum for high schools According to Richards (2008), people shake hands when they meet, begin a casual conversation, or inquire about recent events because they wish to appear hospitable and establish a connection This indicates that effective oral communication skills and fluent speaking are essential for maintaining human connections There is no defense for a language student who is unable to speak the target language because language is a tool for communication.

2.3.4 Teaching and learning of speaking skills

It is frequently required of English language learners to speak English accurately and eloquently in the target language In order to assist their pupils in meeting the requirement, teachers should maintain an awareness of some communication skills during the teaching process Many communicative competencies,including discourse, linguistics, fictional, sociocultural, and strategic, are suggested by

Celce-Murcia et al (1995) The acquisition of these linguistic skills was a requirement for language learners They are related as the knowledge that enables English language learners to master the target language Also, as they are so important to students' success in speaking performance, the students will perform their speaking skills well as a result of obtaining those communicative competences Although input is widely acknowledged to be crucial for language learning, it is insufficient if it is not followed by interaction and output because comprehension and production go through different processing steps, and understanding the meaning sentences convey differs from being able to use a linguistic system to express meaning.

Students should be able to utilize the target language orally for a variety of reasons after receiving instruction in speaking it If the teacher can convey the content in a way that will pique the students' attention, the teaching-learning process will be successful When teaching English to the students, the teacher should use creativity To assist the students in speaking the language, they must also put numerous teaching strategies into practice, carefully choose the resources, and employ engaging instructional media According to Harmer (2001), there are a variety of speaking activities that can be utilized in the classroom to teach a language, including role playing and simulating situations, communication games, discussions, and prepared talks The teacher must allow students the chance to speak about whatever is on their minds, as well as what is significant and engaging for them to discuss, during every speaking activity in the classroom It is preferable if teachers allow students to communicate in English what they understand.

One of the key aspects of language is speaking The most important language acquisition skill is considered to be speaking It is obvious that language is a form of communication that is integral to daily existence Speaking has always been seen to be only an application and variation, outside the purview of language and linguistics The majority of how linguistic theory has evolved is through abstraction from sources of diversity and context of use Speakers use their words to influence their listeners in some way The key factor in successful language learning is the ability of the student to converse; as a result, language serves as a mechanism for meaning expression According to Nunan (1991), the success of speaking is determined by one's capacity to hold a conversation in the target language It is apparent that there are many proponent variables that affect speaking success and many impediment factors that contribute to speaking performance issues.

Speaking refers to more than simply mouthing words By doing so, the message is communicated orally Students in the school neglect this skill as well because they are not given the opportunity to speak English outside of the classroom. Speaking requires a lot of practice and focus as well Simply by listening and repeating, we can acquire the language of our parents A foreign language is also learned through imitation and reproduction There are four requirements that must be met for language learning to occur: exposure, opportunities to use the language, motivation, and instruction According to Willis (1996), students need opportunities to experiment with language they have heard or seen in a safe environment without feeling threatened. According to Ellis (2003), this can be accomplished by having students participate in two different categories of communicative tasks: focused tasks and unfocused tasks. Both of these exercises encourage learners to use language pragmatically as opposed to exhibiting it They aim to improve their communication skills by learning new languages.

2.3.5 Factors affecting students’ speaking skills

There are a number of internal and environmental elements that affect learners' ability to speak that are mentioned Littlewood (1984) asserts that motivation is the key factor that affects whether a learner starts a task at all, how much effort they put into it, and how much time they set aside for it Only when students are motivated and given the chance to show their individuality and interact with others can communicative skills grow.

Related research

2.4.1 Some related research around the world

Rubin (1994) conducted a study on investigating the pedagogy to improve the speaking skills in the speaking process The study examined the impact of several environmental factors, how they influence, how quickly and effectively spoken communication is processed Pronunciation, the interlocutor, the environment, confidence, and process characteristics make up five components of the speaking process When learning a language and how to communicate, the mental process also becomes a crucial component It is evident that someone learning a foreign language for the first time requires a great deal of courage and work to do it with confidence, especially if they are adult learners.

Ambu & Saidi’s (1997) conducted a study at a high school in Oman, where students learn English as a foreign language The researchers aimed at investigating some issues related to learning English speaking in a foreign language classroom They concluded that the class size, the insufficient periods for English speaking and the syllabus design didn’t satisfy the students’ needs in English speaking skills.

Richards (2006), Littlewood (2007), Ahmad & Rao (2013) did their research on the subject of instructing speaking skills Insights from the CommunicativeLanguage Teaching (CLT) methodology served as inspiration for the study CLT was established in the 1970s and has had a significant influence on how languages are taught now all around the world The council of Europe had a significant impact on it because European linguists believed that language teachers should emphasize communicative skills rather than only structural knowledge The main goal of language instruction should be to give students opportunities to communicate in English The studies on the application of CLT have shown that the strategy can be fruitful and successful for both teachers and students They concluded that CLT can help foreign language learners become more proficient communicators.

Brown (2007) conducted a study on investigating the value of communication in language learning This study showed that students should integrate linguistic knowledge through reception, without which they are unable to produce the target language The study found that throughout learning time, listening skill was used more frequently than speaking skill The researcher took this into account as a phenomena whereby certain students feel somehow more secure in listening than in speaking Teachers also gave students the chance to speak English in class, but few of them were courageous enough to do so.

Gan (2012) carried out a study to explore obstacles to learning speaking skills that English-majored students in Hong Kong University were facing The results showed that these students significantly encountered numerous difficulties causing their limitation of fluent speaking performance such as the shortage of vocabulary, paying too much attention on grammar structures, having limited chances in speaking practice and wider environment outside classroom.The study then drew out a need to integrate sufficiently intensive language expansion elements in the present program.

Al-Jamal & AlJamal (2014) used data from a survey questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to evaluate the challenges that might be faced at six Jordanian public universities The study found that the majority of student participants encountered difficulties with oral ability limitations, a lack of speaking time, and large- size classes being the most prominent issues.

Mamo and Yigzaw (2015) conducted a study on defining the fidelity of peer mediation and its role in developing students’ English speaking skills According to the study, speaking proficiency is crucial for English learners to develop in order to communicate effectively and meet present and future societal needs As a result, it is concerning when students, even after spending several years studying the English language, are unable to communicate successfully through speech To assist English language learners in developing their communication ability, an emphasis on the language's communicative functions is necessary The importance of the grammatical components in and of themselves is not negated by this; rather, they should be taught to non-native speakers in context so that students may understand their meanings and how they are utilized in everyday speech or dialogues This is acceptable since speakers are not required to isolate certain grammar components in order to encode meaning during everyday discourse Simply knowing how to employ a specific word to convey a range of meanings to listeners is all that is needed The findings have shown that in order for students to develop communicative competency, they need more opportunities to practice their language skills.

