A study on the difficulties in learning english speaking skills faced by the first year international students at TMU and possible solutions

For the above reasons, a study of the difficulties that first-year international students encounter in the process ofpracticing English speaking skills at TMU University is implemented..

In the four skills of English, speaking skills are considered the most important.When you learn any language, what you aim to do is how to communicate naturally,fluently with indigenous people Maybe you have good writing skills because youhave a strong grasp of grammar and vocabulary, but your reflection is poor Somecommon causes for Vietnamese people who have difficulty in speaking English areafraid of communication, lack of training environment, lack of vocabulary, poorgrammar etc

Nowadays, English is included in the curriculum from primary school Thereality, you are always taught by passive methods under the guidance of teachers.Therefore, you learn English from grade 1 to grade 12 with the aim of passing awritten test in school and college exams Students learn grammar and vocabulary,practice reading texts in books So they have less chance to practice speaking.Currently, a number of secondary and high schools switch the test method fromwriting to oral exam some subjects, including English However, students deal mostwith rote learning without understanding anything The situation lasted up touniversity make poor English speaking skills

Because of the lack of thorough training in speaking skills, most first-yearstudents have problems communicating in English For the above reasons, a study

of the difficulties that first-year international students encounter in the process ofpracticing English speaking skills at TMU University is implemented This studyaims to find some difficulties and solutions to overcome to improve speaking skillsfor students, to help students confidently communicate in class as well as in dailylife and further work

In the process of completing this thesis, I have received a lot of help from mysupervisor, teachers of English Faculty – Thuongmai University, first-yearinternational student

Firstly, I would like to thank Mrs Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, who guided me tocomplete this graduation thesis Thanks to the dedicated guidance, carefulinstruction, I can complete the graduation thesis Her comments and suggestionsmade me realize what was missing in my research The words of encouragementand facilitating me to be able to complete this thesis

Secondly, I would like to thank the teachers of the English department whohelped me to complete my studies in class so that I can conduct this thesis At thesame time, I also thank the freshmen of the international university of tradeuniversity for helping me in surveying to find difficulties in learning Englishspeaking skills

Last but not least, I would like to sincerely thank my family for alwayssupporting and strengthening my strength and efforts and love for me to follow.Thank you, friends, who always stand side by side, support and support me in mystudy and life

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABTRACT i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v

LIST OF FIGURES AND CHARTS vi

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE SUTYDY 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 Previous studies 2

1.3 Aims of the study 4

1.4 Research subjects 4

1.5 Scope of the study 4

1.6 Research methodology 5

1.7 Organization of the study 7

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 8

2.1 Definition of speaking skills 8

2.2 The importance of speaking skills 9

2.3 Types of speaking skills 10

2.3.1 Imitative 10

2.3.2 Intensive 10

2.3.3 Responsive 10

2.3.4 Interactive 11

2.3.5 Extensive 11

2.4 The characteristics of speaking skills 11

2.5 Factors Affecting Speaking Skills 12

2.5.1 Psychological factors 12

2.5.2 Linguistics factors 15

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS 19

3.1 Discussion of findings 19

3.1.1 Students’ evaluation on the importance of English 19

3.1.2 Students’ evaluation on the obstructing factor in practicing English speaking skills 20

3.1.3 Students’ evaluation on the impact of psychological factors on

learning English speaking skills 21

3.1.4 Students’ evaluation on the impact of linguistics factors on learning English speaking skills 23

3.2 Main findings and discussion 28

3.2.1 The first question: “What difficulties do students face in the process of learning to speak English?" 29

3.2.2 The second question: “How to improve those difficulties?” 31

CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 33

4.1 Recommendations 33

4.1.1 Psychological factors 33

4.1.2 Linguistics factors 35

4.2 Suggestions for further researches 36

CONCLUSION 38 REFERENCES IV APPENDIX IX

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

LIST OF FIGURES AND CHARTS

Chart 3.1 The importance of English 19

Chart 3.2 The obstructing factor in practicing English speaking skills 20

Chart 3.3 The cause of anxiety when speaking English 21

Chart 3.4 The cause of anxiety when speaking English 22

Chart 3.5 Students’ assessment on the influence of pronunciation 24

Chart 3.6 Students’ assessment on the influence of vocabulary 25

Chart 3.7 Students’ assessment on the influence of grammar 26

Table 1: Solutions to improve your English speaking skills 28

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE SUTYDY

Moreover, it's great when you're good at all 4 English skills: listening.speaking, reading, writing This will make you stand out in your work and life.Opportunity to come to you more, you have the opportunity to access more sources

of knowledge 55% of websites in the world write in English, 95% of the articles arecollected at the US Science Information Institute written in English Many greatworks of the world such as the works of George Orwell or Jane Eyre, Emily Brontewill give you the feeling that translation texts do not bring

Today English is used in commerce more and more widely As TMU, it iseven an international training department, a faculty affiliated with many majoruniversities abroad The use of English by international education students is not asgood as expected Communication skills are seen as essential skills when you learnany language, which is used daily in your life, study and future work

The most difficult is for freshmen when they are not familiar with theuniversity curriculum as well as the teaching method Mostly in high school,students have almost no chance to practice speaking English, but only focus ongrammar and vocabulary for the final exam The reason why make students afraid

to speak, afraid to say wrong or fewer reflexes etc All of these factors make itdifficult for students to speak English when they go to college This makes it

difficult for students to learn in the classroom, especially when there are subjects tospeak English.

