English speaking difficulties and coping strategies of non english majors at ho chi minh city industry and trade college

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

---------------

TRAN NGOC THUY DUONG

ENGLISH SPEAKING DIFFICULTIES AND
COPING STRATEGIES OF NON-ENGLISH
MAJORS AT HO CHI MINH CITY INDUSTRY
AND TRADE COLLEGE

Major: English Language
Course code: 60220201

HO CHI MINH CITY, APRIL 2020


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

---------------

ENGLISH SPEAKING DIFFICULTIES AND
COPING STRATEGIES OF NON-ENGLISH
MAJORS AT HO CHI MINH CITY INDUSTRY
AND TRADE COLLEGE

Submitted to the
Faculty of English Language
in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in English Language

Course code:
By

TRAN NGOC THUY DUONG
Supervised by

TRAN QUOC THAO, Ph.D.

HO CHI MINH CITY, APRIL 2020


The thesis entitled ENGLISH SPEAKING DIFFICULTIES AND COPING

STRATEGIES OF NON-ENGLISH MAJORS AT HO CHI MINH CITY
INDUSTRY AND TRADE COLLEGE
was successfully defended and approved on
9th June, 2020 at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH).
Academic supervisor: Dr. TRAN QUOC THAO
Examination Committee
1. Ms. NguyenThi Kieu Thu, Ph.D

Chair

2. Ms. Le Thi Thuy Nhung, Ph.D

Reader 1

3. Mr. Le Van Tuyen, Ph.D

Reader 2

4. Ms. Duong My Tham, Ph.D

Member

5. Mr.Pham Huy Cuong, Ph.D

Secretary Member

On behalf of the Examination Committee Chair
(full name, title, signature)


HCMC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE
HCMC, April 25, 2020
MASTER’S THESIS REPORT

Student’s name: TRAN NGOC THUY DUONG

Sex: Female

Date of birth: 26/11/1993

Place of birth: HCM City

Major: English Language
1841900012

Student code:

I- Thesis title:
ENGLISH SPEAKING DIFFICULTIES AND COPING STRATEGIES
OF NON-ENGLISH MAJORS AT HO CHI MINH CITY INDUSTRY
AND TRADE COLLEGE
II- Objectives and contents:

1. Objectives
From the real context of teaching and learning English speaking skills at Ho
Chi Minh City Industry and Trade College (HITC), the author carried out a study
with the purpose of finding the speaking difficulties that non-English majors
encountered during their learning process at HITC. Besides, the author also wanted
to explore the speaking strategies that the participants used in order to deal with
speaking difficulties. In particular, the study was to find out the particular speaking
difficulties such as linguistics related difficulties, psychology related difficulties,
learning environment related difficulties.

Contents
The mixed-methods study was conducted with the participation of 110

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undergraduate non – English majors. The quantitative data collected from the
questionnaire were processed by SPSS (19.0), whereas the content analysis was
employed to analyze the qualitative data obtained from the semi-structured
interview. The findings, in general, revealed that most of the participants
“sometimes” encountered speaking difficulties and most of them often
employed compensation strategies to overcome the difficulties.
In particular, in terms of factors causing English speaking problems,

linguistic factors including lack of vocabulary was identified as the most
dominant reason, followed by causes related psychological issues. Regarding
the speaking learning strategies to speaking difficulties, the group of
compensation strategies was reported as the most frequently used method,
followed by memory and metacognitive strategies.
III- Starting date: 30th October, 2019
IV- Completing date: 25th April, 2020
V- Academic supervisor: TRAN QUOC THAO, Ph.D.
ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR

FACULTY DEAN

ii


CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY
I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled:
“ENGLISH SPEAKING DIFFICULTIES AND COPING STRATEGIES
OF NON-ENGLISH MAJORS AT HO CHI MINH CITY INDUSTRY
AND TRADE COLLEGE”
In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master’s programs
issued by the Higher Degree Committee of Faculty of English Language, Ho
Chi Minh City University of Technology.