Izadi (2015) investigated professors’ and students’ perspectives on the challenges of speaking English when Iranian is their mother tongue The study specifically examined the challenges related to linguistic issues, unfavorable feelings, and opportunities to speak English The study’s key finding was that linguistic issues which were a major contributor, and it offered many methods to address these issues, emphasizing the efforts of lecturers and students as well as more administrative support in a similar vein.

In Indonesia context, Haidara (2016) conducted a study to investigate the psychological factors influencing students’ English speaking performance This study was part of a descriptive qualitative research project that sought to identify the psychological factors influencing Indonesian students’ English speaking performance negatively The findings indicated that students were lacking confidence, shy, hesitant,and fearful of making mistakes.

Hanum Mufidah (2017) conducted a study to examine the factors influencing the speaking problems of ten-grade students at Negeri school This study used a descriptive qualitative approach and sought to understand the variables that contributed to the tenth-grade students’ difficulties speaking English The findings indicate that a number of elements, including affective, social, teacher, educational system, facilities, and linguistic issues, contributed to students’ difficulties speaking English.

Kurniawati, B (2017) conducted a study on speaking class anxiety of students in the English Education Department at UIN Alauddin Makasar The objective of this descriptive quantitative study was to describe the degree of speaking anxiety among students in speaking classes According to the results, the majority of the 90 students in the second semester (58%) showed medium levels of speaking anxiety. When asked to share their perspectives about speaking in English during meetings, these students frequently exhibit ambiguous perceptions of their feelings Another finding showed that 40% of the students had mild anxiety and only 2% had significant anxiety.

Adnan and Anwar (2020) conducted a study on investigating students’ perspective towards online learning during the time of Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. The objective of the study is to examine Pakistani students’ attitudes towards obligatory digital and distant learning in the time of out-breaking Covid-19 The result of the study showed that the students’ perspective about the online learning was not very positive because of some factors such as technical and financial factors And, the study also found that students had troubles in learning due to the lack of face-to-face interaction with teachers and their friends.

2.4.2 Some related research in Vietnam

Le (2011) explored the same research question in relation to Vietnam's

Ba Ria - Vung Tau University, where students had difficulties with their English- speaking abilities The results highlighted the difficulties in relation to (1) issues with students, such as learning preferences, anxieties, and language competency; (2) concerns with lecturers, specifically teaching approach; and (3) teaching facilities.

Ngo (2011) conducted another study at Thai Nguyen University on the subject of speaking skills challenges for students The study is primarily concerned with three potentially difficult areas: psychology, linguistics, and social culture From that point on, it was suggested that administrators and lecturers work together to enhance students' speaking skills.

Doan (2011) carried out research on how to raise students’ English- speaking proficiency This study focused on advice for helping learners improve their speaking abilities Practicing is seen as a crucial component of language learning. Practice as much and as frequently as possible is always suggested for students. Unfortunately, some students struggle with practicing well and become discouraged when they find that their efforts do not always result in significant academic success. Teachers should therefore instruct them on efficient practice This essay outlines the kind of practice suggestions that should be given to students in order to effectively develop their speaking skills Good group work management and a set of appropriate speaking practice exercises can improve students' speaking skills and boost their autonomy, according to encouraging preliminary results.

Research gap

From the review of the study listed above brings about many inferences for the current study Firstly, there have been limited studies that examine the students’ perspective on learning English speaking skills at high schools within rural areas in Vietnam Particularly, the implementing technology has been beneficial to the learning English language in the last few years (Adnan et al.,2020, Basilaia and Kvavadze, 2020,

Le, 2020) Therefore, the current study conducted to explore the students’ perspective toward learning English speaking skills with the help of technology at PHHS, which is a high school in a rural area of Ho Chi Minh city Secondly, many researchers carried out lots of studies on the speaking skills of English language, they found that students faced various troubles in learning English speaking skills (Nguyen, 2019, Le, 2017,Hanum Mufidah, 2017) Moreover, there have been a number of projects made by researchers around the world to find out the importance of speaking acquisition and to propose solution as well Therefore, the current study intends to reexamine the factors affecting learning English speaking skills at Phu Hoa High School in order to apply the suitable methods for teaching and learning English speaking skills With the findings,this study helps to find solution to these problems such as appropriate techniques and materials to enhance learners’ speaking skills based on the current situation of ELT programme assigned by MOET at Phu Hoa High School.

Research framework

From the literature review, there are four major factors that affect students’ learning English speaking skills, namely linguistic factors, psychological factors, contextual factors and technological factors The framework shows that linguistic factors comprise the pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar It is undeniable that students’ speaking skills are normally hindered by the linguistic factors in learning a foreign language (Lado, 1977) However, psychological factors are composed of lack of confidence, shyness, anxiety and lack of motivation, which prominently affect the speaking skills Besides, the factors related to the context such as environment for learning, the content designed in the syllabus and curriculum, teaching methods and materials make a huge contribution to the success in learning English speaking skills. With the development of technology in recent years, students’ learning English has been influenced incredibly.

In this chapter, the teaching and learning of speaking skill has been noted to give a general view in considering factors involved This chapter also mentions the theoretical background from which the gap and the research framework were picked.Beside, this section presents the findings of some previous researches to direct the current study.

METHODOLOGY

Research design

A research design is a method for organizing the study environment to obtain reliable data that are appropriate for all variable features and the research aims. This study’s research design is a mixed-method approach that uses both quantitative and qualitative techniques Cresswell (2012) asserted that the procedure for collecting, analyzing and mixing both quantitative and qualitative methods provides a better understanding of the research problem Students and teachers were given questionnaires to describe the status of high school students’ English proficiency The data analysed from the questionnaires can help to assess the frequency and magnitude of trends and give useful description of trends about a large number of people(Cresswell & Plano Clark, 2011) The results indicate students’ perspectives on gainingEnglish speaking skills at Phu Hoa high school The qualitative methods supply the actual wordw of the participants in the study Interviews are used to gather qualitative data, which aids the researcher in gaining a realistic and varied viewpoint from students Greece & Caracelli (1997) stated that the combination of quantitative and qualitative provides a complicated images of the situation.

Research instruments

The two types of instruments are utilized in this study are questionnaires and interviews.

Brown (2001) classified that questionnaires are thought of as useful instruments for gathering data from a large number of respondents, to which they can write or choose from among given answer It is believed that students’ perspective towards learning English speaking skills is an abstract term and it is rather difficult to be observed (Luu, 2012) As a result, questionnaires are employed in the current study to gather about factors affecting students’ learning English speaking skills.

The questionnaire was employed to gather the quantitative data (Hinds, 2000) The questionnaire is divided into two sectors In the first sector, there are three questions regarding the students’ personal information, including their sex, age, and grade level.

