Difficulties faced by first year english majors at thuongmai university in learning speaking skills and some suggested solutions

DECLARATION I declare that the graduation paper entitled “Difficulties faced by first-year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills and some suggested solutions” is the result of my own work and that it has not been submitted to any other university or institution wholly or partially Hanoi, April 22th 2018 Student Le Thi Oanh 1 ABSTRACT Speaking skill is one of the most important skills when learning English Based on the information from the teacher as well as from the reality, the students still face many difficulties in speaking English, even though they study in English major In relation to that reason, the researcher conducted a study about “Difficulties faced by first-year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills and some suggested solutions.” This study aims to point out difficulties of the first-year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills and propose some solutions to improve their speaking skill The study was carried out in first-year classes of English Department at Thuongmai University The researcher took 50 first year students as the subject of the research To collect the data, the researcher used questionnaire and observation as instrument to find the data about the students’ difficulty while speaking English and also the students’ solution to overcome these difficulties After doing questionnaire and observation, the result of the research showed that the students had many difficulties while speaking English such as lack of confidence, idea, vocabulary; mispronunciation; nothing to say; using Vietnamese; using incorrect grammar Moreover, that result also proposed some solutions such as ways to study vocabulary, pronunciation effectively; ways to build the confidence and ways to practice English 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I am deeply grateful to my supervisor M.A Tran Thi Bich Lan for her great support in assisting me to accomplish this study She always guides me with valuable suggestions, helpful comments and guidance during my implementation of this study Without her support, the study would have never been completed I also would like to express my sincere thanks to all the lecturers of English Department at Thuongmai University for their useful lectures and valuable advices that helped me very much to finish my thesis I also want to thank the cooperation of first-year students of English Department at Thuongmai University who have helped me to collect data for the study Last but not least, I would especially thank my family; my close friends who gave me a big encouragement to fulfill my study Hanoi, April 22th 2018 Student Le Thi Oanh 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Numbe Abbreviations r EFL M.A Meanings English as a Foreign Language The Master of Art 4 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES 5 CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale Nowadays, English plays an integral part in the society It is a key factor that helps us succeed It is not only the language used in English speaking countries such as England, US, Canada,…but also in over the world The statistics reveal that more than a quarter of the world’s population speaks English that means that about 1.6 billion people understand and relate with the help of the language of Shakespeare Not to mention that most of the films are in English, the largest film industry, Hollywood, is produced in English Although the English language doesn’t have the largest number of native speakers in the world, it has the widest reach of any language spoken today People speak English to have more job opportunities Businesses need employees who can communicate fluently with English-speaking partners and clients In addition, entrepreneurs can access a far wider range of customers online by using English Knowing English makes it easy to travel because English is spoken as a first or second language in so many different countries, we are always easy to find English speakers as well as printed information in English, especially at hotels and in areas frequented by tourists For these reasons, speaking is an important skill for everyone who learns English because we cannot communicate with each other without understanding what they are saying In Vietnam, learners have a long time to learn English We have learned English from years old to the time we reach the end of high school, which means we have spent 7-10 years learning English However, most of us cannot communicate with foreigners This is also the common situation of the firstyear students of the English Department at Thuongmai University Although the entry mark is very high; however, the speaking English skills of each student is not good So, why don’t they speak English well? What are the difficulties? In order to answer this question, I want to propose the research topic: “Difficulties faced by the first-year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills and some suggested solutions.” 