A research on difficulties in speaking skills of first year english majored students at thuongmai university and solutions for improvement

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY GRADUATION PAPER Topic: A RESEARCH ON DIFFICULTIES IN SPEAKING SKILLS OF FIRST YEAR ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY AND SOLUTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT Supervisor: Pham Thi Xuan Ha (M.A) Student: Trinh Thi Thuong Class: K52N3 Student Code: 16D170186 Hanoi, 2019 ABSTRACT Language is a tool for communication We communicate with others, to express our ideas, and to know others’ ideas as well Communication takes place, where there is speech Without speech we cannot communicate with one another The importance of speaking skills, hence is enormous for the learners of any language Without speech, a language is reduced to a mere script The thesis willstudy the subjective and objective difficulties of the students in learning the listeningskill Then, it would like to find out the reasons for those problems and the solutions forstudents in learning the listening skill Therefore, I applied the qualitative and quantitativemethods to the research So the collecting data instruments like questionnaires,interviews were used to the study The results of the research will point out thedifficulties that students meet when they learn the listening skill More importantly, thestudy helps me find out the causes of those difficulties so that I can work out the right solutions to the problems With the hope of improving students’ listening competence ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank my advisor Ms Phạm Thị Xuân Hà in Faculty of English at Thuongmai University The door to her office was always open whenever I ran into a trouble spot or had a question about my research or writing She consistently allowed this paper to be my own work but steered me in the right direction whenever she thought I needed it I would also like to thank the 60 first-year English- majored who were involved in the validation survey for this research project Without their passionate participation and input, the validation of survey could not have been successfully conducted Finally, I must express my very profound gratitude to my parents and to my friends for providing me with unfailing support and continuous encouragement throughout my years of study and through the process of researching and writing this thesis This accomplishment would not have been possible without them Thank you Author Trịnh Thị Thương TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vi CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY .1 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Previous studies 1.3 Aims of the study 1.4 Research Subjects .4 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Method of study 1.6.1 Introduction of the English Faculty of Thuongmai University .5 1.6.2 Participants .5 1.6.1.1 The students 1.6.2.2 The textbook 1.6.3 Methods of data collection .6 1.6.3.1 Questionnaires .6 1.6 3.2 The interview 1.6.4 Method of data analysis 1.6.5 Data collection procedure 1.6.6 Data annalysis and statistics 1.7 Organization of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Overview of speaking 2.1.1 Definition of speaking 2.1.2 Speaking Aspects 10 2.1.3 Characteristics of speaking skills 10 2.1.4 Importance of speaking skills 11 2.2 Factors Affecting Speaking Skills 13 2.3 Difficulties in learning English speaking skills .15 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS 18 3.1 Questionnaire findings 18 3.3.1 Students’ real situations of learning English speaking skills .18 3.1.2 Students’ attitudes toward speaking skills 19 3.1.3 Difficulty in learning English speaking skills .22 3.1.4 Activities for improving English speaking skills 25 3.2 Interview findings .27 3.3 Summary 28 CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 29 4.1 For English faculty and teachers at Thuongmai University 29 4.2 For first-year English-major students .32 CONCLUSION 35 REFERENCES vii APPENDIX x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Abbreviations EFL ESL IELTS L1 L2 TESOL SLA TMU Meaning English as a Foreign Language English as a Second Language International English Language Testing System First Language Second Language Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Second Language Acquisition Thuongmai University LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURE Table 1: The students’ English learning time 18 YChart 1: The students' assessment of learning the speaking skills .19 Chart 2: Students’ interest in learning English speaking 20 Chart 3: Students attitude toward learning English speaking 21 Chart 4: The frequency of students speaking and having problems in learning English speaking skills .22 Chart 5: Frequency of difficulties related to linguistic 23 Chart 6: Students' psychological speaking problems 24 Chart 7: The students' assessment of speaking class format 25 Chart 8: Activities for improving English speaking skills 26 CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale English has become a mandatory language in Vietnam since the opening of its doors to the world in 1986 Many English-speaking foreigners from different countries started coming to invest in Vietnam This has motivated Vietnamese people to learn English to facilitate efficient and effective communication among their counterparts The importance of English was immediately acknowledged by the Vietnamese