The second sector is to collect data for the study including two parts. The first part designed with 15 items on close-ended questions, Yes-No options, to classify the students’ perspective on learning English speaking skills.

The second part consists of questions on a 5-point Likert scale adapted from Pham (2020) to define the factors affecting the students’ learning English speaking skills 15 questions are based on the four main factors influencing students’ learning English speaking skills The question 3 and question 5 aim to investigate the influence of linguistic factors such as vocabulary and grammar The content of question 7 and from question 10 to 13 are to find the effect of classroom environment.Question 8 and 9 are designed to examine the psychological factors The two last question cover the influence of technological factors on students’ learning English speaking skills.

The questionnaire is in both English and Vietnamese to make sure that all the respondents do not misunderstand the questions However, the students are just required to complete the Vietnamese questionnaire.

It would be mismatched if the study did not have the questionnaire for teacher Because the teachers’ perception speaking skills makes great contribution to the performance of students Therefore, it is necessary to distribute the questionnaire for teachers to explore factors affecting students’ learning English speaking skills as well as reconsider students’ perspective towards them.

In order for the researcher to compare the teachers’ and students’ responses later, the questionnaires’ structures were identical The comparison allowed the researcher to determine how well the teachers comprehended their students’ viewpoints towards the acquisition of speaking skills Also, the data gathered from the teachers was used to support the information gathered from the students Three questions regarding the personal data of the teachers, including their gender, age, and qualification, are included in the first section Two parts in the second section were created exactly the same way as those in the students’ questionnaire This section focused on issues that teachers believe may influence both students’ perspective and speaking performance in order to learn how teachers view students’ perspectives on gaining speaking skills.

The questionnaire is in both English and Vietnamese for the teachers to give their answers Although the teachers can answer the questionnaire in English without any problems, they were still provided the Vietnamese form to ensure they were completely filling it out.

Interviews, according to Merriam (1998), are the most effective means of learning what other people are thinking With multiple participants using this study instrument concurrently, the researchers can save time and money (Bryman, 2004) In order to acquire insight into the research questions, interviews with the students participants were performed The follow-up interviews were also used to collect qualitative data with the aim of examining how the student participants behave on their speaking skills (Griffee, 2005).

The interview questions were created to be compared to the quantitative data gathered from the questionnaires In order to learn more, privileged interviews were used to study the students’ speaking skills, difficulties, and solutions Interviews enable the researcher to glean new insights from the research respondents as well as a lot of information from students’ responses (Mcnamara, 20220) The interviews which are thought to be the natural means of telling about the issues (Cresswell, 2012) were conducted with nine students The questions aimed to learn how students felt about their English-speaking class and what factors affected their learning English speaking skills Also, the data might offer advice on how to improve and support students’ learning speaking skills in the future.

Five questions were used throughout interviews following the students’ response in the questionnaire Question 1 focuses on the students’ interest in learning English speaking skills Question 2 asked students about their difficulties in mastering speaking skills Question 3 focused on the students’ goals for learning English. Question 4 focused on the need to develop speaking skills Question 5 defines the impact of technological elements on students’ learning English speaking skills as well as the online learning helps students become more fluent speakers The students participated in the interviews using Vietnamese the researcher translated into English because at high school stage, students can’t express their answers completely inEnglish.

Research site

The research was carried out at Phu Hoa high school which is managed by the Ho Chi Minh Department of Education and Training This school is situated in the north-west of Ho Chi Minh city, which is in a rural area From grade 10 to grade 12, it adheres to a national standard educational environment This school’s curriculum is taught in almost Vietnamese high schools all day long The Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training’s English textbook is used for English classes (MOET) In this school, grade 10 students study English using the "Friends Global 10" textbook Grade

11 students use the "Tieng Anh 11" textbook, and grade 12 students use the "Tieng Anh 12" textbook.

Though most of the students at this school has been learned English from the primary school stage, there are numerous challenges in learning English subject at high school level There are more than 40 students in each class Besides, they study about

12 subjects in total which are in Vietnamese language; therefore, the students have few chances to make use of English.

Research participants

The students are conveniently chosen 364 in grade 10, grade 11,and grade 12 to take part in the study They have already finished the first semester of the school year 2022-2023 at Phu Hoa high school in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam Their age is from 16 to 18 The ten-grade students have just undergone the high school program for about 4 months The researcher invited students from different levels in order to get an overview on students’ perspective towards learning English speaking skill Moreover, the researcher can find out factors that affect the students’ learning to make some suggestions for them.

There are 119 participants in grade 10, 125 students in grade 11 and 120 members in grade 12 However, the study was carried in a limited time and resources, the random students were asked to take the convenient technique to help the researcher make statistics inferred from this sample of students to all students at school Besides, it is considered to be an economical sample and decrease the variability of the result In addition, the researcher chose the sampling technique suitably ensures the result more realistic and precise Generally, it is beneficial to the researcher because it helps to save time and money.

Nine English teachers at Phu Hoa High School were invited to complete the questionnaire Because there are totally nine members in the group of English teachers at this school, the researcher just invited all nine teachers to participate in the study These teachers’ perceptions towards students' perspectives on learning to speakEnglish and factors influencing students’ learning English speaking skills will be crucial to the study since they have a substantial impact on how well students learn to speak.

Data collection and data analysis procedure

3.5.1.1 Procedure of collecting data from questionnaire for students

Traditionally, the researcher designed questionnaires on paper and collected these answer paper after an appointed time Thanks to the development ofInternet nowadays, this study does not use paper any more Instead, the researcher created the questionnaires by Google Forms to conduct the survey Because of its convenience in collecting data from large amount of participants, the researcher decided to use Google Form to carry out the study The items in questionnaires were designed in Vietnamese and put into the Google Form with three sections that were equivalent to the original questionnaires.

The researcher generated a shortened link to support students with the most convenient access to the link The questionnaires were sent to students in the late December 2022 when they had experienced the first semester at the school The researcher messaged to students in the school through Zalo groups to convey the information of the study The students were given explanation from the researcher about the implication and the purpose of the questionnaires.

More importantly, students were encouraged to give straightforward answers with no fear of being punished They were able to participate in the survey by their smartphones or laptops While students were completing the questionnaires, the researcher was ready to help students at any time It took about one week to collect the answers from participants.

3.5.1.2 Procedure of collecting data from questionnaire for teachers

The questionnaire for teachers was transferred to them by the same way the researcher did for students Similarly, the researcher explained the aim of the study and the way how to do the questionnaire items to the teachers It took the researcher two days to receive all the responses from 9 teachers.

3.5.1.3 Procedure of collecting data from interviews with students

Before starting the interviews, the researcher contacted the students in advance to ask for permission to conduct the one-by-one interviews with them and also to explain the aim of the study Moreover, the researcher asked the students to let the recording of their interviews used for data analysis later After reaching the time agreement from the students, the interviews took place at different time It took the researcher two weeks to finish all interviews with 9 students.