Ho Chi Minh, April 24 2020

TRAN NGOC THUY DUONG

iii

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, TRAN NGOC THUY DUONG, being a candidate for the
degree of Master of Arts (English Language) accept the requirements of the
University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the
Library.
In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my Master’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, April 2020
Signature …………………………….

TRAN NGOC THUY DUONG

iv


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would first like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Tran Quoc Thao, 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.
I gratefully acknowledge Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology in
general, Postgraduate Institute and Faculty of English Language in particular for
offering me a chance to pursue my higher education and always supporting me
whenever problems arose in the course of my study.

My special thanks go to Dr. Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, Dean of Faculty of English

Language, for always making everything beneficial to me and my classmates.
Without her great support, my friends and I could not complete all the
assignments on time during the learning process.

I am grateful to the managers at Ho Chi Minh City Industry and Trade College
for allowing me to conduct my study experiment. In addition, I would also like
to send my heartfelt thanks to all of my colleagues at Ho Chi Minh City
Industry and Trade College who gave me effective cooperation and help with
the data collection implementation and the pilot study.

Tran Ngoc Thuy Duong

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ABSTRACT
Speaking English well is one of the ultimate goals for EFL learners; however,
many EFL learners in the Vietnamese context still face a number of difficulties
when speaking English. Therefore, this study aims at exploring English speaking
difficulties in terms of linguistics related difficulties, psychology related difficulties
and learning environment related difficulties encountered by non-English majors.
The participants of the study consisted of 110 non-English majors in their second
academic year at Ho Chi Minh City Industry and Trade College (HITC). Both the
quantitative and qualitative research methods were applied to collect data. The
software SPSS (19.0) was used to process the quantitative data collected from
questionnaires, while the process of content analysis were applied to analyze the
qualitative data collected from semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that
research participants suffered from linguistics related difficulties, followed by
psychology related difficulties, but they did not encounter any environment related
difficulties when speaking English. Besides, the participants used compensation

strategies as the most frequent strategies to deal with their speaking difficulties,
followed by memory strategies, cognitive strategies and other strategies such as
affective strategies, metacognitive strategies and social strategies in order to help
them overcome their speaking difficulties when learning English. Such preliminary
findings are hoped to contribute to a better understanding of non-English majors’
speaking difficulties in an EFL context and other similar ones. (223 words)
Key words: correlations, EFL learners, English speaking difficulties, English
speaking strategies.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

MASTER’S THESIS REPORT ................................................................................i
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ..................................................................... iii
RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ........................................................... iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... v
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... vi
LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................. xi
LIST OF FIGURES ...............................................................................................xii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...............................................................................xiii
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1
1.1 Background to the study ................................................................................ 1
1.1.1 The National Education System .................................................................. 1
1.1.2 The essential roles of English nowadays ..................................................... 3
1.2 Statement of the problem ............................................................................... 4
1.3 Aims and Objectives of the study................................................................... 5
1.4 Research questions......................................................................................... 6
1.5 Scope of the study.......................................................................................... 6

1.6 Significance of the study ................................................................................ 6
1.7 Definition of the key terms ............................................................................ 7
1.8 Organization of the thesis .............................................................................. 7
CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................. 9
2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 9
2.2 Definition of speaking skills .......................................................................... 9
2.3 Difficulties encountered by the learners in speaking skills ........................... 10
2.3.1 Linguistics related difficulties ............................................................... 11
2.3.1.1 Vocabulary ..................................................................................... 11
2.3.1.2 Grammar ........................................................................................ 13
2.3.1.3 Pronunciation ................................................................................. 14
2.3.2 Psychology-related difficulties .............................................................. 15
2.3.2.1 Fear of mistakes ............................................................................. 15
2.3.2.2 Shyness .......................................................................................... 16

