This research is implemented to investigate the factors that hinder students’ participation in speaking activities at Thuong Mai University. The research’s objects are the teachers and the second-year English-major students of English from Thuong Mai University.
v DISCUSSION AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE FACTORS THAT HINDER THE PARTICIPATION OF THE SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS AT THUONG MAI UNIVERSITY TRAN LAN HUONG* * Thuong Mai University, tranlanhuong17@gmail.com Received:15/11/2018; Revised: 10/4/2019; Accepted: 28/4/2019 ABSTRACT This research is implemented to investigate the factors that hinder students’ participation in speaking activities at Thuong Mai University The research’s objects are the teachers and the second-year English-major students of English from Thuong Mai University To attain the aim of the research, the questionnaires and interview were used as instruments to take data from 10 lecturers and 175 students The revealed factors included affective-related problems, socially related problems, instructor- related problems, educational system and facility-related problem and linguistic-related problems Of which, linguistic-related problems have the most effective factor on students’ participation in speaking activities while instructor–related problems have the smallest impact on students’ participation in speaking activities In addition, some suggestions are made with the hope for better methods to help the teachers reduce their students’ negative effect of these factors during the process of learning speaking English Keywords: hinder, speaking, factors, English INTRODUCTION After Vietnam joined WTO, the need to enhance English language teaching and learning has become one of the most important aims of the universities in Vietnam With the Higher Education Reform Agenda (HERA), formulating a strategy on international integration, raising the cooperation capacity and competitiveness of Vietnamese tertiary education is the aim of Vietnam In order to this, first and foremost, universities in the system have to organize teaching and learning in foreign languages, especially English for the immediate 86 KHOA HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ QUÂN SỰ No 19 (5/2019) futures University students are expected to be able to understand and communicate well in English. However, there is also a popular claim among researchers and employers about the weak English speaking of the majority university graduates (Nunan, 2003; Stephen 2005; Stevens, 2005; Tran Ngoc Ca, 2006). The English proficiency of the majority of university students and graduates makes them not appear to be confident with their English Many of them cannot communicate in a simple English interaction DISCUSSION v In view of this argument, proper attention needs to be given to factors affecting the acquisition of speaking skills in English among learners at the university level The essence of this research was, therefore, to investigate the various factors affecting students’ participation in speaking activities in the English class at the university in Vietnam LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Nature of speaking The nature of speaking has been analyzed a lot by many linguists According to Byrne (1976, p.8), “speaking is a two-way process between speakers and listeners involving the productive skills of understanding” After that, he gave a diagram in 1995 of a speech situation: language learning can be achieved in second language classrooms in which there is negotiated interaction between students and teachers, because it produces the linguistic conditions for classroom learners to access comprehensible input and produce comprehensible output According to Ellis (1993, p.8) comprehensible input is one of the most important ways in which learners obtain new information about the language, and the teacher may be the only really competent English speaker available to provide comprehensible input About comprehensible output, Swain’s (1985) claimed that in order to acquire a language successfully, the learners must not only be given opportunities to produce the language but they must also be pushed into making their meaning clear Speaking activities in class can be considered as successful can improve students’ speaking skills a lot Ur (1996, p.120) identified four factors contributing to a successful speaking activity First, the quantity of students’ talk: Most of time in the speaking lesson has to be dominated by students, not teachers In 2003, in Language Teaching Methodology: A text book for teachers, Nunan noted there are two important factors in a speech situation including fluency and accuracy He showed that “accuracy is the extent to which students’ speech matches what people actually say when they use the target language, fluency is the extent to which speakers use the language quickly and confidently” (p.47) 2.2 Characteristics of a Successful Speaking Activity Students’ participation in speaking can be seen in learners’ verbal responses to tasks, their