Therefore, in this study, I will study “ A study on the difficulties in learning English speaking skills faced by the first-year international students at TMU and possible solutions” to improve students' speaking skills.

1.2 Previous studies

According to my research, there are a few research topics about difficulties inpracticing English speaking Some topics refer to non-English major students Ihave consulted some studies in Vietnam in particular and in the world in general onthis research topic, for example:

In Ur, P (1996) research studies, he pointed out that there are four factors thatmake it difficult to practice speaking: students often worry about mistakes, fear ofbeing scolded, shy; students themselves have no effort; uneven participation in aclass, some participants are enthusiastic while the rest do not say anything; they areafraid to speak another language, they tend to like to speak their mother tonguebecause it is easier

Lukitasari (2003) research has shown that learners do not improve theirspeaking skills because they do not learn three important elements in speaking,namely vocabulary, grammar and phonics

According to the study of Lawtie (2004), the difficulties of speaking areaffected by emotional state They are dominated by emotions like unconfident, shy,anxious, nervous If they do not believe in themselves, this will become a bigproblem for them Therefore, emotional factors become one of the important factors

to consider when communicating with people who have difficulty speaking

In addition, Rababa’h (2005) he indicates that this difficulty comes fromthemselves, teaching strategies, teaching programs and living environment In otherwords, they have no motivation to learn English or they have not felt that this is animportant thing

Hinkel (2005) stated that problems that occur when communication is possiblebecause they do not understand the meaning of the word, do not know how to use it

and cannot express their meaning This prevents the communication process frombecoming successful.

According to Yunita (2014), she said that some of the problems students facewhen speaking English are pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, motivation,anxiety and embarrassment It is these factors that hinder students' English speakingprocess The author studied a number of subjects who encountered this problem inlearning to participate in difficult to learn English and she realized that thesestudents could not speak English fluently

According to the study of Nauli (2014), there are three factors that influencethe process of learning English It's cultural difficulties (including social acceptanceand English status), English difficulties (including elements problem and personalproblem) and communication problems (self-confidence and speaking opponent).These objective and subjective factors were studied by him at the nationaluniversity in Jambi

In Mustafa Mubarak Pathan (2014) research studies about ” An Overview ofMajor Difficulties Faced by the Libyan EFL Learners in Speaking Skill”, Hepointed out several causes of difficulty in practicing speaking skills, such as:pronunciation, the use of adjective, the use of prepositions , the use of idioms,grammatical errors , semantic errors, other problems ( lack of vocabulary, fear /embarrassment while communicating, lack of interest and motivation, lack ofpractice,lack of environment for practice, …), influenced by mother tongue He

gave the reasons for the above reasons: “Their failure to recognize this is primarily because of the failure on the part of their teachers to make them understand this fact at the very early stage of their learning And this failure on the part of the teachers is because of the facts that most of the EFL school teachers in Libya are neither trained properly for this reason nor are their skills upgraded.”

In Samira Al Hosni (2014), she lists three main difficulties when speakingEnglish, they are linguistic difficulties (students find it difficult when they lackvocabulary, some students have said: “We want to speak, but we don’t know theword” or “We do not know how to say it” Although the teacher has been teachinggrammar for a long time, students still can’t say short sentences), mother tongue

use, and inhibition (students are scared of making mistakes in front of the crowd,which is why they don't say in class They said "They will laugh at us if we makemistakes").

Although there were many people working on speaking skills, the truth is thatthe number of students who speak English confidently is still small It is because ofthe above difficulties that are repeated but not completely ended so I chose to studythis topic

1.3 Aims of the study

This study was conducted to understand why the freshman students of TMU'sInternational Training Faculty had difficulty learning English speaking skills Afteridentify difficulties, I will give some solutions that correspond to those difficulties

to improve students' speaking skills

Based on previous research, I hope this research will help first-yearinternational students at TMU improve their difficulties in practicing speakingskills Since then speaking skills of students can be improved to serve for classroomlearning as well as in life

1.4 Research subjects

This study was carried out with 100 students in the Tourism and ServiceAdministration major of International Training Faculty TMU SpecializationTourism and Service Administration has a total of more than 200 students, but due

to time constraints, I focused on the difficulties that 100 students encounter whenlearning to speak English Students are exposed to many different ways of teaching

in different schools, so each person's ability is different Therefore, the resultsobtained from the study will be the most accurate and realistic results

1.5 Scope of the study

The International Training Faculty at TMU has many different majors.However, due to limited time and to get the most accurate results, I choose tonarrow down the scope This is specialized Tourism and Service Administration.Currently, this major has more than 200 students I will survey 100 students in thisfield

For the purpose of finding out the difficulties that students encounter whenlearning to speak English, research will be done to find the purpose above I hopethese studies can help them identify difficulties and implement solutions toimprove.

