1


ABSTRACT

The ability of communicating through a language separates human
beings from all animals. It has been long yet fascinating and rewarding
journey through time from sounds, grunts, actions, signs, gestures and
gesticulations to the world of reading, writing and sophisticated methods of
communication. Nowadays, communication is the integral part of any
individual. Speaking skill becomes one of the most

necessary skills to

communicate and one of the significant language skills to develop in second
language learning among every university students. They have to use English
in the presentations of the class or in group assignments..
Despite the fact that improving the speaking skills is very important,
this problem can be a major challenge for any student who wants to learn a
foreign language because no matter how much they know about the English
grammar, they can still face many speaking difficulties. From mentioned
difficulties, the study has given some useful solutions to improve English
communication skills of first-year students of English Faculty, Thuongmai
University.
Due to limited time, awareness and practical experience, the study
could not avoid shotcomings and errors. Therefore, I look forward to
receiving comments and suggestions from my supervisor and friends in order
to perfect the study.

2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
During the process of doing this graduation paper, I have received
many enthusiastic assistances, precious ideas and timely encouragements
from my teachers, family and friends. This graduation paper would not have
been accomplished without the guidance and their support, who in one way or
another, contributed and extended their valuable assistance in the preparation
and completion of this study.
First of all, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor –
Mrs.Pham Thuy Giang , the MA of English Faculty, for her guidance and
encouragement during my study. Furthermore, I really appreciate all her help
and suggestions on various drafts of the study. Without her valuable advice
and support, this study could not have been completed on schedule.
I also would like to take this opportunity to show my sincere thanks to
all my teachers of the English Faculty, Thuongmai University, who have
handed me background knowledge to complete this graduation paper.
Moreover, I am much obliged to 20 students in English Faculty, Thuongmai
University for helping me complete this study.
In addition, I would like to acknowledge my thanks to all the authors of
the books, magazines, and other materials listed in the reference part for their
ideas.
Regardless of my hardest attempt, this report certainly contains
numerous mistakes due to the limitation of information resources and other
documents as well as the inexperience of the writer in this issue. All of the
feedbacks and recommendations from readers are warmly welcome and will
be considered in order to improve the practicality of this graduation paper.

3



TABLES OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

4


No.
1
2
3
4

Tables and figures
Table 3.1. Students’ personal information
Chart 3.1. Distribution of 20 student participants by
Table 3.2. Students in self-studying English speaking
Chart 3.3. . Students’ difficulties in finding appropria

5

Chart 3.4. Students’difficulties in pronouncing the w

6

Chart 3.5. Students’ difficulties in grammar when co

7

Chart 3.6. Students’ feelings when speaking in public


8

Chart 3.7. students’ difficulties in English speaking le

9

Chart 3.8. The students’ methods to improve English

10

Chart 3.9. Suggested methods to improve English spe

5


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

No.
1
2

Abbreviation
EU
TV

3

EFL


6


CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
1.1. Rationale :

Nowadays, English has become a truly global language crossing many
international boundaries. When it comes to English, people immediately think
of it as a part of modern world. English is not only used by British and
American but also becomes a tool helping people around the world
communicate with each other. English has become an accepted international
language since after World War II. One of the reasons for this is that the
United States has become more powerful in their politics, economy,
technology, and culture. Additionally, its language, English, has become the
language for international communication. The main cause of this is
globalization. In fact, English is the official language of the EU and becomes
the third most-spoken native language in the world after Standard Chinese
and Spanish with more than 60 countries and territories.
Many

international

businesses

conduct

meetings

in


English,

universities teach courses in English and tourists use English as a common
language around the world. Knowing how to use another foreign language
besides the mother tongue and having the vocabulary and a wide range of
skills especially English speaking skills provide more opportunities for
application as well as acquiring a good job. There has been an increasing
demand of international communication, especially in the business
communities where the customers’ national languages are extremely diverse .
In fact, nowadays, English certification is almost required for office work.
Thus, students need to improve their communication skills in order to
fulfill their ambitious goals. Along with the demand of global integration,
learning foreign languages for international communication has become more
and more vital to Vietnamese students. Therefore, English speaking skills is
an indispensable course in English language curriculum at tertiary level.
However, speaking skill is not easy for everyone including students. Students
7


