Factors influencing the english speaking skills of english majored freshmen at bac lieu university

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

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

SAM NGOC KHA TU

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE ENGLISH SPEAKING
SKILLS OF ENGLISH-MAJORED FRESHMEN AT BAC
LIEU UNIVERSITY

Major: English Language
Course code: 1741900084

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HO CHI MINH CITY,
September 2020


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

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

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE ENGLISH
SPEAKING SKILLS OF ENGLISH-MAJORED
FRESHMEN AT BAC LIEU UNIVERSITY

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

Language
Course code: 1741900084
By

SAM NGOC KHA TU
Supervised by
Dr. LE VAN TUYEN

HO CHI MINHii CITY, September 2020


The thesis entitled: FACTORS INFLUENCING THE ENGLISH SPEAKING
SKILLS OF ENGLISH-MAJORED FRESHMEN AT BAC LIEU
UNIVERSITY was successfully defended and approved on ………... at Ho Chi
Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH).
Academic supervisor: …………………………………………………
Examination Committee
1.……………………………………………………………Chair
2…………………………………………….…………….Reader1.
3………………………………………………………… Reader 2.
4…………………………………………………………. Member.
5……………………………………………………….. .. Secretary
Member On behalf of the Examination Committee Chair

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HCMC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE
HCMC, September 30th, 2020

MASTER’S THESIS REPORT
Student name: SAM NGOC KHA TU
Date of birth: 04/05/1991
Major: English Language
I-

II-

Sex: Female
Place of birth: Bac Lieu
Student code: 1741900084

Thesis title:
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS OF
ENGLISH-MAJORED FRESHMEN AT BAC LIEU UNIVERSITY
Objectives and contents:
This study aims at investigating factors that may affect the speaking skills of the
English-majored freshmen at BLU. More specifically, the objective of the study is
to discover what factors that positively or negatively affect the English-majored
freshmen’s English speaking skills

IIIIVV-

Starting date: (as stated in the Decision issued by the University)
Completing date: September 30th, 2020.
Academic supervisor: Dr. LE VAN TUYEN

ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR
(full name, signature)

FACULTY DEAN
(full name, signature)

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CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY
I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled:
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS OF ENGLISHMAJORED FRESHMEN AT BAC LIEU UNIVERSITY
In terms of the statement of requirements for Thesis 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, September 2020

ii


RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, SAM NGOC KHA TU, being a candidate for the degree of Master of
Arts in English Language accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention
and use of Master’ 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, September 2020
Signature…………………………….

SAM NGOC KHA TU

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
All those who positively supported and contributed to the success of my study,
receive my gratitude. Firstly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis
supervisor, Dr. Le Van Tuyen for his continuous encouragement, informative feedback and
enthusiastic guidance during the entire period of study. He has been a wonderful supervisor
and I feel grateful for his supports. His expertise and recommendations were a great source
of inspiration.
Secondly, I express my gratitude to all lecturers and staff of the Institute for
Postgraduate and the Department of English Language in HUTECH for their valuable
lessons and great help in my thesis preparation.
Finally, I would like to thank some of the enthusiastic teachers from Foreign
Language Division and English-majored freshmen from Education Faculty at Bac Lieu
University who helped me to provide and collect valuable data for the questionnaire and
interview. My work could not be done without the participation of teachers and students at
the university. Also, my special thanks the management board of Education Faculty for
willingly allowing me to conduct this study.

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ABSTRACT
It has become one of the crucial issues for Vietnamese university students to learn
English for international communication in the global integration due to vocational purpose
after graduating. However, for English majored students, who are required to master
English skills, especially speaking communication encounter challenges inhibiting their

speaking fluency and proficiency. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate factors
influencing English speaking skills for English-majored freshmen at Bac Lieu University
(BLU). 60 English-majored freshmen and 4 English teachers who were teaching speaking
lessons for these EFL students from Foreign Language Division at BLU were participants in
the current study. The questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were adopted to obtain
both quantitative and qualitative data. For analyzing the data collected, descriptive statistics
and content analysis were employed. The findings of the study indicated that Englishmajored freshmen coped with negative factors related to students, learning environment and
teachers, especially anxiety, teaching methods and the limitation of English speaking
environment were highlighted in each factor. Finally, the findings of the study are expected
to be beneficial for both English teachers and students at BLU, highlight the difficulties in
teaching and learning speaking English and possible strategies to overcome obstacles as
well as achieve a better performance for EFL students.
Key words: factors, English speaking skills, perspectives, possible strategies