After collecting all the data, the researcher used both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyse There were two kinds of data which were gathered from questionnaires and interviews One of the two was described in numbers and figures to measure and the other type was in words with content-codes.

The researcher used quantitative methods to analyse the data picked from questionnaires to draw out the students’ perspective on learning speaking English and factors affecting their perspective in speaking English The questionnaires consist of two types of question design: Yes/No question and 5-point Likert Scale model with

1means Not difficult/good/much/often/important/high…at all

2means Not very difficult/good/much/often/important/high…

3means Moderately difficult/good/much/often/important/high…

4means Rather difficult/good/much/often/important/high…

5means Very difficult/good/much/often/important/high…

Thanks to the scaled question type, the researcher can have deeper feedback about participants’ ideas Therefore, this kind of question brings further insight understanding of students’ learning English and factors of students to the study.

The technological tool used to analyse the data collected from questionnaires was SPSS 23 The answers were presented in tables with frequency distribution Firstly, the data of students’ general information were calculated with two measures such as F (frequency) and P (percentage) explain the data Secondly, the researcher uses three measures: F (frequency) and P (percentage) to analyse data of Yes/No questions to understand the students’ view on learning English Thirdly, the data of scaled questions were put into descriptive statistic with “mean” and “mode” because in this part the participants were asked to choose one of five alternative in each item “Mean” is a measure used for comparing alternative subjects so that the researcher will draw an overall feature of students’ speaking English.

Low level Very bad Mean = 1.0 - 1.4

In addition, the "Standard Deviation" was utilized in comparison to the "Mean" to explain the degree of data dispersion To put it another way, the standard deviation was utilized to calculate the ranges of deviations between each score and its mean.

3.5.2.2 Data from interviews with students

The data collected from the interview with students were employed to compare with the data from questionnaires so that the researcher had the students’ opinions about their learning English and made some solutions to improve their learning English speaking skills.

The researcher used the method of analyzing the content At the beginning, the researcher read through the scripts to get the main idea of the data Then reading line by line was employed to classify the students’ opinions After that the researcher counted the frequency of the groups and transferred into percentage The data were interpreted based on the percentage Finally, the discussion of the data helped the researcher find out the major ideas from the interviews with students.

Validity and reliability

Hughes (2002) defined that validity of the research instruments is the level of accuracy when measuring what to measure The researcher sent the Vietnamese version of questionnaires and also explain the aims and structure of the questionnaire to participants The questionnaires were designed in Vietnamese together with the explanation of the objectives ensured the participants completed all the items in questionnaires correctly and willingly Besides, the content and structure of questionnaires and interviews are simple and appropriate to participants Additionally, all the answers from participants were entirely anonymous so that they felt comfortable to express their opinions By using Google Form the researcher can get the answer quickly and its setting helps the researcher avoid the loss of data.

The reliability of questionnaire was considered by using Cronbach’sAlpha test which is widely used to measure the level of internal consistency among the test items Both groups of studied participant are distributed the Vietnamese version of questionnaires and interviews to ensure that they thoroughly understand the study questions because the unclear content of questions will lead to unreliable result (Cresswell, 2012) And all the participants’ personal information is not revealed, so the interviewees feel free and comfortable to express their opinions All the interviews recorded with the permission from students can be used for analysing later.

The Cronbach’s Alpha in this study was 0,744 and it means that the test items are reliable.

Summary of chapter 3

In this chapter, the methodology of this study has been presented including research design, research site, participants, research instruments, data collection procedure as well as data analysis procedure Finally, the validity and reliability of the research instruments has been shown.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Data analysis

The study was carried out with 364 students at Phu Hoa high school. English is learned as one of core subjects in the national education program The information about students participated in the survey is analyzed as the following figures.

The table displays that the number of female students in the survey is bigger than that of male students The percentage of female students is 61.8 % (225 students) whereas the percentage of male students is 38.2 % (139 students).

The follow table tells about the age of students that are given the questionnaire to complete.

As shown in the table, the age of students varied from 15 to 19. These students are learning English subject at the state school Most of them are from

16 to 18 years old (89 %) About 36 out of 364 students are at the age of 15 (9.9 %).Only 1.1 % (4 students) are 19 years old.

From the figure presented in the table, nearly half of the participants is students in grade 12 with 170 students (46.7 %) and that means they have studied at this school for nearly three years The rest of students is composed of students in grade 10 and 11 with 109 students in grade 10 (29.9 %) and 85 students in grade 11 (23.4%) The students in grade 10 are the newcomers in this school and that means they are in the first semester at high school education.

4.1.1.2 Students’ perception in learning English speaking skills

The students’ perspective on learning English speaking skills was explored by considering students’ perception in their current learning status Besides,the challenges in speaking were determined to raise the students’ awareness in learning speaking English The factors that influence the students’ learning English - specially speaking skill – were investigated to help them take suitable action in improving English language knowledge as well.

Table 4.4: Students’ perspective on learning English speaking skills

1.1 Do you think that learning English speaking skills is important? 333 91.5 %

1.2 Is learning English speaking skills difficult? 290 74 % 1.3 Does your mother tongue influence on learning English speaking skills? 351 96.4 %

1.4 Do you think you can speak English fluently with limit vocabulary? 154 42.3 %

1.5 Do you think you can express yourself in English fluently with limit ideas in your mind? 10 2.7 %

1.6 Do you think you can speak English fluently with limit sentence structures? 148 40.7 %

1.7 Are you under pressure when speaking English in class? 239 65.7 % 1.8 Are you under pressure when your teachers correct your mistakes in speaking English? 268 73.6 %

1.9 Are the tasks in the materials helpful to improve your speaking skills? 136 37.4 %

1.10 Do you enjoy classroom atmosphere when learning English? 119 32.7 % 1.11 Do you think using technology in learning speaking skills is important? 213 58.5 %