do not only have to learn grammar or lexical system but they have to improve
four skills : listening, speaking, reading and writing. Among the four skills,
improving speaking is admited as the most difficult by most students. Many
Vietnamese students face the common problem that although they spent six or
seven years studying English at school, they cannot pronounce an English
sentence correctly, and they are not confident enough to communicate in the
language.
When the writer was a first-year English Faculty student at
Thuongmai University, she faced up with many difficulties in improving
speaking skills. After meeting other English Faculty students at Thuongmai
University, she realized that the students also met many difficulties in how to

improve the English speaking skills like her before. Therefore, the author
decided to conduct a research into“An investigation into difficulties in
improving English speaking skills of first-year students in English Faculty,
Thuong Mai University” in order to find out the difficulties of speaking that
the students normally get, the reasons for these problems as well as propose
the possible solutions to overcome these.
1.2. Previous studies :

We all know that the number of English speakers across the globe has
reached 1,5 billion. Knowing English increases the chances of getting a good
job in a multinational company within in home country or for finding work
abroad. Therefore, there have been lots of international and domestic studies
which have been done recently relating to the learning English as follows :
o Backlund, (1990) assigns three areas of knowledge that influence oral

communication effectiveness: social knowledge, self-knowledge, and content
knowledge. If any one of these is weak oral communication will be somewhat
impaired. In this study, the researcher displays other problems that hinder oral
communication are: dominating theconversation, using inappropriate volume

8


and pitch, using excessive small talk ignoring someone and constantly
interrupting people.
o Previous research on speaking skills among university student was reported
by Ihmeideh, Ahmad and Dababneh (2010) and Cleland, they found that a
positive communication environment has an major impact on improving
speaking and thus, having good skills provides many opportunities for
students to be better prepared for their future careers after graduated.

o In the study “ Identify Factors That Negatively Influence: Non-English Major
Students’ Speaking Skills ” by Dao Thi Thanh Hao, Hanoi University gave
factors affecting the efficaciousness of learning speaking skills in Vietnamese
higher education through an investigation of classroom practices. In addition,
the author also gave solutions to improve the quality of teaching and learning
at Hanoi University in particular, and in Vietnamese higher education in
general.
o Another study of the researcher Nguyen Thi Le Nguyen, Hanoi Pedagogical
University 2, Vinh Phuc, Vietnam showed the importance of learning English
for the non – English major students with the research “How to motivate non
– English major students in Vietnamese university of education to learn
English”. The researcher confirmed the importance of learning English
nowadays. It not only supports study at university but also reaches the higher
ladder in the job. Finding the motivation to support student’s passion in
learning English but the researcher has not mentioned to the solution to
improve English speaking skill.
1.3. Aims of the study:
The primary purpose of the study is to find out the subjective and
objective difficulties of first-year students in English Faculty in improving
English speaking skills. The study also aims at finding the reasons for those
problems and then proposing the solutions for both teachers and students in
teaching and learning the listening skills.
1.4. Research subjects:
9


The present study attempts to investigate the difficulties in improving
English speaking skills encountered by first-year English Faculty students at
Thuongmai University.
1.5. Scope of the study:


There is a number of different material resources that require a lot of
time and effect while my personal experience is limited. To implement
conveniently and easily as well as to achieve accurate results, the scope of the
study is difficulties in improving English speaking skills of first-year Englishmajored students at TMU and the solutions
1.6. Research methodology:

Survey questionnaire is one of the most effective instruments for
collecting data. Advantages of using questionnaires are less pressure on
respondent, practice, validity and reliability. Like questionnaire, interviews
can allow conducting intensive individual interviews with a small number of
respondents to explore their perspectives on a particular idea, program or
situation. To fulfill the above aims, the study was carried out with quantitative
and qualitative methods of data collection. In addition, The researcher
chooses the method of analyzing the data from first-year students at
Thuongmai University to get the most objective information on learning
English as well as improving speaking skills. To complete the research, the
researcher interviewed 20 first-year English major students at Thuongmai
University to obtain the analytical data.
The constructs of speaking skills in this study was determined based on
the definitions of earlier discussion. Moreover, the researcher has already
collected and read documents from book in library and previous studies in the
Internet to complete this study. The collection and adaptation from some
useful magazines and newspapers is also one of the sources serving this study.