government and as a result the English language programs were made compulsory beginning with the secondary schools and subsequently the high schools and finally university The teaching of English in secondary and high schools strongly focus mainly on grammar, sentence structures and vocabulary In such a teaching format, conversational English was not taken into consideration As a result, the teachers teach only the necessity which is required to pass the examination and is not linked to the learning needs of individual students This has caused students to become demotivated because English is just another subject at school, not part of their life Many students eventually fail to see the importance and pride in being able to speak English fluently When these students attend the university, they have a lot of dificulties in learning and practising English speaking skill They often fall into confusion when speaking English because lack of knowledge, confidence, and good learning method as well Besides, the learning passive environment with the same and boring lessons without the interesting extra-activities prevent them from practising and improving English As mentioned by Khamkhien (2011), of all four key language skills, speaking is deemed to be the most important in learning a second or foreign language According to Bygate (1897), speaking is typicaly reciprocal: any interlocutors are nomally are able to contribute simultaneously to the discourse, and respond immediately to each other’s contribution Thus, it can be assumed that speaking skills help the English to carry out its functions of communication Moreover, it also contributes to strengthening the listening skills of learners, improving vocabulary and practicing related skills Therefore, if Vietnamese students want to be good at English, they have to practice a lot to improve their speaking skills However, Vietnamese students in general, Thuongmai University in particular, still has many difficulties in the process of learning English particularly in communicating in English Consequently, with regard to helping English-majored freshmen learn speaking skills more effectively, my study “A research on difficulties in speaking skills of first-year English-majored students at Thuongmai University and solutions for improvement.” is aimed to explore the current situation of teaching and learning English speaking of English-majored students at Thuongmai university in terms of difficulties and possible measures to tackle such challenges 1.2 Previous studies In this part of the study, some previous studies relating to this study will be reviewed These studies were carried out to identify the factors affecting students’ speaking performance and students’ speaking problems In 2007, Tanveer carried out: “Investigations of the factors that cause language anxiety for ESL/EFL learners in learning speaking skills and the influence it casts on communication in the target language.” The research was conducted in the EFL Unit and Department of Education of the University of Glasgow, United Kingdom The subjects were drawn from beginning to advanced levels of learners as well as experienced ESL/EFL practitioners and teachers Twenty subjects in total from a range of nationalities participated in the study Its major purpose is to find out what are the factors or sources that make them feel more stressful while speaking English in some situations than in others The obtained results indicated that learners’ feeling of stress and anxiety stop their language learning and performance abilities The researcher emphasized that the high anxiety lowers the learners’speaking performance In Athena’s research about students’ non linguistic problems in learning English speaking that was conducted at Probolinggo and took 23 students of the second years as the sample published in 2004, concluded that the students faced some problems in learning English speaking, and they had tried some effort to overcome those problems To solve the problem related to the students' low motivation and low confidence, the students tried to keep their motivation by keeping themselves active, trying to motivate themselves, and learning speaking more creatively by joining English courses and English conversation clubs Meanwhile, to solve the problems of unattractive materials, the students tried to discuss the difficult material to improve their understanding Besides, to solve the problem of the ineffective media, the students suggested that the media must be familiar, appropriate with the topic, and up to date The last one, to overcome the method problem, the students suggested the teacher should apply various methods in teaching English speaking The instruments used in her study were questionnaire and interview The study “Speaking problems faced by the English department students of Syiah Kuala University” of Hendra Heriansyah in 2012 discussed the difficulties and causes perceived by English Department students of Syiah Kuala University in learning speaking and the efforts made by them to overcome their difficulties From both observation and interview, this study revealed that all students encountered various difficulties in English speaking ability The prevalent problem faced by the students was ‘lack of vocabulary’, while ‘being afraid of making mistakes’ was the prime cause of problem which hindered them to speak The students had striven to cope with their problems in learning speaking, but their attempts had not