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2.3.2.3 Anxiety .......................................................................................... 17
2.3.2.4 Lack of confidence ......................................................................... 19
2.3.2.5 Inhibition........................................................................................ 21
2.3.2.6 Lack of ideas .................................................................................. 21
2.3.2.7 Lack of motivation ......................................................................... 21
2.3.3 Difficulties related to learning environment .......................................... 23
2.3.3.1 The interference of mother tongue .................................................. 23
2.3.3.2 The low participation ..................................................................... 24
2.3.3.3 Environments for exposure to the target language .......................... 24
2.4 Speaking strategies to cope with speaking difficulties .................................. 26
2.4.1 Speaking strategies................................................................................ 26
2.4.2 The importance of speaking strategies ................................................... 27

2.4.3 Types of strategies ................................................................................ 28
2.4.4 Speaking strategies to cope with difficulties related to linguistics ......... 30
2.4.4.1 Memory strategies .......................................................................... 30
2.4.4.2 Cognitive strategies ........................................................................ 31
2.4.4.3 Compensation strategies ................................................................. 32
2.4.5 Using affective strategies to cope with difficulties related to psychology
...................................................................................................................... 32
2.4.6 Strategies to cope with difficulties related to learning environment ....... 33
2.4.6.1 Metacognitive strategies ................................................................. 33
2.4.6.2 Social strategies.............................................................................. 34
2.5. Previous studies .......................................................................................... 35
2.5.1 Speaking difficulties ............................................................................. 35
2.5.2 Speaking strategies................................................................................ 39
2.6 Conceptual framework ................................................................................. 42
Figure 2.2 Diagram of the conceptual framework ................................................. 44
2.7 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................ 45
CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY ......................................................................... 46
3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 46
3.2 Research Design .......................................................................................... 46
3.3 Research site ................................................................................................ 47
3.4 Sample and sampling procedures ................................................................. 49
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3.5 Research instruments ................................................................................... 51
3.5.1 Questionnaire ........................................................................................ 51
3.5.2 Semi-structured interview ..................................................................... 53
3.6 Data Collection and Analysis Procedures ..................................................... 54
Figure 3.1 Data Collection and Analysis Procedures ............................................. 55
3.6.1 Questionnaire ........................................................................................ 55

3.6.2 Semi-structured interview ..................................................................... 56
3.7 Validity and Reliability ................................................................................ 58
3.7.1 Questionnaire ........................................................................................ 58
3.7.2 Interview questions ............................................................................... 61
3.8 Summary ..................................................................................................... 61
CHAPTER 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ...................................................... 62
4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 62
4.2 Results ......................................................................................................... 62
4.2.1 English speaking difficulties ................................................................. 62
4.2.1.1 Linguistics Related difficulties ....................................................... 63
4.2.1.2 Psychology Related difficulties ...................................................... 65
4.2.1.3 Learning environment related difficulties ....................................... 66
4.2.2 Strategies to cope with English speaking difficulties ............................. 67
4.2.2.1 Strategies to cope with linguistics related difficulties ..................... 69
4.2.2.2 Speaking strategies to cope with psychology related difficulties ..... 71
4.2.2.3 Strategies to cope with learning environment related difficulties .... 72
4.3 Discussion ................................................................................................... 74
4.3.1 English Speaking difficulties ................................................................. 74
4.3.1.1 Linguistics related difficulties ........................................................ 74
4.3.1.2 Psychology related difficulties ....................................................... 76
4.3.1.3 Learning environment related difficulties ....................................... 77
4.3.2 English Speaking strategies ................................................................... 79
4.3.2.1 Strategies to cope with linguistics related difficulties ..................... 79
4.3.2.2 Strategies to cope with psychology related difficulties ................... 81
4.3.2.3 Strategies to cope with learning environment related difficulties .... 82
4.3 Summary ..................................................................................................... 85
CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................. 86
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5.1 Summary of the main findings of the thesis ................................................. 86
5.2 Pedagogical Implications ............................................................................. 88
5.2.1 Implications for students ....................................................................... 88
5.2.2 Implications for lecturers ...................................................................... 89
5.2.3 Implications for administrators.............................................................. 90
5.3 Limitations .................................................................................................. 90
5.4 Recommendations for further research ......................................................... 90
REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... 92
APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE (ENGLISH VERSION) .............................. 112
APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE (VIETNAMESE VERSION) ...................... 116
APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW PROTOCOL (ENGLISH VERSION)................... 121
APPENDIX D: INTERVIEW PROTOCOL (VIETNAMESE VERSION) .......... 123
APPENDIX E: A SAMPLE OF EXCERPT OF THE INTERVIEW
TRANSCRIPTS (VIETNAMESE VERSION) .................................................... 125
APPENDIX F: A SAMPLE OF QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS OF
INTERVIEW ...................................................................................................... 128
PLAGIARISM REPORT..................................................................................... 130

