A survey of problems in speaking faced by the first year english majors at binh duong teachers training college m a 60 14 10

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HCM CITY
UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

A SURVEY OF PROBLEMS IN SPEAKING
FACED BY THE FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS
AT BINH DUONG TEACHERS’ TRAINING COLLEGE

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF TESOL

SUBMITTED BY: PHAN THI PHUOC
SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN BICH HANH, MA.

HO CHI MINH CITY
MAY 2011


STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
I hereby certify that this thesis entitled:

A SURVEY OF PROBLEMS IN SPEAKING FACED BY THE
FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT BINH DUONG
TEACHERS’ TRAINING COLLEGE
is my own work.

This has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any
other institution.

Ho Chi Minh City, May, 2011

Phan Thi Phuoc

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my deep gratefulness to my thesis
supervisor, Ms Nguyen Bich Hanh, MA who willingly gave me valuable
evaluations and comments on my project any time I needed it. I am thankful for her
support in my preparation and completion of this thesis.
I would also like to thank the organizers of the Post Graduate Study Program
in TESOL, Dr. Tran Thi Mai, Head of the Department of Post Graduate, and Dr.
Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, Head of the Department of English Linguistics and
Literature of HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
Last, but not least, I wish to give my profound gratitude to my colleagues of
the Department of Foreign Languages, Binh Duong Teachers’ Training College
where I work and as well as the first-year English majors at the college for their
kind help and enthusiastic support that have facilitated me to conduct the survey and
complete the thesis.

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ABSTRACT
The learners of English referred to in this project are defined as the first-year
English majors at Binh Duong Teachers’ Training College who have taken up the
English language as their major. Therefore they are obliged to possess the
knowledge of the language such as grammar structures, language functions,
vocabulary and pronunciation. Besides, they are supposed to develop all their basic
skills of English including listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation. On

developing their speaking skill, the students confront numerous problems that badly
affect their abilities of speaking English inside as well as outside class.
To identify the students’ reality of practicing their spoken English, a survey
was conducted to discover their inhibition in verbal activities in the speaking class
as well in any process of oral interaction with their teachers and their classmates.
Secondly, the implications of the findings analyzed in chapter four – Data
Analysis and Findings - prove that most of the students (1) are afraid of the
speaking subject and get very little acquisition in it, (2) are inhibited by several
subjective and objective factors in the speaking activities, and (3) find that the
speaking tasks and activities and teachers’ teaching techniques are inconsistent,
ineffective or unencouraging.
Finally, some teaching strategies and activities are suggested to improve the
quality of teaching and learning the speaking skill at Binh Duong Teachers’
Training College.

iii


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Statement of authorship----------------------------------------------------------------- i
Acknowledgements--------------------------------------------------------------------- ii
Abstract----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- iii
Table of contents-------------------------------------------------------------------------iv
List of tables-----------------------------------------------------------------------------viii
List of figures-----------------------------------------------------------------------------ix
List of abbreviations----------------------------------------------------------------------x

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ---------------------------------------------------- 1
1.1. Background of the study------------------------------------------------------------ 1
1.2. Statement of purpose --------------------------------------------------------------- 8

1.3. Research questions-------------------------------------------------------------------8
1.4. Significance of the study------------------------------------------------------------9
1.5. Limitations of the study------------------------------------------------------------10
1.6. Organization of the thesis ---------------------------------------------------------10
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW-------------------------------------------12
2.1. Concepts and characteristics of the speaking skill------------------------------12
2.1.1. Definition of the speaking skill---------------------------------------- 12
2.1.2. Importance of the speaking skill--------------------------------------- 13
2.1.3. Characteristics of the speaking skill----------------------------------- 15
2.1.4. Communicative competence-------------------------------------------- 16
2.1.4.1. Grammatical competence------------------------------------17

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2.1.4.2. Sociolinguistic competence-----------------------------------18
2.1.4.3. Discourse competence-----------------------------------------18
2.1.4.4. Strategic competence------------------------------------------19
2.2. Factors influencing EFL learners’ speaking ----------------------------------- 19
2.2.1. Age ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 19
2.2.2. Aural medium-------------------------------------------------------------20
2.2.3. Socio-cultural factors-----------------------------------------------------21
2.2.4. Affective factors----------------------------------------------------------22
2.2.4.1. Self-esteem------------------------------------------------------22
2.2.4.2. Anxiety-----------------------------------------------------------22
2.2.4.3. Motivation-------------------------------------------------------24
2.2.4.4. Empathy----------------------------------------------------------24
2.2.4.5. Inhibition---------------------------------------------------------25
2.2.5. Other factors---------------------------------------------------------------26
2.2.5.1. Language environment-----------------------------------------26