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Master’s thesis report ......................................................................................................... i
Certificate of originality ..................................................................................................... ii
Retention and use of the thesis ........................................................................................... iii
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... iv
Abstract ............................................................................................................................. v
Table of contents ................................................................................................................ vi
List of tables ...................................................................................................................... viii
List of figures...................................................................................................................... ix
List of abbreviations ........................................................................................................... x
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1
1.1. Background to the study ...................................................................................... 1
1.2. Problem statement ............................................................................................... 2

1.3. Aims and objectives of the study . ........................................................................ 3
1.4. Research questions .............................................................................................. 4
1.5. Scope of the study ............................................................................................... 4
1.6. Significance of the study ..................................................................................... 4
1.7. Definition of key terms ........................................................................................ 5
1.8. Organization of the thesis ..................................................................................... 6
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................... 8
2.1. Introduction ................. ........................................................................................ 8
2.2. Speaking skills .................................................................................................. 8
2.2.1. Definition of speaking ................................................................................. 8
2.2.2. Characteristics of speaking skills ................................................................ 9
2.2.3. The importance of speaking in L2 acquisition ............................................ 11
2.3. Teaching and learning English speaking skills ................................................... 12
2.3.1. Teaching English speaking skills ................................................................ 12
2.3.2. Learning English speaking skills .................................................................. 14
2.4. Factors influencing speaking skills. ...................................................................... 17
2.4.1. Student-related factors .................................................................................. 17
2.4.2. Learning environment-related factors ........................................................... 23
2.4.3. Teacher-related factors ................................................................................. 25
2.5. Ways of reducing negative factors affecting students’ speaking skills ................. 27
2.6. Previous studies ..................................................................................................... 31
2.7. Conceptual framework. ......................................................................................... 34
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY............................................................................. 36
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3.1. Research design ..................................................................................................... 36
3.2. Research site .......................................................................................................... 36
3.3. Sample and sampling procedures........................................................................... 37
3.4. Research instruments ............................................................................................. 39

3.4.1. Questionnaire .................................................................................................. 39
3.4.2. Interview ......................................................................................................... 40
3.5. Data collection procedures ..................................................................................... 41
3.6. Data analysis procedures........................................................................................ 42
3.7. Reliability and Validity .......................................................................................... 43
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS....................................................... 45
4.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 45
4.2. Results of the study ................................................................................................ 45
4.2.1. Factors influencing speaking skills................................................................. 45
4.2.1.1. Student-related factors .......................................................................... 46
4.2.1.2. Environment-related factors .................................................................. 49
4.2.1.3. Teacher-related factors .......................................................................... 52
4.2.2. Possible strategies used to reduce negative effects from teachers’ and students’
perspectives .. ................................................................................................................ 56
4.2.2.1. Data from the students’ questionnaires ................................................. 57
4.2.2.2. Data from the teachers’ questionnaires ................................................. 60
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION................................................................................... 63
5.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 63
5.2. Summary of the results .......................................................................................... 63
5.3. Implications and Recommendations ...................................................................... 64
5.4. Limitations of the study ......................................................................................... 65
5.5. Recommendation for further research ................................................................... 65
LIST OF REFERENCES............................................................................................ 67
APPENDICES ................ ............................................................................................. 78
APPENDIX 1: TEACHER QUESTIONNAIRE .......................................................... 78
APPENDIX 2: STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE ........................................................... 80
APPENDIX 3: TEACHER INTERVIEW..................................................................... 84
APPENDIX 4: STUDENT INTERVIEW ..................................................................... 85
APPENDIX 5: TEACHER INTERVIEW..................................................................... 86
APPENDIX 6: STUDENT INTERVIEW ..................................................................... 89

APPENDIX 7: PLAGIARISM CHECKING REPORT ................................................ 92

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1 Demographic information of student participants ........ ...................................... 38
Table 3.2 Demographic information of teacher participants ........ ...................................... 39
Table 3.3 Cronbach’s alpha values for the questionnaire . ................................................. 44
Table 4.1 Descriptive Statistics of items divided into three categories............................... 45
Table 4.2 Descriptive Statistics of Student-related factors ................................................. 46
Table 4.3 Descriptive Statistics of Environment-related factors ......................................... 49
Table 4.4 Descriptive Statistics of Teacher-related factors ................................................. 52
Table 4.5 Strategies teachers should use ........ ................................................................... 57
Table 4.6 Strategies students should use ......... ................................................................... 60