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1: Participants’ general information ..........................................................49
Table 3.2: Methods of data analysis in relation to the research questions and
instruments ............................................................................................................56
Table 3.3: Cronbach’s Alpha of the questionnaire ................................................. 58
Table 3.4.: Reliability Statistics on the Items Regarding ........................................59
Table 4.1: The Overall Statistics Results of English Speaking Difficulties.............62
Table 4.2: Non-English majors’ speaking difficulties in terms of Linguistic
problems ................................................................................................................62

Table 4.3: Non-English majors’ speaking difficulties in terms of psychological
issues .....................................................................................................................64
Table 4.4:Non-English majors’ speaking difficulties in terms of learning
environment ..........................................................................................................65
Table 4.5: Non-English majors’ speaking learning strategies .................................66
Table 4.6: Groups of Non-English majors’ speaking difficulties ............................67
Table 4.7: Groups of Non-English majors’ speaking learning strategies ................ 67
Table 4.8: Non- English majors’ speaking learning strategies to cope with
linguistics related difficulties .................................................................................68
Table 4.9: Non- English majors’ speaking learning strategies to cope with
psychology related difficulties ...............................................................................70
Table 4.10: Strategies to cope with learning environment related difficulties ......... 71

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1 Diagram of a strategy system: Overview (Oxford, 1990, p. 16). ........... 29
Figure 2.2 Diagram of the conceptual framework .................................................. 43
Figure 3.1 Data Collection and Analysis Procedures ............................................. 54

xii


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CEFR: The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
HITC: Ho Chi Minh City Industry and Trade College
EFL: English as a foreign language
MOET: Ministry of Education and Training

xiii


CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
1.1.1 The National Education System
Education plays a crucial role in maintaining knowledge, enhancing
civilization and promoting social development. In the time of information and
technology revolution nowadays, education can be considered as the main factor
that accelerates the success or failure of a nation in the international arena in general
and individual life in particular. Therefore, both governments and citizens are aware
of the essential role of education. According to Article 35 of the current
Constitution (issued in 1992), education is the first priority of Vietnamese policies.
Education in Vietnam is a state-run system and is controlled by the Ministry of
Education and Training (MOET).
The English language framework in the Vietnam education system consists of
six levels and CEFR is used as a tool to measure students’ levels. After finishing
primary school, students are required to complete Level 1. Graduate students at
secondary school need to gain Level 2, and high school graduates need to complete
Level 3. In term of teaching qualifications, foreign language teachers are required to
achieve level 5 in skills (MOET, 2014).
According to perspective guidelines given by Party Central Committee's
Resolution 8 Conference XI of improving education, in order to be well-prepared
for the development of the country, the education system needs to achieve the
requirements of the integrated period. The Education Minister has been issuing new
teaching and learning methods regarding English language for all levels from
primary to higher education levels. In order to improve the teaching and learning
process of English in all levels, especially in post-graduate levels, the Prime
Minister has issued several policies and decisions regarding strategies to enhance
English language proficiency to support the country’s economy; especially the

