Students difficulties in learning english speaking skills at cau khoi primary school

The thesis entitled STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING
ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS AT CAU KHOI PRIMARY
SCHOOL was successfully defended and approved on
September 30th, 2020 at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology
(HUTECH).
Academic supervisor : Ly Thi My Hanh, Ph. D
The Board of Examiners for the Master’s Thesis Defense
No.

EXAMINATION COMMITTEE

FUNCTION

1

Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, Ph. D

Chair

2

Duong My Tham, Ph. D

Reader 1

3

Le Van Tuyen, Ph. D

Reader 2

4

Truong Cong Bang, Ph. D

Member

5

Nguyen Thi Nhu Ngoc, Ph. D

Secretary Member

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

Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, Ph. D

i


HCMC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE
HCMC, September 2020

MASTER’S THESIS REPORT
Student name: LE NGUYEN HOANG NAM

Sex: Male

Date of birth: 01/09/1993

Place of birth : Tay Ninh Province

Major: English Language

Student code: 1841900044

I- Thesis title:
STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING
SKILLS AT CAU KHOI PRIMARY SCHOOL
II-Objectives and contents:
This study aims at investigating primary school students’ difficulties in
learning English speaking in the context of Cau Khoi primary school in
Duong Minh Chau District, Tay Ninh province. The research objectives are
as follows:
• To find out the students’ attitudes towards learning speaking English.
• To find out the difficulties of the learners towards speaking skills.
The participants were the EFL primary school students who were studying
the Family and friends Special Edition. In order to gain the results, Author
applied the mixed-method: quantitative and qualitative, two instruments

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were utilized: questionnaire and semi-structured interview so as to collect
the data, both of which are applied for the students.
III- Starting date: March 30th, 2020
IV- Completing date: September 30th, 2020
V- Academic supervisor: Ly Thi My Hanh, Ph. D

ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR

FACULTY DEAN

((full name, signature)

((full name, signature)

Ly Thi My Hanh, Ph. D

Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, Ph. D

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

STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING
SKILLS AT CAU KHOI PRIMARY SCHOOL
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 City, September 2020

LE NGUYEN HOANG NAM

iv

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS
I hereby state that I, LE NGUYEN HOANG NAM, 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, September 2020
Signature …………………………….
LE NGUYEN HOANG NAM

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In the process of completing this thesis, I have received the wholehearted help
from the teachers of the Foreign Language Department - HUTECH University.
First of all, I would like to thank Ms. Ly Thi My Hanh for guiding me to complete
this graduation thesis. Thanks to the dedicated guidance and careful guidance that
I can complete the graduation thesis. Her comments and suggestions made me
realize what was lacking in my research. The words of encouragement enabled me
to complete this thesis well.
Second, I would like to thank my colleagues for helping to share the work so that
I can focus on completing the thesis. Besides, I would like to thank the 5th graders
of Cau Khoi Primary School for helping me in the survey to find out the difficulties

in learning English speaking skills.
Finally, I would like to sincerely thank my family for always supporting, giving
strength, loving me to keep going. Thank you to my friends who have always stood
by supported me in my studies and life.

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ABSTRACT
Through the years, investigations into learning English speaking skills have been
the subject of many researches in the field of language teaching and learning,
especially the 5th graders because they were at the age of the transition between
primary and secondary. This greatly affected the psychology of the students.
During the teaching process, the author found many difficulties in learning to
speak English as the specific linguistic problem; they had difficulty expressing
their thoughts due to lack of pronunciation and lack of vocabulary and grammar.
Besides, the psychological issue also affected them quite a lot. They lacked
confidence, are shy and timid when participating in learning to speak English.
Besides, the lack of English practice environment is also one of the factors
hindering students' development of skills, which led to disappointment and
anxiety; Whether such people lost their love of language and became discouraged
with the continuing study. Focusing on the same subject but with a new
perspective, this research aimed at discovering elementary students’ difficulties in
learning English speaking skills at Cau Khoi primary school. A total of ninety-two
learners and one foreign teacher participating in answering the questionnaire and
responding the semi-structured interview questions. The data gained from the
questionnaire were analyzed by SPSS in terms of descriptive statistics. The results
showed that primary school students expressed relatively good learning attitudes.
However, this good attitude declined as the exams focused only on listening,
writing, and reading skills. The learners were less focused on the speaking skill

but instead only focused on three remaining skills. The results further indicated
that there were three main reasons that make it difficult for students to learn
English speaking skills. Three main reasons were language problems such as
vocabulary and grammar was not enough to express ideas; pronunciation was not
good. Basing upon the findings, some implications were made to contribute to new