10


In terms of the interview and questionnaires, the results were collected
and analyzed by Microsoft Excel software in percentage. After that, the data

was illustrated through charts and tables for a clear description of the finding.
1.7. Organization of the study:

This study is divided into 4 chapters as follow:
o Chapter 1: Providing an overview of the study and giving the reason for

choosing the study. Also, it consists of the rationale, previous studies, aims of
the study, research subject, scope of the study, research methodology and
organization of the study.
o Chapter 2: The second chapter presents the theoretical background for the

study. This chapter includes some main pieces of information as follow: The
importance of speaking skills, factors affecting English speaking skills,
problems encountering and solutions to improve English speaking skill.
o Chapter 3: Research findings and data analysis: the details of the findings

including survey results through the questionnaire given to participants. These
data and information will be analyzed in this chapter.
o Chapter 4: Recommendations and suggestions: includes a summary of the

study, discussions and conclusions with recommendations for further studies.

11


CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
The aim of this chapter is to review the literature relevant to the issues
under study. The literature consists of three sections. Section one deals with
overview of speaking which has the definition and the importance around the
main theme of this study. Section two gives the readers some information of

difficulties in improving speaking skills of first year student in Thuongmai
University. The last section presents factors effecting the improvement of
speaking skills which includes some specific factors to enhance the main idea
of this section.
1. Overview of speaking skills
1.1. Definition of speaking

The definition of speaking has been taken a lot of attention from many
researchers around the world. It is not easy to define what is meant since it
has been defined in various ways in different disciplines. Basically the main
goal of the speaking is to communicate, to be able to convey your thoughts
effectively. The speakers should understand the meaning of everything and
trying to communicate, they should be able to evaluate the effect of
communication of the listeners so they can effectively convey their thoughts.
Therefore, speaking is one of the most essential skills of English language
teaching and learning. In language teaching and learning itself, many
definitions of speaking have been made by experts. Therefore, there are some
significant definitions on speaking presented in language learning
methodology.
Tarigan (1990) stated that speaking was the competence to make clear
and convey thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Based on those explanations, it
required four elements to evaluate students’ speaking ability: fluency,
vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation
+ Fluency: Fluency is about how comfortable and confident speakers
are in speaking English. In an academic or even professional setting, this is
12


one of the skills to focus on for an oral presentation or debate. The way
speakers explain their topic or prove their smooth, clear and concise without

too many pauses or hesitations – is as important as the content of their
presentation. Fluent speakers are easily understood, because they can clearly
produce the individual and joined sounds of English. Outside the classroom,
fluency can help them socialize with native English speakers and avoid
misunderstandings. Foster and Skehan in Nunan (2004, p. 87) propose a
model in assessing speaking in which fluency is measured by considering the
total number of seconds of silence and time spent saying ‘um’ and ‘ah’ by
subjects as they complete a task. Another study of Nunan (2015) proves that
fluency is the extent to which the learner can speak at an acceptable speed
with few false starts and hesitations
+ Vocabulary: Vocabulary is the most important factor that directly
affect people while they speak. The best way to grow speakers’ vocabulary is
to read in English and make a note of any new words that they encounter in a
vocabulary notebook. Thornbury (2005, p. 22) suggests “ Speakers usually
employ words and expressions that express positive and negative appraisal
because a lot of speech has an interpersonal function, and by identifying what
people like and dislike, they are able to express solidarity.” This research also
claims “A speech also usually employs deictic language, i.e. words and
expressions that point to the place, time, and participants in the intermediate
or a more distant context.”
+ Grammar : Grammar does matter and the fewer mistakes the
speakers make, the better their speaking skills will be. Grammar is most
effective to improve communication and writing skills, but this only pertains
to those who have a solid foundation in English fluency. Therefore, a good
speaker does not have to use perfect grammar. Basic grammar is a necessity,
but focusing on grammar will prevent speakers from being able to speak
English fluently in a reasonable time frame. However, in some cases it is still
13



