Khóa luận tốt nghiệp factors affecting student in learning english speaking skill at vietnam national university of agriculture

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES

BA THESIS
FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENT IN LEARNING
ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL AT VIETNAM
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
NHỮNG NHÂN TỐ ẢNH HƯỞNG VIỆC HỌC KỸ
NĂNG NÓI CỦA SINH VIÊN HỌC VIỆN NÔNG
NGHIỆP VIỆT NAM

Student

: NGUYEN VIET ANH

Student code

: 621245

Major

: ENGLISH

Supervisor 1

: DANG XUAN PHI M.A.

Supervisor 2

: TRAN THU TRANG

Hanoi – 2021


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES

BA THESIS
FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENT IN LEARNING
ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL AT VIETNAM
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
NHỮNG NHÂN TỐ ẢNH HƯỞNG VIỆC HỌC KỸ
NĂNG NÓI CỦA SINH VIÊN HỌC VIỆN NÔNG
NGHIỆP VIỆT NAM

Student

: NGUYEN VIET ANH

Student code

: 621245

Major

: ENGLISH

Supervisor 1

: DANG XUAN PHI M.A.

Supervisor 2

: TRAN THU TRANG

Hanoi – 2021


CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY
I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report
entitled “FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENT IN LEARNING ENGLISH
SPEAKING

SKILL

AT

VIETNAM

NATIONAL

UNIVERSITY

OF

AGRICULTURE” submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
degree of Bachelor in the English Language. Except where the reference is
indicated, no other person's work has been used without due acknowledgement
in the text of the thesis.

Hanoi, 2021

Nguyen Viet Anh

Approved by
SUPERVISOR

(Signature and full name)
Date:……………………

i


ACKNOWLEDGMENT
During the process of this thesis, I would like to thank all of my
comments and encouragement to contribute to the completion of this research.
First of all, I thank all family members and friends. They have constantly
encouraged me throughout the research process. They are a great source of
energy and motivation to keep me from getting stressed by completing this
study.
Next, I want to express my gratitude to my two guides, M.A Dang Xuan
Phi and Mrs. Tran Thu Trang. Although they are busy, they are always
enthusiastic to help, urging me to timely complete the research, besides giving
great suggestions and professional information. Moreover, they inspire me so
much that I can finish successfully
Finally, I would like to thank the 120 members who enthusiastically
participated in this study for helping me have a most objective view of the
matter. On the other hand, I would like to thank the Center for Foreign
Languages and International Education for providing workplace and
information.

Ha Noi, June 2021

NguyenViet Anh

ii


TABLE OF CONTENTS
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ..................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ....................................................................................... ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................... iii
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... v
LIST OF ABRREVIATION………………………………..…………………..vi
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................... vi
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................. vii
PART 1: INTRODUCTION............................................................................... 1
1.1.

RATIONALE OF THE STUDY ............................................................. 1

1.2.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY........................................ 3

1.2.1.

Aims of the study ..................................................................................... 3

1.2.2.

Objectives of the study ............................................................................ 3

1.3.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS ..................................................................... 4

1.4.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY ....................................................................... 4

1.5.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ........................................................ 4

1.6.

DESIGN OF THE STUDY ..................................................................... 5

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................... 6
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................... 6
1.1.

REVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS STUDY ................................................ 6

1.1.1.

Aboard ..................................................................................................... 6

1.1.2.

Home........................................................................................................ 7

1.2.2.

Review of theoretical preliminaries employable as tools for
conducting the thesis ............................................................................... 9

1.3

SUMMARY........................................................................................... 17

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ................................................................... 19
2.1.

RESEARCH GOVERNING PRINCIPLES .......................................... 19

2.1.1.

Research questions ................................................................................ 19

2.1.2.

Research hypothesis .............................................................................. 19

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2.1.3.

Research types: ...................................................................................... 20

2.1.4.

Research approaches: ............................................................................ 22

2.1.5.

Principles/ criteria for data collection and data analysis ....................... 22

2.2.

RESEARCH METHODS ...................................................................... 22

2.2.1.

