Khóa luận The 8th graders’ perspectives on english speaking problems in EFL classroom A study at The Asian High School – Cao Thang Campus

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CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY
I certify my authorship of the Bachelor’s Thesis submitted today entitled:

“THE 8TH GRADERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON
ENGLISH SPEAKING PROBLEMS IN EFL
CLASSROOM: A STUDY AT THE ASIAN HIGH
SCHOOL – CAO THANG CAMPUS”
In terms of the statement of requirements for Thesis in Bachelor’s programs issued by
The Saigon International University.

Ho Chi Minh City

LE TRAN HANH PHUC


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RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS
I hereby state that I, LE TRAN HANH PHUC, being a candidate for the degree of
Bachelor (English Language) accept the requirements of the University relating to the
retention and use of Bachelor’s Thesis deposited in the Library.
In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my Bachelor’s Thesis deposited in
the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the
normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan, and reproduction for
theses.
Ho Chi Minh City

LE TRAN HANH PHUC

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would first like to express my deepest gratitude to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tuan, my
supervisor, for his patience, guidance, insightful advice, and constant encouragement
through the whole research process. Without his enthusiastic support and guidance, this
thesis would never have been completed.
Additionally, the task of writing this thesis is much easier by the support of my
lecturers at The Saigon International University (SIU) for their useful lessons from which I
could learn a lot of for the accomplishment of the study. It is equally important to send my
sincere gratitude the Management of SIU for giving me the best help to complete this
paper.
Besides SIU, I am grateful to the managers and teachers at Asian High School
(AHS) for allowing me to conduct my study. In addition, I would also like to send my
heartfelt thanks to of the 8th graders at Asian High School who provided me a great deal of
valuable information for analysis of this study.
Last but not least, I extend my special thanks to my beloved family and my friends
for their love, belief, inspiration, care, support, and continuous encouragements during the
time I conducted this study. There are many more acknowledgements I wish to make.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to mention all of them, but they are all in my heart.
I truly hope this thesis can place some value to the 8th graders and teachers of
English especially in developing speaking skill.


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INSTRUCTOR’S COMMENTS
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ABSTRACT
Speaking is considered one of the most significant macro skills in the process of
language acquisition. In ELF classrooms, however, this skill is likely to be ignored, which
may cause ELF learners confusion and problems when learning it. The present study aimed
to explore English speaking problems perceived by the 8th graders at Asian High School
(AHS) and suggest some solutions to the investigated problems. The quantitative study
was conducted with the participation of 80 students who are in grade 8. In addition, the
quantitative data collected from the questionnaire were processed by SPSS (19.0). The
findings showed that most of students “agreed” that they faced some speaking problems.
Specifically, the most dominant problems included vocabulary limitation, motivation,
mispronunciation, uninteresting topics, the curriculum limitation, class size and layout of
tables and chairs. Besides, possible solutions are proposed to tackle such challenges in
helping teachers and students in order to teach and learn English speaking skill more
effectively. Finally, it is recommended that further research should assess the speaking
problems by means of observation and interview, investigate the speaking strategies that
the students have unconsciously used to deal with the speaking problems, explore the

differences in terms of speaking problems and strategies used between proficient speakers
and non-proficient speakers, and elaborately examine the links between the specific
speaking problems and the specific speaking strategies. (240 words)
Keywords: English speaking skill, problems, suggested solutions, Vietnamese EFL
context


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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY…………………………………………...i
RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS…………………………………...ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..........................................................................................iii

INSTRUCTOR'S COMMENTS……………………………………….……....iv
ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................v
TABLE OF CONTENTS..............................................................................................vi
LIST OF TABLES.......................................................................................................ixi
LIST OF FIGURES......................................................................................................xi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.....................................................................................xix
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................1
1.1 Rationale for the study.............................................................................................1
1.2 Aims and objective of the study...............................................................................2
1.3 Research questions...................................................................................................3
1.4 Scope of the study....................................................................................................3
1.5 Significance of the study..........................................................................................4
1.6 Definition of the key terms......................................................................................4
1.7 Organization of the thesis........................................................................................4
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................6
2.1 Nature of speaking skill...........................................................................................6