1.2 Previous studies In the past, there were many scholars who studied the difficulties faced by learners when speaking foreign languages They gave a lot of arguments and evidences for this topic In my study, I would like to introduce the study of Lejla Basic and Lukitasari 1.2.1 Lejla Basic (2011): “Speaking anxiety: An obstacle to second language learning” Lejla Basic studied the anxiety faced by learners when speaking In his study, he said that the reason which causes fear of speaking is anxiety “Speaking anxiety has to with fear, which in most cases has developed from bad prior experiences It is frequently suggested that children who have not been encouraged to speak from an early stage also create a weaker communicative behavior pattern Becoming silent at an early stage also contributes to limited opportunities to practice oral skills Parents’ behavior and views on outspokenness have therefore a great impact on children’s speaking development When children that are not used to speaking out are confronted with schools’ challenging requirements in oral proficiency, their inhibition often results in silence and withdrawnness.” According to his study, “speaking-anxious people are self-conscious and afraid of making fools of them, being laughed at or bullied” and “speaking anxiety is often triggered by other people that the speaking anxious person does not feel comfortable with.” Lejla Basic’s study showed that students who have speech anxiety are often very calm and passive and can therefore also receive less attention from teachers He pointed out a study that was made with Japanese foreign students at a graduate school in America This study showed that many of the Japanese foreign students were anxious when speaking English with native speakers “The fear of speaking English made many of them remain silent and they avoided speaking English even if the primary reason of coming to the U.S was to acquire English as a second language Out of the 32 participants in the study, 24 confirmed that they were anxious when speaking with native English speakers in informal settings The main reason for this was that they worried about being misunderstood and got stressed about making mistakes.” Lejla Basic’s study stressed on the anxiety of learners when speaking and anxiety is the reason why they cannot have a good speaking skill Fear of exposure and not feeling confident have a direct connection with fear of speaking 1.2.2 Lukitasari (2008): “Students’ strategies in overcoming speaking problems in speaking class.” In Lukitasari’s study, she focused on the students’ strategies in overcoming speaking problems in speaking class The scope of her study was the first semester students of Muhammadiyah University of Malang in Indonesia The results of her study suggest that in speaking class, the students faced some speaking problems including inhibition, lack of ideas, fear of speaking, low or uneven participation and mother tongue use The findings of the study showed that the students’ speaking skill was not good because they did not master the three elements of speaking namely vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation Aims of the study 1.3 My study is aimed at: 1.4 - Identifying the difficulties facing the first-year English majors at Thuongmai - University in learning speaking skills Finding out the reasons for these difficulties Proposing some solutions to improve the speaking skill of first year students of the English Department at Thuongmai University Research subjects My study focuses on the difficulties when speaking English of first year students of the English Department at Thuongmai University 1.5 Scope of the study Because of time limitation, the study only concentrates on some common difficulties while learning speaking skill of first-year students of the English Department at Thuongmai University From these difficulties, the researcher finds out the reasons and proposes some suggestions to improve the speaking skill Research methodology 1.6 In order to make the study easy and clear to understand, the researcher chooses the qualitative research method in combination with the quantitative method It means that on one hand I deeply analyze the study topic and on the other hand I implement the research to collect the data in reality - Quantitative research method: The study is implemented using questionnaires The collected data are processed and encoded using software support, which are later summarized and analyzed - Qualitative research method: This method is used to analyze and evaluate the characteristics of the speaking skill when expressing ideas and exchanging information in spoken language It is based on the theory of speaking skill 1.6.1 Questions of the study The study focuses on the difficulties when speaking English facing the firstyear students of the English Department at Thuongmai University Through this study the researcher wants to find out the answers for three questions: - What is the reality of learning speaking of first year students of the English - Department at Thuongmai University? What are the difficulties they are facing when speaking English? How to improve their speaking skill? 