1.6 Research methodology

According to C.R.Kothari, research method is defined that the methodologyrefers to a systematic method that includes problem making, hypothesis formation,data collection, analysis and making conclusions to a certain generalization for anumber of the theory given In the methodology, there are qualitative andquantitative methods However, with the study based on the number of suchstudents, I decided to choose a qualitative method to do this research C.R.Kothri

wrote: "Qualitative research, on the other hand, is concerned with qualitative phenomenon, i.e., phenomena related to or involving quality or kind" In this

method, we are interested in the reason and thinking of the object studied

Qualitative methods are implemented in many different ways such asquestionnaires, interviews, observations etc In order to bring the most objectiveresults, I have used two methods which are questionnaires and interview With thecombination of these two methods, I hope to bring together results in many aspects

an accurate view of students' thoughts and opinions

The questionnaire was designed for 100 first-year international students atTMU, majoring in Tourism and Service Administration The goal of thequestionnaire is to understand the difficulties, causes and solutions to improve

students' speaking skills The questionnaire consists of 10 sentences Questionswere designed from general questions to specific questions in order to determinestudents' English proficiency The questionnaire will be written in Vietnamese andinstructions in Vietnamese so that students can understand almost exactly what theyare answering, avoiding confusion In order to ensure trust and security, before Idistributed the questionnaire, I pledged that the questionnaire was only intended forresearch, not for any other purpose

1.6.1.2 Interview

According to C.R.Kothri, the interview method collected data related to anoral answer The interview requires the interviewer to ask questions regarding theresearch problem in the form available to collect information The method issuitable for in-depth investigations Methods of collecting information throughinterviews are often done in a structured manner Ask questions according to theavailable form and write down the answers This interview aims to increase thepracticality of the questionnaire above Interviewees give answers according to theirown views From there give an overview of the results obtained

For a more objective and realistic result, I used an interview method Thismethod is aimed at students who can answer according to their own opinions.Interviews provide a deeper and more detailed answer to the difficulties studentsface The interview consists of 2 questions about the difficulties students face andthe solutions that students can overcome Interview in the Vietnamese languagehelps students have a clearer and more specific understanding, avoiding confusion.Combine the interview method with the questionnaire to bring the most objectiveand authentic results to the research

1.6.2 Data collection procedures

Study using the questionnaire and interview for first-year internationalstudents at TMU to collect the difficulties that students encounter in the process oflearning English speaking skills Questionnaires and interview are written inEnglish and Vietnamese The Vietnamese questionnaire to survey students toprovide a clear understanding of the difficulties that the research is directed at

English questionnaire for collection of collected results and summarized foranalysis Steps to collect data are conducted as follows:

Step1: Design questionnaires based on difficult theories in practicing speakingskills according to the theory in chapter 2 The content of the questionnaire consists

of 10 sentences In addition, the interview consists of 2 sentences Questionnaireswritten in both English and Vietnamese help students understand exactly what theyare doing

Step2: Distribute questionnaires to 100 students and interview 50 studentsspecialized in Tourism and Service Administration Tour of International TrainingFaculty Survey period between second semester 2018-2019

Step3: Collect the survey results from students, prepare for data analysis step

1.6.3 Data analysis methods

The interviews were conducted with 100 first-year international students at

TM University All questionnaires made in Vietnamese are then translated intoEnglish Each questionnaire focuses on the difficulties faced by first-year studentsEnglish speaking skills in the English language learning process The popularstatistics program computer application is used to analyze data Although following

a predetermined structure, interviewers can ask probing questions to get a betterunderstanding of the issues being discussed (Gillham, 2005)

Based on the results obtained from the survey questionnaire, conducting dataanalysis focused on the difficulties set out in the theory of chapter 2 From theresults obtained in tables and graphs for comparing the rate of difficulties studentsface Finally, the study provides an objective review of the analytical results

1.7 Organization of the study

The study consists of five parts as follows:

Chapter 1: Overview of the study consists of rationale, previous studies, aims

of the study, research subjects, scope of the study, research methodology and

organization of the study

Chapter 2: Literature review provides an overview of theory such as the

definition of speaking, factors affecting English speaking ability and difficulties infirst-year international student English speaking skills