needed for students to arrange a correct sentence in conversations. According
to Brown (2001, p. 62) “Grammar is the system of rules governing the
conventional arrangement and relationship of words in a sentence”. Pinter
(2006, p. 55) clarifies that one of the big challenges for EFL students is to
speak accurately and is to be fluent speakers. It is somehow difficult for them
especially when it comes to fluency because fluency includes two processes
which are speaking and thinking at the same time.
+ Pronounciation: Pronunciation becomes important because it gives
meaning to what is being said. When speakers speak a foreign language, they
may not be well developed for that language, and they will find pronunciation
more difficult. By practising the foreign language pronunciation, their
muscles in mouth develop and pronunciation improves. Wrong pronunciation
may cause misunderstanding or making people involved in a conversation
offended. It is a complex area, with a lot of sub skills that can be practiced.
The basic rule of thumb is that an average speaker can speak and be
understood. A skilled speaker can use the sub skills of pronunciation to
emphasise and make the communicative effect of their speech more
impactful. According to Thornbury (2005, p. 128-129), pronunciation refers
to the student’s ability to produce comprehensible utterances to fulfill the task
requirements.
1.2. Definition of speaking skills

Speaking is one of the skills that have to be mastered by students in
learning English. The use of English as a second language or foreign language
in oral communication is one of the most common but highly complex
activities necessary to be considered when it comes to the English learning
and improving. A large proportion of learners in the world study English hard
in order to communicate with native speakers or speakers of other languages.
Learning a new language involves skills of listening, speaking, reading and
14



writing. Among the four skills, speaking is said to be the most direct way to
talk to people . As Yunzhong (1985, cited in Hughes, 2002, 133) states, many
language teachers consider speaking as the most effective means of gaining a
fluent reading knowledge and correct speech as the foundation for good
writing. It is a common desire for all of learners to speak a second language
well. To do this we need to know what skills are required to become a good
speaker.
1.3. The importance of speaking skills

In learning English, speaking is the most important skill, because it is
one of the ability to carry out conversation on language. Speaking is an
interactive process of constructing meaning, receiving and processing
information. In fact, speaking is considered difficult to apply comparedto
other skills. As a matter of fact, there are many students who had learnt
English from secondary school untill high school even university still find it
difficult to express their idea in oral form. They can read or write better, but
face some difficulties in speaking either caused by linguistic problems or
nonlinguistic problems. Speaking is one of the English skills that should be
mastered by the students in the globalization era. Known for its global reach,
the need for learning English has become intense for all the people who are
not well-versed with the language. In fact, the need to speak in English that
too with utmost confidence is evident in today’s time and indeed requires a lot
of practice because by mastering speaking skills they can be able to
communicate in formal or informal situation, mastering speaking skills is not
only for academic purpose, but also for professional purposes. In all the above
explaned conditions, speaking is difficult for most students. Although the fear
of speaking is common, many studies show that ability to speaking can
enhanced by improving speaking skills.

It is crucial for students, learning English as a foreign language, to
speak English and use it competently when communicating. Speaking can be
15


defined as a productive skill in which language is produced orally. Speaking
is probably the language skill that most language learners wish to perfect as
soon as possible. It used to be the only language skill that was difficult to
practice. In speaking, the students have to learn how to organize ideas,
arrange sentences, and express language in spoken form with pronunciation
and comprehensible language. They must also learn about how to deliver the
meaning of the language according to the context they are speaking.
It is not an instant skill to be acquired. It needs a long process.
According to Rubi and Thomson (1994:9), language is a complex system, and
each system is different and requires reorganization of students thinking with
lots of exposure.
Speaking is an ability to orally express opinions, thoughts, facts and
feelings to other people, animals and even to oneself. As mentioned by
Bachman and Palmer (1990), one’s speaking competence of a language is
expressed by his linguistic competence, knowledge of encountering linguistic
communication difficulties, as well as linguistically emotional reactions.
Speaking is a crucial part of second language teaching and learning.
Similar to other skills, speaking is a skill which deserves much attention every
bit as much as other language skills, in both first and second languages since
in EFL classrooms, improving speaking plays a great role for the learner's
achievement. Speaking skills are important for career success, but certainly
not limited to one’s professional aspirations. Speaking skills can enhance
one’s personal life and thereby bring about the well-rounded growth that all
people should all seek.
As one of communication system, speaking plays an important part in

our everyday lives. In any life aspect, either our social or personal interaction,
the ability to speak has been one of significant element of interaction process.
Furthermore, in language teaching and learning speaking is an important part
of curriculum (Luoma, 2004).
16