Major methods ....................................................................................... 23

2.3.

SUMMARY........................................................................................... 24

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ............................................. 26
3.1.

RESULT ................................................................................................ 26

3.1.1

Overview................................................................................................ 26

3.1.2.

Factors affecting student in learning english speaking skill at
vietnam national university of agriculture............................................. 26

3.2.

SUMMARY........................................................................................... 46

PART 3: CONCLUSION ................................................................................. 48
1.

RECAPITULATION ............................................................................. 48

2.

CONCLUDING REMARKS ON EACH OF THE THESIS
OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................ 48

2.1.

WHAT PROBLEMS DO NON-MAJOR STUDENTS FACE IN
LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS? ................................... 48

2.2.

WHAT ARE POSSIBLE FACTORS INFLUENCING A
STUDENT'S SPEAKING SKILLS ? .................................................... 48

2.3.

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES THAT
STUDENTS CAN USE TO IMPROVE ENGLISH SPEAKING
SKILLS? ................................................................................................ 49

3.

LIMITATIONS OF THE CURRENT RESEARCH ............................. 50

4.

SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER RESEARCH .................................... 51

REFERENCES .................................................................................................. 52
APPENDIX ........................................................................................................ 55

iv


ABSTRACT
Today, the world is entering the integration process. Therefore, humanity
needs to choose a language as a means of communication. Furthermore, English
is selected so that it is becoming more and more crucial. If students learn
English well, they can improve their opportunity of expanding their knowledge,
while finding well-paid jobs in the future. On the other hand, speaking skills are
arguably the most important but difficult to master the four skills. Therefore, this
study is conducted to find the factors that prevent students from becoming good
at English. The study was carried out at the Center for Foreign Languages , and
International Education at VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF
AGRICULTURE. Participants included 120 students studying at the center. This

study aims to a) find out the current situation of speaking learning in students; b)
find out the main factors that influence them c) give out some suggestions for
students to improve their speaking skills. To fulfill those purposes, the
questionnaire is used as the primary research instrument to collect data. . After
comparing students who spend different time studying at home, the findings
show the two groups of factors affecting students, including the group of factors
that can be minimized by study time and the group of factors not minimized by
study time. The group of factors minimized by learning time has a positive
change from students who do not study to those who spend 2 hours learning as:
hard to learn Grammar, Lack of confidence, Listening ability. The other group
that did not show any change included: Difficulty in learning vocabulary and
Lack of Environment. Additionally, the study also suggested some
recommendations. From the research, it can be shown that the factors can be
completely overcome by a reasonable study time. For the factor "Difficulty to
learn vocabulary" students need to find a method that suits them best and does
not hesitate to expand the environment to find partners to study and progress
together.
v


LIST OF ABBREVIATION
B.B.A: Bachelor of Business Administration
EFL: English as a Foreign Language
ESL: English as a Second Language
FFD: Future Funiture Design
HPU: Hai Phong Private University
M.B.A: Master of Business Administration
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.2.1.1:

Criteria for judging the degree ......................................... 23

Table 3.1.2.1: 1a.

Difficult to use appropriate word & 2a. Use the
wrong synonym or antonym ............................................ 32

Table 3.1.2.2: 3a.

Can’t use the alternative sentence structure, 4a.
Difficult to remember and use tense & 5a. Can’t
distinguish part of speech ................................................ 33

Table 3.1.2.3: 6a.

Misspronoucing the word & 7a. Difficult to learn
word stress and sentences ................................................ 33

Table 3.1.2.4:

Result of EFA .................................................................. 35

Table 3.1.2.5: 8b,

Being lazy, stress ............................................................. 37

Table 3.1.2.6: 9b,

Being not confident to speak with other & 10b, being
hesitant, difficult to express ............................................. 37

Table 3.2.2.7: 11b,

Afraid of making error; 12b, Afraid of speaking is
not accepted by friend, teacher & 13b, Often forget
what will say .................................................................... 38

Table 3.1.2.8:

Result of EFA .................................................................. 39