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Decision No. 1400/QĐ-TTg “National Foreign Language Project scheme 2008 to
2020 Period” which was issued on September 20th, 2008 (MOET, 2008). The main
aim of this project is that most students who graduate from colleges or universities
will be able to use English language by themselves. This will make students
confident and create more opportunities at work, for further studies as well as for
becoming a global citizen. The project consists of three stages. In the first stage
(2008-2010), the aim of this stage was to improve the English curriculum and test
its effectiveness. In the second stage, this was time for applying the 10-year English
curriculum in the first stage to the whole education system. In the third stage (20162020), the new curriculum has been revised and the intensive foreign language
programs have been developed for vocational schools, colleges and universities.
Even though there have been some positive results in the education field, the
overall results of teaching and learning English do not seem to be satisfying enough
and still in low quality. For example, Nhan Thuy (2013) stated that 98%
Vietnamese students who had been learning English for about seven years (from
grade 6 to grade 12) were unable to communicate in English. The traditional
method of teaching English which mainly focused on grammar rather speaking and
listening made students incapable of using English for communicative purposes.
According to Le Van Canh and Barnard (2009), Tomlison and Bao Dat (2004) and
Le Van Canh (2002), some teachers continuously keep applying the grammar
translation method although they are aware that communication plays an important
role in the learning process. In the same vein, Denham (1992) and To (2006) state
that because the MOET standard exam model is mainly designed to test grammar,
vocabulary and reading comprehension parts, teachers seem to ignore speaking and
listening parts. As a result, those students who are being taught by this method can
pass the test with high scores, but they will face trouble when communicating in
English in particular situations (Hoang Tuy, 1999).

In conclusion, although communication skills can be considered as the most
essential role in learning English, many universities in Vietnam have a tendency to
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ignore teaching speaking and listening. To solve the mentioned problem, MOET
has made many decisions to enhance students’ ability in the process of learning
English.
1.1.2 The essential roles of English nowadays
Nowadays, English is widely used in almost all countries in the world. English
is an international language and it has been used either as native or second
language. According to Bailey and Savage (1994), among four skills of English,
speaking skills can be considered as the most challenging and time-consuming
skills because students are required to apply authentic language in different
contexts. When people speak, they express their thoughts, ideas, beliefs and feelings
in words in order that the interlocutors can understand what they intend to indicate.
Therefore, this process is complex because the speakers not only simply put words
in order but also use words to express their intentional meanings so that their ideas
can be transferred exactly to the listeners. Language plays an important role in
stating one’s existence, expressing agreeing or disagreeing opinions, asking or
accepting something. In addition, doors are open to EFL learners if they master
English language. Knowing English opens up EFL learners’ holiday destinations.
Travelling to foreign countries where English is used as a second language will
become easier if EFL learners can communicate with the locals. Furthermore,
proficiency in English language at a certain level can help learners acquire the
sources of human being knowledge because most books are written in English
language. In addition, on career aspects, the more foreign languages learners know,
the more opportunities learners have in finding valued jobs. Mastering English
speaking skills is one of the main keys to work in big companies. Murcia (2001)
states that speaking skills play the most important role in mastering language. It

means that those who can speak English well can have great opportunities to gain a
job promotion in conglomerates where English speaking ability is highly required.
Speaking skills are a crucial skill which has many advantages when learning foreign
language. Besides, the success of learning foreign language can be measured by the
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smooth, fluent, accurate and spontaneous response in real life contexts using the
target language. Thus, most people set goals to be able to speak fluently when
learning English.
1.2 Statement of the problem
In four English language skills, speaking can be considered as the most
difficult one for learners. Arbain (2014) declares that all learners can express their
ideas, opinions, and feelings with each other in English. However, most leaners’
speaking skills are still limited because they spend their time studying grammar and
vocabulary instead of putting what they have learned into practice through
speaking. The problem is that they learn English just to pass regular tests or
grammar examinations, while they cannot use English in real life. Most language
teachers’ lessons are taken up with grammar. Many students get high scores from
exams and tests because they can write grammatical sentences, but they are very
bad at communicating. The traditional teaching method in which students stay
passive in learning and do not have a communication environment is the main
reason for the ineffective teaching and learning of English. As a result, students
have become afraid of speaking English. Brown (1994) states enabling students to
speak English confidently in class seems to be one of the most challenging tasks for
English teachers. In the light of this, it is important to teach speaking
communicatively.
Furthermore, Hinkel (2005) states that learners have difficulties in speaking
because of new vocabulary and new parts of speech they do not know, or strange
spelling that they do not how to pronounce. According to Richards and Renandya