2.1.1 Definition of speaking skill...............................................................................6
2.1.2 The importance of speaking skill in English language learning.......................6
2.2 Speaking competence of English as a foreign language..........................................7
2.3 Characteristics of English speaking.........................................................................8
2.4 Factors that make learning speaking difficult..........................................................9
2.4.1 Lack of motivation.............................................................................................9
2.4.2 Lack of confidence............................................................................................9
2.4.3 Lack of vocabulary..........................................................................................10
2.4.4 Teaching curriculum.......................................................................................11
2.4.5 Learning environment.....................................................................................11
2.4.6 Teaching method.............................................................................................12
2.5 Some solutions to solve possible problems............................................................13
2.5.1 Possible solutions to lack of confidence.........................................................13


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2.5.2 Possible solutions to lack of motivation..........................................................13
2.5.3 Solutions to problems related to teaching methods........................................14
2.5.4 Solutions to problems related to in-class learning environment....................15
2.6 Previous studies......................................................................................................15
2.7 Conceptual Framework......................................................................................17
2.8 Chapter Summary..................................................................................................18
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY...............................................................................19
3.1 Research questions.................................................................................................19
3.2 Research Design.....................................................................................................19
3.3 Research setting.....................................................................................................20
3.4 Sample and Sampling Procedures..........................................................................20
3.5 Research Instruments.............................................................................................21
3.6 Data Collection and Analysis Procedure...............................................................22
3.7 Validity and Reliability..........................................................................................23

3.8 Ethical Issues..........................................................................................................24
3.9 Summary................................................................................................................24
CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS, DISCUSSION AND RESULT.......................................25
4.1 Time that students have spent on speaking after school........................................25
4.2 Research question 1...............................................................................................26
4.2.1 Problems related to the Speaker......................................................................26
4.2.2 Problems related to the Teaching methods.....................................................28
4.2.3 Problems related to the Curriculum/ Syllabus................................................30
4.2.4 Problems related to the In- class Learning Environment................................31
4.3. Research Question 2..............................................................................................33
4.3.1 Solutions to problems related to the speakers.................................................33
4.3.2 Solutions to Problems Related to the Teaching Methods...............................34
4.3.3 Solutions to Problems Related to the Curriculum/ Syllabus...........................35
4.3.4 Solutions to Problems Related to the In-class learning environment.............35
4.4 Summary................................................................................................................36
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.................................37
5.1 Conclusion.............................................................................................................37
5.2 Recommendations for Further Research................................................................37
REFERENCES.............................................................................................................39
APPENDIXES.............................................................................................................44


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APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE (ENGLISH VERSION).................................44
APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE (VIETNAMESE VERSION)........................46


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LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Reliability Statistics on the Items Regarding Speaking Difficulties.............24
Table 4.1 Results of Problems Related to the Speaker (n=80)....................................27
Table 4.2 Results of Problems Related to the Teaching Methods (n=80)..................29
Table 4.3 Results of Problems Related to the Curriculum/Syllabus (n=80)................30
Table 4.4 Results of Problems Related to the In-class Learning Environment(n=80) 32


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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1 Conceptual Framework of the study………..…………………………….18
Figure 3.1 Data Collection and Analysis Procedures..................................................22
Figure 4.1 Time Spent on Speaking after School.........................................................25


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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AHS: The Asian High School
ELF: English as a Foreign Language
MOET: Ministry of Education and Training
SIU: The Saigon International University


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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Rationale for the study
English is one of the important subjects in Vietnamese education system. Students

are required to study all English courses stipulated by the Ministry of Education and
Training (hereafter MOET) from primary to tertiary level. After completing general
English courses, students will be able to be good at four English skills including listening,
speaking, reading and writing. Next, when entering university, students will learn more
intensively and master vocabulary and academic English. Accordingly, students will be
able to understand, analyze and apply Basic English grammar and acquire at least 2500
words. In addition, students will be able to gain a lot of extensive knowledge of cultures,
ethnicities, and people’s lives in the United Kingdom and United States when they learn
English. Hence, students can communicate better in many cases and can introduce the
history, culture and special features of Vietnam to the world (MOET, 2007).
In 2008, Decision N0 1400/QD-TTg on approving the project entitled (tentatively
translated) “Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in National Education System
within the period of 2008-2020” was passed by The Prime Minister of Vietnam. The
project includes three periods. In the first period (2008 -2010), English program has paid
much attention to improving and bettering the 10- year foreign language curricula,
designing foreign language course books and testing the 10- year English syllabus. In the
second period (2011- 2015), MOET has begun to apply the new English program which
has been improved for the whole education system in Vietnam. In the third period (2016 -