1.6.2 Instrumentation The research instruments used to collect data for this study are questionnaires and class observation 1.6.2.1 Questionnaires The questionnaires consist of 12 close-questions designed in English, then translated into Vietnamese They are sent to 50 first year students of the English Department at Thuongmai University during the first ten days of March Before sending to them, the researcher explains clearly the purposes of the questionnaire which are to find the students’ speaking problems and ways to improve their speaking skill The questionnaires are designed with two parts: Part I: Demographic data This part including general information of the participants The respondents are required to answer questions such as gender, age Part II: Speaking skill and difficulties faced by first-year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills The students answer questions about their speaking skill and the common difficulties they have made while speaking English From the above problems and mistakes, those questions related to causes of oral communication problems are asked in this part 1.6.2.2 Class observation The researcher uses class observation to see how the students perform their speaking skill and what difficulties the students really encounter in speaking lessons The researcher randomly chooses two classes to observe Everything observed, heard, and experienced during each class are recorded carefully in the following table: Class 1.7 Content Before speaking During speaking After speaking Before speaking During speaking After speaking Student’s performance Organization of the study The study consists of four main chapters: CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY This chapter shows the rationale, the previous studies, the aims of the study, the research subject, scope of the study and research methodology CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter aims to clarify the theory of speaking skill and its features CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS 10 new word or they used a dictionary to translate into English When the students were asked to work in groups, not all of them were eager to contribute their opinions in English Some of them participated actively but the others spoke very little or not at all 3.1.2.2 During speaking The students looked very nervous and afraid when they spoke in front of the class Sometimes, they did not know what to say and kept silent They felt unconfident because they did not have anything to speak Some of them read what they had written on a piece of paper They did not remember the structures and vocabulary to speak naturally While the students were making performances, the other students in class did not listen attentively They even chatted with the people next to them when their classmates were speaking 3.1.2.3 After speaking After speaking, some of the student gave comments for their friends They pointed out what they felt good or not good from the performance And then, the teachers gave comment The teachers corrected the mistake that the student encountered while speaking English The common mistakes were mispronunciation, incorrect grammar, incorrect word choice 29 CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS What has been discussed and analyzed in Chapter shows that the speaking skill of the first-year English major students of the English Department at Thuongmai University is not really good Thus, within the scope of the study, the researcher would like to put forward some recommendations and suggestions to improve the students’ speaking skill 4.1 Suggestions for learning vocabulary 4.1.1 Learning new words everyday Learning new words day by day is a good way to widen your vocabulary You should commit to a certain target with yourself: it can be five daily words or it can be ten daily words Even if you only have time to learn one new word per day, it is still worth trying By learning one word every day, after one year you will have learned 365 new English words Write the number down to remind yourself frequently If you have a learning partner, share it with her so that she can check on your progress Some good resources for words are the news, songs and TV shows, depending on your daily habits If you love listening to music, pay attention to the lyrics and take note of the words you not know Songs often contain a lot of useful vocabulary, phrases and expressions, therefore, they are great for learning English Moreover, you can read books, newspaper, magazines to expand your vocabulary The more you read, the more words you'll be exposed to As you read and uncover new words, use a combination of attempting to derive meaning from the context of the sentence as well as from looking up the definition in a dictionary 4.1.2 Ways to learn new words Learning vocabulary is a very important part of learning a language The more words you know, the more you will be able to understand what you hear and read; and the better you will be able to say what you want to when speaking or writing However, it’s not enough to just read through a list of words with their definitions or 30 translations and try to remember them It is better to find ways to learn new words quickly and effectively Here are two ways to learn new words effectively:  Writing the words in a notebook with their translations or definitions With each new word, you describe it through a picture Seeing the picture and describe it, remember to use the new word as much as possible  Writing the words and definitions on small cards Write the word you want to learn on the front of the card On the back of the card, you write the translation of the word in your language, or a definition of the word, or a gap sentence If you write or all of these you will learn the word more quickly and give yourself extra English practice Of course, you could copy the definition and