THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY
ENGLISH FACULTY
------

GRADUATION PAPER
Topic:
COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS OF ENGLISH –
MAJOR FRESHMEN AT THUONG MAI UNIVERSITY

Supervisor:

Pham Thi Xuan Ha (M.A)

Student:

Trinh Thi Thuong

Class:

K52N3

Student Code: 16D170186

HANOI, 2019


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my
supervisor, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lan Phuong, for her guidance and encouragement
during my study. I am very grateful for being accepted as her student. This study
could be completed on schedule thank to her value advices and support.

Beside, I would also like to express my sincere thanks to all teachers in
English faculty of Thuongmai University, especially Mrs. Nguyen Thi Xuan Phuong
and Mrs. Phan Tu Lan spent their time answering my interview questions to help
me in my data collection.
Additionally, I would like to express my thanks to my friends for their helps
and encouragements to help me complete my study.
Especially, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my family,
especially my parents and my brother for their continuous support. They are always
my motivation that help me overcome all difficulties and challenges in life.
Student
Hao
Nguyen Thi Thanh Hao

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ABSTRACT
Nowadays, speaking is one of the most important skills have when students
learn English. In particular, completing speaking skills will help students have
better communication skills as well as give students great advantages in the future.
Therefore, the research topic: Common errors in English speaking lessons of
English –major freshmen at Thuong Mai University are necessary to improve the
speaking skills of English students of ThuongMai University.
This study aims to list the errors that freshmen students often encounter when
practicing speaking English. Data in the study was collected by 20 freshmen of
English department at ThuongMai University. Research results show that students
often encounter problems with grammar, psychology and learning environment
when practicing speaking English. In addition, the research also provides
techniques, solutions and suggestions for students and teachers, hoping that those
solutions will help freshman ThuongMai University.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS
HANOI, 2019...........................................................................................................1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.......................................................................................i
ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................iii
LIST OF DIAGRAM...............................................................................................v
LIST OF ABBREVIATION...................................................................................vi
CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY......................................................1
1.1. Rationale...........................................................................................................1
1.2. Previous study...................................................................................................2
1.3. Aims of the study..............................................................................................5
1.4. Research subjects..............................................................................................5
1.5. Scope of the study.............................................................................................7
1.6. Research methodology......................................................................................7
1.7. Organization of the study.................................................................................8
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW...............................................................9
2.1. Definitions of speaking.....................................................................................9
2.1.1. Purpose of speaking........................................................................................9
2.2. Definition of errors.........................................................................................10
2.2.1. Types of speaking errors...............................................................................10
2.3. Technique........................................................................................................12
CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH FINDINGS.....................13
3.1. General Introduction of English Department of Thuong Mai University. .13
3.2. Settings............................................................................................................13
3.3. Participants.....................................................................................................13
3.4. Data collection.................................................................................................14

3.5 . Situation of speaking English of students at ThuongMai University.........14
3.6. The results of questionnaire and data analysis.............................................15
3.7. Main findings and discussion.........................................................................25
3.7.1. . Difficulties in English speaking of students at ThuongMai University.....25

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3.7.2 The solutions for the difficulties in speaking English of English –major
freshmen at Thuong Mai University......................................................................25
CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS........................27
4.1. Recommendations...........................................................................................27
4.1.1. Recommendations for students at ThuongMai University..........................27
4.1.2. Recommendations for teachers at ThuongMai University..........................29
4.2. Limitations and suggestions for further researches.....................................30
CONCLUSION......................................................................................................31

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LIST OF DIAGRAM
Figure 3.1: The amount of time students learnt English..........................................15
Figure 3.2:English practice time of students............................................................16
Figure 3.3: The importance of speaking English skills in ThuongMai University...17
Figure 3.4: The importance factors of speaking English skills................................18
Figure 3.5: Common mistakes when speaking English...........................................19
Figure 3.6: Common pronunciation error when speaking English..........................20
Figure 3.7: Common pronunciation error when speaking English..........................21
Figure 3.8: Students opinions about speaking exercises..........................................22
Figure 3.9: Students opinions about speaking exercises..........................................23

Figure 3.10: Students’ solutions to improve their English speaking skill................24

.