(2002), most learners wish to speak fluently, and it is also one of main motivations
when they learn a new language. However, learners seem to have few opportunities
to practice oral communication by the target language. In order to speak fluently,
learners are required to not only know grammatical structures, good pronunciation,
intonation, word choice but also make use of the language.

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Regarding other difficulties in speaking, students lack confidence and anxiety
to raise their voices in public places. They are struggling with shy, nervous and
panic feelings when speaking. If students keep thinking they are not good enough to
speak, it will be a big problem to them. Lawtie (2004) claims that psychological
factors can affect oral production. It means the emotional state of an individual can
influence the way one produces a speech. If a person feels comfortable and relaxed,
they will deliver a clearer and more fluent speech. Meanwhile, if a person feels shy
or worried about something, it is difficult for him to deliver a complete speech.
Psychological factors can be considered as the most common and most important
factors that students are dealing with in speaking. Besides, there are other factors
that affect students when learning speaking. Therefore, this research has a pivotal
role in exploring those factors which prevent students from improving speaking
skills as well as solutions and strategies for speaking issues.
In case of Ho Chi Minh City Industry and Trade College (HITC), where
students in all majors are required to learn Basic English, students seem to
encounter significant difficulties in learning speaking skills. During the pre-research
stage, the researcher indirectly interviewed HITC students and questioned whether
they had difficulties in speaking, and more than a half agreed that they were facing
some difficulties in this course. Some students said that they already had ideas in
mind but they could not express themselves through speaking. Several students said
that they were not confident enough about their knowledge of grammar, structures,

pronunciation, vocabulary, or they encountered with psychological matters, which
hindered them from speaking English well. Since its inception in 1976, although
speaking difficulties have long been a question of great interest in a wide range of
fields, there have been few studies about students’ difficulties in learning speaking
skills conducted at HITC.
1.3 Aims and Objectives of the study

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Regarding the mentioned problems, this study focused on speaking skills in
terms of investigating the difficulties sophomore non-English majors at Business
Faculty were facing when learning speaking as well as strategies they used to cope
with the problems. Besides, the aim of this study was to establish a foundation for
other studies and also help English teachers at colleges adjust their teaching
methods to enhance students’ speaking performance.
This study were conducted
 To find out non-English majors’ difficulties in speaking English;
 To investigate what strategies non-English majors use to overcome their
difficulties;
 To explore the relationships between students’ difficulties and their coping
strategies.
1.4 Research questions
The thesis focused on finding the answers to the following research questions:
1. What English speaking difficulties do non-English majors at HITC encounter?
2. What strategies do they use to cope with those difficulties?
1.5 Scope of the study
The study mainly focused on investigating the difficulties in speaking that
second-year non-English majors of Business Faculty were dealing with and their
coping strategies. The participants of the study were 110 students at the age ranging

from 18 to 22 years old at HITC. The research design of this study combined both
qualitative and quantitative methods. Both qualitative and quantitative data were
collected by using closed-ended questionnaire and a semi-structured interview.
1.6 Significance of the study
There are several important areas where this study makes an original
contribution to. First of all, this research is supposed to contribute to the
development of teaching and learning English in Ho Chi Minh City. In particular,
6