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Table 3.1.2.9: 14c,

Unable or difficult to hear anything from native
speaker & 15c, Can’t translate the word given
correctly ........................................................................... 41

Table 3.1.2.10: 16c, Abuse the mother tongue ................................................. 42
Table 3.1.2.11: 17c, Difficult to find someone to practise and learn
together & 18c, Little chance to speak English at
class and at home ............................................................. 42
Table 3.1.2.12:

Result of EFA .................................................................. 44

Table 3.1.2.13:

Learner’s opinion about factor......................................... 46

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.2.1.1:

The process of analyzing the One-way ANOVA. test ......... 24

Figure 3.1.2.1:

Student’s Characteristic ........................................................ 26

Figure 3.1.2.2:

Learner's time for learning English ...................................... 27

Figure 3.1.2.3:

Students' interest in English .................................................. 28

Figure 3.1.2.4:

Student's time to study English at home ............................... 29

Figure 3.1.2.5:

Learners who have taken the B1 exam and have not yet ..... 30

Figure 3.1.2.6:

Learners' assessment of the importance of speaking skills .. 31

Figure 3.1.2.7:

Result of ANOVA test .......................................................... 36

Figure 3.1.2.8:

Result of ANOVA test .......................................................... 40

Figure 3.1.2.9:

Result of ANOVA test .......................................................... 44

vii


PART 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. RATIONALE OF THE STUDY
Nowadays, English is considered an international language all over the
world. "It has become the common language all over the world and used directly
in business, technology, and education throughout many countries.". Therefore,
English is essential for students in every country. These days, Vietnam is
integrating with the international labor market when considerably participating
in the ASEAN Economic Community (A.E.C.), and more foreign investors
focus on this potential market. This issue requires students to have specialized
knowledge and be proficient in English, especially English speaking skills, to
get more job opportunities. Thus, the student should concentrate on their English
learning to improve and enhance four of their English skills. According to
McKong & Kerubo (2017), four essential skills in learning a language are

developed in order. Firstly, the learners should sharpen their listening skills.
After that, reading skills are expected to be improved. Last but not least, it is
writing skills. From this point of view, speaking is such an essential skill in
learning English.
Gilakjani (2012) claims that "it is vital that English speakers, whether
native or non-native speakers, can exchange meanings effectively". Therefore,
Speaking skills in English are considered essential but the most difficult to
master. According to Fitriani et al. (2015) and Leong et al.(2017), the success of
learning a foreign language is accounted for by the level of learners' speaking
skills. This is concretized by dividing the level into levels by some proficiency
tests. According to Common European Framework of Reference" for
Languages: Learning. Teaching and Assessment; English proficiency level of
learners are divided into three large levels and six detailed sub-levels, along with
the requirements that learners need to reach a certain level.

1


Currently, the graduate level required by each university is stopping at
the B1 level with non-major students. It is a requirement that is not too high to
achieve for students. Therein, The speaking test takes 25% of the total score.
Each candidate will take the same contestant and two examiners, have 10-12
minutes to complete the four required sections of the speaking test, and in the
end, their scores will be based on their entire Speaking test, not compare with
other candidates. However, Achieving a B1 certificate has always been a
"nightmare" for students. The Viet Nam University of Agriculture is a typical
example of using B1 as an outcome requirement. In the training program,
English is compulsory for each student. The English program is tailored for each
discipline, ensuring that students can use English in communication and work
and research capability at higher levels after graduation. That requirement is not

high to achieve, but many students have to worry when the exam comes. In
particular, the results are often not satisfactory. The reason is that students do
not have enough motivation and have a problem learning and training this skill.
As a researcher, the researcher would like to present the thesis title " A study on
the factors affecting students learning English speaking skills at VIETNAM
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE." for several reasons.
Firstly, Speaking is the most crucial skill in oral communication in real
life. Listening and Speaking are two significant parts of communication. They
are closely interdependent. If we understand the messages that others convey to
us but cannot communicate, we will not naturally interact with the other person
despite understanding important information from them. Moreover, when
learning a language, Speaking is a practical skill to deliver messages and content
directly, increasing interaction and practice, which is an essential component of
the whole language learning process. Moreover, learning to speak will help
learners be more confident in communicating and easier to use English to
interact with others, thereby improving their proficiency in each exam. As a
2