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LIST OF ABBREVIATION
EFL: English as a foreign language
DNTU: Dong Nai Technology University
FELTE: Faculty of English Language Teacher Education
ULIS: University of Language and International Studies
VNU: Vietnam National University
TMU: Thuongmai University
SL: Source language
TL: Target language

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CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
1.1. Rationale
In modern times, English has been playing a huge role in the development of
the world. English is one of the most widely used languages today. Currently,
outside the UK, more than 60 countries choose English as the official language, out
of about 7.5 billion people worldwide, up to 1.5 billion of the population speak
English, more than 400 million people over the world. The whole world speaks
English as their first language - according to Wikipedia. English is now not only a
language but also a bridge for community links and social relationships. Moreover,
in the age of globalism, "we live today, interdependently. Between countries creates

global language demand and no language qualifies for this well than English
(Abousenna, 1995). English is also a key for Vietnamese businesses to cooperate
with foreign businesses more easily. In fact, English has become an important asset
for people who looking for a job in business, industry or technology in Vietnam?
Most companies and corporations now require employees to be fluent in English,
need professional knowledge and foreign language to work with foreign partners.
Recognizing the importance of English, Vietnam's education system has
turned English into a compulsory subject from the elementary school years and
university. Students will learn 4 skills (listening - speaking - reading – writing).
In particular, speaking is the most important skill and also extremely important
when communicating in daily life. Linguist Khamkhien said: "Speaking is one of
the most important skills when learning a foreign language, including English. It is
a means for learners to communicate with others, achieve certain goals or express,
opinions, intentions, hopes and perspectives. In general, students of ThuongMai
University in particular still face many difficulties and make many mistakes when
learning English, especially speaking skills.
As a student of English major at ThuongMai University, the writer
understands the problems of freshmen students when learning and practicing
speaking skills. During the learning process, the writer also encountered similar
problems, such as: grammatical errors, poor expression, or even afraid to express

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opinions in English. Because of these reasons, the writer decided to research the
topic: Common errors in English speaking lessons of English –major freshmen at
Thuong Mai University. This study will identify errors in the English speaking
process, to help students solve problems and improve their English speaking skills.
As a result, learning will become easier
1.2. Previous study

There are many documents that shown the problems of English speaking
skills, including both domestic and foreign. For foreign documents, one of the most
striking and detailed study belongs to Shiamaa Torky (2006): The Effectiveness of
a Task- Based Instruction program in Developing the English Language
Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students. This is one of the most scientific and
detailed studies.
This study aims to determine the importance of speaking skills. Besides, the
research also shows the necessary skills in practicing speaking skills of secondary
students. Not only that, the research also proposes appropriate strategies to build
and design a curriculum suitable for developing speaking skills for students
The content of the study is very detailed and scientific. The study came up
with very specific figures on English speaking status in Egypt, specifically the
following:
“1- 88% of teachers do not have adequate knowledge of the speaking skills
necessary for students. Most of them focus on grammar, sentence structure and
pronunciation neglect and other important secondary skills such as, organizing
coherent discourse, conversation management, etc.
2 - Students are also not encouraged to plan speeches activities included in the
student's course book, teachers intervened more than once to correct grammar and
pronunciation errors. Similarly, teachers do not give students any opportunity to
self-assess their speaking performance.
3- 78% of these high school teachers expressed a need for better teaching
strategies and methods to help increase student and motivation
Willingness to actively participate in speaking tasks and thus improve