2.2.5.2. School facilities--------------------------------------------------27
2.2.5.3. Teaching and learning materials-------------------------------28
2.2.5.4. The roles of teachers and learners-----------------------------29
2.3. Methods and techniques of teaching EFL speaking skill-----------------------31
2.3.1. Methods in teaching the speaking skill---------------------------------31
2.3.1.1. The Grammar-Translation method-----------------------------31
2.3.1.2. The Direct method-----------------------------------------------32
2.3.1.3. The Audio-Lingual method-------------------------------------33

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2.3.1.4. The Communicative approach----------------------------------34
2.3.2. Techniques in teaching the speaking skill------------------------------36
2.4. The characteristics of a successful speaking activity----------------------------36
2.4.1. Maximum foreign talk----------------------------------------------------37
2.4.2. Even participation---------------------------------------------------------37
2.4.3. High motivation-----------------------------------------------------------37
2.4.4. Right language level------------------------------------------------------37
2.5. Strategies of teaching and learning the speaking skill--------------------------38
2.5.1. Speaking teaching strategies--------------------------------------------38
2.5.2. Speaking learning strategies--------------------------------------------39
2.6. Previous study-----------------------------------------------------------------------39
2.7. Summary-----------------------------------------------------------------------------41
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY--------------------------------------------------43
3.1. Research design---------------------------------------------------------------------43
3.2. Characteristics of subjects---------------------------------------------------------43
3.2.1. Students’ profiles---------------------------------------------------------44
3.2.2. Teachers’ profiles--------------------------------------------------------44
3.3. Instruments--------------------------------------------------------------------------45

3.4. Procedures---------------------------------------------------------------------------47
3.5.Summary------------------------------------------------------------------------------48
CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ----------------------------49
4.1. Students’ responses to the questionnaire-----------------------------------------49

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4.2. Teachers’ responses to the questionnaire----------------------------------------65
4.3 Summary------------------------------------------------------------------------------75
CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS-------------76
5.1. Recommendations------------------------------------------------------------------76
5.1.1. Recommendations to the students-----------------------------------------76
5.1.2. Recommendations to the teachers-----------------------------------------81
5.2. Conclusions--------------------------------------------------------------------------88
5.3. Summary-----------------------------------------------------------------------------89
BIBLIOGRAPHY ----------------------------------------------------------------------90
APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Questionnaire for students ----------------------------------------------97
Appendix 2: Questionnaire for students ( in Vietnamese)--------------------------104
Appendix 3: Questionnaire for teachers ---------------------------------------------111

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1 Time allocated to English-related subjects for 1st year study-------5
Table 1.2 Detailed content of the speaking course-------------------------------6
Table 3.1: Summary of the students’ subject characteristics-------------------44
Table 3.2: Summary of the teachers’ subject characteristics-------------------44
Table 4.1 Students’ feeling in the English speaking class----------------------52
Table 4.2 Students’ purposes for learning spoken English --------------------53
Table 4.3 Students’ difficulties in the English speaking -----------------------56
Table 4.4 Factors causing students’ difficulties----------------------------------57
Table 4.5 Students’ opinions about teaching styles and techniques-----------58
Table 4.6 Students’ opinions about speaking tasks and activities-------------60
Table 4.7 Students’ strategies in expressing their ideas-------------------------62
Table 4.8 Students’ activities in improving their spoken English -------------63
Table 4.9 Students’ strategies in learning the speaking skill--------------------64
Table 4.10 Teachers’ opinions about factors causing students’ difficulties---69
Table 4.11 Teachers’ answer about students’ strategies on lacking of
vocabulary-------------------------------------------------------------71
Table 4.12 Activities helping students improve their speaking skill-----------72
Table 4.13 Strategies often used in teaching spoken English ------------------74

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 4.1 Students’ interest in learning English ----------------------------------49