example sentence from English learning websites but writing your own is the better choice And then you can test yourself by many different ways For example, you can look at the word and try to remember the translation or definition; you can look at the gap sentence and try to think of the word that fits in it; you can look at the word in your language and see if you know the English 4.2 Suggestions for learning pronunciation Pronunciation is an important part of learning any language The way your speech sounds can have a big impact on whether or not people understand what you are saying and their initial impression of you The tricky thing about pronunciation is that it is not just a question of acquiring knowledge, it’s a physical skill that you need to practice regularly There are no shortcuts to perfect pronunciation; however, there are some ways you can practice more effectively and improve your skills faster: 4.2.1 Learning from native speakers When you have a word that you not how to pronounce it correctly, it is necessary to learn the mouth movements of native speakers Looking at the position of their mouths and then try to replicate their exact methods by speaking in front of a mirror or camera Listening to foreigners’ programs, movies and repeat what you are hearing even if you are not sure what they are saying yet You can also sing a song in English What you need to is to imitate the lyric which you are hearing Singing a song helps you relax as well as improving your intonation and your 31 rhythm 4.2.2 Listening to yourself If you cannot hear your pronunciation problem, it is hard to correct it Therefore, recording your speech and comparing it to native speakers helps you recognize your problem and change it 4.2.3 Speaking slowly Many English learners say that speaking too quickly reinforces their bad habits Practice a few basics each day Start with single sounds, then move on to words, and finally, string several words together 4.2.4 Doing more than just reading and listening A trap which many learners of English fall into, which stops their pronunciation from improving as quickly as it should, is to spend all their study time either reading or listening to English learning materials It’s important to actively use the language, even if you not have a partner to speak with Read out passages, record audio and even sing in the shower 4.2.5 Paying attention to intonation and stress Good pronunciation is more than just mastering individual sounds It is also understanding intonation (the rise and fall of the voice) and stress (some sounds in words and some words in sentences are louder or clearer than others) Individual English words have a “strong” syllable, for example:  Table – stress on the first syllable  Provide – stress on the second syllable If you get the word stress wrong, the word can sound completely different and impossible to understand! Also, for some English meaning changes when the stress is different:  object (noun) = a thing, an item  object (verb) = to disagree, to speak up against an idea 32 words, their In natural spoken English, complete sentences also have stress We not say each word in the sentence equally, like a robot! Consider this sentence: “Last Saturday, I went to a party on the beach with my friends.” When spoken naturally, the stress is on the words Saturday, went, party, beach, and friends 4.3 Suggestions for building the confidence Lacking of the confidence while speaking English is the common problem of most first-year students of English Department at Thuongmai University This feeling can cause them to get discouraged and give up So, how to build the confidence? There are some suggestions to become a confident English speaker: 4.3.1 Stopping worrying too much about grammar You not need to worry too much about grammar Native and non-native English speakers still can understand what you mean if you make some minor grammar mistakes Indeed, the grammar of spoken English is often more flexible than written English grammar Also, be positive Celebrating what you know and not be frustrated about what you don’t know 4.3.2 Keeping showing up Woody Allen said 90% of success is showing up And Woody Allen made an important point here If you lack confidence and you are afraid or nervous, not stop or give up You continue attending classes and keep speaking even when you make mistakes You also not hide from your feelings of discomfort They should harness your fear and make use of it as positive energy You get laughed at many and many times until you just not care anymore Try to be consistent in your English learning efforts and your confidence will develop 4.3.3 Mastering fluency 33 A part of being confident is speaking well If you speak clearly and loudly, you will appear and feel more confident A simple technique that will help is learning to read with fluency What does that mean? It means that you practice reading a piece of text so that you sound confident not only in what you say, but how you say it You can read material you are already familiar with, such as something from your lesson or a piece of text you’ve read before And then you read it aloud in front of a mirror Notice what your body language is like Are you standing up tall or hunching over? Speaking loudly, or quietly? Doing it until you memorize it, and you can now start working on how you stand and speak to your audience Go ahead and practice