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their speaking skills. ”
Not only that, the study also outlines solutions for students to improve

speaking skills from social interaction tasks, such as: Social interactive tasks: These
tasks are those involving a relatively detectable degree of role transparency.
Examples of these tasks are role-play, drama, scenario, and interviews.
a) Task -based role plays:
Role plays fictional to all sorts of tasks where learners imagine themselves in a
situation outside; sometimes playing the role of someone other than themselves
(Dinapoli, 2000 and Liao, 2001).The most critical element to consider when
designing role-play tasks is that they should satisfy communicative tasks criteria
especially the focus on a certain outcome to be achieved at the end of the task. In
other words, role play tasks should include a problem solving element (Willis,
1996).
(b) Interview tasks:
Interviews can encourage students to share personal information of different
kinds. This includes: anecdotes (talking about terrible accidents), personal
reminiscences (talking about past regrets of doing or not doing something),
attitudes, opinions, preferences (talking about favorite places to go) and personal
reactions (what makes you annoyed / stressed / happy and so on) (Martin, 1997).
Interviews encourage students to use the necessary question-and-answer
structures. With advanced learners, language functions like asking for confirmation
(Did you mean that ...? Do you really think that ...?) hesitating (well, let me see ...),
contradicting and interrupting (hold on a minute) can be practiced as well (Dinapoli,
2000).
This research has brought a lot of positive results. First, research has shown
the effectiveness of using direct interaction tasks during speaking practice. These
interactive tasks can increase students' confidence during practice. In addition, the
research also points out that instructional strategies for students based on practical
tasks will be more effective. In addition, the study also provides students with clear
instructions before speaking practice, which helps students to be better prepared and
improve their speaking skills. This is consistent with the results of other studies


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such as Slade & Gardner (1993), Kubota (1995), House (1996), and Bejarano
(1997)
One of the other impressive foreign studies is by Nadeem Khan and Arshard
Ali (2010): Improving the speaking ability in English: The students ’perspective.
This is one of the researches based on student's perspective. The study was created
with the goal of helping students see English as a subject, a language category, not
to help students get high scores in exams.
The main content of the study clearly stated the view that teachers should
provide students with a friendly learning environment, and encourage students to
ask teachers questions. The reason is because student opinions are so important
right now, because today is the media age, student opinions will also help teachers a
lot.
By surveying 40 random students, the study found that both teachers and
students greatly influenced the development of students' speaking skills.
Specifically, about questions that teachers speak English most of the time, 17
(42.5%) student said "Yes" "written 23 (57.5%) said" NO "in this connection. 18
(45%) students replied that they are responsible for the poor speaking ability, while
22 (55%) students said "NO" in this regard. Teachers were the main cause of poor
speaking ability 15 (37.5%) students said "YES" but 25 (62.5%) said "NO" in this
relation. 25 (62.5%) students were of the opinion that teachers and students were
equally responsible for the poor speaking ability while 15 (37.5%) did not think so.
Finally, the study suggests that students should be motivated regularly, as
teachers should not discourage students. Teachers should encourage students to
listen to news sites such as BBC or CNN to improve their speaking knowledge, and
even put hot news on the test to increase student thinking.
For studies in Vietnam, one of the very detailed analysis documents that the
author has referenced is the study of Truong Tran Minh Nhat (2018): The current

status of speaking English and proposing some self – training activities outside
class for technical students at Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City. Truong
Tran Minh Nhat's research was created with the goal of analyzing the English-

4


speaking situation of engineering students, while also proposing some self-training
activities outside the classroom.
Regarding the main content, the research shows the reality of English speaking
of students at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry. By surveying 160 students,
the majority of students were freshmen, second year and third year students, the
study showed that students now assess that speaking skills are skills that students
have a lot of difficulties with. The study also pointed out the causes and factors
affecting students' speaking skills: little vocabulary base, the ability to use grammar
flexibly, the training has not been focused and regularly, ...
With the above figures, the Study has proposed some activities for students to
help students improve their English speaking level such as: actual communication
in public places, participation. English clubs, discussion with friends on Englishspeaking forums, etc. The study also draws the conclusion that English speaking
skills need regular and long-term practice to produce results. Good for students.
Students also need confidence and patience to communicate a lot to be able to
improve their skills. Research also shows that English speaking skills are very
important and necessary not only in the learning process but also a great deal in job
interview and after graduation.
1.3. Aims of the study
This study contains the following purposes:
- Understand the basic knowledge of speaking
- Find out the situation of learning to speak English at the ThuongMai
University
- Find out the common mistakes in the English speaking process of freshmen