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viewpoints for teaching and learning and teaching speaking skills at primary
schools.
Keywords: Learning English speaking skills, attitudes, teaching English to young
students, cognitive attitudes, affective attitudes, behavioural attitudes, linguistic
problems, psychological problems

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
MASTER’S THESIS REPORT ....................................................................ii
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ...........................................................iv
RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ................................................ v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .........................................................................vi
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................ix
LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................xii
LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................... xiii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS ......................................xiv
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................. 1
1.1. Background to the study .................................................................... 1

1.2. Statement of the problem ................................................................... 2
1.3. Aims and objectives of the study ....................................................... 3
1.4. Research questions ............................................................................. 3
1.5. Scope of the study .............................................................................. 3
1.6. Significance of the study .................................................................... 4
1.7. Definition of key terms ...................................................................... 4
1.8. Organization of the thesis .................................................................. 5
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................... 6
2.1. Speaking skills ................................................................................... 6
2.1.1 Definition of speaking .................................................................. 6
2.1.2. Function of speaking ................................................................... 7
2.1.3. Components of speech process ................................................... 8
2.1.4. Characteristics of a successful speaking activity ...................... 10
2.1.5. Types of speaking activities ...................................................... 11
2.1.6. Learning speaking activities...................................................... 12

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2.1.7: Teaching speaking English for young learner .......................... 15
2.1.8. The characteristics of young learners ....................................... 20
2.2 Attitudes ............................................................................................ 22
2.2.1. Definitions of attitudes .............................................................. 22
2.2.2. The components of attitudes ..................................................... 22
2.2.3 Attitude models .......................................................................... 23
2.3. Difficulties affecting English speaking skills .................................. 25
2.3.1. Linguistics problems in speaking English ................................ 25
2.3.2. Psychological problems in speaking English ............................ 27
2.3.3. Environment for practicing English communication ................ 30
2.4. Previous studies ................................................................................ 30

2.5. Conceptual Framework .................................................................... 39
2.6. Summary .......................................................................................... 40
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ............................................................... 41
3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 41
3.2. Research design ................................................................................ 41
3.3. Research site..................................................................................... 42
3.4. Text book ......................................................................................... 42
3.5. Sample and sampling procedures ..................................................... 43
3.6. Research instruments ....................................................................... 46
3.6.1. Questionnaire ............................................................................ 47
3.6.2. Interview questions ................................................................... 49
3.7. Data collection procedures ............................................................... 50
3.8. Data analysis procedures .................................................................. 51
3.9. Validity and reliability ..................................................................... 52
3.9.1. Reliability .................................................................................. 52
3.9.2. Validity ...................................................................................... 54
3.10. Summary ........................................................................................ 54
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .......................................... 55

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4.1. Introduction ...................................................................................... 55
4.2. Result ................................................................................................ 55
4.2.1. Students’ attitudes towards learning English speaking skills ... 55
4.2.2. Students’ difficulties at Cau Khoi primary school in learning
English speaking skills. ....................................................................... 61
4.3. Discussion ........................................................................................ 67
4.3.1. Cau Khoi primary school students’ attitudes towards learning
speaking English. ................................................................................ 67

4.3.2. Students’ difficulties at Cau Khoi primary school in learning
English speaking skills. ....................................................................... 70
4.4. Summary .......................................................................................... 75
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION.................................................................... 76
5.1 Summary of the main findings of the thesis ..................................... 76
5.2. Pedagogical implications ................................................................. 77
5.3. Limitations ....................................................................................... 78
5.4 Recommendations for the further research ....................................... 79
REFERENCES ............................................................................................ 80
APPENDIX A ............................................................................................. 87
APPENDIX B ............................................................................................. 95
APPENDIX C ............................................................................................. 97
APPENDIX D ........................................................................................... 101
APPENDIX E ............................................................................................ 102