result, the researcher would like to do this research to explain and help the
student learn the speaking process.
Furthermore, Learning and practicing a speaking skill is one of the most
challenging processes. Learners can master listening, but it is always hard to
convey their message to others. They are always secretive about ideas or do not
have enough words to communicate effectively. That causes problems in the
conversation, even failure. As a consequence, learners get caught up in a loop of
growing shyness in communication.
The last but not least important reason to choose the title of this thesis is
that many students are quite interested in learning speaking skills but are always
afraid and discouraged during their studies. The main classes do not have many

opportunities to learn and communicate, causing boredom. On the other hand,
practicing speaking skills is difficult and takes much time. That is why the
researcher wants to identify the factors that affect speaking skills and propose
strategies to help students learn speaking skills more excitingly and better.
1.2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.2.1. Aims of the study
The study is carried out to survey the actual situation of learning English
speaking skills of 120 non-major students in the Center for Foreign Languages
and International Education to determine the factors affecting speaking skills
and find out how to learn this skill.
1.2.2. Objectives of the study
In the light of that general aim, some specific objectives are drawn up to
outline the exact directions of the study as follows:
● To

give out the current situation of students learning English at

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE.
● To

analyze the factors affecting student's learning in English speaking

skill level B1 at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture.
3


● To

suggest some possible strategies to improve and solve the problem of

students when learning and practising speaking skills, help the learners adjust
their learning process effectively.
1.3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
These issues could specify the objectives of the research briefly into these
research questions:
● What

problems do non-major students face in learning English speaking

skills?
● What
●

are possible factors influencing a student's speaking skills?

What are the practical strategies that students can use to improve their

English speaking skills?
1.4. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study will take place at the Center for Foreign Languages and
International Education. This English center was established at the Viet Nam
National University of Agriculture to train in life sciences, social sciences,
management, economics, and international relations, especially English. In
terms of the research participants, 120 students learning B1 at the Center for
Foreign Languages and International Education will participate in this study.
They are all learning and preparing for the outcome examination and have
problems speaking at the B1 level. Therefore, within the scope of the study, the
study only focuses on the factors affecting students in learning speaking skills at
the B1 level and suggests some possible solutions to improve English speaking
skills for students.

1.5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
There are microscopic researches on the issues and factors that affect the
learning of speaking skills of non-major students at the Viet Nam National
University of Agriculture. Therefore, this study is expected to find out the

4


factors that affect English learners' speaking skills. After figuring out the main
factor causing student's speaking problems, it is also desired to suggest the
solutions that learners can implement to improve their speaking skills, and
English teachers can base on the study as a document to improve and apply
reasonable teaching methods.
1.6. DESIGN OF THE STUDY
Apart from the acknowledgement, the abstract, references and appendices,
this study consists of three main parts:
PART 1 - INTRODUCTION presents the rationale of the study, aims and
objectives of the study, research questions, the scope and the significance of the
study.
PART 2 - DEVELOPMENT is composed of 3 chapters:
Chapter 1 - LITERATURE REVIEW - provides the theoretical
background for the study
Chapter 2 - METHODOLOGY describes the methodology used in the
research consisting of the research methods, research setting/ context, data
collection, and data analysis.
Chapter 3 - FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS - reports and discusses the
findings of the study.
PART 3 - CONCLUSION summarizes the main issues that have been
addressed in the study, points out the limitations, draws pedagogical
implications concerning the research topic and makes some recommendations to

help the students improve their speaking skills.