1.12 Do you enjoy online English speaking lessons conducted by your teachers? 113 31 %

1.13 Do you think the facilities at school are helpful to improve your learning English? 127 34.9 %

1.14 Do you think digital technology is useful in learning

1.15 Do you think it is necessary to employ digital classroom activities in improving English speaking? 329 90.4 %

The figure in the table above shows that students are influenced by their first language on their learning speaking English (question item 1.3 - 96.4 %).Only 10 students (2,7 %) answered “Yes” to the question item 1.5, which means with limited ideas students can’t speaking English fluently This figure displays the common situation of speaking English among students at this school In addition, students are unable to speak English well with limited vocabulary (item 1.4 - 42.3 %) and grammar structures item 1.6 - 40.7 %) Most students feel that learning English speaking is important (question items 1.1 - 91.5 %) because most of them realize the important role of English in their study life as well as in their future Moreover, about two-third of the participants (question item 1.2), which was made up of 74 %, show that learning English speaking is difficult There are also the similar proportion of students who say that they are under pressure in their English speaking lessons (item 1.7 - 65.7 %) and the time when their teacher give them the correction of their speaking mistakes (item 1.8 - 73.6 %) The figure in question item 1.9 shows that the speaking tasks in the materials are not very helpful to students in learning speaking skills (37.4 %) This finding can draw to the case that the students need to be instructed by additional tasks for speaking skills Moreover, only 32.7 percent of the participants enjoy the atmosphere in their speaking class, which is related to the environmental element in the process of learning speaking skills (item 1.10). Gradually, learning English speaking skills with few interests in the materials and the atmosphere in class will demotivate students in performing speaking English More than half of the students think that using technological tools to support their learning English speaking skills is important (item 1.11 - 58.5 %) But, 31 percent of students feel the online speaking lesson conducted by their teacher enjoyable (item 1.12) and nearly one-third of students believe that the facilities at PHHS can be helpful for them to improve their learning English speaking skills (item 1.13 - 34.9 %) From this finding, it seems to be that technology has not been implemented widely in conducting English speaking lessons In question item 1.14, there are 319 (87.6 %) out

364 students in this research know that digital technology is useful in learning English especially speaking skills because students can get their learning and practice at their own circumstance It is clearly understandable that 329 students (90.4 %) think that it is necessary to employ the digital classrooms with various activities that help them to improve their learning English speaking skills (item 1.15).

Generally, students at PHHS have known the importance of learning English speaking skills though they are facing several obstacles In the following sector, this study investigates what cause students’ difficulties in learning English speaking skills.

4.1.1.3 Factors influencing learning English speaking skills

The manifestation of factors that influence the learning English speaking skills can be classified into four major groups: (1) linguistics factors consist of pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar; (2) psychological factors include lack of confidence, anxiety, shyness, lack of motivation; (3) environmental factors consist of materials, teaching methods, syllabus and curriculum; (4) technological factors such as Apps Websites with the help of internet platform The following table shows the collected data for those factors which have caused effect on students’ learning English speaking skills at PHHS.

Table 4.5: Factors affecting students’ learning English speaking skills

Questions N Min Max Mean SD

2.1 How do you evaluate your learning English speaking skills in class? 364 1 5 2.256 829

2.2 How do you evaluate your confidence in speaking English? 364 1 5 2.250 872

2.3 How do you evaluate the importance of speaking English in your life and future job? 364 1 5 4.291 877 2.4 How do you evaluate the influence of

Vietnamese dialects on speaking English? 364 1 5 4.492 714 2.5 How do you evaluate your difficulty in speaking English due to lacking vocabulary to 364 1 5 3.910 806

From the findings in the table above, item 2.1 (M=2.256) means that students’ learning English speaking skills is not very good Though the majority of surveyed students believe that English speaking skills are important to their life and their future jobs in item 2.3 (M=4.291) The results collected in the following table are defined as the linguistic factors. express yourself?

2.6 How do you evaluate your difficulty in speaking English due to lacking topic ideas to express yourself?

2.7 How do you evaluate your difficulty in using correct grammar points in speaking English? 364 1 5 4.036 857 2.8 How do you evaluate your pressure in practicing English speaking skills in class? 364 1 5 3.887 744 2.9 How do you evaluate the atmosphere in your

2.10 How do you evaluate your fear when your teacher corrects your mistakes in speaking

2.11 How do you evaluate the importance of your

English teacher’s support and encouragement in

2.12 How do you evaluate the speaking tasks designed in the course book “Tiếng Anh 10/ Tiếng

2.13 How do you evaluate the existing facilities in your school in learning English speaking skills? 364 1 5 2.492 714 2.14 How do you evaluate the importance of implementing digital technology in learning

2.15 How do you evaluate the necessity of online learning English speaking at your school in the digital era?

As can be seen in item 2.4 (M=4.492) prensents that students have difficulties in speaking English due to the influence of Vietnamese Most of the students participated in this study find it hard to learn the English language because of the difference in sound of words, the grammar structure and the meaning to express themselves As a result, the students’ learning English speaking skills has always been a term that can’t be improved just overnight For instance, the item 2.5 (M=3.910) in the table above, students evaluate that they are rather difficult to speak English fluently if they have limited vocabulary It means that the term of vocabulary is always believed to be a vast problem in learning a foreign language as students feel it difficult to memorize all related features such as sound, stress, word form, word order and meaning Most of students have had trouble in making use of words due to the vocabulary factor and speaking is the most complicated skill of the four skills Nguyen & Pham (2016) presented that students’ learning vocabulary depends regularly on dictionary Moreover, item 2.7 (M=4.036) shows that grammar structures are relatively another enormous part that hinder the students’ speaking

Question items N Min Max Mean SD

2.4 How do you evaluate the influence of

Vietnamese dialects on speaking English? 364 1 5 4.492 714 2.5 How do you evaluate your difficulty in speaking English due to lacking vocabulary to express yourself?

2.6 How do you evaluate your difficulty in speaking English due to lacking topic ideas to express yourself?

2.7 How do you evaluate your difficulty in using correct grammar points in speaking

English (Hoang, 2011) Otherwise, item 2.6 (M=4.028) reveals that students can’t speak English well if they lack ideas in their mind to express their opinions.

As can be seen in the table above, item 2.2 (M=2.250) describes that students do not feel confident in speaking English This finding is similar to some previous studies (Xinghua, 2007; Tanveer, 2007; Gan, 2012) Item 2.8 (M=3.887) shows that the level of students’ pressure is rather high when they practice speaking English in class Item 2.10 (M=3.923) means that the students are not confident enough when their teachers correct their mistakes because they fear of losing face in front of their classmates (Nguyen &Tran, 2015).

Questions N Min Max Mean SD

2.2 How do you evaluate your confidence in speaking English? 364 1 5 2.250 872

2.8 How do you evaluate your pressure in practicing English speaking skills in class? 364 1 5 3.887 744 2.10 How do you evaluate your fear when your teacher corrects your mistakes in speaking

Questions N Min Max Mean SD

2.9 How do you evaluate the atmosphere in your English speaking class? 364 1 5 3.168 747

2.11 How do you evaluate the importance of your English teacher’s support and encouragement in English speaking class?

2.12 How do you evaluate the speaking tasks designed in the course book “Tiếng Anh 10/ 364 1 5 3.168 747

From the table listed above, item 2.9 (M=3.168) states that students are not affected much by the atmosphere in speaking class Item 2.11 (M=3.940) shows that the influence of teachers’ support and encouragement on students' learning English speaking is significant Item 2.12 (M=3.168) presents that the students’ learning English speaking is affected by the speaking tasks in their course book Item 2.13 (M=2.492) reveals that the facilities at their school are not very good for their learning English speaking skills.