with a trusted friend when you feel more comfortable 4.3.4 Mimicking English TV News presenters If you are not sure how to act confidently, a great way is to study English TV News presenters You want to be able to understand what they that makes them so confident There is no better way to understand this than by watching people who have to speak in front of millions of people every day – news reporters and presenters While it may be tempting to watch the news in your native language, it is better to watch it in English First, you get to practice your listening skills Second, you want to be able to mimic their tone so you can the same in English If you don’t think you can this, just remember that even native English speakers have a hard time speaking in front of an audience Those newscasters can it because they have practiced for many hours over many years You, too You also can be as confident as them – but you need to put in the time and effort 4.3.5 Speaking with both small and large groups of people Most English learners say that it is easier to understand and keep up with a conversation when they are in a one-on-one situation It is great to build your English skills by speaking with people individually but you should also try to involve yourself in large-group conversations if possible If you get in a conversation with or people, start by just trying to get the idea of what they are saying Later you can join in if you feel more confident 4.4 Frequently practicing your English 34 Practice makes perfect, so speak English in plenty Some people think that they not have the opportunity to practice speaking because they not live in the US or another English-speaking country They might also be discouraged because English is not used at their workplace, or they not know any native speakers There is some validity in those excuses, but not let them hinder your learning Thanks to the growth of globalization and technology, you have more chances than ever to practice speaking English You will find many ideas below 35 4.4.1 Participating in public speaking events Big universities, learning English centers or culture societies often organize events like open debates, spoken word readings and improvised storytelling gatherings These are places where you can come and mingle with like-minded people and practice speaking English 4.4.2 Going to language cafes If you have free time and you want to improve your speaking skill, you can go to language cafes Those cafes create a friendly and relaxing atmosphere for people who want to practice and exchange languages In here, there are many native speakers as well as many people who want to find a chance to practice English Therefore, this is a good environment for you to improve your speaking skill 4.4.3 Taking part in English speaking clubs English speaking clubs is a great choice for you to practice English By talking in English with new friends in the club, you have great time to sharpen your English skills, especially listening and speaking in a total English environment English club holders often design many different and interesting activities including: warm-up activities, discussions, presentations and games in order to attract participants Through the discussion and presentation activities, you have a lot of opportunities to practice speaking and listening skills with teachers of English and with friends who love English It is really a great and meaningful environment to rehearse English vocabulary, grammar and use English to communicate more efficiently 36 CONCLUSION In the modern society, English become an important part in our life and speaking seems to be the most important of all the four language skills So, everyone must try best to master English language so as to create more opportunities for themselves Unfortunately, while some good learners; others meet many difficulties in speaking English Trying to help them overcome the obstacles is actually important and imperative This graduation paper has been conducted with the aim to investigate the common difficulties faced by first-year English majors at Thuongmai University To some extent, it succeeded in answering the research questions From the results of the research, the researcher discovered the difficulties the students face and effective solutions that students can apply to improve their speaking skill However, due to the limitation of time, experience and knowledge, the research cannot cover all difficulties of student Therefore, the researcher is glad to receive comments from readers Finally, the researcher hopes this study can be useful material for students who concerns speaking skill and suggested solutions to improve speaking skill as well 37 REFERENCES Books: Boonkit K (2010) Enhancing the development of speaking skills for nonnative speakers of English Faculty of Arts, Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand Brown (1994), Burn and Joyce (1997), Teaching Speaking Skills, Masaryk University Brown, G G Y (1983), Teaching the Spoken Language, Cambridge, CUP Bygate, M (1987), Speaking, Oxford, OUP Byrne, D (1986), Teaching Oral English, Harlow, Essex, Longman Carter, R & McCarthy, M (1995), Grammar and Spoken Language, University of Nottingham, UK Do Thi Thanh Binh (2010), Using stimulating activities to improve 10th form student’s English speaking skill: A case study at Thuan An Upper Secondary School in Thua