been yet ample and successful Zhengdong Gan carried out the research “Understanding L2 Speaking Problems: Implications for ESL Curriculum Development in a Teacher Training Institution in Hong Kong” in 2012 This paper reports the result of a study that aimed to identify the problems with oral English skills of ESL students at a tertiary teacher training institution in Hong Kong The study, by way of semi-structured interview, addressed the gap in our understanding of the difficulties ESL students encountered in their oral English development in the context of a Bachelor of Education (English Language) programme.Insufficient opportunities to speak English in lectures and tutorials, lack of a focus on language improvement in the curriculum, and the inputpoor environment for spoken communication in English outside class apparently contributed to a range of problems that closely related to the sociocultural, institutional and interpersonal contexts in which individual ESL students found themselves The results of the study lead readers to question the effectiveness of the knowledge- and pedagogy-based ESL teacher training curriculum They also point to a need to incorporate a sufficiently intensive language improvement component in the current teacher preparation program There are also a lot of studies and researches conducted by Vietnamese students and teachers In 2018, Vo Phuong Quyen, Pham Thi My Nga and Ho Thao Nguyen did research into “Challenges to speaking skills encountered by English-majored students: A story of one Vietnamese university in the Mekong Delta” This study is to investigate challenges of speaking skills faced by English-majored freshmen in a Vietnamese university The data obtained from the questionnaire with 131 students, individual interviews with lecturers, and class observation The findings show that English freshmen faced both internal and external challenges, especially the latter ones regarding the limitation of English speaking environment and extracurricular activities Possible measures are proposed to tackle such challenges in helping students speak English more effectively The research “Factors affecting students’ speaking performance at Le Thanh Hien High School” of Nguyen Hoang Tuan and Tran Ngoc Mai was to investigate the  Many learners lack the necessary vocabulary to get their meaning across, and consequently, they cannot keep the interaction going Inadequate strategic competence and communication competence can be another reason as well for not being able to keep the interaction going  Some learners also lack the motivation to speak English  The lack of a target language environment can be considered another problem, which of course results in a lack of involvement in real-life situations  Not allowing learners to participate in discourse can be another reason for speaking difficulties 3.3 Summary In brief, thanks to giving the survey questionnaire and data analysis we understand the difficulties that the first-year English major students encounter in speaking process They have to overcome a lot of obstacles in their way of practicing English speaking skills Appropriate support and guidance in the right way would ensure their success in mastering English speaking skills 28 CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS If we think of the period in our lives when we learned to speak our first language, and the moment in which we started to make huge efforts to speak our foreign language we find significant differences In the former case, we may have fond memories of what our parents told us; and in the latter, it suddenly becomes a frustrating experience that seems to bring imperfect results To overcome these difficulties, we need a lot of effort, time 4.1 For English faculty and teachers at Thuongmai University Many people regard speaking as the most important skill they can acquire, and they assess their progress in terms of their accomplishments in spoken communication Hence teaching speaking is very important but very hard work Firstly, the objectives of the curriculum in the English faculty language should emphasize communication more than literature, and increase the numbers of English contact hours Nearly all of the schools in Viet Nam focus mainly on measuring students’ lexicogrammatical knowledge As a result, students just concentrate on writing and reading skills to pass their exams Secondly, the English faculty’ students at Thuongmai University should be encouraged to use English as much as possible in their communication at school and home, if possible At university by activating English conversation club inside the campus as students’ activity to develop speaking skills and students can share and talk about anything in English during that time, whereas at home by encouraging them to listen to English programs and movies on TV or the Internet as much as possible Thirdly, a discussion between the English instructor and his/ her students in and out of the language class should be in the English language The language instructor should use a variety of strategies such as verbal problem-solving, role-playing, presentation, intonation, and body language in order to encourage his/her students to speak the English language fluently and accurately in front of his/ her colleagues There is a need to use effective modern technology such as videos, smartphones, and computers to teach English Thanks to the advancement of modern technology, new and effective teaching methods are being