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Factors influencing students speaking skills… ........................................................ 35

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LIST OF ABREVIATIONS
EFL: English as a Foreign Language
BLU: Bac Lieu University
L2: Second Language

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background to the study
It cannot be denied that English has become one of the dominating languages and
the most spoken language in the globalization age. English allows speakers to actually
broaden their world from job opportunities to the ability to connect people all over the
world. Obviously, English is the language of science, aviation, computers, diplomacy,
and tourism. Knowing English increases the chances of getting a well-paid job in a
multinational company in both domestic and foreign countries. Also, English is
essential for socializing and entertainment as it is the language of international
communication, the media and the internet. Therefore, mastering English is a crucial
key leading to the successful life. In fact, English is widely taught as a foreign
language in more than 100 countries including Vietnam - a non-native English
speaking country. Since English is considered as a foreign language (EFL) in Vietnam,
it is said to be difficult to learn and use in non-native speaking environment for daily
interaction.
In order to learn English well, students are supposed to be good at four basic skills
of listening, speaking, reading and writing, with the basis of sufficient vocabulary and
grammar, but the final expectation of learning process is communication. Mastering
speaking skills becomes the most important aspect of learning a foreign language and it
is proved through the capacity for making a conversation (Nunan, 1991, p. 39). Among
the four skills, Lazarton (2001) believes that speaking is difficult since it is almost
always accomplished through interaction with at least one speaker.
In the context of Vietnam, improving English competence plays an important role
for the young generation in general and university students in particular due to the age
of media and mass communication nowadays. However, mastering English is a big
challenge for them. In reality, there is still a problem for students who are structurally

competent but cannot communicate appropriately. Regarding the context of the study,
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the English speaking competence of students at Bac Lieu University (BLU) in general
and English majors in particular is still a matter of concern. Many students lack the
capability to express ideas, thoughts, and feelings clearly. They face difficulties
obstructing their speaking, such as lack of vocabulary, poor or unusual pronunciation,
and poor grammar, self-confidence and the English speaking environment outside.
That is why the current study focuses on the English speaking skills; especially it
examines factors that may affect the English speaking competence of freshmen English
majors at BLU.
1.2. Problem statement
According to Al Hosni (2014), EFL students may encounter many problems in the
way of developing their speaking skills regardless of their linguistic knowledge. Hojati
and Afghari (2013) state that problems of speaking skills are under the influence of a
number of linguistic and non-linguistic factors, such as grammar, vocabulary,
pragmatic variables, and affective factors. Students, therefore, have to prepare adequate
vocabulary and grammar and pay attention to fluency and accuracy in order to carry on
meaningful communication (Hinkel, 2006). In addition, Thornbury (2005) also believes
EFL students require sufficient knowledge of culture, genre, speech acts, register,
discourse, grammar, vocabulary and phonology in order to manage oral communication
in second language in different real-life situations. However, in foreign language
learning process, various factors that are all positively associated with achievement in
English are motivation, attitudes, anxiety, intelligence, age and personalities (Shame,
2008). Kirisri (2003) also found the major factors influencing English language
achievement namely the students’ characteristics, family background, peer, teacher and
school. Prapphal and Oller (1982) indicates some factors including years of studying
English, school achievement grades, and parents’ income which were related to certain
attitudes towards English.

Although speaking is one of the primary elements of communication, the
performance of majority of EFL students at BLU is below expectation. In reality, the
English teachers of Foreign Language Division have applied a lot of suitable teaching
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methods and organized various types of activities to attract students’ participation and
bring them the fascinating playground to stimulate their oral communication. However,
the low-score university entrance exams considered as the first big problem affecting
students’ academic performance. In fact, BLU mostly attracts students from small
districts and suburbs around Ca Mau Peninsula – the south of Vietnam. Students do not
have a chance to approach the modern educational system; therefore, they are still
confused to adapt themselves to the new study environment. Secondly, some traditional
methods from high school may prevent students from developing their communicative
skills. Students get accustomed to teacher-centered method that asks them to pay
attention to the lessons in textbooks and try to memorize grammatical rules or new
vocabulary so that they can get high marks in examinations. In addition, the shyness
and inferiority complex obstruct students’ speaking competence. Thus, it is obvious
that students are somewhat passive and not confident to take part in speaking activities.
The next common problem is that there is an insufficiency in students’ awareness
towards the benefits of oral communication. Therefore, they express the passivity and
neglect to attend those activities in class. So far several researchers have conducted
studies on issues of English speaking skills. For example, Vo Phuong Quyen, Pham Thi
My Nga and Ho Thao Nguyen (2018) indicate that freshmen English majors at Can
Tho University faced both internal and external challenges. Another study was
conducted in Ba Ria - Vung Tau University by Le Thi Mai (2011) investigated factors
restricting students’ language proficiency in term of learning styles, teaching
methodology and teaching facilities. Also, Dao Thi Thanh Hao (2017) explored five
main factors that negatively affect the speaking skills of students in Hanoi University
context. However, no studies have been conducted at BLU. That is why the current