5


PART 2: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. REVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS STUDY
1.1.1. Aboard
Boonkit, K. (2010). Enhancing the Development of Speaking Skills for
Non-Native Speakers of English. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences,
2(2010), 1305–1309. Boonkit (2010) carried out a study on the factors
increasing learners' speaking skills. The results represented that using
appropriate speaking skills can be an excellent strategy to decrease speakers'
stress. The results also revealed that the freedom of topic choice urged the
participants to feel comfortable, persuaded to speak English, and increased the
speaking confidence among EFL learners. However, this study has not found
enough factors that can affect students' speaking skills, which will be explored
more in this thesis.
Bozorgian, H. (2012). The Relationship between Listening and Other
Language Skills in the International English Language Testing System. Theory
and Practice in Language Studies, 2(4), 657-663. Bozorgian (2012) studied the
relationship between listening skills and other language skills. The results
showed that there is a close correspondence between listening comprehension
and language proficiency. That is, the higher the listening score, the better the
speaking score. Lukitasari (2003) carried out a study on learners' strategies in
overcoming their speaking problems. The results obtained from this study show
that learners face many speaking difficulties such as inhibition, nothing to say,
low participation, and mother tongue use in their speaking classes. The other
result of this study proves that learners did not improve their speaking skills

because they had not learned three elements of speaking: vocabulary, grammar,
and pronunciation.

6


Tanveer, M. (2007). Investigation of the Factors That Cause Language
Anxiety for ESL/EFL Learners in Learning Speaking Skills and the Influence It
Casts on Communication in the Target Language. Dissertation, University of
Glasgow. Tanveer (2007) examined the factors that caused anxiety for learners
in learning speaking proficiency and the impact of this negative mentality on
target language communication. The achieved results designated that learners'
stress and fear stop their language learning and performance abilities. The
researcher emphasized that high anxiety lowers the learners' speaking
performance. This thesis will learn more about influencing factors stemming
from learners' psychology.
Urrutia León, W., & Vega Cely, E. (2010). Encouraging Teenagers to
Improve Speaking Skills through Games in a Colombian Public School,
PROFILE, 12(1), 11-31. Bogotá, Colombia. Urrutia and Vega (2010)
demonstrated that learners' oral performance was influenced by their lack of
vocabulary, diffidence, and fear of being despised. However, it was also
indicated that learners' cooperation, self-confidence, vocabulary knowledge, and
the class environment supported them to improve their speaking skills. Prieto
(2007) performed a study about cooperative learning tasks. The findings of her
study showed that one way to enhance speaking skills is to interact with others,
learn from others, and choose the topics based on the learners' interests to
promote them.
1.1.2. Home
Diep, D.L.T.N. (2017). Measurement of factors affecting English
speaking skills of students at the foreign languages department of Van Lang

University. This research indicates three elements important to the image of the
student's speaking skills in FFD of Van Lang University. The study is conducted
in the scope of FFD only, so it is necessary for further research university-wide.

7


Huyen, H.L.T. (2019). Factor affecting speaking skill of first-year English
major at H.P.U. This research found out the factor affecting the speaking skills
of the significant student at H.P.U. It covers lack of Environment, limitation of
the word, not being confident, and tend to use the mother tongue more. This
study. However, this study has yet to find the maximum of internal factors such
as vocabulary and grammar. On the other hand, the number of participants is
only 40 people; this is not enough to be evaluated objectively and
comprehensively, so some factors have not been found.
Van, V.P.T. (2015). Factors affecting students' interest in learning
speaking skills at finance and accounting department Hoa Binh university.
According to the findings, some factors affect students' interest in speaking
activities, such as students, teachers, and classroom size. Especially, the
student's factors lie in their shyness, nervousness, fear of making mistakes, lack
of motivation, being deficient in pronunciation, stress and intonation, grammar
structures and vocabulary.
Yen, Y.L.H. (2019). A study on factors affecting English speaking skills
of the 10th-grade ethnic minority students at Van Hoa 1 high school. This
research pointed out in detail the factors affecting the speaking skills of students
in Van Hoa 1 high school. Participants included 51 students in grade 10 and 6
English teachers currently studying and working at the school. The study found
out the factors consist of the internal factors and the external factors, but the
scope of study aims to ethnic minority students studying at high school so that
the level of learning speaking skills is just basic English.