Thien Hue, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University (VNU), Ha Noi Eckard & Kearny (1981), Teaching Conversation Skills in ESL, ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics, Washington, DC Ellis, R (1994), The Study of Second Language Acquisition, Oxford, Oxford University Press Holec, H (1981), Autonomy and Foreign Language Learning, Oxford, Pergamon Jin, Y (2007), Adapting communicative language teaching approach to China's context, Sino-US English Teaching Kong, Y (2009), A Brief Discussion on Motivation and Ways to Motivate Students in English Language Learning, International Education Studies Lescano, A A (1995), The remedial English project, FORUM 33(4): 40 Lightbown, P and N Spada (1993), How Languages are Learned, Oxford, Oxford University Press Littlejohn, A (2001), Motivation: Where does it come from? Where does it go?, English Teaching Professional 19 MacIntyre, P D (1999), Language anxiety: A review of the research for language Teachers, Boston, MA, McGraw-Hill Lejla Basic (2011), “Speaking anxiety: An obstacle to second language learning”, University of Gävle, Faculty of Education and Business Studies Lukitasari (2008): “Students’ strategies in overcoming speaking problems in speaking class”, University of Muhammadiyah Malang O'Malley, J and A Chamot (1990), Language Learning Strategies, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press Paul, D E and D Kauchak (1994), Educational psychology: classroom connections, The United States, Macmillan Shaimaa Abd El Fattah Torky (2006), The Effectiveness of a Task- Based Instruction Program in Developing the English Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students, Ain Shams University Takeuchi, O (2003), Synopsis: Searching for better language learning strategies: Studies on good language learners in the Japanese FL context, Tokyo, Shohakusha Wenden, A (1986), Helping language learners think about learning, ELT Journal 40: 3-12 Wenden, A (1986), What second-language learners know about their language learning? A second look at retrospective accounts, Applied Linguistics Websites: https://prezi.com/58ar1n5ij-mg/problems-in-speaking-english/ https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/how-to-improve-english-speaking-skills/ https://saptaabimanyu.blogspot.com/2013/02/aspects-of-speaking-performance.html https://englishlive.ef.com/blog/language-lab/10-tips-perfect-english-pronunciation/ https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/33321007.pdf https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED523922.pdf http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A453921&dswid=3433 http://eprints.umm.ac.id/5210/ APPENDIX Survey Questionnaire for Students This questionnaire is conducted with a view to find out the difficulties of learning speaking skill of first-year student of English majors at Thuongmai University and possible solutions for those difficulties Please put a tick (√) on your option Your completion of this questionnaire is highly appreciated The data collected are used in the research paper only, not for any other purpose Thank you for your cooperation! Part I: Demographic data □ Male Age … □ Female Part II: Survey Questionnaire “Speaking skill and difficulties faced by first-year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills.” Did you learn English before college? □ Yes, I did □ No, I didn’t How long have you been learning English? □ Under year □ 2-5 years □ 5- years □ More than years Do you think speaking skill is important? □ Yes □ No How much you like speaking English? □ Very much □ Rather □ Normal □ Little □ Not at all How often you practice speaking outside the classroom? □ Always □ Usually □ Sometimes □ Rarely □ Never What you think about the necessity of speaking skills to your future job? □ Very necessary □ Necessary □ Normal □ Unnecessary □ Very unnecessary How you feel when speaking English? □ Very confident □ Confident □ Normal □ Unconfident □ Anxious □ Afraid □ Others Can you evaluate your speaking skill? □ Very good □ Good □ Normal □ Bad □ Very bad Which problems you encounter while speaking English? (You can tick more than one choice) □ Using incorrect grammar □ Mispronunciation □ A lack of ideas □ Being unconfident □ Speaking very little or not at all □ A lack of vocabulary □ Using Vietnamese □ Others 10 What you often when you feel nervous while using English? □ Relaxing and then continuing □ Stopping and giving up 11 What you often when you have difficulties in learning English speaking? □ Asking for help from teachers or higher proficiency-level students □ Keeping silent 12.What should you to improve your speaking skill? (You can tick more than one choice) □ Focusing on grammar □ Focusing on vocabulary □ Focusing on pronunciation □ Speaking English regularly □ Others ... University in learning speaking skills and some suggested solutions. ” This study aims to point out difficulties of the first- year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills and. .. research topic: Difficulties faced by the first- year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills and some suggested solutions. ” 1.2 Previous studies In the past, there... grammar and pronunciation Aims of the study 1.3 My study is aimed at: 1.4 - Identifying the difficulties facing the first- year English majors at Thuongmai - University in learning speaking skills Finding