developed Teachers and professors are now using different teaching methods such as social media, blogs, and podcasts Many educational institutions are now using web conferencing technologies Teachers are also using some universal tools to meet the needs of all types of students Many learners have special needs, and it is no longer difficult to teach those students 29 Tools such as a text-to-speech converter, voice recognition, volume control, and translator have made teaching and learning fun It is also a difficulty faced by the teacher because the quantity of the students was too many The teacher felt difficult to manage the learning speaking English To solve the problems English faculty should decrease the number of students in the speaking class (not to exceed 25 students) If we think of the period in our lives when we learned to speak our first language, and the moment in which we started to make huge efforts to speak our second/foreign language we find significant differences In the former case, we may have fond memories of what our parents told us; and in the latter, it suddenly becomes a frustrating experience that seems to bring imperfect results If we think of the period in our lives when we learned to speak our first language, and the moment in which we started to make huge efforts to speak our second/foreign language we find significant differences In the former case, we may have fond memories of what our parents told us; and in the latter, it suddenly becomes a frustrating experience that seems to bring imperfect results If we think of the period in our lives when we learned to speak our first language, and the moment in which we started to make huge efforts to speak our second/foreign language we find significant differences In the former case, we may have fond memories of what our parents told us; and in the latter, it suddenly becomes a frustrating experience that seems to bring imperfect results If we think of the period in our lives when we learned to speak our first language, and the moment in which we started to make huge efforts to speak our second/foreign language we find significant differences In the former case, we may have fond memories of what our parents told us; and in the latter, it suddenly becomes a frustrating experience that seems to bring imperfect results To ensure the balance of the time for each sub-skill, teacher should model the activities This is the essential preparation to help students develop their speaking 30 skills in term of form and content Besides, the activities designed must be suitable for students of different proficiency levels The quality of students in a class is rarely similar, they may have different achievements although they are taught in the same environments Learners also need opportunities for personalization This means it is also very useful if students have chances to practice in their own way and this will help students to remember the terms given longer and understand them more quickly As a consequence, students may express themselves and experience success They can see how well they practice and see the improvement by the peering of teachers After giving students time to practise, teacher should have some feedback to help them evaluate their achievements In this case, students should notice the differences between mistakes and errors Some mistakes that students unawarely make can be ignored, however, the errors system must be corrected and addressed then students can avoid these errors later It is possible to say giving feedback is an art Teacher must address the good and the bad point of students and the thing that students have not done well yet can be corrected smoothly to save their face By giving feedback, teachers may have positive or negative effects on students’ attitude Discussions are probably the most common activity in the oral skills class A selected topic is given to the students through a reading, a listening passage or a videotape and is then, in pairs or groups, they discuss the chosen topic in order to come up with a solution Students will be more involved and motivated to participate in discussions if they choose the topics in relation to their likes and dislikes Another common activity in the oral skills class is the prepared speech Topics for speeches will be different depending on the level of the students and the focus of the class For example, asking students to “tell us about an unforgettable experience you had” allows them to talk about something personally meaningful while at the same time encourages narration and description A third major speaking activity type is the role play, which is particularly suitable for practicing the sociocultural variations in speech acts, such as complimenting, complaining Depending on the level of the students, role plays can be performed from prepared scripts, created from a set of prompts and expressions or written using and consolidating knowledge gained from instruction or discussion of the speech act and its variations prior to the role plays themselves Many English teachers claim that the best way to acquire speaking skills is by interacting This aim is fulfilled by means of communicative language teaching and collaborative learning Communicative language teaching is based on real-life 31 situations that require communication Following this method in ESL classes, there will be opportunities for the students to communicate with their partners in the target language As it has been previously