1.2 REVIEW OF THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.2.1. Statement of theoretical framework chosen
During the learning English process, if learners want to be good at reading
or writing, they need abundant and reliable resources, patience, diligence, and
hard work. However, listening and speaking skills are not able to be maximized
8


through books and documents alone. Pronunciation, word use, listening, and
speaking reflexes are difficult to improve by mere means. Therefore, in learning
and practicing, problems cannot be avoided, but some factors affect learning this
skill. In this part, through reference sources, the researcher would like to give
theoretical contents including: " Definition of speaking, The importance of
speaking skill, Characteristic of speaking, Some problem about speaking and
factors affecting speaking skill”.
1.2.2. Review of theoretical preliminaries employable as tools for
conducting the thesis
1.2.2.1 Definition of speaking
Speaking has always been considered an essential and fascinating skill.
As a result, many researchers have studied and defined concepts about this skill.
According to Richard ( 2008; 19), in speaking, we tend to be getting
something done, exploring ideas, working out some aspects of the world, or
simply being together. Students can easily communicate and explore their ideas
while also giving students access to up-to-date areas of information, including
science, technology, medicine, etc., if they pay more attention to practicing
mastering speaking.
Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves
producing and receiving and processing information (Brown, 1994; Burns &
Joyce,1997)
According to (Cameron 2001: 40; Brown, 2004: 140), Speaking is a

productive skill in speech organs to express meaning directly and empirically
observed. To make more it specific, a member of EnglishCLUB.com defines
speaking: " Speaking is the delivery of language through the mouth. Speech is
the production of sound by the involvement of many parts of the body including
the lungs, vocal tract, vocal cords, vocal cords, teeth and lips. Bygate (1987)
defined speaking as producing auditory signals to produce different verbal
9


responses in listeners. It is regarded as combining sounds systematically to form
meaningful sentences.
Tarigan (1990:3-4) defines that Speaking as a language skill that is
developed in child-life, which is produced by listening skill, and at that period,
speaking skill is learned. Unlike listening skills formed from birth, speaking
skills are initiated when communicating with other people, particularly our
parents. When we hear words from parents, new speaking skills arise when we
interact with parents with meaningless words or sentences.
Based on the competence-based curriculum, Speaking is one of the four
essential competencies that the students should gain. It has a vital role in
communication. Speaking can be found in the spoken cycle, especially in the
Joint Construction of Text stage (Department Pendidikan Nasional, 2004). In
carrying out speaking, students face some difficulties, one of them is about
language itself. Most students have difficulties speaking even though they have
many vocabularies and have written them well. The problems are afraid for
students to make mistakes.
Ladouse (1991) defines that Speaking is described as the activity as the
capacity to express oneself in a situation or report acts or situations in precise
words or the capability to converse or express a sequence of ideas fluently.
According to Chaney (1998), Speaking is making and sharing meaning by using
verbal and non-verbal symbols in different contexts.

From the explanation above, the researcher concludes that Speaking is the
process of applying thoughts and natural parts of the body to interact with what
has just been heard with meaningful messages. It is used to transfer and express
the ideas and thoughts of the speakers to the listeners. Speaking and listening
cannot be separated but connected intimately to each other.

10


1.2.2.2. The importance of speaking
Speaking skill is the most important skill to acquire foreign or second
language learning. Among the four critical language skills, Speaking is deemed
to be the most essential skill in learning a foreign or second language. Brown
and Yuke (1983) stated, "Speaking is the skill that the students will judge most
in real-life situations".
Gerald Gillis, a B.B.A. from the University of Georgia and an M.B.A.
from the University of Tampa wrote about the roles of speaking includes:
● Ability to inform, persuade, and direct: Business managers, educators,
military leaders, lawyers, and politicians, among others, always seek to master
their speaking skills. Speaking fluently and clearly makes the golden
opportunity to convey their messages known. In addition, mastering this skill
helps the speaker gain and hold the attention of the audience. Therefore, the
outcome gained from their efforts is that the message is formed effectively,
informative and understood.
● Ability to stand out from the rest: Many people are deathly afraid to
speak publicly; others have the little facility to form thoughts into sentences and
then believably deliver those words. Hence, being able to speak fluently and
convey information well is considered a non-trivial ability. Practicing constantly
to speaking fluent, flexible, and extremely easy to persuade and stand out from
others

● Ability to benefit derivatively: Well-developed verbal skills can
improve confidence to master negotiations. Good communication increases
transmission rates and increases credibility, thereby enhancing reputation.
● Career enhancement: Employers have always valued the competence to
speak well. It is, and always will be, an essential skill and well worth the effort
in fully developing.