at the ThuongMai University
- Find out the appropriate skills to learn and practice speaking lessons
1.4. Research subjects
In the study, the subjects studied were common grammatical errors made by
students of the English department of speaking skills at the ThuongMai University.
Specifically, students will make the following common mistakes:
- Wrong word order for question

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- Countable / Uncountable Mix-ups
- Word Choice
- Wrong Preposition
- Using Inappropriate Language
- Lack of body language
- Lack of confidence
These are all common mistakes that students make during speaking English.
But this error all stems from the following causes:
- The first is lack of motivation to study. Most students now still focus more
on studying grammar to get high scores on tests. Because of that, students are not so
important in speaking skills, since they do not spend much time practicing speaking.
Even in cases where speaking practice is only practiced in class, with the
guidance of teachers. Therefore, there is no time for practicing outside the
classroom, leading to the fact that the skills are not practiced regularly
- The second reason is that the current students lack vocabulary as well as no
effective practice methods which lead to not knowing how to apply the learned
knowledge into practice. Since then students will become bored with English, do
not want to practice speaking English anymore
From the above reasons, the study proposes the following solutions to improve

students' knowledge as well as to help them practice speaking more effectively:
First, teachers need to motivate students to invest more time in speaking skills.
Because teachers also make a big contribution to student learning, teachers also
need to help students learn to speak English more effectively.
Secondly, the class needs to organize more group practice activities such as
work group, work in pair, games, presentation. These activities will help students
not be afraid to speak English, moreover also help students practice speaking more
effectively.
Thirdly, encourage students to use English speaking software. Nowadays it is
a technological age, English-speaking software is no longer rare, students can
download English software by themselves to practice. Moreover, these software are

6


also highly flexible, students can practice anytime, anywhere: at school, at the
company, at home,...
1.5. Scope of the study
To conduct this study, the writer randomly sampled 20 students (10 men and
10 women), who were selected within the English department of the ThuongMai
University. In this study, a questionnaire consisting of 10 questions was created to
evaluate and collect data. These data were collected through the assessments of 20
students. The study was conducted from April 1 to April 26. Through this study, the
writer hopes to identify obstacles to learning and practicing English-speaking skills
of ThuongMai University students, as well as providing solutions to help students
solve their difficulties.
1.6. Research methodology
Data collection tool
The study was conducted within the scope of ThuongMai University, the
writer-selected method is qualitative research method, which is a combination of the

following methods: Questionnaire
Questionnaire: The questionnaire will have 10 questions for research
purposes. Questions will be prepared in advance and will be answered in online
form. The reason this method is implemented because if follow the online method,
it will gather information faster than the question is written on paper. The
questionnaire is considered as one of the common tools to collect data in research,
the questionnaire aims to understand students' attitudes and problems with speaking
skills. Besides, the questionnaire also shows the difficulties of students with
speaking skills.
Data analysis
The accuracy of research is the highest goal, which is why researchers decided
to apply both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Quantitative analysis: Researchers use questionnaire to collect data and
numbers, analyze charts and diagrams. Depending on the information of each chart,
research is conducted and an evaluation of the results is made to accurately rate the
errors made by students.