said, speaking is usually the most problematic skill to teach because, apart from its difficulty, teachers not have much time to concentrate on this skill 4.2 For first-year English-major students English is now the international language So it is very important to learn English well We should study English in the correct way so that we can make the most of the time we spend learning English Discovering ways to improve their English speaking is a problem which baffles many students There are many ways to improve English The key factor in the success of learning speaking is the students themselves It is suggested that the students be braver to speak, without feeling afraid of making mistakes They should be creative to find their own ways to develop their speaking ability The students should use every opportunity to practice English in and out of class They may make commitments with classmates to use English as much as possible in their daily communications Moreover, students need support from their environment which includes friends and teachers to practice their English Inside and outside the classroom with enjoyable facilities and appropriate learning techniques It will be good if they have an English club handled by teachers or students who are good in English to facilitate students to improve their English English routine interaction inside and outside the classroom, hopefully, students can use their English and they finally speak English fluently In addition, having a conversation in English is the best way to improve speaking skills If students have opportunities to talk with English native speakers, it would be great, but even talking with English learning friends also works a lot Nowadays learners can easily find a person to talk with through the internet as well and we should try to talk with native English-speaking, people who will give you conversation practice Don't be afraid to speak, afraid to be laughed at If we never learn to take risks to open mouths, it will be impossible to improve speaking skills There is no reason to be ashamed of speaking poor English If we can learn from our mistakes, failure can become part of our success In fact, the secret of success may come from failure Another tip for being confident while speaking is well planning for what to say about the topic Once students can prepare a careful speech that presents accurate, it 32 will be a good start to gain success in speaking Good preparation gives the first-year English major students the confidence to announce the topic, present their ideas and interest the audience Students can get a huge amount of information source concerned to the topic by searching through media By knowing enough about the topic, it creates abilities for students to answer questions about it and encourages audience response Thus students can improve their audience by involving in the discussion and forget their feeling of ‘’butterfly in the stomach”, feeling of anxiety while speaking Grammar plays an important role not only in academic test but also in the activities of communication With the main purpose of conveying and exchange ideas, speaking will become more effective if speakers know how to use grammar accurately and fluently The progress of improving grammar when speaking, in my opinion, students practice reading grammar aloud at home each day, the first-year Englishmajor students need only 15 minutes for reading the sentences in correct grammar rules After that, they can speak with correct sentence grammar without looking at them Gradually, students can speak with grammar accuracy and create the habit of choosing the best grammar structures for uttering instead of the not-sound-good ones with grammatical mistakes Because learning to pronounce a second language means building up new pronunciation habits and overcoming the bias of the first language Therefore, it needs to be seriously considered and practiced regularly by learners to reach the level that speakers can interest listeners by their pronunciation To have good pronunciation, the first-year English students should have own ways to practice pronouncing English, such as listening to native speakers and imitate the sound with the same stress, pronunciation, and intonation Then, try to pronounce and speak naturally Besides improving pronunciation and grammar, students need to have a good vocabulary size to speak naturally and effectively Vocabulary is a vital aspect in language because it appears in every skill of language: listening, speaking, reading and writing By considering new words in context and revise them regularly The first-year English major students will remember them clearly for a long time and are able to achieve a large vocabulary The last recommendation is improving reading skills because reading is considered an effective activity to achieve speaking competence It involves interpreting meaning from text by decoding words, understanding vocabulary, and creating connections between these and the readers’ prior knowledge and experience Reading improves learners’ vocabulary, command on the language and communication skills, as they regularly come across new words, phrases, idioms, and writing styles 33 Thanks to building reading comprehension skills, students can have background knowledge and culture to express their ideas and opinions when speaking In conclusion, there is no short cut to learning English Persistence is the major secret of success If you want to use English as your native