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1: Teacher’s general information
Table 3.2: Participants’ general information
Table 4.1: Total mean scores of attitudes towards Learning English speaking skills
Table 4.2 Students’ attitudes towards Learning English speaking skills
Table 4.3 Cau Khoi primary school students’ cognitive attitudes towards Learning
English speaking skills.
Table 4.4 Cau Khoi primary school students’ affective attitudes towards Learning
English speaking skills
Table 4.5 Cau Khoi primary school students’ behavioral attitudes towards
Learning English speaking skills
Table 4.6 Students’ difficulties in learning English speaking skills

Table 4.7 Linguistics problems in learning English speaking skills
Table 4.8 Psychological problems in Learning English speaking skills
Table 4.9 Environment for practicing English communication

xii


LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Tripartite model
Figure 2: ABC model
Figure 3: Conceptual Framework of Students’ Attitude and difficulties in learning
English speaking skills

xiii


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
EFL

English as Foreign Language

xiv


CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background to the study
Language is one of the essential things in communication. It is used as a tool for
communication between countries in the world. Everyone in the world always uses
language to communicate, provide information and knowledge, and express their
thoughts. Simultaneously, according to Wibowo (2014) research, language is the

most effective way to communicate thoughts, information, intentions, emotions,
and opinions. Without language, it is difficult for people to communicate with
each other. Nunan (1991) pointed out that "success is measured by a person's
ability to speak a language". David (2013) pointed out that speaking ability had
become a significant factor in life development. In the classroom, activities that
develop learners' ability to express themselves through speech seem to be an
essential part of language courses. However, not most foreign language learners
are interested in learning spoken English.
In Vietnam, English is taught from elementary school to university. English is the
most important foreign language for the inheritance of knowledge, science,
technology, art and culture, and the establishment of international relations.
Susanto (2020) believes that "English has become popular and one of the essential
languages in people's entire life in understanding literature. Students should
understand language usage, but they will not be able to use it without daily
communication exercises. "Therefore, English is relevant content to learn and
practice in daily communication. In addition, mastering spoken English is the most
crucial aspect of learning English. Therefore, learning a spoken language has
become the most significant interest in foreign language learners. Besides,
Richards (2002) pointed out that for most languages in the world, learners learn
English to improve their oral English.
As Richards and Renandya (2002, p.210) pointed out that speaking is one of the
core communication elements. This means that speaking is essential, and someone

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can express their feelings, emotions, and thoughts through speaking. When
someone speaks, they should express meaning based on the context of the
message, for example, context and participation.
In terms of teaching English, Kayi (2006) said that foreign language teachers

should pay much attention to teaching speaking because “the ability to
communicate in a foreign language clearly and efficiently can contribute to the
success of the learner in school and success later in every phase of life”. Instead
of leading students to learn by memorization purely, language teachers should
provide students with a rich environment where they can improve communication
meaningfully. The term representing one’s competency in speaking a language is
named speaking competence, which is a person’s skill, knowledge, and motivation
to speak to anyone in any context.
In reality, Vietnamese students consider learning to be remembering books or
information provided by the teacher. Teachers are usually the only source of oral
English input by students. As a result, students often do not participate in
classroom activities, such as giving answers or asking questions and rely on
teachers (Braddock et al., 1995). Teacher-centered models lead to passive learning
styles for students and discomfort when speaking a foreign language outside the
classroom. Besides, the exams focus almost exclusively on grammar and
vocabulary (Peterson, 2014). Thus, Vietnamese students learn English to pass the
exam and continue their studies; they often ignore verbal communication parts
such as pronunciation, speaking, and listening. Grammar and vocabulary-heavy
courses and exams mean that students rarely have the chance to practice
communicating with each other in English in the classroom (Denham, 1992).
1.2. Statement of the problem
As an English teacher at Cau Khoi primary school, the author has many concerns
about how learners can master and communicate in English with teachers and
classmates. During the teaching process, the author found that there are many

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difficulties in learning to speak English as a specific linguistic problem, they have
difficulty in expressing their thoughts due to lack of pronunciation and lack of

vocabulary and grammar.
Besides, the psychological issue also affects them quite a lot. They lack
confidence, are shy and timid when participating in learning to speak English.
Besides, the lack of English practice environment is also one of the factors
hindering the development of skills of learners, and these lead to disappointment
and anxiety; Whether such people lose their love of language and become
discouraged with the continuing study.
1.3. Aims and objectives of the study
Therefore, through this thesis, the author wants to study the attitude of learning
English speaking skills of 5th graders of Cau Khoi primary school and the
difficulties that 5th graders face in learning English speaking skills to help students
of Cau Khoi Primary School in general and other primary schools in Duong Minh
district, in particular, improve their speaking skills.