Figure 4.2 Students’ remark on the English speaking --------------------------51
Figure 4.3 Students’ thinking about spoken English----------------------------52
Figure 4.4 Students’ opinions about the course-book “New Interchange”book 1--------------------------------------------------------------------54
Figure 4.5 Teachers’ opinions about students’ feeling in the English speaking
classes--------------------------------------------------------------------66
Figure 4.6 Teachers’ difficulties in teaching the speaking skill at BDTTC---67
Figure 4.7 Teachers’ answers about students’ difficulties in English speaking
class-----------------------------------------------------------------------68
Figure 4.8 Teachers’ opinions about the course-book “New Interchange”book 1---------------------------------------------------------------------70

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BDTTC: Binh Duong Teachers’ Training College
CA:

Communicative Approach

CLT:

Communicative Language Teaching

CMC:

Computer-Mediated Communication

FL:

Foreign Language

EFL:

English as a Foreign Language

ESL

English as a Second Language

L1:

The mother tongue

L2:

Second language

USSH: University of Social Sciences and Humanities

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION
Speaking is one of the most important language skills. Learning a language
first and foremost is learning to speak it in order to communicate with people who
speak the same language. In all language curricula, the speaking skill is a crucial
component. Acquisition of the speaking skill does not happen naturally, however, in
our context of teaching and learning because the target language is not spoken
outside the classroom. Learners often feel that their speaking ability seriously
inadequate, that they are somewhat inhibited from using the spoken language. The
students at BDTTC are no exception. They have a lot of difficulties in learning
speaking and they are under pressure as they are to become secondary school
teachers and speaking the language fluently is one of their goals. Consequently,
their great concern is to improve their speaking ability.
The study was carried out to explore their difficulties, their attitudes as well
as their expectation towards the spoken English. The study hoped to identify the
causes why most students can not express themselves freely and naturally in
English, and then came up with practical recommendations to help develop the
students’ speaking skill.
This chapter presents the background of the study, statement of the purpose,
research questions, significance of the study, limitations of the study and
organization of the thesis.
1.1. The background of the study
1.1.1. English teaching and learning in Vietnam
In recent decades, there is an increasing tendency to learn foreign languages
especially English, in Vietnam. English is now considered the most popular
language in the world. It is a means of communication in important fields of

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science, technology, business and diplomacy. It is also the means to enhance mutual
understanding and cooperation among nations in the fields of culture and politics.
As said by Rivers (1969), people have begun to appreciate the value of the
knowledge of a language rather than their native language. To a lot of people,
especially students at universities or adults, foreign languages have a particular
position in their jobs.
For the above-mentioned reasons, of teaching and learning English has
always become a special interest because of its importance in any scopes of our
lives. Julian Edge (1993: 25) said: “Since British trade, followed by colonial and
imperial expansion, English spread around the world. Then the military and
economic dominance of the United States of America has confirmed English as the
international language of present historical period. As a consequence, English
serves for many times many more people as a barrier between themselves and those
some fields of interest, many people in their own countries will not be able to
become doctors, for example if they can not learn enough English.”
It is clear, from what Julian Edge said that English has become a compulsory
component of education in many countries, including Vietnam, it is considered to
be a useful tool to access the world knowledge. Though the importance of English
has been recognized, how the language has been taught up till now is often
questioned by both teachers and methodologists worldwide.
In Vietnam, after the renovation in 1986, especially since the United States
lifted up its economic embargo against Vietnam, English has become a foreign
language of utmost importance for the Vietnamese. The need of mastering English
has been increased rapidly. Broughton (1980: 6) said “A good command of English
in a second language situation is considered as a passport to social and economic

advancement”, and this statement is true to the situation in Vietnam.
Owing to the “Open-door” policy as well as the “Law on Foreign
Investment” of the Vietnamese government, Binh Duong province has been

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attracting a lot of foreign investors. This new situation has promoted the need for
learning English in this province. The learners of English have a variety of reasons
or purposes. However, they all realize that speaking skill is very important for
communication. In the international relationship, English speaking ability is very
important to be able to participate in the wider world of work. The speaking skill is
measured in terms of the ability to carry out a conversation in the language. This
reality makes teachers and parents think that speaking ability should be given first
priority in the English curriculum.
Based on the reasons above, English language teaching has, in recent years,
focused on teaching the English language itself rather than teaching about the
language. The emphasis is not only on linguistic competence of the language
learners but on the development of their communicative ability as well. In order to
develop the learners’ verbal communicative ability, teachers of English need to
create a scenario to teach the target language in a vibrant, active and interesting
manner.
On improving their speaking skill, the students often cope with some
difficulties that most Vietnamese learners of English have to face. Many factors can
cause the difficulties of the students’ speaking skills namely the students’ interest,
their shyness, the materials and the media among others etc. As Tony Williams,