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1.7. Organization of the study
The study is divided into the following 4 chapters:
Chapter 1: Overview of the study
This chapter deals with a number of key sections including theoretical
background, references to previous studies, research objectives, research subjects,
scope of research, research methods and research organization.
Chapter 2: Literature review
This chapter will provide a theoretical foundation for speaking skills
including: Defining errors, basic errors in communication that students often make.
In addition, the chapter will distribute researcher's discussion, offering

different techniques to summarize the database for research results. Specifically, this
chapter is an in-depth review of the literature in which a theoretical background is
relevant and an evaluation of studies related to common errors.
Chapter 3: Research findings
This chapter contains basic information about the context, the object of study,
the tools used to collect data and the process of data collection and data analysis,
results and discussion, research results is displayed.
Chapter 4: Recommendations and suggestions
This chapter includes a summary of the main views and limitations of the
study and recommendations for further research

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Definitions of speaking
There are many written and spoken definitions given by researchers. For
example, Brown (1994) and Burns & Joyce (1997) stated that: Speaking is an
interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving
and processing information.
The form and meaning of speaking depends on the circumstances, the purpose
of the speaking, the speaking experience, and the participants in the speaking. Even
according to Burns & Joyce, speaking will have its own skills and conventions,
different from writing. Speaking also requires the implementer to create specific
points of the language such as grammar, pronunciation or vocabulary. Moreover,
speaking also requires the need to know when, why and how to create language, ...
On the other hand, there are ideas that A speaker's skills and speech habits have an
impact on the success of any exchange (Van Duzer, 1997)
Based on the ideas above, a definition of speaking skills can be formed.
Speaking is a language production process, done between two or more individuals

together.
Speaking is also a process that is carried out to convey, raise opinions and
opinions. Speaking skills will also have different rules and regulations than writing
skills. It depends on many factors such as interaction, body language, rich
vocabulary and accurate pronunciation. A good speaker synthesizes this array of
skills and knowledge to succeed in a given speech act.
2.1.1. Purpose of speaking
Speaking plays a very important role in everyday life, it helps the speaker to
convey information as well as express the wishes of the speakers, showing the
speaker's persuasive ability. Here are the 2 main purposes of speaking
- Notice: this is how speakers use data and information to help listeners
understand and remember information
- Speech: the main purpose of a speech is to persuade the listener, who needs
the listener to agree with the speaker's opinion

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In general, speaking is one of the important skills, it is also essential. If there
are too many mistakes in speaking, the speaker cannot be proficient in using words,
nor can he even express his purpose and opinions.
2.2. Definition of errors
There are many definitions of errors in Corder (1973). He pointed out the
difference between error and mistake. The error will reflect the knowledge gap of
the language user and the learner will not be able to fix these errors themselves. In
addition, mistake will often occur when learners lose performance, possibly due to
fatigue or the learners themselves unable to process information. Of course learners
will know that they themselves are wrong and can correct mistakes themselves
The simple example is when we compare language learners with native
speakers. Indigenous peoples will not make error but they will have mistake. And

language learners will make mistakes in the communication process
Corder (1981) Corder (1981) said that there are two kinds of errors, which
are systematic and non- systematic errors. Non-system error is an error
related to performance due to memory, or to psychological fatigue. As for system
errors that indicate a lack of or linguistic deficiencies, they are also evidence of a
learner's ability to learn a new language.
In addition, Ellis (1997) also explained that errors reflect the fact that learners
cannot distinguish between true and false. The error is also an example that reflects
the learner's ability in language learning
2.2.1. Types of speaking errors
2.2.1.1 Wrong word order for question
This is a fairly common mistake for learners in general. This error will make
the speaker's sentence easily misunderstood. This type of error will cause the user's
sentence to turn into an incomplete and very confusing sentence
Example: He played yesterday football
This is the wrong expression and makes the sentence very difficult to
understand, correction should be: He played football yesterday

10


2.2.1.2 Countable/Uncountable Mixups
This is a common mistake when students have not distinguished the difference
and the use of countable and uncountable nouns. Common mistakes occur with
much, many, a little and a few, and less and fewer
For example: I have a few money
2.2.1.3 Word Choice
There are many words in English that learners easily confuse and often use
wrong such as fun and funny or watch, see, and look
For example: I looked TV