Chapter 3: Research findings give discussions about research results, analyze

data and results through data collected through survey questionnaires

Chapter 4: Recommendations and suggestions provide some measures to

improve students' English speaking skills

Conclusion summarizes the main ideas of the study, outlines the limitations of

the study and gives some suggestions for further research

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Definition of speaking skills

Speaking skills are considered the most important skills when starting to learn

a foreign language Speaking is a set of factors such as grammar, vocabulary,semantics, pronunciation The first thing when you learn another language is tolearn to speak, learn to speak through communication with people around you Afterthat, you will learn about other skills such as writing and reading

Speaking shows the interaction between the speaker and the listener Throughthe way you speak, the opposite person will know what you are like? How youbuild speech, how to reason, guide or how to receive and process information.Speaking is the use of maximum language to express meaning

There are many definition of speaking Hornby (1990, p.1227) defines

“Speaking is make use of words in an ordinary voice” Widdowson (1984, p58)adds that “Communication through speaking is performed face to face interactionand occurs as part of a dialogue or other form of verbal exchange.”

According to Chaney (1998): “Speaking is the process of making and sharing meaning by using verbal and non-verbal symbols in different contexts” Brown

(1994) and Burns and Joyce (1997) defined speaking as the exchange process tocreate meaningful sentences including production, reception and processing ofinformation Bygate (1987) defined speaking as the reception of information fromthe hearing to produce reactions from the listener It is regarded as combiningsounds to create form meaningful sentences

From the above definitions, we can give a general definition of speaking.Speaking is a form of expressing information using sentences Saying is usinglanguage depending on the intention of the speaker, a means of communicatingbetween objects to express their thoughts, share ideas, feelings and intentions tointeract with each other

In English, speaking skills are more important Moreover, in the era ofeconomic integration and distribution like now, it is said to be a necessary skill inthis era Government organizations and the Ministry of Education should recruit

good English speakers Companies and businesses want employees to speak Englishwell to be able to reach many important foreign customers Students who speakgood English help them have a better chance of studying, finding jobs andadvancing.

2.2 The importance of speaking skills

People spend more time speaking than other skills Speaking is one of thenecessary abilities in life Speaking English is not an easy task because there are manyfactors that affect your speaking skills such as pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary.According to Efrizal (2012) and Pourhosein Gilakjani (2016), speaking has animportant meaning in life because that is how people interact every day

Ranson (2000) said that: “Speaking has a meaning when it enables childrenand young people to explore their own selves and clarify their identity They canmanage to understand and respect their own selves” It has meant that the speakercan express his / her point of view, feel confident when discussing an issue In otherwords, speaking makes people around you better understand you as well as how youexpress interest in people This also makes them feel respected for their opinionsand values

According to Conrad & Dunek (2012, p74): “Speaking is a communication tool for changing ideas” This can be interpreted to convey each person's feelings

according to one's own way of speaking and feeling, expressing emotions, exploring

or discussing Therefore, mastering speaking skills make the speaker become acomprehensive communicator The ingenuity and wisdom in using words give thespeaker a distinct advantage, impress the listener, thereby gaining trust and makingthem respect them Speaking skills are the key if you want to succeed in yourcareer Speaking gives you opportunities to express and affirm your intelligence andsophistication Since then there are broad opportunities in learning as well as work

Cushman & Cahn (1985, p13) cited that: “Speaking is a cross-cultural communication system whose function is to regulate consensus with respect to the recognition of cross-cultural identities and the coordination of a nation's political, economic, and social functions with other nations.” In other words, if you keep

your dream of becoming a great person, influential to the public, speaking skills

become more important, subtlety, sophistication, sharp arguments in your statementdetermine success.

Speaking is the most important skill in the four skills of listening, speaking,reading and writing Speaking helps learners to develop vocabulary, grammar, evencomplete sentences Learners can express their ideas, feelings, talk, discussion toexpress the function of language Communicate not only in school but also insociety Therefore, people who can speak many languages have the opportunity towork in big companies, businesses and promotion and development Therefore,speaking skills are very important in life as well as deciding on success at work Itexists around us every day Through communication, they achieve specific goalsand objectives for themselves

2.3 Types of speaking skills

Based on Brown's description (2004, p.271), I summarize in 5 groups asfollows:

2.3.1 Imitative

In this imitative, the speaker tries to repeat the words they hear in an understand way This way makes the speaker passive in speaking Maybe thespeaker repeats accidentally following the instructor but do not understandanything However, it will not matter if the speaker understands what they aresaying and can continue the conversation When imitative speaking makes themlearn how to read words and accents correctly

easy-to-2.3.2 Intensive

Intensive speaking is a way of speaking that requires a higher degree ofimitation In this parlance, the speaker will have a strong amount of vocabulary andgrammar to be able to understand correctly For example, when you read an essay,what you draw from it can be a lesson, a summary, or answering questions related

to the text Intensive speaking compels you to speak according to your ownintentions, which cannot be imitated

2.3.3 Responsive

Responsive has meant a conversation between 2 or more people about aproblem The purpose is to create a certain understanding of the problem in

question Response takes place in a few short questions and with simple content sothe speaker can adapt to interaction speaking.