ILA General Manager, stated that most of Vietnamese learners of English in
Vietnam are good at writing but they can not communicate well in English because
they lack the English environment (The Youth Newspaper, November 13th, 2009).
Lots of theories of English teaching, especially of teaching spoken English,
are studied and lots of training courses and methodology workshops of English
teaching have been held. As a result of this, the quality of English teaching and
learning has been improved but it still leaves a lot to desire.
According to Dr. Vu Thi Phuong Anh (Vietnam National University-HCM
City), the English teaching and learning has been changing a lot from the training,

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teaching and learning method, new and modern equipments, materials for reference
… to the renew of testing, evaluating and admitting learners’ level. However, the
result of using English ability does not meet the needs of society and this is an
obstacle for the economic integration of our country. (Vietnamese version)
1.1.2. Description of teaching and learning in the Foreign Language
Department
With the social and economic development of our country, education at
college level is changing to reflect the needs of the learners and hence the society.
Consequently, foreign language teaching is responding to society’s need to prepare
our youth for an unpredictable future in which language skills will be in great
demand.
Realizing the need to maximize the learners’ foreign language abilities and
being aware of the importance of English, BDTTC has had English classes for

students to heighten their competence and performance of English to meet the great
demand of the national industrialization and modernization.
The Foreign Language Department in charge of this duty was founded in
1985 with three sections: Russian, French and English. Most of the graduates
became teachers in secondary schools of Binh Duong province and a few of them
worked in the mass media or foreign companies etc. Since 1992, as Russian and
French became less popular, only teachers of English have been trained to meet the
need of the society in general and the need of Binh Duong province in particular.
1.1.2.1. Description of speaking syllabus and teaching materials for the
first year English majors at BDTTC
Speaking is the compulsory subject in the school syllabus of the foreign
language majors. Besides the major subjects, students have to study others such as:
psychology, philosophy etc. In the first academic year, students take 45 periods of
spoken English per semester. It means students only have 3 consecutive periods of

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2.5 contact hours per week. It is not much time for students to learn and practice the
speaking skill.
Table 1.1 Time allocated to English-related subjects for 1st year study
English-related

Duration (periods)

Percentage

subjects
Grammar

45

10.3%

Phonetics

45

10.3%

Speaking

90

20.7%

Reading

60

13.8%

Listening

60

13.8%

Writing

90

20.7%

Lexicology

45

10.3%

Total

435

100%

Speaking is one subject among other compulsory English-related subjects
required in the first year study of the total of 435 periods for students to get
acquainted with the speaking skill, to reinforce linguistic knowledge of English and
to develop the ability to use it in communication. By the end of each semester, the
students have to take the examinations by presenting a speaking task (topic) and
answering the questions relating to the topic.
As for materials, the first year students are supposed to study speaking
English with the course book entitled “New Interchange”, book 1 by Jack C.
Richards. The course covers the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and

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writing. Particular emphasis is placed on listening and speaking. The primary goal
of the course is to teach the ability to communicate according to the situation,
purpose and roles of participants. The student’s book contains 16 units as presented
in the following table:
Table 1.2 Detailed content of the speaking course
Unit

1

2

Title

Content

Please call me Chuck

Introducing yourself and your friends

How do you spend your Describing work& school
day?

Describing daily schedules

3

How much is it?

Talking about prices

4

Do you like Jazz?

Talking about likes& dislikes

5

6

7

8
9

Tell

me

about

your Talking about your family and family

family
How often do you do
exercise?

We had a great time!

How do you like the
neighborhood?
What does he look like?

members
Asking and describing routines
Talking about past events

Describing neighborhood
Describing people

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10

Have you ever ridden a
camel?

11

It’s a very exciting city!

12

It’s really works!

13

14

15

16

Describing past experiences
Describing city
Talking about health problems: asking
for and giving advice

May I take your order Expressing likes and dislikes about
please?

food

The biggest and the best!