study attempts to explore factors that affect the students’ English speaking skills at this
university.
1.3. Aims and objectives of the study
This study aims at investigating factors that may affect the speaking skills of the
English-majored freshmen at BLU. More specifically, the objective of the study is to
3


discover what factors that positively or negatively affect the English-majored
freshmen’s English speaking skills.
1.4. Research questions
This study attempts to answer the following question:
What are the factors that affect the English speaking skills of the English
majored freshmen at Bac Lieu University?
1.5. Scope of the study
Examining speaking skills is often mentioned in several domestic and foreign
studies, especially speaking strategies that will involve students’ learning strategies in
the process of developing speaking skills. However, there will become a complex area
to recommend appropriate learning strategies for students. The researcher realizes there
will be an impressive need to narrow down to factors influencing students’ speaking
competence. Due to reasons of working conditions and geography, instead of selecting
several universities to participate in, this study was only conducted at BLU in Bac Lieu
city. This study focused on the investigation of factors influencing the English
speaking skills of English-majored. The participants of the study were freshmen who
major in English Studies. These students took part in a survey and semi-structured
interview about their problems in using English communication. The sophomores,
junior or seniors were not invited in this study because in the freshmen context, they
simply present their issues rather than the formers. Hopefully, the study will reflect the
current situation of teaching and learning English speaking at BLU.
1.6. Significance of the study

English speaking skills significantly contribute to the successful oral
communication, especially for the English-majored students who use English as an
essential tool for their career path. The main purpose of the study is to investigate
negative factors affect students’ speaking competence and possible remedies to solve
problems in the process of teaching and learning English. Theoretically, it is expected
that the results of the study will explore the underlying factors that contribute to the
existence of these difficulties. In addition, the findings of the study may be considered
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as a reference for educators or teachers who want to conduct other studies relating to
English speaking skills in other contexts.
Practically, the result will help identify the main learning difficulties in English
speaking as perceived by both English-majored students and teachers at BLU and
applicable solutions to prevent such problems. Therefore, it is hoped that the outcome
of this study will improve English-majored freshmen’s understanding about the
importance of English oral communication and find out factors that promote or hinder
their speaking skills. The students will have opportunity to self-assess their own
English speech and gain appropriate remedial measures to overcome the identified
issues; and the teachers will also.
1.7. Definition of key terms
English-majored Freshmen:
Those are first year students who major in English at BLU. They are also the main
participants in the study.
Influencing Factors:
Those are factors that can positively or negatively affect the English-majored
freshmen’s English speaking skills. For example, student-related factors like English
proficiency or attitudes.
Perspectives:
They are particular opinions or viewpoints of both teacher and student respondents

in the study about the possible strategies to help students reduce negative effects in
speaking English.
Speaking skills:
Speaking skill is one of the most important skills in language learning. These skills
require students to comprehend and produce spoken language for proper and effective
interpersonal communication. The study is investigating the difficulties of students’
speaking skills in learning language. In the current study, the term refers effective
communication. English-majored freshmen at Bac Lieu University are hope to

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understand and use their speaking skills to interact, make presentations and
communicate with other people.
Strategies of reducing negative effects:
They are considered as suggestions and recommendations from the teacher and
student respondents in the study to reduce negative effects of factors affecting students’
speaking skills.
1.8. Organization of the thesis
This thesis consists of 5 chapters as follows:
Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter provides an overview for the thesis which set a general context of the
study. There are eight sections in this chapter, namely Background to the study;
Statement of the problem; Aims and objectives of the study; Research questions; Scope
of the study; Significance of the study; Definitions of the key terms and Organization
of the thesis.
Chapter 2: Literature review
This chapter indicates the primary concepts regarding the speaking skills including
its definition, characteristics, and importance theoretical background of some previous
studies. Also, previous studies and the conceptual framework of the study are included

in this chapter.
Chapter 3: Research Methodology
This chapter presents the research methods that were employed to conduct the
study. This chapter access into detailed and carefully designed methods of collecting,
analyzing and illustrating the data to answer the research questions. Questionnaire and
semi-structured interview are the main research instruments. This chapter includes
Research design, Instruments, Data collection and analysis procedure.
Chapter 4: Results and Discussions
This chapter presents the findings and discussion of the study related to two
research questions. The findings of research question 1 are presented first, and then the