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2020), the aim is rereading and revising the new curricula and developing English program
for the educational institutions including vocational schools, colleges and universities.
Although the decisions and polices have been established in order to improve the
quality of English teaching and learning, not many considerable changes have been made
so far. In fact, students have been facing a lot of difficulties while learning speaking in the
classrooms. In the past, teachers only needed students to remember as many words as
possible and master grammar in order to pass the English tests with flying colors.
However, according to the current trend, when the foreigners immigrate to Vietnam more
and more, the target of learning English not only to read and write, but also to

communicate verbally. To (2006) defines that in order for students to achieve the purpose
of listening and speaking in the process of studying English, the teaching of teachers is
very influential. But some teachers still remain to teach the old methods such as grammartranslation, teacher-centered, book-based, and driven-exam (Le & Barnard, 2009;
Tomlision & Bao, 2004; Le, 2002; Liu & Littlewood, 1997). This means that speaking is
excluded from the lessons as well as tests. With this way of teaching, students will
successfully complete their curriculum but fail to communicate effectively in real- life
conversations (To, 2006).
As for the 8th graders at AIS, it is not an exception. Although students have been
studying in an international environment, they have still got some difficulties while
learning English skills, specially speaking. Being aware of the situation, the author wanted
to conduct this study to learn about speaking difficulties encountered by 8th graders at The
Asian High School (AHS).

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study
Based on the aforementioned reasons and the reality of teaching and learning
English speaking at The Asian High School (hereafter AHS), the author conducted a study


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with the aim of allowing AHS students at Cao Thang Campus to share what English
speaking problems they have faced while learning speaking in the classroom.
With the above aims, the two objectives were established as follows.
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To investigate the 8th graders’ perspectives on speaking problems in EFL
classrooms, at AHS, Cao Thang Campus.

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To suggest some useful solutions in order to help teachers improve their teaching

methods, and help students overcome the current speaking problems and better
their speaking skill.

1.3 Research questions
With the above aims and objectives, the two research questions were formulated
as follows:
1. What are the speaking problems perceived by the 8th graders at The Asian High
School, Cao Thang Campus?
2. What are the useful suggestions as solutions to speaking problems found in the
study?

1.4 Scope of the study
Because the time was limited, the present study concentrated on investigating the
8th graders’ perspectives on the speaking problems, and suggesting some solutions to the
problems found in this study. Additionally, this study would not be generalized to all the
eighth graders at AHS. The present study was conducted with the participation of eighty
students who are in grade 8 at AHS – Cao Thang Campus.


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1.5 Significance of the study
The study is significant due to the following reasons. There have not been many
studies conducted at The Asian High School regarding students’ speaking problems.
Therefore, this study was carried out with the hope of enriching the source of data for the
further research at AHS. In addition, that the study finds out the speaking problems of the
8th graders helps the students recognize their own weaknesses in speaking, and helps AHS
teachers to comprehend the current situation. From that, students can choose suitable
strategies to better their learning and teachers can improve their teaching methods. Finally,
this study is hoped to be the theoretical background to the future studies which are

associated with the focus of this study.

1.6 Definition of the key terms
The following terms communicate the following meaning whenever they appear
in this study as follows.
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Speaking: the way of conveying ideas, information or expressing someone's
thoughts and feelings in spoken language.

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Problems: difficulties/challenges in speaking and factors making speaking difficult.

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The 8th graders: all students who are in grade 8 at Cao Thang campus - The Asian
High School.

1.7 Organization of the thesis
This thesis is divided into five chapters as follows.
Chapter 1 is introduction. This chapter concerns background of the study,
statement of the problems, aims and objective of the study, research questions, scope of the
study, significance of the study and definition of key terms.
Chapter 2 summarizes the theoretical background concerning the focus of the
study. Specifically, the definitions and role of speaking skill are first presented. Next,


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factors causing speaking problems are summarized. More importantly, a summary of the

previous studies is presented next. The chapter ends with the conceptual framework of the
study.
Chapter 3 presents the methodology of the study. In particular, the research
design is first introduced, followed by the research setting. In the next section, a brief
description of the research instruments employed in the study is provided. Following that,
the procedures of collecting and analyzing the data are presented. Finally, the chapter ends
with the sections regarding the reliability and validity, and the ethical issues.
In Chapter 4, Analysis, Discussion and Result, the results of the study based on
the data obtained from the questionnaire are comprehensively presented. What is more, a
comparison between the findings of the present study and those of previous studies is made
in the Discussion section. In addition, some useful solutions to the problems found in this
study are suggested at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 5 first presents a summary of the findings. In the next section, limitations
of the study are provided. Last but not least, the study ends with some recommendations
for the further research.