concentration, or through their contributions to classroom discourse It is thought that more Secondly, even participation: All students have to speak out and give ideas on discussion, not just a minority of talkative participants Thirdly, high motivation: The lesson has to be interesting enough to attract students to join speaking activities Students are eager or excited to speak and really want to express their feelings as well as opinions in order to contribute to achieving a task objective Finally, accuracy: Students express themselves in utterances that are relevant, easily comprehensible to each other, and an acceptable level of language accuracy In short, if we want to have a successful speaking activity or if we want to get students talking, we need to meet all the above criteria KHOA HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ QUÂN SỰ No 19 (5/2019) 87 v DISCUSSION 2.3 Factors hinder students’ confidence of participation in speaking activities Bearing the above-mentioned factors affecting speaking skills in mind, some studies have been conducted to find out the main factors thwarting EFL students’ speaking participation in classes The findings of the bulk of studies investigated on the topic (e.g Bardovi-Harlig & Griffin, 2005; Derwing & Rossiter, 2002; Gregersen & Horwitz, 2009; Liu, 2006) resulted that EFL students might encounter psychologically- related, linguisticallyrelated, or socio-pragmatically-related problems lying in the way of the development of their speaking participation Regarding linguistic problems that students might encounter, Derwing and Rossiter (2002) demonstrated that EFL learners were not confident in their pronunciation Concerning language learners’ pragmatic knowledge, BardoviHarlig and Griffin’s (2005) research on 43 highintermediate students identified that although students acquired some pragmatic knowledge, their speech acts were different a lot from the native speakers With respect to psychologicallyrelated speaking problems, Liu (2006) found that anxiety is a definitely popular among Chinese students at all levels of language proficiency while speaking in English, but the more proficient they were, the less anxiety they experienced. Senel (2012) conducted a study on 32 Turkish students to investigate why they hesitated to take part in speaking activities in class The results of the study revealed that there were some factors such as instructors’ interruption and error correction, lack of native instructors, instructors’ methods and techniques of teaching, insufficient number of English courses and their inadequate content, and insufficient use of English outside the classroom hindered their progress in oral communication skills A study on speaking skills problems of 566 Jordanian EFL students by Aljamal and Aljamal (2014) also corroborated Senel’s (2012) findings to a great extent The findings of their study indicated that the principal problems Jordanian 88 KHOA HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ QUÂN SỰ No 19 (5/2019) EFL students encountered in the way of developing their speaking skills were excessive use of the first language, overcrowded classes and lack of sufficient time to practice speaking. As the literature illustrates, a multitude of factors in EFL contexts can imped students’ participation in speaking activities Thentic videos were used much in the class room The teacher also combined the course book with relevant materials, guided students to learn well During the lesson teachers tried to create a learning atmosphere to promote students Especially, the teachers often attracted students’ attention and promoted them in learning, and provided students with a lot of chances to practice speaking However, there was one point which demotivated students from speaking 56% students reported that instructors often corrected their students’ errors, which means that teachers placed great importance on error correction Surprisingly, according to questionnaires and interview, all instructors reported using Communicative Language Teaching in their class, which means that they shouldn’t have focused on error correction unless errors interfere with communication, as the approach favors fluency over accuracy When error correction occurs, it generally happens through modeling, or unobtrusively in a nonthreatening manner It is the traditional teachercentered approaches which commonly feature error correction In the questionnaire, 87% of the instructors agreed that they often corrected their students’ errors in class This result indicates the persistence of an element of the repertoire of a traditional approach although most of students and instructors claimed that instructors applied Communicative Language Teaching in their classes Question: The instructors not present interesting topics for discussion Figure 2: Students’ evaluation on the topics of speaking in class When answering this question, surprisingly about more than half of the respondents stated that the topics of speaking in class were boring Most of students in the interview thought that the speaking topics