More specifically, it

attempted:
 To find out the attitudes of the learners towards learning English speaking
skills,
 To discover the difficulties of the learners in learning English speaking skills
1.4. Research questions
In order to investigate students’ difficulties in learning English speaking skills at
Cau Khoi primary school, the following research questions are formulated:
1. What are the 5th graders’ attitudes towards learning English speaking skills at
Cau Khoi primary school?
2. What are the 5th graders’ difficulties in learning English speaking skills at Cau
Khoi Primary School?
1.5. Scope of the study
The thesis focused on finding out the attitudes of 5th graders when learning
English speaking skills alongside research, which explored the difficulties that 5th

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graders encountered when learning English speaking skills in Cau Khoi primary
school. Due to the large size of the population, the study did not investigate every
individual in the population due to cost and time consumption. The scope of the
study was 92 students divided into three classes and interviewing 10 students
beside 1 language teacher. Only 1 English language teacher was selected for an
interview because there were only 2 English language teachers in the school where
the research process took place; one was the author and the other. This study
focused on two aspects: the 5th graders' attitudes in English speaking skills and
the 5th graders' difficulties in English speaking skills.
1.6. Significance of the study
This study hoped to be helpful in both ways; they are theoretical and practical. In
theoretical terms, this study provides information on learners' attitudes toward
learning English speaking skills and the difficulties learners face when learning
speaking skills in Cau Khoi Primary School. It also develops an understanding of
the organization's strategy for balancing school curriculum and assessment skills.
Moreover, practically, the findings are also expected to provide information on
students' attitudes and problems at Cau Khoi Primary School in their daily English
speaking program. Therefore, we hope to provide input, feedback, and information
to this organization and all general facilities, such as neighboring schools, based
on reference. Moreover, it will influence the stimulation of changes in the roles of
teachers and students in the language classroom.
1.7. Definition of key terms
Speaking: The Oxford Dictionary says the action voice conveys information or
expresses another person's feeling in the speech.
Difficulties are adverse effects from many causes that reduce or eliminate efforts
in learning, reducing or eliminating results.

Attitude refers as an important factor that affects greatly on students’ learning
process and even facilitate their language acquisition.

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English as a Foreign Language (EFL): the teaching of English to students
whose first language is not English.
1.8. Organization of the thesis
This study report consists of five separate chapters.
Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the study with the background information
related to the study, the rationale of the study, the aims and objectives, the research
questions, the scope of the study, the significance of the study, the definitions of
the key terms as well as the organization of the thesis.
Chapter 2 is an overview of the document, presenting information related to
English speaking skills. Regarding English speaking skills, definitions, principles,
attitudes, the importance of English speaking skills as well as challenges in
teaching English speaking skills are discussed when learning English speaking
skills. With reference to speaking skills development strategies, definitions, and
the importance of developing speaking skills for elementary school students, and
outlined some suggestions for solutions to develop speaking skills for students. In
the previous study, many studies by foreign and Vietnamese researchers were
summarized and briefly discussed. Finally, the conceptual framework is
introduced in the literature review.
Chapter 3 describes the methodology of the study including the research design,
the research site, the sample and sample procedures, the research instruments, the
data collection procedures as well as the data analysis procedures.
Chapter 4 supplies the presentation of results of the study by analyzing the data
collected from questionnaire and interview. The discussion of the data is also
compared and contrasted with the data in previous studies.