2.3.4 Interactive

The interaction is the exchange between two or more people on certain issues.This way of speaking is an upgrade of in-depth speech, through many individuals tomaintain conversation The difference is the use of words to show cohesion Theinteraction makes the relationship tend to be more intimate between the speaker andthe listener

2.3.5 Extensive

Extensive often points to monologue The way to speak is no longer animprovisation or imitation, it is more advanced This way of speaking requires thespeaker to have more preparation, select professional words Deeply expresses athorough understanding of what the speaker will say, from which the listener feelstrust and certain with the information heard

As far as I know, students use all of the above types of speaking in theirclassroom studies Students use in discussions, presentations, single/pair speakingpractice Therefore, the study focused on studying all the above types of speaking toshow the difficulties faced by students

2.4 The characteristics of speaking skills

According to Mazouzi (2013), in communication, accuracy and fluency areneeded Practice will help learners improve speaking skills, develop communicationskills In addition, the ability to speak fluently depends on the learner, notinterrupting, breaking communication causing loss of interest Coherent fluency isbased on a combination of words, clear accents, pronunciation and intonation.Moreover, communication also depends on grammar, vocabulary andpronunciation

Thornbury (2005) points out that pronunciation is the most basic level forlearners To be able to say exactly, learners should master the phonemic table andpractice the sounds so that they are the best Besides, in the communication process,learners sometimes apply proverb idioms to increase the vividness of the sentence

However, sometimes abuse and misuse of idioms reduce the effectiveness of theconversation Therefore, learners need to consider using idioms to be reasonable.

2.5 Factors Affecting Speaking Skills

Speaking is daily communication skill However, speaking English has neverbeen easy There are many factors that make it difficult for you to learn English.These factors hinder your ability to speak English fluently and float away There isalso an impact from the inside outside Some factors affecting English speaking arepsychological factors, linguistics and other factors According to Mahripah (2014),Elhadi Nasr Elhadi Mustafa (2015) and I have noticed some influences in theprocess of learning to speak English

2.5.1 Psychological factors

According to Elhadi Nasr Elhadi Mustafa (2015), psychological factors are thebiggest factor in the learning process To be able to confidently speak a language,the first thing you must dare to say However, there is a fact that the bigger we are,the more afraid we are The fear of being wrong here is not wrong, but I'm afraid tolaugh when I say it wrong Similar to a child who is just starting to learn to speak, it

is the same for us to learn English There are words they always say wrong andadults have to fix many times Have you ever thought: if the children do not speak,how can adults correct them? But children have better things than adults, that is,they are not afraid to be wrong, they are not afraid of being laughed, they want to becommunicated That makes them motivated to speak The English learners too, ifthey dare not speak, they will only say it wrong forever In fact, there are manyfactors that constitute such psychological factors You are a shy, shy person, afraid

of standing in front of the crowd You are afraid to speak English because you arenot good In fact, this is the general situation of many students, students or evenworking people In fact, this is the biggest reason that hinders your learning process

of speaking English

2.5.1.1 Motivation

According to Ortega (2009), motivation is what students want in a language.The desire is not enough to start learning, they need to prepare efforts to achievetheir goals In fact, when you do anything, excitement is a prerequisite to determine

whether you have a long-term attachment to it or not English too, you have nopassion for English, you learn because it is compulsory All of these things makeyou less good at English, no interest in English In Littlewood (1984, p.53) say that

“Motivation is the crucial force which determines whether a learner embarks in a task at all, how much energy he devotes to it, and how long he preservers” “The development of communicative skills can only take place if learners have the motivation and opportunity to express their own identity and relate with the people around them” (Littlewood, 1981) If the learner has an unfriendly attitude towards

the language, they will not have any improvement in the reception of the newlanguage It may mean that the prerequisite when you start to do something or learn

a subject, your positive attitude will increase the effectiveness of your work

Moreover, Gardner (2001) also believes that the driving force is a combination

of three conditions The first is "the large proportion of the integrativeness" If youhave many reasons to learn to speak English, it will give you the motivation to do it.The second is "effort students, investment, and enjoyment quantity in learning thelanguage" Students determine right from their career as well as orient their future,they should invest in the future and get back the results from that effort Finally, it's

"the students' attitude towards teachers and curriculum used" In fact, the personwho is able to influence the will of students when learning to speak English is theinstructor's teaching method This creates a significant influence in creatingmotivation for them to learning English speaking