Describing countries

I’m

going

to

see

musical
A change for better!

a

Talking about plans

Talking about future

To most of the students, speaking is the most interesting subject now. They
like practicing English because they recognize its benefit for their future.
Unfortunately, there are still problems facing them.
1.1.2.2. Characteristics of the teaching staff and of the students
a- Characteristics of the teaching staff
Teachers in charge of spoken English of the Foreign Language Department
at BDTTC are Vietnamese teachers who obtained the Bachelor’s or the Master’s
Degree in TESOL. There are all 13 teachers in the department (9 female teachers
and 4 male teachers) whose ages range from 32 to 54. Comparing with teachers of
other departments in our college, the teachers are rather young and very eager for

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further study: 9 teachers have had MA degrees, other 3 have been doing MA thesis
(2 at USSH, 1 at Open University) and only one has a BA degree.
In addition, the teachers of Foreign Language Department are full of
enthusiasm for the students and the teaching job. Most of them have had at least 8
years of teaching experience. They can use computer technology or various
teaching equipment to achieve the goals of the course.
b- Characteristics of the students
The students, who have not succeeded in the entrance exam to the National
Universities and come to BDTTC for their second choice, have unequal levels
because they come from different areas of the town or even from other provinces
such as: Binh Phuoc, DakLak, Thai Binh, Tay Ninh, Ninh Thuan…They differ
greatly in their English background. Students from Thu Dau Mot Town, Lai Thieu
Town or An Thanh Town of Binh Duong are likely to have better knowledge of
English than the others because they have better conditions to study English. This is
also a problem for the teachers to think of in their teaching process.
1.2. Statement of purpose.
The study is aimed at finding out the difficulties as perceived in speaking by
first-year English-majored students at BDTTC. Then some recommendations will
be suggested so as to help them improve their spoken English so as to communicate
successfully in real life situations.
1.3. Research questions
The students at BDTTC find speaking difficult to acquire. They blame their
weakness in speaking on the lack of vocabulary and their insufficient knowledge of
grammar when they think the language is beyond their competence, they give up
trying and communication breaks down. They are not aware of using strategies to
overcome their difficulties and maintain communication.

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This study was designed to investigate the difficulties that the first- year
English majors at BDTTC face in speaking English and to suggest some
recommendations to the difficulties as well as to provide some techniques and
strategies to improve the students’ speaking skill.
The research questions are:
1. What are the difficulties as perceived by the first-year English majors at
BDTTC when they practice the speaking skill?
2. What strategies are employed by the students to get around their difficulties?
1.4. Significance of the study
Many students equate the ability to speak a language with the knowledge of
the language and therefore view learning the language as learning how to speak the
language, or as Nunan (1991) states, "Success is measured in terms of the ability to
carry out a conversation in the (target) language." Therefore, if students do not learn
how to speak or do not get any opportunity to speak in the language classroom they
may soon lose interest in learning. On the other hand, if the right activities are
taught in the right way, speaking in class can be a lot of fun, which increase
students’ motivation and therefore, make successful learners.
Today, along with the development of the society, the integration of the
nations in the world, the need of communication in foreign language, especially in
English is more and more essential. Learners of English nowadays not only learn
the language itself but also the ability to communicate effectively with people of
different background and cultures. With such importance, newest methods in

learning and teaching have been applied, especially in speaking, which is
considered the most difficult communicative language skill. It is not easy for the
students to overcome the difficulties caused by the difference from their
backgrounds, their interests, their personalities and so on to be able to communicate
in English. Therefore, the study is carried out to survey the difficulties that the first

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year students of English major face in speaking with the textbook entitled “New
Interchange”, book 1 with the hope that:
(1) The study can contribute to the positive change of teaching and learning
approaches so as to enhance the communicative competence in spoken English of
the first- year majored English students at BDTTC.
(2) With the identification of students’ difficulties in learning spoken
English, teachers can understand their students and help them to overcome their
difficulties and enable them to develop their speaking skill most effectively.
(3) Owing to the application of appropriate approaches to teaching spoken
English, teachers can improve the students’ speaking ability in English as much as
possible.
1.5. Limitations of the study
The study only focuses on difficulties the students cope with and some
recommendations in improving the speaking skill of the first–year English majors at
BDTTC.
1.6. The organization of the thesis
The thesis is structured in five main chapters:

Chapter 1 is the introduction providing the background information of the
study which consists of the outline of the English teaching and learning situation in
Vietnam, the description of speaking syllabus and teaching material at BDTTC and
the characteristics of the teaching staff and of the students in the Foreign Language
Department.
Chapter 2 presents literature review to the study which consists of the
theoretical background of the study from which recommendations for the students’
difficulties can be found and then the related studies.