The figure in the table above informs that the importance of implementing digital technology in learning English speaking class are relatively high in item 2.14 (M=3.761) In item 2.15 (M=4.179), the students think that it is necessary to employ the online learning into speaking class at PHHS especially in digital era.

2.13 How do you evaluate the existing facilities in your school in learning English speaking skills?

Questions N Min Max Mean SD

2.14 How do you evaluate the importance of implementing digital technology in learning

2.15 How do you evaluate the necessity of online learning English speaking at your school in the digital era?

Nine English teachers at Phu Hoa high school answered the questionnaire for the teachers This questionnaire have a similar two-section layout as those for students The purpose of the first section was to learn more about the teachers' backgrounds The second component was divided into two parts with the goal of gathering information on teachers’ perceptions of how their students learn to speak English The last section centered on the teachers’ perceptions of the factors that assist their instruction and the learning of their students Frequency and Percentage were used to evaluate the data compared with the students’ survey responses.

The first section of the questionnaire asked the teachers to state their personal information The figure below reveals their gender, degree and age.

Discussion of the findings

This part focused on the in-depth analysis of the results and provided the detail discussion for the study findings.

4.2.1 Students’ perspective on learning English speaking skills

The result from the survey for students shows that students at PHHS feel the crucial role of speaking English in their future life, job and higher education The study’s findings support the notion that students’ speaking status in class are not developed effectively Many issues with pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, psychological origins, and technical origins have a substantial impact on their learning English speaking skills Finding a suitable and efficient teaching strategy for Vietnamese high school students has proven difficult for educators It is essential to use the student and teacher survey responses when summarizing the key conclusions.

The views of teachers give a comparison to find a suitable adjustment in rising the effect of students’ speaking English.

4.2.2 Factors influencing learning English speaking skills

The result of the research proves the four factors that affect students’ learning English speaking skills.

Firstly, many students have not pronounced words precisely because they have not focused on the distinction between voiced and voiceless sounds, final sounds,consonant clusters, and stress Their speaking performance is dull since they frequently forget how to pronounce these sounds In addition, students find it challenging to practice speaking since they lack personal viewpoints, knowledge of appropriate terminology, and knowledge of proper grammar usage (Baker & Westrup,

2003) This causes children to talk with simple vocabulary and grammar, which is insufficient for highly proficient English.

Secondly, psychological factors have a big impact on students' speaking abilities Yet, the three main types that have been extensively studied by many researchers are motivation, self-confidence, and anxiety (Harmer, 2007; Songsiri, 2007; Bailey & Orellana, 2015) According to the research, nervousness and fear of making a mistake are the top barriers to pupils speaking English in class High school kids are still adolescents, therefore they worry that if they make a mistake in speaking, others would laugh at them.

Thirdly, contextual factors are very important to be considered The materials used in speaking lessons should be similar to the real situation in human life. The teaching methods must be suitable to students’ level.

Last but not least, due to the constant advancement of advanced technologies, technological aspects now play a unique role in the picture Technology has become into a valuable and limitless tool for learning English The results suggest that technology is an advantageous tool for the teaching and learning process Because of this, both the teacher and the pupils learn more actively and creatively.

Summary of chapter 4

This chapter contains a description of the information gathered through students interviews, student questionnaires, and teacher questionnaires The purpose of the students’ questionnaire was to gather information about the students’ backgrounds, their perspective towards learning English speaking skills, and factors influencing their learning English speaking skills Also, the results of the questionnaire given to the teachers included information about their backgrounds,attitudes toward their students’ learning English speaking skills, and their perception on factors affecting students’ learning English speaking skills In addition, the interviews revealed the in-depth understanding on students’ perspectives and factors such as linguistics, the psychology of their students, the coursebook, and the importance of technology in learning English speaking English language The discussion’s conclusions and interpretation of the students interview were then presented.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION

Conclusion

Speaking skill is crucial and significant when learning a foreign language In actuality, high school students struggled greatly with learning how to speak English fluently In order to analyze some of the elements that affect high school students’ speaking proficiency and provide recommendations to improve both their learning speaking and performance, the study narrowed its attention to high school students. The surveys were distributed to 364 students and 9 teachers In addition, the study included in-person interviews with nine conveniently chosen students Some key conclusions are shown below that can be drawn from the study’s collected data.

First of all, the study’s findings indicate that many students understand the importance of speaking proficiency when studying a foreign language They discussed several elements that have an impact on their ability to talk in English The data also indicated that these factors have had a significant impact on the majority of students. One of the most notable elements that has an impact on students’ speech is the linguistic difficulty, such as a limited vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and a lack of creative ideas Lack of confidence, fear of making mistakes and receiving teachers’ correction mistakes were seen as having the most effects on psychological issues.

Speaking practice in class, contextual circumstances, influence of Vietnamese and outside of class practice are the other factors that have the most an impact on students’ learning English speaking skills The help from technological tools and the implementation of online learning are the two significant elements in technological factors.

Secondly, the students at PHHS believe that speaking English fluently will be helpful for their future For instance, students can go abroad, introduce their hometown their friends from other countries, watching films, listening to music or reading newspapers online in English Moreover, the students with high level of speaking English might have various chance of getting jobs.

Research implications

The study’s data analysis may have some implications for improving the way that English is taught and learned at PHHS The research implications are essential for students, teachers, and administrative staff in order to improve students’ speaking skills The following implications are provided.

Because the students’ speaking is prominently influenced by linguistic aspect, it is advisable that the students make every effort in learning to pronounce the words correctly as soon as they learn any new word in any new lesson In addition, students should profound the vocabulary as well as grammar to make speech fluently. These specific elements in linguistic issue not only give students knowledge in learning English but drive them to gradual improvement in their learning process as well.

The students should also be aware of their lack of self-confidence when learning English speaking skills The students should pay enough effort to speaking

English on their own It is advised that students try to maintain self-confidence by practice more and more by outside class with their friends.

Another recommendation is for students to prepare themselves for active learning When it comes to conventional face-to-face classes, the students should spend extra time at home getting ready for the teachings before coming to class Despite their extensive study of English, the teachers say that the students struggle with the majority of the skills As a result, the students must assume accountability for their learning and work harder When it comes to online learning, students should be prepared with a variety of abilities to operate their computers and online learning software to better focus on the courses and successfully engage with their classmates and teachers to increase efficacy and reduce potential issues.

In order to meet the demands of contemporary society, they need also adapt and update their learning methodologies In the contemporary learning environment, students must use cutting-edge technology in addition to textbooks and notepads in the physical classroom.