According to Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness and Melanie Williams
(2005): “Speaking is a productive skill, like writing. It involves using speech
to express meanings to other people”. We learn a language, native or foreign,
for communicative purposes. People speak to maintain existing social
relationships and to make new ones. They also speak to pool and exchange
information and also ease the performance of transactions. So, there is a
growing need in the modern world for people to communicate effectively
through the medium of speech. Speaking is used for many different purposes
and each purpose involves different skills. Each of these different purposes
for speaking implies knowledge of the rules that account for how spoken
language reflects the context or situation in which the speech occurs.
According to Nunan (2003, p. 48) 48) (cited in Mart, 2012, p. 91),
speaking is a productive oral skill which consists of constructing systematic
verbal utterances to convey meaning.
On the other hand, Brown (2004, p. 140) points out that “speaking is an
interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and
receiving and processing information”.
In accordance with Bygate (1987), speaking is the vehicle par
excellence of social solidarity, of social ranking, of professional advancement
and of business. It is also the medium through which much language is learnt,
and which for many is particularly conductive for learning. Perhaps, then, the
teaching of speaking merits more thought.
Another research of Haozhang (1997) claims that the focus of teaching

speaking, of course, is to improve the oral production of the students.
Therefore, language teaching activities in

the classroom should aim at

maximising individual language use.
At the same time, UR (1996) considered speaking as the most
important skill among four skills (speaking, listening, writing, reading)

17


because people who know another language are referred to as speakers of that
language.
2. Difficulties for students in improving speaking skills

Since English is a foreign language in our country, most students
including students in universities are not completely familiar with it. It is no
secret that Vietnamese students struggle with English. Vietnam is not the only
Asian country with this problem, Japan, Korea and China all have the same
problem.
Students’ speaking ability is expected to be good because they have
learned English since years before and they will have many performances
related to oral skills in universities. But in fact, even college students’
speaking ability is still low. It is difficult for them to fulfill some aspects of
speaking performance. Furthermore, language learners must also acquire the
knowledge of how native speakers use the language in different contexts. This
involves not only verbal communication but also paralinguistic elements of
speech such as pitch, stress and intonation. It is said that speaking is the most
complex and difficult skill to master (Hinkel, 2005, cited in Nazara, 2011)

According to many studies, students only use English inside the class
or in presenting than outside the class. The problem is students have limited
time to learn English in class and they also do not have enough
encouragement to practice English with their classmates after the class in
order to get familiar with English. This case brings a remarkable problem that
make students not only in universities but also in other levels have to face
many problems in English communicating.
Following the foreign language comments as being teachers of English,
learners argue that many factors are considered to be causes of these problems
or this failure in developing the skill, thus, their grammatical and lexical
knowledge is not enough , the shortage of chances and opportunities for
practice as well as the shortage of interactive speaking in classroom
18


atmosphere (Thornbury,1998 ). Besides, for Vietnamese students, there are
many sentence types in English that are complex and very different from their
mother language.
In addition, Rababa’h (2005) pointed out that there are many factors
that cause difficulties in speaking English among EFL learners. Some of these
factors are related to the learners themselves, the teaching strategies, the
curriculum, and the environment. In learning English speaking, some students
will make problems or errors when they try to uttered words, phrases or
sentences. Problems or errors in speaking cannot correct themselves, therefore
it is need a solution.
3. Factors effecting the improvement of speaking skills.

3.1. Language knowledge
Beginners only listen but rarely speak. English language learners may
have some words in their receptive vocabulary but they are not yet speaking.

Some students will be able to repeat only everything that someone says. They
are not really producing language but are imitating. The learner can hardly
understand anything at all, unless the speaker is talking about things the
learner is observing, or unless the language being learned is closely related to
some other language the learner knows.
According to Richards and Renandya (2002): “A large percentage of
the world’s language learners study English in order to develop proficiency in
speaking. The ability to speak a second or foreign language well is a very
complex task if we understand the nature of what appears to be involved”.
Language knowledge is the foundation of learning English. If students are
lacking knowledge of pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary, it is probable
that their English speaking skills ability will be negatively affected. However,
the most basic outward shell of language is pronunciation and intonation,
knowledge

19

of

pronunciation

must

be

developed.