in class were difficult for them and most of them did not have any idea about the topics, which resulted in the hesitation to share their ideas with others Only 30% claimed that the KHOA HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ QUÂN SỰ No 19 (5/2019) 93 v DISCUSSION topics were interesting but they had to be definitely well-prepared in advance to understand 5.4 Educational system and facility-related problems It is commonly shared by 87% students was “there is no problem with efficient and sufficient facilities in classrooms” In the interview, the participants mentioned that “the audio-visual facilities are sufficient, updated and efficient” A large body of research indicates that there is a positive relationship between students’ achievement and the quality of university facilities The second factor affecting students’ participation in English speaking lesson was class size and limited teaching time 92% students agreed that “the classes were overcrowded and students are not given enough time for speaking practice” This is due to limited time for a speaking lesson that last for only 90 minutes, and big classes which often have about 40 students Students, therefore, are not provided with sufficient time for preparation, rehearsal, and presentation As a result, teachers tend to invite those who are voluntary to perform their speaking task to save time The third factor affecting 68% students was the inefficient program of the university where there is an overemphasis on the results of examinations The balance between skill-oriented and test-oriented teaching, therefore, is difficult to keep in EFL classes, especially where skills are only required in mid-term tests but not lastterm tests One of the common complaints raised by 96% teachers was that “the content of the tests and examinations did not cover all macro skills” There was a paradox within the management and direction of the leaders of the university Although their purpose was to equip students with English communication skills for future employment after graduation, they did not agree to include a speaking section in the tests and examinations The main reason was that the speaking tests cost time and money However, it was believed that, without 94 KHOA HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ QUÂN SỰ No 19 (5/2019) speaking tests, the teachers and students did not have motivation for teaching and learning these skills Instead, they focus on the knowledge areas and skills that would be tested so that the students could pass the exams Teacher explained further: “The final examinations focus on grammar and writing So, if the teacher teaches students speaking skills, students may think that the teacher is not good because what he or she teaches is not applied in the examinations So, we should change the curriculum so that the final examinations should test not only grammar and writing but also speaking skill.” Teacher expressed other opinions in relation to this point: “If we want to teach students speaking, there should be more time for English subject, and the speaking tests must be included in the exams When the speaking tests are included in the exams, the students will have to try hard to improve speaking and communication skill to pass the exams, and hence, their speaking and communication skill will be better.” 5.5 Linguistically- related problems The linguistic factor is one of the speaking skills problems reported by the majority of the EFL instructors as well as the majority of the EFL seniors The 89% of the EFL instructors believed that psychological and linguistic factors were also among the most troublemaking factors which prevented students from making progress in speaking The majority of the EFL students agreed so 66% of the students could not find words, collocations or structures to express their opinions They admitted that their poor general English knowledge results in their having difficulty making questions and directing them to their instructor or their classmates In fact, the difficulties for most students were the lack of vocabulary, grammatical knowledge and ideas to speak for learning Students using Vietnamese during group work and pair work has been a big obstacle for the teaching of speaking skills The fact that DISCUSSION v the students prefer to speak Vietnamese in pair work and group work is a result of low English proficiency Their limited English vocabulary and sentence structures have prevented them from communicating with each other efficiently As a matter of fact, they often use Vietnamese instead of English for communication They found speaking in Vietnamese easier than in English Gradually, using Vietnamese become a habit even when many students are quite capable of expressing themselves in English and that is why many of them not have the habit of speaking English in class This will not only constrain students’ ability to think in English but also prevent them from improving their speaking skill In addition, most of the students’ speaking performance sounded unnatural because they did not remember the structures