2.5.1.2 Confidence

Not being confident is understandable for everyone They are not confident inwhat they are not good at, not gifted This leads to embarrassment when studyingthem English speaking takes a lot of time to master and speak fluently The biggestobstacle in every human being is not daring to be wrong Do not dare to be wrong,

so they are afraid to say incorrectly, afraid of others laughing Not only in learning

to speak English, but this will also adversely affect you in later work

Dornyei ( 2011, p86-87) said that confidence is closely related to concepts like

‘self-esteem’, ‘self-efficacy’ Confidence is like the strong pillar of the house, ifthey are not big and big enough, they cannot support the giant house If you are not

confident in your abilities, you will not be able to succeed in anything Some studiesshow that lack of confidence is due to poor speech ability According to Brown(2001), he said due to lack of encouragement from teachers.

This suggests that encouragement encourages the ability to worry whenspeaking English More serious when lack of confidence becomes fear Afraid tolearn English all the time, afraid to speak English In Bashir, Azeem, & Dogar

(2011) say: “Sometimes, extreme anxiety may lead to despondence and a sense of failure in learners” Adults are very careful to avoid making mistakes in every

sentence they say Fear can stem from a class division with their language ability:strong and weak groups Good learners tend to dominate poor learners This leads to

a group of poor learners who will be silent and afraid to express themselves tostrong people This is why their English speaking skills do not improve

2.5.1.3 Anxiety

Speech therapist Margaretha Lanerfeldt (1992, p.53-54) said that the anxiety

of having to talk affects a person's confidence because it causes them to fail whenthey cannot speak and express to the other person understand what you mean.Javed et al (2013) said that anxiety is natural psychology including even

fearless control According to Ortega (2009), “The students cannot neglect the existence of being afraid and have a great tension when they think of foreign languages” This is general psychology when learning languages When saying,

adults tend to be afraid of wrong, worry when making mistakes, especially incrowded and public spaces From these things, the opposite will judge and judgeyour ability

Regarding the causes of anxiety, Horwitz and Cope (1986) found three main

reasons: “Communication apprehension, test anxiety and fear of negative evaluation” For these reasons, it makes it difficult for the speaker to communicate

with any other language In Sylvia and Tiono (2004), he believes bringing the

psychological anxiety when talking will affect students' speaking ability “Anxiety

is a feeling of tension, apprehension and nervousness associated with the situation

of learning a foreign language.” When feeling too much anxiety, find teachers to

share ideas

Besides, the fear of mistakes became one of the main factors that madestudents reluctant to learn English in the classroom According to Aftat (2008), thisfear comes from the problem of corrections and negative reviews Besides, the fear

of being laughed at, criticized by teachers We learn lessons from mistakes butstudents fear that they look stupid in front of others and are afraid of them judging

us According to Middleton (2009), most English learners are afraid to try and speakEnglish in front of foreigners She pronounced wrongly, the sound was silly andsilly in front of them If students have experienced failure when speaking Englishonly because of anxiety, they tend to remain silent rather than continue to fail again.This will be difficult to change because they consider themselves silent in class.Anxiety creates unconfident that keeps them silent in every situation, even ifthey can express themselves and knowledge Lightbown and Spada (1999) alsodiscussed concerns about speaking that affect language learning They think anxietydepends on a number of situations that make the speaker feel uncomfortable orstressed out as many people say Anxiety interferes with the learning process andaffects most English speaking activities, not only related to oral presentations infront of the class

2.5.2 Linguistics factors

According to Mahripah (2014) learners are influenced by a number oflinguistic components such as phonology, syntax, vocabulary and semantics.According to Thornbury (2005), learners use the correct grammatical structure ofthe length and complexity of speech patterns and well-structured propositions Toachieve vocabulary accuracy means choosing the right word in the right context

2.5.2.1 Phonology

In that phonology is a difficult concept for learners to speak Pronunciation ofEnglish words is not the same as their writing Words with similar pronunciation aresometimes pronounced differently due to circumstances

According to Thornbury (2005), it is defined that pronunciation is the ability

of each person to create an easy-to-understand way of speaking in response torequirements Actually based on pronunciation we can distinguish the languages ofdifferent countries such as English, German or French Pronunciation is a way to

convey meaning as words in each context Therefore, pronunciation seriouslyaffects speaking skills Celce-Muria (1996) stated that mispronouncing can causemisunderstandings or frustration Cook (1996) stated that learning another language

is to develop a new pronunciation habit and ignore the familiar pronunciation of thenative language When pronouncing a word requires pitch, intonation, spelling, andstress to make the person understand directly The intonation or the tonalitydetermines a sentence or a word with different nuances Therefore, English learnersneed to pay attention and be careful when pronouncing a sentence to convey the fullmeaning