When

students’



pronunciation is poor, their capacity to disctinguish among words will be
weak and will affect English speaking skills.
Another common problem seen in the learners is that they think that
they have nothing to say on a particular topic. Most students are very easy to
get confused with English grammar which is an important effect to form a
sentence. In reality, they may feel that the topic is unrelated to anything they
know. Moreover, they often have to search for appropriate words. They do not
find one to fit into the content. This is because of lack of exposure to a variety
of vocabulary. This also leads to failing in communicating fluently in English.
As a result learners make an excessive overuse of fillers in their speech and
conversation or give incomplete statements. This idea has the same meaning
with the study of Kang Shumin when he says: “Learning to speak a foreign
language requires more than knowing its grammatical and semantic rules”.
Therefore, lack of grammatical knowledge can reduce students’ English
speaking levels.
3.2. Cultural background
Culture and language have often been described as inseparable and the
relationship between them is highly complex. Language is not just the sum
total of words, grammatical principles and sentence construction, but also
unique cultural norms, social systems and cognitive processes.When one
decides to learn English as a second language, it is important to realise that he
or she is also learning about the culture the language is tied upon. Both of
language and culture have a function of communication because they both
carry meanings.
The American linguist Sapir (1921, p.60-p.90) maintained, “Language
cannot exist without culture, culture can be explained as what the society
thinks and does, and the language is the expression of the ideas of the
society.” As a result, “the marriage between language and culture is

inseparable; language is the carrier of culture and the capsule that holds a way
20


of thinking. Language carries knowledge and cultural information and it
reflects the substantial and particular ways of thinking of that people.” On the
one hand, language is used to express people’s cultural thoughts, beliefs and
to communicate; on the other hand, culture is embedded in the language.
In accordance with Kramsch (1993), “every time we speak we perform
our cultural act. Consequently, there is now, an emphasis in modern language
on cultural knowledge as a basis for language learning. An important
requirement, then, for learning spoken English, is the acquisition of cultural
knowledge. So, if students’ pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and cultural
knowledge are to prosper, they must be grounded in a sound knowledge of the
society in which the language is based.” Therefore learners of languages need
to learn about and understand cultures. Understanding culture as practices
with which people engage becomes centrally important.
The environment and family background plays a vital role in the
learning process. In some countries like Vietnam, a majority of the people are
middle class with medium educational background. Learners coming from
such background when asked to take part or do a speaking activity tend to fail
to do it. Moreover, in some countryside areas, the poor income status of the
family makes the parents engage their children in petty jobs instead of
sending them to schools and colleges resulting in poor speaking skills.
Background of the learners where English is generally not used is another
cause affecting the leaning process. Most of the learners coming from rural
background are first generation learners of English Language.
3.3.The class atmosphere
One of the first areas that make a noticeable impact on student success
is the physical environment of the classroom. This can pertain to a variety of

details. It can be structure, resources, color. All of these can play a role in
determining whether the classroom will be conducive for learning. Each may

21


not have a large effect individually, however together they can work to
strengthen a student’s ability to learn.
According to Nation & Newton as cited in Tuan & Mai (2015), students
who presenting under a lot of conditions prove that performance atmosphere
can affect a presentation. They list four types of performance conditions
include time pressure; planning, the standard of performance, and the amount
of support
Inconvenience of classrooms sometimes has an effect on students’
speaking. The English teacher plays a significant role in the learning process.
Allen & Valette (1997), Quist(2000) point out clearly that it is the teacher who
sets the tone for learning activities. Since to teach, is to communicate, English
teachers must have intense communicative competence. Adding to that, a
teacher must be competent in the language itself to make useful decisions
regarding the material given, and the approach of teaching. The teacher will
be a listener. When students speak to each other in pairs or groups, the teacher
monitors them and he/she tries to evaluate them and correct them later. So,
she or he monitors their speech in order to give them feedback listening to
them with the needed attention. Both teachers cannot see or hear well all the
students and students can not hear or see the teacher well and in fact, it is
something very important thing that ensures a successful communication
process and build relationship among the students and the teacher. In
attractive classes there is a positive and active relationship along with mutual
respect, cooperation and inner satisfaction. These classes are directed to
specific goals. Teacher and students are responsible for achieving goals by

spending time and mental attention. Thus, in organized classes behavioral and
learning expectations are quite clear and tangible and the teacher provides
proper structure for teaching and training course concepts and subjects.
Pair and group work may have both advantages and disadvantages .
First of all, when working together, the level of noise will increase and
22