Since the teachers play a crucial role in students’ learning, they should give encouragement and support at any time when their students are having trouble or lacking confidence in speaking English Teachers should also provide opportunities for students to talk about themselves, their interests, and their culture.

Teachers must offer opportunities for interaction in the target language inside and outside of the language learning class through planned and unplanned activities.The teachers can create more group work activities to help students from each other and attract their attention to the speaking lesson Specially, teachers should apply some interesting activities into teaching speaking skill, which helps teachers conduct the speaking lesson effectively Teachers should also understand when and how to correct students’ errors to help them feel confident when speaking.

Also, teachers should self-train to use technology to teach intonation patterns, stress, and rhythm because it makes it simple for students to imitate and improves pronunciation.

To keep students interested and focused on the lessons, teachers should diversify their lesson plans with a range of activities Also, the teachers ought to utilize the additional resources and multimedia tools that are accessible via the Internet These supplemental materials can be utilized to help students with their home study or as a recap of the lessons However, whether additional resources and multimedia technologies are appropriate for the students’ level of competency and preferred methods of learning should be taken into account before using them.

Teachers should make links between speaking sessions and actual circumstances, as many students believe that learning English will benefit them greatly in their future careers These linkages are advantageous for both the teaching and learning processes because they maintain students' attention and help them use English practically for future employment.

Teachers should combine traditional classroom instruction with online learning in light of the technology's evolving role in teaching and learning and the growing popularity of online courses in the digital age Due to the short attention spans of online learners and the potential for distraction, the teaching materials also need to be modified More consideration should be given to using social media platforms likeFacebook, Tiktok, and Zalo as a platform for English teaching and learning, where teachers and students can have numerous online class discussions.

In order to solve the problems, it is necessary to cooperate between the administrative staff, educators and teachers Because teaching cannot be separated from other related factors, the teaching process comprises various conditions All the objectives in the teaching are closely connected The teachers need the encouragement,support and assistance from administrators and educators For example, the educators help teacher apply new ideas and materials or even develop new teaching techniques.The administrators give teachers chances to be trained to improve professional effect.Also, additional seminars and workshops should be arranged so that teachers can share their classroom experiences and broaden their understanding of the subject Also, it is advised that teachers make the syllabus more current and realistic so that administrators will notice and, if necessary, make changes For these reasons, it goes without saying that language instructors and administrators are crucial to overcoming barriers through instruction.

Limitations and recommendations for further study

Though the study has achieved some beneficial results, it also has got several limitations itself Firstly, this study was conducted with 364 participants, which is made up one-fourth total number of students at PHHS The number of survey students is a modest sample, so it needs to expand with larger population in other high school.

Secondly, the researcher only used questionnaires and interviews with teachers to gather the data due to the limit of the time The study may require more different methods and more instruments It needs to employ more measurement to expose the findings in detail.

Thirdly, the study has only studied some factors such as linguistics, anxiety, shyness, context, coursebooks, syllabus and teachers It is necessary to investigate these factors in depth or try to explore the factors that affect the students’ perspective in learning speaking English.

The researcher makes several recommendations for more research based on the study's aforementioned shortcomings In order to access more diverse research instruments and a larger sample of participants, future research should first extend the research period Second, in order to apply in subsequent study, classroom observation is necessary Lastly, to gain a better understanding of the research site, the EFL administrators should be invited to the study Finally, additional research may be done to learn more in-depth information on specific aspects of the materials, such as subjects,contents, and culture.

Summary of chapter 5

The primary findings from the study are presented in this chapter Also, the study has made certain contributions, such as some proposed consequences for EFL students, teachers, language educators, and administrators Finally, the study has several limitations that have been discussed in order to offer suggestions for additional research.

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This questionnaire aims at collecting data for the study entitled: “ Investigating students’ perspective in learning English speaking skills at Phu Hoa high school ”.

Please spend your time reading and responding to the questions Your cooperation in giving responses to all questions is helpful to improve the teaching and learning English speaking skills at the school I promise the data collected will be used for the research purposes only and not for other purposes Please read carefully and mark (x) on the option you choose.

1.3 Which grade are you in?

2.1 Part 1: Choose either Yes or No to answer the following questions.

1.1 Do you think that learning English speaking skills is important?

1.2 Is learning English speaking skills difficult?

1.3 Does your mother tongue influence on learning English speaking skills?

1.4 Do you think you can speak English fluently with limit vocabulary?

1.5 Do you think you can express yourself in English fluently with limit ideas in your mind?

1.6 Do you think you can speak English fluently with limit sentence structures?

1.7 Are you under pressure when speaking English in class?

1.8 Are you under pressure when your teachers correct your mistakes in speaking English?

1.9 Are the tasks in the materials helpful to improve your speaking skills?

1.10 Do you enjoy classroom atmosphere when learning English?

1.11 Do you think using technology in learning speaking skills is important?

1.12 Do you enjoy online English speaking lessons conducted by your teachers?

1.13 Do you think the facilities at school are helpful to improve your learning English?

1.14 Do you think digital technology is useful in learning

1.15 Do you think it is necessary to employ digital classroom activities in improving English speaking?

2.2 Part 2: Please read the questions and choose the scale from 1 to 5 to answer: Each number means the following:

1- Not difficult/good/much/often/important/high…at all

2- Not very difficult/good/much/often/important/high…

3- Moderately difficult/good/much/often/important/high…

4- Rather difficult/good/much/often/important/high…

5- Very difficult/good/much/often/important/high…

2.1 How do you evaluate your learning English speaking skills in class?

2.2 How do you evaluate the influence of Vietnamese dialects on speaking English?

2.3 How do you evaluate your difficulty in speaking English due to lacking vocabulary to express yourself?

2.4 How do you evaluate your difficulty in speaking English due to lacking topic ideas to express yourself?

2.5 How do you evaluate your difficulty in using correct grammar points in speaking English?

2.6 How do you evaluate the importance of speaking English in your life and future job?

2.7 How do you evaluate your pressure in practicing English speaking skills in class?

2.8 How do you evaluate your shyness when your teacher corrects your mistakes in speaking English?

2.9 How do you evaluate your confidence in speaking English? 2.10 How do you evaluate the atmosphere in your English speaking class?

2.11 How do you evaluate the importance of your English teacher’s support and encouragement in English speaking class? 2.12 How do you evaluate the speaking tasks designed in the course book “Tiếng Anh 10/ Tiếng Anh 11/ Tiếng Anh 12”? 2.13 How do you evaluate the existing facilities in your school in learning English speaking skills?

2.14 How do you evaluate the importance of implementing digital technology in learning English speaking skills?

2.15 How do you evaluate the necessity of online learning English speaking at your school in the digital era?

Thank you very much for your cooperation!