In fact, for those who specialize in English, these aspects are further trained.For those who do not speak native English, they are easily confused in speakingEnglish In this respect, it seems that many English speakers easily make mistakeswhen speaking Mostly because these components are quite confusing and if notproperly trained, it is difficult to pronounce correctly Trouvain & Gut (2007, p.53)says that poor pronunciation makes the conversation boring and unpleasant for theperson and the listener Therefore creates a fear every time the pronunciation isincorrect It is the combined factors that make English learners have difficultylearning to speak skills

2.5.2.2 Vocabulary

According to Shafaei & Nejati (2010, p.32), vocabulary is one of theimportant goals when you learn any language because it is the foundation ofcommunication That's right, you can't say if there isn't a certain amount ofvocabulary, it's important that if you're in the process of practicing your Englishspeaking skills, the vocabulary is like a material to cook a delicious dish Hetrakul

(1995, p.76) states that “Vocabulary is a component in speaking In speaking English, students need to master a lot of vocabulary, because by mastering many words, they would study way of speaking easily Sometimes, students felt difficult when they were learning because they had limited vocabulary” The lack of

vocabulary will lead to a less fluent speaking process, which is a big obstacle foryou to speak English well In fact, vocabulary is a tool for you to communicate

successfully Nauli (2014) said that if there is not enough vocabulary, people cannotcommunicate effectively and express their ideas.

Mahripah (2014) says that vocabulary is one of the factors that determinesyour English language learning The important thing when starting a language isthat you have to have a rich and diverse vocabulary This will help you in theprocess of avoiding being duplicated and enlivening your sentences However, thelack of vocabulary is one of the reasons why English learners become difficult Donot reinforce, supplement, apply new words to make your vocabulary poor.Therefore, when communicating with foreigners, you will not know what to say andexpress your ideas Moreover, lack of vocabulary also makes us not understandwhat the opposite person is saying, making listening skills worse, thus making theconversation monotonous and impossible to continue Lack of vocabulary not onlymakes listening skills decrease but also makes speech skills not improve.Vocabulary not only understands the superficial meaning but in vocabulary needs toanalyze phonetics, syllables and uses Therefore vocabulary serves as a coreposition to be able to communicate well in English

2.5.2.3 Syntax

Bachman and Palmer (1996) define it as long-term knowledge Knowledgeplatform allows the speaker to apply to be able to speak English He affirmed thatmore specialized knowledge had a big impact on learners' performance However,this is also one of the difficulties in learning to speak English If you are not surehow to use grammar, you will not be able to speak English correctly

According to Latha (2012), speaking fluently in English requires awarenessand proper application of the language structure English learners should understandword division Native speakers can speak fluently because they are familiar withthis language However, they can still make a small grammatical error whilecommunicating but these errors do not affect the meaning of the sentence In fact,indigenous people can express concepts in different ways Mahripah (2014) saysthat the mistakes that English learners make can change the meaning of words andcreate problems in their sentences

Parsons (2004, p.8) indicates that grammar is a system of rules that includesthe structure and arrangement of words In a way, language also has rules, but it isdifferent people who set different rules in their sentences In fact, if the vocabulary

is a cooking material, grammar is like the steps of arranging those materials to makethe best dish According to Tomita (1996, p.320), the purpose of grammar is tocreate an advantage for reflecting the combination of form and meaning Grammar

is something that combines ingredients to create beautiful sentences It is no longereasy to arrange words correctly in grammar Grammar determines whether theefforts to learn and improve vocabulary give you the intelligence to createperfection Difficulties for English learners are not only learning vocabulary,supplementing the rich vocabulary, speaking English also express deeply insidepeople When you do not fully understand the sentence, grammar, you will neverspeak English well

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS

3.1 Discussion of findings

3.1.1 Students’ evaluation on the importance of English

The first question before entering the survey question is, "How do you think it

is important to speak English in class?" This question is an assessment of students'perceived importance to English

50.00%

40.00%

10.00%

Very ImportantImportantNormalUnimportant

Chart 3.1 The importance of English

The results obtained from the survey are shown on the pie chart From thechart, we can see that most students are aware of the importance of English forclassroom learning Specifically, the percentage of students who find English veryimportant accounts for 50% (equivalent to 50 students), 40% of students findimportant English (equivalent to 40 students), 10% of students receive see theimportance of English is normal (10 students) According to the above results, Iappreciate the students' awareness of the importance of English

Most of them have been aware that English is really important No studentswho evaluates English doesn't matter Although they are only in the first year, theyhave taken the initiative in assessing English Selecting this Tourism and ServiceAdministration, they must have prepared to learn a second language as their nativelanguage This makes students focus on learning English more