from the findings, the researcher can suggest some solutions which might help
students to improve their speaking skills. In addition, it is likely that this study
might yield beneficial results that can benefit the English lecturers at HITC, who
can take advantage of those data to adjust their teaching methods and gain deeper
insights into the students’ learning styles. For example, lecturers might use these
results to search for an efficient way to solve the speaking problems of non-English
majors. Furthermore, the study is expected to provide latter studies which are
related to speaking topics in Vietnam with useful data.
1.7 Definition of the key terms
Coping strategies refers to speaking strategies which the participants used to
deal with speaking difficulties.
HITC students refers to second-year students at Ho Chi Minh City Industry
and Trade College.
Non-English majors refers to the second-year students who are learning
general English at Ho Chi Minh City Industry and Trade College.
Speaking difficulties refers to the issues that the participants were facing
when learning speaking skills. In this study, they include linguistics related
difficulties, psychology related difficulties and learning environment related
difficulties.

1.8 Organization of the thesis
The thesis consists of five chapters including Introduction, Literature Review,
Methodology, Results and Discussion, and Conclusion and Recommendations.
Chapter 1 namely Introduction is composed of the background of the study,
the statement of the problem, followed by the aims and objectives of the study, the
research questions, the scope of the study, the significance of the study, the
definitions of key terms and the chapter summary.
7


In Chapter 2, Literature Review introduces the theoretical background related
to the main issues of the study. Firstly, it provides the concept of speaking skills
regarding definitions of speaking skills, the communicative competence, the
essential role of speaking skills, and the oral language acquisition and learning.
Secondly, it presents the speaking difficulties such as linguistic difficulties,
psychological difficulties related to teaching and learning environment issues.
Thirdly, it reviews the speaking strategies used to cope with those difficulties in
speaking skills. Finally, a summary of previous studies on speaking difficulties and
speaking strategies is illustrated. Based on the reviewed literature, a conceptual
framework is demonstrated at the end of Chapter 2.
In Chapter 3, namely Methodology, the research design and research
methodologies are identified to search for the answers to the research questions. In
addition, the research site is described to establish the context for the study. After
that, the sampling method is chosen to decide on the participants; additionally, the
information of the participants is also mentioned. Then, the relevant research
instruments are chosen to collect the data for the study. Next, the process of
collecting data from questionnaires and the semi- structured interview and analyzing
the collected data is presented. Finally, the reliability and validity of the research as
well as some related ethical issues are mentioned.
Chapter 4, namely Results and Discussion, presents the findings of the study in

comparison with the information in the Literature Review. The similarities and
differences between what have been found in the research and those in the previous
studies are analyzed to obtain deep insights into the issues.
In the final chapter, Chapter 5 namely Conclusion and Recommendations,
some conclusions are drawn out and some suggestions are proposed for further
research on the issues.

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CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
In this chapter, the theoretical background related to the study is introduced on
some aspects such as the nature of speaking consisting of definitions of speaking,
oral language acquisition and learning, the role of speaking in learning English.
Besides, the difficulties encountered by the students during the speaking process are
also mentioned. Especially, the main factors contributing to the existence of those
difficulties are being explored. Regarding those factors, psychology factors,
teachers’ perception at tacit beliefs about teaching speaking, teaching strategies,
curriculums and assessment regulations are included. In addition, the previous
studies about the effectiveness of using communicative activities are also suggested
in order to enhance students’ speaking performance in classroom contexts in
particular and in real life contexts in general.
2.2 Definition of speaking skills
Speaking is one of the main factors in language which is considered as the
most demanding skill when learning language. Language has to be spoken; thus,
learners should master speaking skills to master language. Different experts have
defined speaking in different ways. Speaking is defined by Nunan (2013, as cited in
Novika, 2014) as “the productive oral skill that consists of producing systematic
verbal utterances to convey meaning.” According to a definition provided by Burns

and Joyce (1997), speaking is an interactive process of constructing meanings that
involves producing, receiving and processing information. Speaking depends on the
contexts where the situations take place. The physical environment is an example of
a speaking context. A speaking process requires learners not only to master
knowledge about vocabulary, pronunciation and grammatical structures but also to
understand when, where, why and what to say in a particular situation.
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