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Chapter 3 mentions the methodology employed including research questions,
research design, characteristics of subjects, instruments, and procedures of the
study.
Chapter 4 reports the results of the study and discussions of the findings
Chapter 5 presents some recommendations to the improvement of the
teaching and learning of spoken English at BDTTC and then some conclusions.

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CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter consists of an overview of some concepts and characteristics of the
speaking skill, factors influencing EFL learners’ speaking, methods and techniques
of teaching EFL speaking skill as well as strategies of teaching and learning
speaking skill. Also, included in this section are prior researches on teaching
speaking to EFL learners. The review establishes a background for further
discussions on difficulties facing the first-year English majors and suggestions for
improving the students’ speaking skills at BDTTC.
2.1 Concepts and characteristics of the speaking skill
2.1.1. Definition of the speaking skill
In Oxford Advanced Dictionary (p.13), the definition of speaking is “to
express or communicate opinions, feelings, ideas, etc, by or as talking and it
involves the activities in the part of the speaker as psychological, physiological
(articulator) and physical (acoustic) stages”.
According to Chaney (1998: 13), speaking is “the process of building and
sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of
contexts”.
While another expert, Theodore Huebner (1960: 5) said “Language is
essentially speech, and speech is basically communication by sounds”. And
according to him, speaking is a skill used by someone in daily life communication
whether at school or outside. The skill is acquired by much repetition; it primarily a
neuromuscular and not an intellectual process. It consists of competence in sending
and receiving messages.
From the above definition, it can be inferred that speaking is expressing
ideas, opinions, or feelings to others by using words or sounds of articulation in

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order to inform, to persuade, and to entertain that can be learnt by using some
teaching – learning methodologies. Today’s world requires that the goal of teaching
speaking should improve students’ communicative skills, because, only in that way,
students can express themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural
rules appropriate in each communicative circumstance.
Teaching speaking is to teach English language learners to:
• Produce the English speech sounds and sounds patterns.
• Use words and sentence stress, intonation patterns and the rhythm of the
second language.
• Select appropriate words and sentences according to the proper social
setting, audience, situation and subject matter.
• Organize their thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence.
• Use language as a means of expressing values and judgments.
• Use the language quickly and confidently with few unnatural pauses,
which is called fluency. (Nunan 2003)
2.1.2. The importance of the speaking skill
Speaking is very important part in studying English. People need to speak in
order to communicate with each other and make a good communication. When
some one was born, he learns how to speak, and speaking can make him
communicate or contact with other person.
When someone learns a second or foreign language, especially English,
he/she must master and remember so many things such as meanings of words, rules
of grammar, ways of pronouncing words, etc. Besides, learners must, on the
perspectives of the communicative approach to teaching and learning English in
modern times, preferentially concentrate on training and developing all the four

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basic language skills in order of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Hence,
they must also practice all the four language skills with great efficiency.
A definition given by Ur (1996) in his course-book “A course in language
Teaching”, proves that of all language skills, the act of speaking seems intuitively
the most important and indispensable because people who know a language are
referred to as speakers of that language, as if speaking included all other kinds of
knowing. For most learners of English as a second language (ESL) and English as a
foreign language (EFL) as people commonly think studying a second or foreign
language means learning to speak it only. And for most language learners, speaking
a second or foreign language appears to be rather difficult or even, for some people,
too difficult in some ways, because it seems to require all kinds of other knowing of
the language.
According to Yorkey, speaking skill is like other ones, it must be practiced
continuously. The teacher role is becoming important for students later. There are
many keys to support speaking skill by listening cassette, watching television,
watching film, practicing with foreigners, practicing with partners.
Speaking is not only knowledge but also skill. It is a two-way process between
speakers and listeners, and involves the productive skill of speaking and the
receptive skill of understanding. Speaking is also known as a complex process. So
teachers should help learners improve not only their knowledge but their skills.
Byne (1991: 8) shows the following diagram that states how all four skills
are related:

Spoken language
Receptive skills

Understanding

Speaking

Reading

Writing
Written language

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Productive skills