language, don't ever give up trying to achieve your goal If we are prepared to work hard at it, we will be successful in the end 34 CONCLUSION It is irrefutable that English is of significant value in our life Learning speaking English is an urgent need for everyone However, there are many difficulties in learning English in Vietnam With the hope of finding out the ways to improve the learning of speaking skills to the first-year English students at Thuongmai University, I carried out this study  Summary of the research As mentioned earlier, this study aimed to investigate difficulties that the firstyear English-major students commit when learning speaking skills Then, the paper focuses on giving the background of speaking skills, speaking learning strategies and speaking teaching methods Based on the research findings, it can be concluded that the students of English Faculty at TMU faced some problems in speaking The problems that most students faced in speaking was ’having a lack of vocabulary’, ‘not being confident to speak’ The cause of problems most students faced was ‘being afraid of criticism’ There were two kinds of problems faced by the students in speaking that the researcher found in this study, namely, linguistic problems and psychological problems Basing on the results of the study, some recommendations were made for both the teachers and the students at Thuongmai University  Limitations of the study Because of limited time and knowledge, mistakes are certainly unavoidable Although the study has certain strong points such as collection methods, namely interviews, survey questionnaires for students, it is obvious that the study has got a number of short-comings First of all, due to the limited time, experience to some extent, the researcher could not conduct other methods such as classroom observation which can make the obtained results more reliable Secondly, due to the limitation of the scope of the study, the researcher only focuses on first-year students in the Faculty of English which account for a small number of students at Thuongmai University Therefore, the result of the study cannot be generalized  Suggestions for further studies Moreover, for further studies, to get better results, the researcher should invite more participants in other universities Together with using survey questionnaires and interviews, observation is also necessary to get more persuasive conclusions Besides, the researcher could not cover all the aspects of difficulties In addition, the techniques suggested in this research are selected from different reliable but limited sources In spite of the mentioned limitations, I hope that this exploratory research will contribute 35 to the better situation of learning English listening skills in English Faculty, Thuongmai University Once again, would like to express many of my thanks to my supervisors Mrs Phạm Thị Xuân Hà for their wholehearted help in my study and also to all my teachers, my friends, and my family members, who have encouraged me to accomplish this graduation paper 36 REFERENCES Al- Abri, K (2008), Teachers’evaluation of EFL textbooks used in the Omani basic education schools ELT Curriculum and Methodology, Sultan Qaboos University Al-Lawati, M.(1995), A diagnostic study of the difficulties encountered by Omani secondary school students in their oral production of English ELT Curriculum and Methodology, Sultan Qaboos University Ambu, &Saidi,B (1997), Issues in teaching English speaking in foreign language classroom:A questionnaire study in Oman ELT Curriculum and Methodology, Sultan Qaboos University Arnold J, Brown HD (1999), A map of the terrain In J Arnold (Ed.), Affective method in language leaning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 8: 1-24 Athena, Tera (2004), Students non-linguistic problem in learning English speaking at SMP Batu State University Of Malang (UNM), Unpublished thesis Bachman L, Palmer AS (1996), Language Testing in Practice Oxford: Oxford University Bailey, Kathleen M and Lance Savage (1994), New Ways in Teaching Speaking Illinois: Pantagraph Printing Bailey (1994), New ways in teaching speaking Alexandria, Virginia : Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Language (TESOL) Brown HD (2001), Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy White Plains, NY: Longman, 269 10 Brown, H.D (1994), Principles of language learning and teaching Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents 11 Brown, H.D (2001), Teaching by Principles New York: Wendy Wolf 12 Bueno, A., Madrid, D., & McLaren, N (2006), TEFL in Secondary Education Granada: Editorial Universidad de Granada 13 Bygate, M (1987), Speaking Oxford: Oxford University Press 14 Dil, Y (2009), EFL Learners’ communication obstacles Electronic Journal of Social Sciences, 8(29), 84-100 15 Doff A (1998), Teach English: A training Course for Teacher Cambridge University Press 16 DuBrin A (2008), Essentials of Management Cengage Learning, Ohio 17 Gan, Z (2012), Understanding L2 Speaking Problems: Implications for ESL Curriculum Development in a Teacher Training Institution in Hong Kong Australian Journal of Teacher Education 18 Gardner RC (2006), The social-educational model of second language acquisition: A research paradigm EUROSLA Yearbook,6 (1):237-260 19 Ishrat Aamer Qureshi (2017), The Importance of Speaking Skills for EFL Learners, Alama Iqbal University Retrieved from: ishrataamer@hotmail.com 20 Khamkhien, A (2011), Teaching English speaking and English speaking