3.1.2 Students’ evaluation on the obstructing factor in practicing English speaking skills

According to previous studies, I will focus on two main factors that lead todifficulties in practicing English speaking skills That is the psychological factorand the semantic element However, in each element, the difficulty that each studentfaces is different So I divide the different rating levels very difficult, difficult,normal, no problem The results are shown in the chart below

Motivation Confidence Anxiety Phonology Vocabulary Syntax

Chart 3.2 The obstructing factor in practicing English speaking skills

Chart 3.2 assesses the difficulty of factors, most of the factors on students feeldifficult, there is not much difference between my factors Pronunciation accountsfor 60% at a very difficult level Motivation, confidence, anxiety, vocabulary, andgrammar also account for a very difficult percentage equivalent to 40%, 30%, 30%,40% and 35.6% However, the number of students who choose motivation is noproblem accounting for the largest percentage of the six factors is 24% Whenstudents choose to specialize in Tourism and Service Administration inInternational Training Faculty, they have to determine what goals and motivationsthey learn English? This helps students avoid ambiguity about their plans

Combined with the interview question: " Among the stated factors(motivation, confidence, anxiety, pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar), whatfactors do you find difficult for you? Explain why”? Thanks to this question, I candetermine that most students find it difficult to take the above factors becausestudents are also influenced by the high school curriculum, focusing on grammar

and vocabulary However, you do not apply and combine these two factors in a longtime, you will not be flexible when using them In addition, learning to writevocabulary without speaking also makes it more difficult for students to learnvocabulary later on.

Currently, new students study first-year so they have not been exposed tophonology Therefore, they have problems pronouncing: wrong pronunciation,incorrect accents, intonation, etc

3.1.3 Students’ evaluation on the impact of psychological factors on learning English speaking skills

3.1.3.1 The cause of anxiety when speaking English

Through the survey, I found that some of the reasons why anxiety is difficultwhen students learn to speak English These causes are easily noticed when theyfeel anxious Through the survey, I found that some of the reasons why anxiety isdifficult when students learn to speak English These causes are easily noticed whenthey feel anxious

Lack

of pr

eparation

Lack

of pratice

Inability t

o exp

ress ideas

Chart 3.3 The cause of anxiety when speaking English

According to the results obtained from the survey on the consent and disagreewith the above reasons I can see 3 factors: lack of practice, inability of expressideas and fear of making mistakes, the number of students agreeing to take up a lotcompared to the other 3 elements, the percentage agreed with 67%, 50 %, 64% Itcan be easily seen because of the approach to English by the method of dynamic

collection, so the proactive speaking and training environment are almostnonexistent The time on school is not enough for students to practice as they wish.That's why they can't seem to be flexible and reflect on the conversation Alsobecause of lack of practice, students gradually formed a habit of being afraid to say,afraid of making mistakes.

The remaining 3 factors seem to be that students do not face too manydifficulties Percentage agreed to lack of preparation, fear of being focused, and lowEnglish proficiency is 44%, 42%, 30% respectively After interviewing studentsmore closely, I found that their class lectures were carefully prepared and serious.The factor of fear and lack of English proficiency is less than the above group.When students choose to specialize in service management and tourism, themajority of students' English is quite good The low English proficiency factor doesnot seem to hinder too much in learning English speaking skills

3.1.3.2 Evaluation students' motivation in learning English speaking skills

Motivation acts as a lever to make learning English more effective Thedetermination of motivation helps students avoid ambiguity and ambiguity Fromthe motivation set out, students will have more effective ways to learn English So Isurveyed the following factors to determine which motivation is the most

Chart 3.4 The cause of anxiety when speaking English

According to the chart above, it is found that 70% of students study Englishwith the aim of finding work, 60% of students of English with the purpose

of certification exam, 45% of students go to study abroad, 20% go to exportworkers and 10% is another idea From the above results, I find that almost the mainpurpose of students is to find jobs Job opportunities for students with good Englishskills are great Currently, foreign companies recruit employees with proficientEnglish communication skills Have the opportunity to work in large environments

to help them gain experience for their future

Behind the motivation to find a job is the certification exam Students ininternational training faculty will be taught according to their own program Theaim is to train economic bachelors with knowledge and skills in Vietnam butreceive degrees from foreign universities Therefore, students' languageopportunities will make them more choices While students will have theopportunity to be instructed at a business internship, the future path is still chosen

by students according to their original wishes and intentions These motivationshelp students to shape their future, so they will be more serious about learningEnglish All of these motivations require good English communication skills

3.1.4 Students’ evaluation on the impact of linguistics factors on learning English speaking skills

3.1.4.1 Students’ assessment on the influence of pronunciation

English pronunciation is quite difficult if we don't learn exactly from thebeginning Mispronouncing leads to the habit of continuing Pronunciation inEnglish is different from writing, so students often struggle with Englishpronunciation I have come up with some difficulties students may have inpronunciation