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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter is concerned with the theoretical background in relation to the focus of
the study. In particular, definitions and significance of speaking are first presented,
followed by characteristics of speaking, factors negatively affecting speaking skill and
previous studies. This chapter ends with the conceptual framework of the study.

2.1 Nature of speaking skill
2.1.1 Definition of speaking skill
There are a lot of definitions of the word “speaking” suggested by the researchers
in language learning. Brown and Yule (1994) defines speaking as an process of

constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information. In a
same vein, Chaney (1998) states that speaking is the process of sharing the ideas by using
verbal and non-verbal symbols in various contexts.
Bygate (1987) defines speaking as a creation of auditory signals to produce
different verbal reactions to listeners. It is regarded as combining sounds in a systematic
way, for forming meaningful speeches. Adopting this view, Eckard and Kearny (1981),
Florez (1999), and Howarth (2001) define speaking as a two-way process including a true
communication of meaning, information or emotions. This view shows that the spoken
texts are considered the participation of two or more people in the shared time and
context.

2.1.2 The importance of speaking skill in English language learning
Speaking is one of the most important skills in English language learning because it
plays an essential role in making connection among people. Being good at speaking is not
easy because it requires learners to be good at other skills and aspects of English including


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pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. Efrizal (2012) says that
speaking is a means of communication that helps people interact and understand one
another through daily conversations. As the same concern on this view, Ur (1996) suggests
that among the four language skills including such as listening, speaking, reading and
writing, speaking is the most major one because it is the best means of communication that
effectively connects people together. Speaking is considered a contributing factor that help
students develop other skills including vocabulary, grammar and writing (Ur, 1996).
Students can express their ideas, talk together in daily conversations, discuss, show the
different functions of language. In brief, good English speaking learners will have many
chances for good education, seeking for jobs or gaining promotion (Baker & Westrup,
2003).

2.2 Speaking competence of English as a foreign language
Speaking competence in English as a foreign language has been raised in different
views. Nunan (1999) claims that being competence in English speaking is the ability to
use words adequately and utter the correct sentences. Moreover, Nunan (1999) also
emphasizes that the speakers’ communicative competence not only includes linguistic
competence, but also concerns sociolinguistic and conversation skills which help them
express the meaning. Sharing the same concern, Bachman and Palmer (1990) state that a
person’s language ability is demonstrated by his linguistic competence, knowledge of
language communication difficulties, as well as language emotional responses. Concerning
the ability to speak from another aspect, Johnson (1995) argues that communicative
competence helps students to get involved in their class activities and learn from those
activities.


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2.3 Characteristics of English speaking
According to Mazouzi (2013), speaking activities are created based on four criteria
including fluency, accuracy, grammar structures, vocabulary and pronunciation. These
criteria play the significant role in the process of earning high proficiency in speaking.
Regarding fluency in speaking English, it is the objective that students need to
achieve. Hughes (2002) defines fluency as the ability to speak in an intelligible way in
order not to lead to unexpected interruptions that may make listeners lose concentration.
Accuracy is considered the second characteristic of speaking performance. Most
people always focus on speaking fluently in the process of learning English and forgetting
about being accurate. When talking, if the speech structure is incorrect, the speaker will not
be able to express what they want to say and the listeners will lose interest in the
conversation (Maozouzi, 2013). Thus, leaners should pay more attention to the correctness
and the completeness of language form, mainly focusing on grammatical structures,
vocabulary and pronunciation (Maozouzi, 2013).

According to Thornbury (2005), when speaking, learners are required to use
accurate grammar structures such as long and complex sentence structures. Moreover,
grammar used in speaking is different from grammar used in writing.
Vocabulary accuracy refers to choosing the right word while speaking. Learners’
often face difficulties when they try to express what they want to say. They use words
incorrectly in all contexts which do not mean similar meaning. Therefore, students should
use the words and utterances correctly (Thornbury, 2005).
In addition, Thornbury (2005) also states that pronunciation is one of the hardest
aspects to achieve in learning English and it is the major factor leading to effective
communication. Therefore, English learners have to improve their pronunciation if they
want to succeed in speaking English (Thornbury, 2005). For example, they should have an


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awareness of the stress, intonation and pitch. All these components will help learners to
achieve effectiveness in English speaking skills.