test in Thai context English Language Teaching, 3, 1: 184-190 21 Larsen-Freeman D (2001), Grammar teaching In R Carter & D Nunan (Eds.) The Cambridge guide to teaching English to speakers of other languages Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 34-41 22 Latha BM (2012), Teaching English as a Second Language: Factors Affecting Learning Speaking Skills International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT), 1(7):1-62 23 Levelt, W J M (1989), Speaking: From intention to articulation Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 24 Lindsay, Cora and Paul Knight (2006), Learning and Teaching English, A course for Teachers Newyork: Oxford University press 25 Littlewood, W (1981), Communicative Language Teaching: An Introduction Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 26 MacIntyre PD, Clément R, Dörnyei Z, Noels KA (1998), Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in a L2: A situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation The Modern Language Journal.; 82(4):545-562 27 Nation LSP (2001), Learning vocabulary in another language Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Times New Roman Times New Roman,129 28 Petty G (1998), Teaching today England: Stanley Thornes 29 Rabab’ah, G., 2005, Communication problems facing Arab learners of English Journal of Language and Learning 3(1), 180-197 30 Shumin K (2002), Factors to consider: Developing adult EFL student speaking abilities In J C Richards &W A Renandya (Eds.), Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice Cambridge 2002, 206 31 Shumin K (1997), Factors to Consider: Developing Adult EFL Students' Speaking Abilities English Teaching Forum 32 Tanveer, M (2007), Investigation of the factors that cause language anxiety for esl/efl learners in learning speaking skills and the influence it casts on communication in the target language, Dissertation, University of Glasgow 33 Tuan, N & Mai, T (2015), Factors Affecting Students’ Speaking Performance at LE ThanhHien High School, Asian Journal of Educational Research, 3(2), 8-23 34 Ur, Penny (1996) A Course in Language Teaching Practice and Theory Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 35 Vo Phuong Quyen, Pham Thi My Nga, Ho Thao Nguyen (2018) A story of one Vietnamese university in the Mekong Delta Can Tho University, Journal of Science Vol 54, 38-44 36 Widdowson, H.G (1978), Teaching Language as Communication New York : Oxford University Press 37 Zhang YL, Jia GZ (2006), Anxiety in foreign language classroom CELEA Journal, 29(6):96-103 APPENDIX Questionnaire This survey questionnaire is designed for my graduation paper namely: “An investigation into the causes of difficulties in learning English speaking skills encountered by first year English majors at Faculty of English” In completing these questions, please choose the answer by circling the letter next to your choice, ticking off the items in a checklist or expressing your idea in the blanks All your personalinformation as well as your answers will be kept confident and not be used for the other purposes Personal information: How old are you? ……………………………………………………………… How long have you been learning English? A Less than years B years C More than years I.Your opinion about studying speaking skill In your opinion, English speaking skills is……………………………… A Very difficult B Difficult C Quite difficult D Not difficult E Others………………………………………………………………… Do you like English speaking lessons at class? A I like very much B I like C I don’t mind D I don’t like What you think about the importance of English speaking skills? A Very important B Important C Quite important D Not important E Others………………………………………………………………… II Difficulties in learning English speaking skills How often you…? Always Speak English Face English speaking problems 10 Often Sometimes Rarely How often you… when leaning English speaking skills? Always Often Sometimes Rarely Face problems related to vocabulary Face problems related to grammar Face problems related to pronunciation While practising speaking English, you: A Feel shy B Are worried about making mistakes C Are fearful of criticism or losing face D Cannot think of anything to say E Have no motivation to express themselves F.Others: …………………………………………………………… What you think about speaking class format? A Very good B Good C Not too bad D Bad III Activities for improving English speaking skills 10 How often you… to study English speaking skills? Always Often Use internet (Youtube,…) Use television Join English speaking club Speak with a partner Practise by yourself Thank you for your cooperation! 11 Sometimes Rarely APPENDIX Interview questions What you think about the importance of English speaking skills? What you think of the difficulty of English listening skills? What are the causes of speaking difficulty that students face while they speak? Thank you for your cooperation! 12 ... also invited for the interview When the data collection was accomplished, the data analysis was initiated 1.6.6 Data annalysis and statistics All of the information gathered through questionnaire... that when someone can speak a language it means that he can carry on a conversation reasonably competently In addition, he states that the benchmark of a successful acquisition of language is almost... to one’s professional aspirations Speaking skills can also enhance one’s personal life 2.2 Factors Affecting Speaking Skills While speaking reveals the knowledge of language and society that a