2.2.1.4 Wrong Preposition
The most common question is which correct preposition to use: on, at, or in?
Learners often use wrong prepositions in many cases, this is something to avoid
because it will cause misunderstandings in communication.
For example: I don't care for your opinion
This is a wrong sentence, correct correction should be: I don't care about your
opinion
2.2.1.5 Using Inappropriate Language
This is a basic error but also very important. Learners need to understand the
spoken context in order to come up with the right words. For example, when going
out to party, it can be comfortable in communication. But if you go to meetings or
meet customers and say: Hi! What’s up is definitely not suitable
2.2.1.6 Lack of body language
Body language is one of the most important components in speaking. In
speaking, words are the bridge between the speaker and the listener, body language
is the catalyst to promote that connection. Body language can increase interaction in
a conversation, it shows the enthusiasm and attitude of the speaker in this
conversation. Proficient use of body language will be a great advantage in speaking.
2.2.1.7 Lack of confidence
Lack of confidence is also one of the very important issues. Confidence in
speaking will show that the speaker is well prepared before speaking. Show that the
speaker is knowledgeable about the subject and is willing to argue if there is a

11


mixed opinion. However, if the speaker is not confident, it is very easy to be passive
in speaking and will be inferior to the opponent.
2.3. Technique
To avoid common mistakes, learners need to apply different techniques

First, learners need to have a rich vocabulary, good listening ability and
applying appropriate grammatical structure. If the learner does not have a
foundation, the training process will be much more difficult. Preparing a rich
vocabulary will help the speaker convey the full meaning of the message and the
right content to exchange. Because learning a new language is not just about
learning grammatical structures, it is also necessary to apply those grammatical
structures to reality, reasonably and effectively in speaking.
The second thing, learners need to have practical experiences, especially need
to communicate in public, meet and talk to foreign tourists or communicate with
friends and colleagues in English. It can be said that these will be very useful
classes for learners as well as improve communication skills for learners.

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CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH FINDINGS
This chapter describes the analysis of data followed by a discussion of the
research findings. The findings relate to the research questions that guided the
study. Data were analyzed to identify, describe and explore some difficulties in
speaking English of English major students at ThuongMai University. Data were
obtained from questionnaires, completed by 20 students.
3.1. General Introduction of English Department of Thuong Mai
University
ThuongMai University's English Department was established in 2007. In the
department, students have learned and practiced with 4 basic skills: listening,
speaking, reading and writing. The curriculum of the faculty has been developed
and changed over the years. Currently, with each skill, there will be different
subjects for students to develop as completely as possible. During the learning
process, students will have to take a mid-term test to test their language proficiency.
In particular, to develop speaking skills, students will have class presentations on

various topics including economics, language, culture, etc.
3.2. Settings
The data collection of the questionnaire of survey is the main factor. Questions
were sent at 10 am on Sunday (April 19, 2020) via Google mail and social media.
The responses are sent in the day
3.3. Participants
The study aims at figuring out the common speaking errors made by freshmen
of English Faculty in ThuongMai University and offers appropriate solutions to
solve problems and improve students' speaking skills. Therefore, the subjects were
20 freshmen, who just graduated from high school and had little experience in
giving learning methodology in colleges, randomly selected from K55N5 class of
English Department. Their age is between 17 and 18 years old. The students passed
the National Enrollment Examination. Their levels are pre-intermediate depended
on the academic results of entrance examination.

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3.4. Data collection
In the study, the questionnaire consisted of 10 questions. They are sent via the
Google mail and social media. Students answer within 7 - 10 minutes and send it to
the writer
In the study, the questionnaire consisted of 10 questions. They are sent via the
internet. After students answer within 7 - 10 minutes and send it to the writer
The purpose of the questions is described below
Question 1 is to find out how much time students have spent in English
Question 2 is to understand students' English speaking practice habit
Question 3 is to find out the importance of English speaking skills
Question 4 is to know students' opinions about the importance of speaking
skills such as grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, etc.