2.4 Factors that make learning speaking difficult
There are some factors which determine the success in learning of speaking.

2.4.1 Lack of motivation
Littlewood (1984) defines that lack of motivation from teachers is one of the
important factors negatively of affecting students’ speaking performance. In the same vein,
Garnder (1985, p.10) suggests that motivation plays a very important role in teaching and
learning as “positive attitudes and motivation are related to success in second language
teaching”. He also defines that motivation refers to the combination of effort and desire to
achieve the goal of learning the language plus favorable attitudes towards learning the
language (Garnder, 1985). It means that if learners need to speak a second language in the
wide range of social situations or to fulfill professional ambitions, they will perceive the
communicative value of the second language and will therefore be motivated to acquire

proficiency in it (Garnder, 1985). In response to this part, Babu (2010) argues that lack of
motivation in learning is the cause leading to unwillingness to speak in classroom. He says
that the teachers’ demotivating behavior and attitude and unsupportive management also
contribute to reduce students’ motivation to speak up.

2.4.2 Lack of confidence
Harmer (2004) states that students are often unconfident when they convey, share
or express their ideas in front of their teachers and classmates. They prefer to keep silent
because they are afraid of losing face in front of the class when speaking
incorrectly. Tsui (as cited in Nunan, 1999) says that students who suffer from a lack of
confidence will lead to fear in communication.


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Learners are often hesitant to speak because they are afraid of mispronouncing the
words or the students feel really shy about speaking in front of other students (Tsui as cited
in Nunan, 1999). In addition, it is understood that English learners always feel unconfident
because they do not know how to convey their own ideas to the listeners, listeners;
therefore, do not understand what they mean (Saurik, 2011). According to Zhang (2006),
students are often afraid of making mistakes in the process of learning to speak English
because of laughing and receiving negative evaluation from classmates. As a result, the
passive classes always exist because students are not willing to share their positions
(Zhang, 2006).

2.4.3 Lack of vocabulary
Vocabulary refers to “the words that people use when they are talking about a
particular subject” (The online Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries). It is divided into 2 forms
including speaking and printing. Oral vocabulary consists of words that we can get the
meaning through speaking or reading, while the printed vocabulary will be use for writing
(Hiebert & Kamil, 2005).

According to Schmitt (2010), vocabulary is considered on indispensible
component in the process of learning speaking skill. Therefore, some researchers have put
forward to discuss this issue and find out relationship between vocabulary and speaking
skills (Stehr, 2009). For example, Khan (2005) defines that the problems of using the
words when communicating is a common matter for students who learn new languages. In
addition, in the real communication, attention is much pay to the contents instead of
grammar. It is very easy for students to express their idea using the mother tongue;
however, they get confuse when they are asked to convey their opinion using the target
language. Since they not know how to choose and combine the word properly ( Doris &
Jessica, 2007).


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2.4.4 Teaching curriculum
Another factor related to speaking skills of learners is the content of the teaching
syllabus and the curriculum. Olson (1997) suggests that training programs and materials
are the important parts to attract the student’s interests in learning. Moreover, the
programs need to satisfy students’ needs such as make students feel that they are making
progress, they have chances to orally interact with the classmates and they can control their
language pace. According to the context in Vietnam, speaking activities are not enough
provided in English textbooks and curriculum while there are too many exercises referring
to grammar, reading and writing. Sharing this view, Gan (2012) indicates that one of
causes inhibiting learners from being proficient in speaking English is that communicative
skills are not much focus in the curriculum. Furthermore, Al-Abri (2008) considers this
concern that not only time distribution is not reasonable, but also the program does not
focus on communicative. Therefore, this researcher has proposed a few activities which are
suitable for speaking skills such as discussing about a society, hobbies, poetry or films with
the aim of creating opportunities for learners to develop English communicative skill (AlAbri, 2008).

2.4.5 Learning environment
The environmental constraint is also the contributing factor that negatively affects
language learners. Concerning the mother tongue, Harmer (1991) and Ur (1996) suggest
that language learners who share the same native language have a tendency to use their
mother tongue to communicate in English classroom because it is more convenience for
them to exchange ideas, especially when discussing new speaking topics. Furthermore,
learners would like teachers to use mother tongue to teach and explain rather than English
(Harmer, 1991). Besides that, if teachers still keep the traditional methods of teaching and


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use mother tongue in English class too much, students will automatically use mother
tongue to speak with teachers or classmates (Harmer, 1991).
Additionally, class size is considered a major factor that can positively and
negatively affect students’ learning outcomes for speaking. Furthermore, class’s design
with the row of desk affected teachers to organize communicative lesson. Thus, teachers
can not cover all of students and ask them to speak in front of the class ( Vo, Pham & Ho,
2018).