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findings of research question 2 are presented. After that, discussion of the findings is
provided.
Chapter 5: Conclusion
This chapter comprises a summary of the findings, implications and limitations; and
finally, recommendation for further research is provided.

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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Introduction
English has been considered as the main language all over the world. Also, it is
the major means of communication in most areas today. Therefore, EFL students need
to improve their proficiency in the language to master four main language skills
namely listening, speaking, reading and writing. In order to achieve a high level of

abilities in producing language, students encounter difficulties in these skills and
speaking which is one of the fundamental skills should be improved. This section will
involve the primary concepts related to the speaking skills including its definition,
characteristics, and importance. Issues of English teaching and learning as well as some
factors influencing speaking skills will be mentioned in this part. The final parts will
present previous studies and the conceptual framework of the study.
2.2. Speaking skills
2.2.1. Definition of speaking
Speaking is considered to be the most important active skill in learning language.
In Cambridge Dictionary (2019), speaking is lexically defined as the act or skill of
giving a speech at a public event. However, in different studies, there are various
definitions of speaking term according to different researchers. Speaking is an
interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and
processing information (Brown, 1994; Burns & Joyce, 1997). Furthermore, Nunan
(2003, p.48) also argues that speaking is a productive oral skill which consists of
constructing systematic verbal utterances to convey meaning.
On the other hand, when someone speaks to other person, there will be a
relationship. The relationship itself is communication. Rizvi (2006, p.92) points out
speaking as development of the relationship between speakers and listeners. It means
that the main target of speaking is for communication. In communication process,

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speakers need to learn to adapt their talk to the listeners, use a variety of ways to clarify
their ideas, express themselves and develop thinking.
Additionally, Caroline (2005, p.45) defines that speaking is a basic oral
communication among participants in society. It is speaking which serves as natural
means of communication of the members of the community for both expression of
thought and form a social behavior. Cameron (2001, p. 40) also says that speaking is

about making people understand speaker’s feeling and ideas by doing an act of
communication using language. At the time people produce utterances, they deliver
their meanings, feelings, ideas and desires.
From the definitions above, it can be concluded that speaking can be called as oral
communication and it is one of four basic skills in English learning. Students learn how
to brain storm ideas, arrange sentences in the correct order, and deliver the meaning of
the language in the context with good pronunciation and comprehensible language.
2.2.2. Characteristics of speaking skills
Speaking has become an important skill in learning language because it can make
students easily understand what things explained. Therefore, mastering speaking skills
helps students implement a conversation, understand ideas, opinions and information
from other people (Harmer, 2007). Mazouzi (2003) mentions two major characteristics
in the foreign language proficiency are fluency and accuracy. Also, Torres (1997)
points out that there are two main features of language to consider when teaching and
testing speaking, accuracy and fluency. These are both necessary elements of
communication and crucial purposes of language learning that needed to be improved
and developed.
The first characteristic of speaking performance is fluency. Fluency in speaking is
the aim of language study. It is defined as the ability to converse or to express a
sequence of ideas (Thornbury, 2005). In addition, Hedge (2000) expresses that fluency
is the ability to answer coherently by connecting the words and phrases, pronouncing
the sounds clearly, and using stress and intonation. According to Harrell (2007),
fluency is as a speech language pathology term which means the smoothness or flow
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with which sounds, syllable, words and phrases are joined together when speaking
quickly.
Tumova (2002) states that fluency means speaking the language freely to express
ideas in real-life situations regardless of making mistakes. Castaneda and RodriguezGonzalez (2011) indicate that fluency means to speak smoothly and continually