and vocabulary when they spoke They just looked at their book and read 90% the EFL students reported the linguistic factor as their most-impeding psychological problem in speaking classes It seems that the EFL students were aware of their poor pronunciation and the EFL instructors also believed their EFL students did not possess a good command of English pronunciation The instructors might not thus need to raise their EFL students’ awareness of their pronunciation problems any more Moreover, the EFL instructors believed that their EFL students thought in Vietnamese when they spoke in English, a problem which becomes readily evident if one teaches English as a foreign language in Vietnam, even for just a short period, due to mother tongue interference RECOMMENDATION 6.1 Helping students to improve their knowledge of grammar and enrich their vocabulary The research findings point out that the majority of the students found it hard to carry out their speaking tasks because of their poor vocabulary, ideas and knowledge relating to the speaking topics Thus, the teachers should find out the speaking topics which suit for students’ language level With such a topic, it is quite easy for students to speak and express their opinions Moreover, teachers have to create a competitive atmosphere for the students to use new words and structures in speaking activities Last but not least, teachers must find other materials relevant to students’ interest, provide students with vocabulary, structures and information students need 6.2 Managing speaking turns suitably Some students in class are often hesitant or anxious about speaking the target language and some others usually tend to dominate classroom activities These differences are caused by personality traits Teachers, therefore, should balance students’ speaking turns To balance students’ speaking turns, at first, we give simple and clear instructions so that students understand what they are supposed to Secondly, teachers should be patient when listening to students’ speaking They also need to give students opportunities and time to practice and raise their voices freely Students are encouraged to ask questions, give suggestions, share ideas, and tell stories Teachers, furthermore, should ask students to prepare speaking tasks at home carefully By this way, teachers will help the anxious students have more time to prepare vocabulary, structures relating to the speaking topics and make them more confident in their own ability 6.3 Helping students to be confident The findings of the study show that students felt reluctant to speak due to lack of confident Most of them felt shy to speak English in class The teachers, therefore, should try to understand their shyness to help them have more confidence when practising English in front of the class Firstly, to reduce students’ anxieties teachers must create an atmosphere in which they feel comfortable KHOA HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ QUÂN SỰ No 19 (5/2019) 95 v DISCUSSION “thinking out-loud,” taking intellectual risks, asking questions, and admit when students not know anything Moreover, teachers should point out students’ speaking ability, give encouragement so that they will have no fear to speak They, also, let students choose topics and partner to discuss This would result in comfortable discussion and it is easier for students to express their own opinions confidently 6.4 Being enthusiastic, friendly, helpful and tolerant Teachers’ characteristics are decisive factors to increase students’ participation Teachers’ enthusiasm, friendliness, helpfulness and tolerance will create students’ interest in speaking English So, teachers must pay attention to the shy and nervous students The friendly, sympathetic attitude of a teacher to a class brings out the best effect on both teaching and learning In the classroom, the teacher is the source of information, the adviser or sometimes the friend of the students Next, teachers had better have a tolerant attitude towards students’ errors In other words, we need to consider mistakes as part of the natural process of language learning so it is not necessary to correct every single mistake Through the results of questionnaires and interviews, most students did not want to speak because of making mistakes The teachers, therefore, have to be friendly, give a smile instead of getting angry when students make mistakes 6.5 Forming a habit of speaking English in the class In order to increase the students’ time of speaking English in the class, the teachers should form a habit of using English This habit should be built from the beginning of the first lesson Teachers need to use English all the time but the English used should not be too complicated so that the students can understand what the teachers say Besides, let 96 KHOA HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ QUÂN SỰ No 19 (5/2019) the students have more chance to practice listening to get acquainted to native speakers’ voice Once the students have developed a habit of speaking English in class, they will