Question 5 is to find out the common mistakes students make when speaking
English
Question 6 is to understand the pronunciation mistakes that students often
encounter when speaking English
Question 7 is to learn grammar mistakes that students often encounter when
speaking English
Question 8 is to find out students' ideas about speaking exercises in class
Question 9 is to find out students' opinions about difficulties in speaking
English
Question 10 is to find out students' suggestions for activities to help speak
English more effectively
Through this survey, students can select and state their own views about
practicing speaking English. Besides, students can also suggest solutions to practice
speaking English better
3.5 . Situation of speaking English of students at ThuongMai University
In general, the opinion of English department students at ThuongMai
University is very important, especially in this day and age. Moreover, it is clear
from the data analysis that the students have a lot of problems speaking English.
Most students make grammatical mistakes, which can make it difficult to

14


communicate in English with others. Although students have had a very long time
with English, the lack of vocabulary still happens a lot. However, it is because the
practice of English does not often lead to the students' ability to communicate
English well.
Although, English department students have quite good English background,
most students can watch videos and read English documents which is also a way for
students to practice English. However, they have difficulty communicating with

foreigners. This is partly because the school lacks quality activities to improve
students' ability to speak English
3.6. The results of questionnaire and data analysis
Question 1: How long have you been learning English?

5.00%

5.00%

15.00%

A. More than 10 years
B. 5 years to 10 years
C. 3 years to 5 years
D. Less than 3 years
75.00%

Figure 3.1: The amount of time students learnt English
The pie chart showed the amount of time students have spent studying
English. Obviously, most students spend a lot of time learning English, specifically
the number of students who spend more than 10 years studied English reaches
seventy five percent (15 answers). Fifteen percent of students (3 responses) learned
English from 5 to 10 years. Of those, only five percent (one answer) studied English
for 3 to 5 years and only 1 answer was for less than 3 years.
Through these data, we can see that more than half of students have had more
than 10 years of learning English. This means they have had a very long time to

15



practice and build their foundations. This is a good thing for students build the
knowledge base and experience when speaking English.
Question 2: How often do you practice speaking English?

15.00%
10.00%

75.00
%

A. Usually
B. Often
C. Sometimes
D. Never

Figure 3.2:English practice time of students
The pie chart shows that the amount of time students practice English is
irregular. Of these, only fifteen percent (3 responses) practice English usually.
Besides, only fifteen percent (3 answers) practice English often. The rest, most
students only occasionally practice and use English. Students in this survey are all
English major students, so the percentage of students who never speak English is
zero. Maybe the English of students is not good, but the use of English is
indispensable when studying at the school
The above figures show that although most students have had years of learning
English, they do not use English regularly. This may affect students' ability to speak
English.

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Question 3: How do you think about the importance of speaking English
skills?

5.00%

20.00%

75.00
%

A. Very important
B. Important
C. Normal
D. Not important

Figure 3.3: The importance of speaking English skills in ThuongMai University
The importance of learning English is clearly shown in the pie chart. Most
students completely agree that English speaking skills are very important to
seventy-five percent of students. Especially in a professional learning environment
such as the English department, speaking English is indispensable. Besides, twenty
percent said it was important to speak English and ten percent thought it was
normal.

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Question 4: How do you evaluate the following factors when speaking
English?
18
16


16
14

14

13
12

12
10
8

7
6

6

Important
Normal
Unimportant

5
4

4

3

2

0
Grammar

0
Pronunciation

0 Fluency and coherency
0
Vocabulary

Figure 3.4: The importance factors of speaking English skills
Through the bar chart, we can see that grammar is the part that students are
most weakly evaluated with only 5 responses that grammar is important in speaking
skills. Meanwhile, pronunciation and vocabulary are most appreciated by students
when 14-16 responses, respectively, think that this is an important factor in
speaking English. Fluency is also highly appreciated by students with 13 responses
saying that this factor is very important in speaking English.
Thus, through the above data, we can see that speaking English has a clear
difference compared to writing. Speaking English emphasizes fluency and
pronunciation rather than being grammatically correct because everyone can make
grammar mistakes when speaking English

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