without stopping to think of selecting correct words. On the other hand, a group of
researchers including Badr (2008), Smith (2003), and Zhang (2009) agree that fluency
is the ability to speak at a normal speed without too much stopping and hesitating.
When speaking fluently, the speakers convey the message easily, clearly and
understandably regardless of some acceptable mistakes.
The second characteristic of speaking performance is accuracy. Speaking involves
the interaction and communicating between listeners and speakers. To do this, students
need to respond what other people say, and use appropriate language for the current
situation. Lindsay and Knight (2006, p.68) infer the importance and the need of
accuracy and fluency to understand the different messages and to keep a conversation.
Accuracy is defined by Oxford dictionary as the state of being exact or the ability to do
something skillfully without making mistakes. EFL students usually pay less attention
to accuracy than fluency. Therefore, that is the reason why teachers should emphasize
accuracy in their teaching process. Torres (1997) indicates that there are some
components in which teachers can test accuracy such as pronunciation, vocabulary and
grammar. In other words, accuracy is the ability to speak without making any
grammatical structures, vocabulary, pronunciation and other errors.
According to Thornbury (2005), learners’ correct use of grammatical structures
requires the length and complexity of the utterances and the well-structured clauses.
Fromkin and Rodman (1998) explain grammar is the basic units of meaning, such as
words and a set of rules to combine them into a new sentence. It is needed for the
speakers to arrange a correct sentence in a conversation. Therefore, the speakers have
to shed light on and comprehend grammatical forms in order to apply them in an
appropriate oral context. Furthermore, the insufficiency of vocabulary obstructs a
10


lengthy conversation because it is the basic of the speech (Shafaei & Nejati, 2010: 32).
To gain accuracy in terms of vocabulary means to select suitable words in the suitable
contexts. In the case of synonyms that do not have the same meaning in all contexts,

speakers find difficulties to transmit their message. According to Harmer (2001), the
knowledge of the word classes also allows speakers to perform well formed utterances,
so words and expressions should be used accurately.
It is a deficiency not to pay attention to pronunciation in communication.
According to Harmer (2001), the first thing that native speakers notice during a
conversation is pronunciation. Although grammar and vocabulary are important
elements of language, they can be useless if the speakers cannot pronounce those
elements or words accurately. It is obvious that when speakers cannot utter the correct
version of a word, they are not able to communicate correctly. In order to achieve
accuracy in speaking, students should master phonological rules including various
sounds, stress, intonation, and pitch. All of these elements help students speak the
English language easily and effectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that fluency and
accuracy are closely related. EFL students have to learn how to speak fluently and
accurately use the right words, put them in correct order and pronounce like native
speakers because these characteristics are necessary for the successful communication.
2.2.3. The importance of speaking in L2 learning
Second language acquisition refers to the process of learning a second language
(L2) after the first language. It becomes one’s mother tongue if it takes place where
the target language is used. In the modern life where communication is the best tool,
the importance of speaking English as a L2 is undeniable. There has been a demand for
speakers who can use English effectively in every country since English is called the
international language in globalization age. However, there will be a big challenge for
EFL students who have little speaking environment to practice English in Vietnam
context. They have to master a language well, must be able to speak that language
because it is the ability that needs to perform a conversation. Through speaking, the
students will understand ideas, opinions and information from other people (Harmer,
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2001). In addition, students feel confident to speak up and express their views about

interesting issues. Ranson (2000) states that when speaking happens, students develop
a variety of skills, strategies and behaviors helping them manage challengeable
situations.
The speaking skills become important for language learners. Gass and Selinker
(2001) claim that this process of learning a L2 can sometimes occur in a foreign
language classroom context or sometimes not. The use of language takes place in a
variety of situations including daily life, work places, amusement, etc. It is supposed to
speak accurately and effectively in order to have a perfect communication. Rivers
(1981) examines the use of language outside the classroom circumstance and figures
out that speaking is used twice as much as reading and writing combined. According to
Richards and Rodgers (2001), speaking skill develops meagerly in the classrooms
because it is not much paid attention than reading and writing skills. Celce-Murcia
(2001) agrees that authenticity is very important when students ought to speak.
Interesting and diversified topics definitely attract students with focus on meanings,
values, collaboration, social development, etc.
However, English speaking is not an easy task and a lot of students lack it because
they should know many significant components like pronunciation, grammar,
vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Students should have enough English
speaking ability in order to communicate easily and effectively with other people.
Speaking skills are also important for career success. According to a recent report by
the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), oral communication is
the most important candidate skill in new college graduates. Baker and Westrup (2003)
indicate that “a student who can speak English well may have greater chance for
further education, of finding employment and gaining promotion.”
2.3. Teaching and learning English speaking skills
2.3.1. Teaching English speaking skills
Teaching English as a second language is an honorable mission that empowers
students to take their places in the global community and become active participants in
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