11


● Personal satisfaction: Through an effectively well-delivered speech, the
speaker's anxiety is replaced by the excitement of overcoming the barrier and
getting high appreciation from others.
To summarize, The role of mastering speaking skills is obvious. When
practiced to proficiency, speaking skills will upgrade themselves and create
many favorable opportunities, easily convey information to others. As a result,
the importance of speaking will form an excellent motivation for learners,
helping them focus on learning and practice to achieve optimal results.
1.2.2.3 Characteristic of speaking
According to Mazouzi (2013, as cited in Leong et al., 2017), speaking
activities should be organized to balance fluency and accuracy accomplishment.
This is because both fluency and accuracy play crucial roles in the achievement
of oral performance. To master speaking skills, people always try to speak
fluently, accurately. Therefore, it becomes the primary goal of learners when
they study English and all languages in general.
According to British Council Indonesia Foundation, fluency is the flow
and efficiency with which speakers express their ideas, mainly when speaking.
A few grammar mistakes may appear here and there in the explanation, but they
should be delivered in a way that is easy to understand and shows how
comfortable they are with the language.

Besides, accuracy, on the other hand, demonstrates their capacity to use
the necessary vocabulary, grammar and punctuation correctly. This skill is vital
for written assignments at university, such as essays and lab reports. It is also an
absolute necessity in the workplace, where an email or report that is riddled with
grammar or punctuation mistakes may be viewed as unprofessional.
Additionally, According to Thornbury (2005), the correct use of
grammatical structures of learners requires the length and complexity of wellstructured statements and propositions. Moreover, to achieve proficiency in
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speaking skills, we need to understand how to use alternative words clearly;
many synonyms can replace a familiar word in each situation to help achieve
professionalism in speaking. Besides, distinguishing word types of a word to
avoid misuse or use the alternative grammar structures can help a lot for learners
in diversifying words and mastering how to use them in appropriate
circumstances.
Thornbury (2005) states that pronunciation is the lowest level of
knowledge learners often pay attention to. Many confusing tones make it
challenging to hear and understand. Therefore, learners need to master the rules
of pronunciation, different readings, and stress, intonation, or pitch. When
mastering these things will make learners achieve learning English most
effectively.
When it comes to language learning, it often talks to the speakers of that
language (Ur, 1996). Therefore, the learners should pay more attention to
achieve speaking skills. To progress in speaking, learners need to pay much
attention to each sentence's accuracy and fluency. That will help learners be
proactive in conveying information accurately and help learners to be excellent
English speakers.
1.2.2.4. Some problems with speaking
When they speak another language like English rather than the mother

tongue, it is a challenge for the learners because speaking English well requires
them to master the grammatical structures and English in different
communicative situations (Fitriani et al., 2015). Therefore, to be proficient in
speaking English, learners need to use them for their purposes, communicating
correctly to the listener and appropriately in context. However, in the process of
learning or practising a speaking skill, that challenges the learner a lot. As a
consequence, that process has many problems. Heriansyah (2012) points out
that there were twelve kinds of difficulties that the students have come across
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when learning to speak English, and they were divided into two main kinds of
problems, they are linguistic problems and non-linguistic problems. The
linguistic problems are "lack of vocabulary, lack of grammar knowledge, and
poor pronunciation". On the other hand, the non-linguistic problems are much
more; they are "not being brave to speak, not being confident to speak, being
afraid of speaking, being afraid of making errors, being afraid of being mocked
by friends, being nervous about speaking, not used to talking in class, difficult to
express words or sentences, and confused how to use appropriate words". To
summarize, the linguistic problem included the problem of languages itself, such
as vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and speakers' emotional states.
1.2.2.5. factor affecting speaking skill
From the above problems and through the researched information, several
factors have studied as follows:
1.2.2.5a Linguistic factors
Bhattacharya (2017), Hosni (2014), and Fitriani et al. (2015) hold the
exact definition of what linguistic factors are. The researchers state that some
factors that inhibit speaking skills include lack of vocabulary, not good at
grammar, and poor pronunciation.
● Vocabulary is defined as "the knowledge of meanings of words"