students may use their native language to talk about other things. Then,
students may make errors and mistakes and keep on repeating them. So, the
students will not do the task as it should be done. (Davies and Pearse ,2000,
p.125). As a result, students who want to improve their skills will have many
obstacles an cannot achieve their purpose. However, the students who have
low participant when they speak will have only very little speaking time. This
problem is compounded by the tendency of some learners to dominate, while
other speaks very little or not at all. In fact, classroom activities will help
students to speak independently in English. Being able to speak English well
is a skill that will benefit students in life outside and beyond school. In order
to achieve this, students need to learn to express themselves in English using
the language for their own purposes: to discuss an issue, hold a conversation
or gain some information.
3.4.Students’ motivation and emotions
There could be several answers to that including a fear of
embarrassment or being wrong, a tendency to overthink the grammatically
accurate statement, a lack of working vocabulary, nervousness, a lack of
confidence, or even simply a lack of practice. In general, emotion in learning
is an internal feeling experienced by students during speaking. There is still a
lot of personal fear of showing up with emotion in speaking and learning
English. Students are afraid of being judged if they show emotions, and that
fear spills over into speaking. Emotions play a significant role in learning in

general and foreign language learning in particular. Although with the rise of
humanistic approaches, enough attention has been given to the affective
domain in language learning, the emotions English as a foreign language
learners experience regarding English language skills in listening, speaking,
reading, and writing have not gained adequate attention.
Oxford (1990) asserts that one of the most important influences or
factors of language learning success or failure is probably the affective side of
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the learner. Affective factors include inhibition, shyness, lack of
selfconfidence, peer pressure, family or friends support, motivation and
anxiety.
Lack of motivation is one of the significant reasons why students
cannot speak English as well as improving speaking skills. Motivation plays a
very conclusive role when learners want to level up their speaking skills.
Motivation can be driven by the teachers, other students and also from their
parents. But they did not motivate them very well to speak the English
language. By the lack of motivation in speaking the English language then
they did not take interest in speaking the English language.
Littlewood (1984), defines motivation as “the crucial force which
determines whether a learner embarks on a task at all, how much energy he
devotes to it and how long he perseveres”. Littlewood (1981) also argues that
the progress of communicative skills can only occur if learners have the
motivation and chance to express their own individuality and associate with
people around them.
Similarly, Ames, C. (1992) in her article on students’ motivation and
class goals, sheds light on the link between motivation and confidence. She
asserts that ESL students who have negative ideas about their speaking
abilities, avoid the tendency to succeed and also undervalue their performance

when they do well.
Zua (2008) further adds that motivation is an inner energy. She says
that no matter what kinds of motivation the learners possess it will enhance
their study interest. It has been proven in many research that students with a
strong motivation to succeed can persist in learning and gain better scores
than those who have weaker motivation of success showing that building
students motivation to learn is urgent for every teacher.
Ehrman (1996) asserts that an individual defends his emotional stability
and self-respect in numerable ways, one of them is, through what he names
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“defense mechanism”. Indications of concern appear on that individual, such
as unwillingness to take part in an activity, reluctance to work, in addition to
an unfavorable behavior, are all probable defense mechanisms which worried
learners utilize to balance their emotional composure.
Even though some learners have learnt the language at their school
levels, they are unable to produce even a single sentence without grammatical
error. The basic reason for this is , learning the subjects from the examination
point of view. As a result, this attitude makes the learner ignore the language
and they do not have any motivation to improve their skills. On the other
hand, as argued by many theorists, fear of mistake becomes one of the main
factors of students’ reluctance to speak in English in the classroom. The
students not only in universities not in other levels usually inhibited when
trying to speak some words in communication. Because they afraid of making
mistakes and simply shy in speaking English in front of others. With respect
to the fear of making mistake issue, Aftat, (2008) adds that this fear is linked
to the issue of correction and negative evaluation. In addition, this is also
much influenced by the students’ fear of being laughed at by other students or
being criticized by the teacher. All the above statements are supported by Ur

(1999, p.121) who states that there are somegeneral problems faced by the
students connected with speaking activities. The general problemsare
presented for example are inhabitation and nothing to say.
Shyness is also one of the biggest factors by which the students cannot
speak the English language. It is a kind of feeling which students feel while
speaking the English language. Students may avoid engaging in life
conversation due to their incapability of social interaction in that target
language. Due to shyness, they feel uncomfortable and anxious in front of
people in speaking the English language. By shyness, they are unable to speak
what they are thinking and what they want to speak. Moreover, they are not

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