2.4.6 Teaching method
According to Harmer (2004), teachers are considered an important part of students.
They are not only lecturers and knowledge transmitters, but also models for students to
learn and follow, particularly in speaking skill. Therefore, in an educational environment,
there are a few factors related to teachers that may affect students’ speaking performances
in the classroom such as teaching strategies, teachers’ language skills, understanding
students and helping them to improve their strengths, evaluating, and building relationship,
etc. (Williams, 2011). As a result, of all the aforementioned components, teachers’
teaching methods exert the considerable influences on the students’ learning outcomes
(Williams, 2011). However, grammar and writing points are concentrated on rather than
speaking. A survey showed that teachers often blame on lack of time and lack of speaking

activities on English program. Thus, they skipped speaking activities even they are given
in the lessons (Rababa’ah, 2005).
Another reason related to teaching methods is that teachers do not have interesting
topics for students to practice speaking. The topics for discussion must be authentic and
interesting enough to catch the student interest to speak (Bachman and Palmer, 1990).
The last one related to feedback during the speaking activities. According to
Harmer (1991), during the process of speaking learning, students will encounter errors.


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Thus, they expect their teachers to give feedback on the mistakes they make. However, this
method does not apply to all students (Harmer, 1991). While students are practicing
speaking with their classmates, teachers should not interrupt in their conversational flows.
It is appropriate to give comments after they finish. Because of having been interrupted
and corrected many times, students may feel pressured and become afraid of speaking. In
conclusion, teachers should correct students’ errors in a positive way and with
encouragement ( Baker & Westrup, 2003).

2.5 Some solutions to solve possible problems
2.5.1 Possible solutions to lack of confidence
There are some solutions helping students to overcome the lack of confidence when
they learn speaking skills. Chinmoy (2007) suggests that in order to help students to be
more confident in speaking that teachers should convince them to look upon shyness and
not to be afraid of making mistakes. According to Htwe (2007), teachers should develop a
strategy to improve students’ confidence such as creating an environment for students to
speak English more. In the same vein, Kubo (2009) suggests that teaching pronunciation
and intonation to students when learning language is an important solution in order to help
students build confidence in communicative skills. The reason is that once students are
good at pronouncing words, they may not be apprehensive of speaking in front of their
friends.

2.5.2 Possible solutions to lack of motivation
It is very important that teachers should motivate and support students during their
learning process because this will help students feel comfortable in their learning (Aftat,
2008). As shared by Liu and Huang (2010), students lack their motivation to learn English
because they have not realized the importance of English. Therefore, teachers should help
students to understand the significance of learning English in order to make them feel


25
interested and motivated in learning English, and develop their confidence as well.
Additionally, the teacher as an instructor should coordinate and create as many reasonable
opportunities as possible so that all students could get involved in order to develop their
speaking skill (Ur, 1996). Similarly, Rivers (1968) states that teachers must be able to
know how to create activities to motivate students to learn English.

2.5.3 Solutions to problems related to teaching methods
Suitable speaking strategies help teachers and students to be successful in teaching
and learning speaking English. Therefore, some strategies have been proposed by Bashir
(2011). The first strategy is to deal with students who are constantly silent and not willing
to participate in class activities. Teachers must recognize students’ weaknesses and create
conditions for them to participate in conversations with their classmates (Bashir, 2011).
The second strategy is giving the model speech before letting students practice since
students are able to get to know what they are going to do and feel easy to practice (Bashir,
2011). The third strategy is for students who often do not understand their partners’
opinions and that leads to a fear of making mistakes in expressing ideas To solve this
problems, teachers should help and encourage students to listen for the partners’ main
ideas or give clarification of what their partners have spoken in order to make everything
clear enough to the weak students (Bashir, 2011). Moreover, when students make mistakes
in speaking, teachers should give gentle, appropriate and motivational feedback. On the

other hand, teacher should build good rapports among teachers and students as well as
students and students (Bashir, 2011).
Most students use their mother tongue to exchange information in English class,
because they do not understand the teacher’s instructions (Nunan, 1999). To solve this
issue, teachers should create a variety of activities and situations to attract and improve