participate more often in classroom speaking activities Moreover, it is suggested that the university should have clear purposes and objectives in its English training program by providing a systematic curriculum in which the training content and testing content must be in accordance to serve the common purposes and objectives The pedagogical focus on accuracy rather than fluency is also a contributive to limited use of English in EFL classrooms Therefore, students tend to spend more time practicing three other skills to be wellprepared for their tests rather than speaking CONCLUSION Students’ participation plays an important role in speaking activities If we want to have a successful speaking lesson, teachers should pay more attention to the factors that hinder students’ participation such as students’ personality, students’ anxiety or students’ language level and try to improve our teaching methods, our characteristics as well as our roles The researcher hopes that this study will make an especial significant contribution to better the current teaching and learning to speak English at university today./ References: Aljamal, D., & Aljamal, G (2014) An investigation of the difficulties faced by EFL undergraduates in speaking skills English Language Teaching, 7(1), 84–89. Bardovi-Harlig, K., & Griffin, R (2005) L2 pragmatic awareness: Evidence from the ESL classroom System, 33, 401–415. Bygate, M (1987) Speaking Oxford: Oxford University Press Byrne, D (1976) Teaching Oral Speaking London: Longman Group UK Limited Byrne, D (1987) Speaking Oxford: Oxford University Press Byrne, D (1995) Teaching Oral Speaking London: Longman Group UK Limited DISCUSSION v Derwing, T M., & Rossiter, M J (2002) ESL learners’ perceptions of their pronunciation needs and strategies System, 30(2), 155–166. Ellis, R (1994) The Study of Second Language Acquisition Oxford: Oxford University Press Gregersen, T., & Horwitz, E (2009) Language learning and perfectionism: Anxious and non-anxious language learners’ reactions to their own oral performance The Modern Language Journal, 86(5), 562–570. Liu, M (2005) Reticent in oral English classroom: A case study in China TESL Reporter, 38(1), 1–16 Liu, M (2006) Anxiety in Chinese EFL students at different proficiency level System, 34, 301–316 Nunan, D (2003) Language Teaching Methodology: A text book for teachers New York: Prentice Hall Senel, M (2012) Oral communication anxiety and problems of Turkish EFL learners at Samsun 19 Mayis University, ELT department Frontiers of Language and Teaching, 3, 49–58 Stephen, W., Doughty, P., Gray, p J., Hopcroft, J E., & Silvera, I F (2006) Observations on Undergraduate Education in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Physics at Select Universities in Vietnam Washington: Vietnam Education Foundation. Stevens, B (2005) What communication skills employers want? Silicon Valley recruiters respond Journal of Employment Counseling, 42(1), 2-9. Swain, M (1985) Communicative Competence: Some Roles of Comprehensible Input and Comprehensible Output in Its Development In S Grass and C.Madden (eds.) 1982, Input in second language acquisition Rowley, MA: Newbury House Tran Ngoc Ca (2006) Universities as drivers of the urban economies in Asia: The case of Vietnam Policy Research Working Paper: World Bank. Ur, P (1996), A Course in Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press NGHIÊN CỨU CÁC YẾU TỐ HẠN CHẾ SỰ THAM GIA NÓI CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ KHOA TIẾNG ANH TRONG GIỜ HỌC NÓI TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC THƯƠNG MẠI TRẦN LAN HƯƠNG Tóm tắt: Nghiên cứu thực để điều tra yếu tố cản trở tham gia sinh viên năm thứ chuyên ngành tiếng Anh vào hoạt động nói Đại học Thương Mại Để đạt mục đích nghiên cứu, bảng câu hỏi vấn sử dụng làm công cụ để lấy liệu từ 10 giảng viên 175 sinh viên Các yếu tố ảnh hưởng bao gồm vấn đề liên quan đến tâm lí, xã hội, giảng viên, hệ thống giáo dục, sở vật chất vấn đề liên quan đến ngôn ngữ Kết nghiên cứu mức độ ảnh hưởng yếu tố tới việc tham gia nói sinh viên lớp học, vấn đề liên quan đến hiểu biết ngơn ngữ có ảnh hưởng tiêu cực lớn sinh viên, vấn đề liên quan đến giảng viên gây cản trở không đáng kể đến tham gia sinh viên vào hoạt động nói Từ khố: cản trở, kỹ nói, nhân tố ảnh hưởng, tiếng Anh Ngày nhận bài: 15/11/2018; ngày sửa chữa: 10/4/2019; ngày duyệt đăng: 28/4/2019 KHOA HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ QUÂN SỰ No 19 (5/2019) 97 ... therefore, to investigate the various factors affecting students participation in speaking activities in the English class at the university in Vietnam LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Nature of speaking. .. question, surprisingly about more than half of the respondents stated that the topics of speaking in class were boring Most of students in the interview thought that the speaking topics in class were... confidence of participation in speaking activities Bearing the above-mentioned factors affecting speaking skills in mind, some studies have been conducted to find out the main factors thwarting EFL students