(Fitriani et al.,2015). When speakers do not have enough vocabulary, it is hard
to express their thoughts in spoken language and combine words into sentences.
Besides, the lack of language will cause the speaker to use a word with that
meaning in many sentence positions without finding an alternative word. That
problem is tedious for the listener. So, Lack of vocabulary is one of the most
critical factors that prevent learners.
● Grammar: According to Richard Nordquist(2020), grammar is a set of
rules and examples dealing with the syntax and word structures (morphology) of
a language. Proficiency in grammar helps learners easily organize sentences and
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communicate fluently and effectively. Unfortunately, learners often have
difficulty finding a suitable grammatical structure for their speech, which causes
them to pause a lot and spend a lot of time thinking and selecting.
● Pronunciation: Pronunciation is defined as how people pronounce the
sounds and their intonation when speaking. "Mispronouncing a single sound or
wrong use of stresses and intonations can cause misunderstandings''
(Bhattacharya, 2017).
1.2.2.5b Non-Linguistic factors
The Non-Linguistic factors appear from the individual themselves,
especially from their emotional state. Speakingnsyah (2012) identified 13 causes
of these factors: " being afraid of making errors, being nervous about speaking,
not being confident to speak, often forgetting, dislike learning grammar, afraid
of being mocked by friends, not being used to talking in class, better perform the
ance or ability in speaking by other students, the use of mother language by
other students, no friends at the campus or home to practice English, difficult to
understand the 12 tenses, seldom hearing English from their teachers, and ideas
or opinions not accepted by friends". It is possible to show the most apparent
non-linguistic factors as follows.

• Anxiety: Anxiety is an emotional state of being stressed or depressed
about something. In the process of learning speaking skills, students are always
worried about what they say or convey. They are afraid of making errors. As a
consequence, many students are so nervous that they just stand still when their
teacher asks.
• Lack of confidence: It is commonly understood that students' lack of
confidence usually occurs when students realize that their conversation partners
have not understood them or when they do not understand another speaker. Tsui
cited Nunan (1999) says that students who lack confidence in themselves and
their English necessarily suffer from communication apprehension. It is easy to
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recognize that unconfident students always respond with small and timid tones.
In many cases, they remain silent until the teacher suggests or dismisses them.
They have ideas, but they are afraid to speak. They always think that someone
else will answer them better.
• Lack of motivation: Zua (2008) states that motivation is inner energy.
She says that no matter what kind of motivation the learners possess, it will
enhance their study interest. Many students are reluctant to learn English
because they consider it a requirement to pass the subject. Besides, some
students find learning English, especially speaking skills, is challenging to
master. Therefore they give up easily. Learning and practice takes a lot of
perseverance, seriousness and takes a significant amount of time, so that
students not being interested in this compulsory subject significantly affect
students' speaking skills.
1.2.2.5c Mother tongue
The mother tongue is the local language that the learners share. Therefore,
learners tend to use their native language to communicate ideas or stories to each
other even though they are in English. This is part of the cause of the lack of

vocabulary, making learners confused when switching to conveying that
information in English. In addition, too much abuse of their mother tongue in
learning English makes it difficult for them to improve their speaking skills.
1.2.2.5d Listening ability
Listening and speaking abilities are closely connected. From the work of
Bhattacharya (2017), it can be concluded that the higher the score the students
get. In listening tasks, the better their speaking skills are. Listeners need to
understand what other speakers want to convey the idea they and the other party
want to talk about. That is to say, to be a good speaker, they have to be a good
listener as well.

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