This questionaire aims at collecting data for the study entitled: “ Investigating students’ perspective in learning English speaking skills at Phu Hoa high school ” Please spend your time reading and responding to the questions Your cooperation in giving responses to all questions is helpful to improve the teaching and learning English speaking skills at the school I promise the data collected will be used for the research purposes only and not for other purposes Please read carefully and mark (x) on the option you choose.

1.2 What’s your highest level of education?

2.1 Part 1: Choose either Yes or No to answer the following questions.

1.1 Do you think that learning English speaking skills is important to your students?

1.2 Is learning English speaking skills difficult to your students?

1.3 Does your students’ mother tongue influence on their learning

1.4 Do you think your students can speak English fluently with limit vocabulary?

1.5 Do you think your students can express themself in English fluently with limit ideas in their mind?

1.6 Do you think your students can speak English fluently with limit sentence structures?

1.7 Are your students under pressure when speaking English in class?

1.8 Are your students under pressure when you correct their mistakes in speaking English?

1.9 Are the tasks in the materials helpful to improve your students’ speaking skills?

1.10 Do your students enjoy classroom atmosphere when learning

1.11 Do you think that using technology in learning English speaking skills is important?

1.12 Do your students enjoy online English speaking lessons that you conduct?

1.13 Do you think the facilities at school are helpful to improve your students’ learning English speaking skills?

1.14 Do you think digital technology is useful in learning

1.15 Do you think it is necessary to employ digital classroom activities in improving English speaking?

2.2 Part 2: Please read the questions and choose the scale from 1 to 5 to answer: Each number means the following:

1- Not difficult/good/much/often/important/high…at all

2- Not very difficult/good/much/often/important/high…

3- Moderately difficult/good/much/often/important/high…

4- Rather difficult/good/much/often/important/high…

5- Very difficult/good/much/often/important/high…

2.1 How do you evaluate your students’ learning English speaking skills in class?

2.2 How do you evaluate the influence of Vietnamese dialects on students’ speaking English?

2.3 How do you evaluate your students’ difficulty in speaking

English due to lacking vocabulary to express themself?

2.4 How do you evaluate your students’ difficulty in speaking English due to lacking topic ideas to express themself?

2.5 How do you evaluate your students’ difficulty in using correct grammar points to speak English?

2.6 How do you evaluate the importance of speaking English in your students’ life and their future job?

2.7 How do you evaluate your students’ pressure in practicing English speaking skills in class?

2.8 How do you evaluate your students’ shyness when you correct their mistakes in speaking English?

2.9 How do you evaluate your students’ confidence in speaking English?

2.10 How do you evaluate the atmosphere in your English speaking class?

2.11 How do you evaluate the importance of your support and encouragement in English speaking class?

2.12 How do you evaluate the speaking tasks designed in the course book “Tiếng Anh 10/ Tiếng Anh 11/ Tiếng Anh 12”?

2.13 How do you evaluate the existing facilities in your school in learning English speaking skills?

2.14 How do you evaluate the importance of implementing digital technology in learning English speaking skills?

2.15 How do you evaluate the necessity of online learning English speaking at your school in the digital era?

Thank you very much for your cooperation!

BẢNG CÂU HỎI PHỎNG VẤN VỚI HỌC SINH

1 Học kỹ năng nói tiếng Anh có thú vị không? Tại sao?

2 Có những khó khăn nào khi học kỹ năng nói Tiếng Anh không? Đó là những khó khăn gì (nếu có)?

3 Bạn có nghĩ rằng nói Tiếng Anh tốt sẽ giúp ích cho bạn trong tương lai không? Tại sao?

4 Bạn có nghĩ rằng học tốt kỹ năng nói sẽ giúp cải thiện kết quả môn Tiếng Anh không? Tại sao?

5 Công nghệ có giúp ích cho bạn trong việc học kỹ năng nói Tiếng Anh không? Tại sao?

SCRIPTS FOR THE INTERVIEWS WITH STUDENTS

Interviewer: Is learning English speaking skills interesting? Why?

Interviewee: I think it is interesting because I can speak to foreigners in English and it helps me to learn English subject better.

Interviewer: Are there any difficulties in learning English speaking skills? If yes, what are they?

Interviewee: Yes, there are a lot of difficulties I find it difficult to learn the sounds, the words and the usage of vocabulary Then, I have to know the grammar.

Interviewer: Do you think speaking English fluently might be helpful for you in the future? Why?

Interviewee: Yes I believe that I can study abroad with good speaking English.

Because I can communicate with students from other countries, I can express my thoughts and make myself to be understood.

Interviewer: Do you think learning English speaking skills well helps to improve the final result of English subject? Why?

Interviewee: I think learning English speaking skills will help to improve my final result of English subject Firstly, I can remember a lot of words such as meaning, part of speech, pronunciation, main stress and grammar structures when using in speaking.

Interviewer: Is technology helpful for you in learning English speaking skills? Why?

Interviewee: Of course, technology is very helpful in learning English language In recent years, technological tools help me to access real-life English and to support my learning English very much.

Interviewer: Is learning English speaking skills interesting? Why?

Interviewee: For me, I’m not really interested in learning English speaking skills because I always feel nervous when I practice speaking English in class I often discuss in Vietnamese instead of English I’m afraid of being laughed at if I make something wrong.

Interviewer: Are there any difficulties in learning English speaking skills? If yes, what are they?

Interviewee: Yes, there are a lot of difficulties For example, I have trouble in learning pronunciation because some sounds are similar but different in meaning And some words have the same meaning but they are used in different context Or I have to learn grammar points to make the meaningful sentences.

Interviewer: Do you think speaking English fluently might be helpful for you in the future? Why?

Interviewee: As we all see that the world is developing day by day So I think learning to speak English fluently is very helpful because I can learn the achievement in every fields from other countries such as economy, medicine, education and technology.

Interviewer: Do you think learning English speaking skills well helps to improve the final result of English subject? Why?

Interviewee: For me, English speaking skills do not help much in the final score of

English subject because I make too much mistakes when speaking English.

Interviewer: Is technology helpful for you in learning English speaking skills? Why?

Interviewee: As can be seen that nowadays there have been many technological devices used in every aspects of life including learning English language In learning English speaking skills, technology helps me to learn vocabulary more effectively I can practice the language at any time and anywhere I want.

Interviewer: Is learning English speaking skills interesting? Why?

Interviewee: To me, I’m extremely interested in speaking English because I want to have chance to interact with people around the world Through speaking I learn vocabulary, realize the sounds and know how to use the words in sentence correctly.

Interviewer: Are there any difficulties in learning English speaking skills? If yes, what are they?

Interviewee: To be honest, leaning to speak any language is really difficult because

I need to learn lots of skills I have to remember the words, grammar points and think about the topic at the same time Then I speak out these words with correct sounds and I think it is a complicated process.

Interviewer: Do you think speaking English fluently might be helpful for you in the future? Why?