Chapter 5 presents the summary of the main findings of the thesis, implications of
the research, limitation of the research and recommendations for further research.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter's primary purpose is to provide an overview of previous research
related to difficulties in learning English speaking skills, definition, and function
about speaking, besides the component of speaking. In research, it also provides
the development of elementary students' cognitive processes and the
characteristics of young learners. Next, research provides the problem that
students faced in learning English speaking skills. Finally, is the solution in which
researchers solve the students' problems.
2.1. Speaking skills
2.1.1 Definition of speaking
Many of the authors' research papers have previously defined the word "Speaking"
in language learning, but no one can give an accurate definition of "Speaking".
Bygate (1987) argues that speaking skill is the ability to use spoken language to
explore other people's ideas, intentions, thoughts and emotions to make messages
heard by listeners. clear and understand. Speaking is the process of making and
sharing meaning by using verbal and nonverbal symbols in different contexts.
Torky (2006) also defines speaking as a constructive interactive process involving
production, reception and processing of information. Burn and Joyce (1997)
emphasize that the form and meaning of speaking belong to the context that
happens, involving the participants and goals of speaking, the physical
environment. Derakhshan, Khalili, and Beheshti (2016) claimed that production
skills consist of two main categories: accurate and smooth. In particular, accuracy
requires the use of vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation correctly according to
some activities while fluency is the ability to speak naturally (Gower, Philips, &

Walter, 1983).
Besides, speaking is the most basic skill for learning a foreign language compared
with listening, reading and writing skills. Although it had not been easy for

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students to communicate in English since they entered Primary School, they must
think when they speak English. According to Brown and Yule (1983) said that
speaking depends on the complexities of information to be conveyed. However,
students sometimes find it not easy to clarify what they want to express. In fact,
speaking is a productive skill and it is the ability to communicate with others; the
main purpose of spoken language is to communicate ideas effectively, to
understand the meaning of what a person is saying and then the listener tries to
communicate.
2.1.2. Function of speaking
From the above definitions, speaking has the function to express thoughts,
feelings, opinions and to exchange information. Therefore, speech is a tool for
communication, and people must have a good speaking ability. In learning 4 skills
of English, speaking is not an immediate skill, it takes a long time to get it. Rubi
and Thomson (1982) pointed out that language is a complex system, and each is
different, it needs to reorganize students' thinking. Therefore, students need a lot
of practice to become more successful language learners.
Richards (2008) said the functions of spoken language fall into three categories:
communication as

communication, transaction as communication, and

performance as communication. Talking is interaction which refers to the
conversation used in daily activities in social interaction; when people meet, they

greet each other, have a chat, narrate the experience or share the information they
have. Talking as a transaction revolves around situations such as meaning or
information being conveyed, such as teaching and learning activities between
teachers and students. In contrast, talking as a performance refers to public talks
that convey information to the audience, such as classroom lectures, public places,
announcements and lectures.

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2.1.3. Components of speech process
Of these four skills, it is difficult to accurately master and assess speaking skill
because of its complexity. Lado (1977) states that speech process analysis usually
considers four or five components.
a. Pronunciation
Lado (1977) states that pronunciation teaching not only makes students aware of
different sounds and sound features, but can also improve their speaking.
Concentrating on sounds, showing where they are made in the mouth, making
students aware of where words should be stressed – all these things give them extra
information about spoken English and help them achieve the goal of improved
comprehension. Also, pronunciation helps students clearly express language when
they speak. The phonetic process refers to the components of grammar, including
the factors and principles which identify how sounds and language patterns
change. It is useful to be aware of the sounds, stresses and intonations interact
within entire utterances to produce easily comprehensible pronunciation. It needs
to be said at the outset that the aim of pronunciation improvement is not to achieve
a perfect imitation of a native accent, but simply to get the learners to pronounce
accurately enough so that the listeners can easily understand what they say.
b. Grammar
Lado (1977) also states that students need to be taught how the words are put

together to make correct sentences. This is an over-simplification, but it is a good
starting point and an easy way to explain the term to young learners. Teachers
should give natural examples so that learners see how the language is used; verbal
descriptions also help students understand the significance of particular points of
usage. They should be taught how to make meanings within real contexts, and how
to create longer units of language than single sentences for helping them have the
ability to manipulate structures and to distinguish proper grammatical from in
appropriate ones. The harmonization of grammar can also help students learn the
right way to use it in oral and written languages.

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c. Vocabulary
Beside that Lado (1977) states that If students’ stock of vocabulary is poor, they
cannot communicate effectively as well as they cannot well express their ideas
both oral and written forms. Therefore, vocabulary refers to a wonderful dictionary
which is really necessary to use in communication. Teaching techniques and
activities need using in classes for learners. New words should not be presented in
isolation and should not be learned by simple rote memorization. It is important
that new vocabulary items be presented in context rich enough to provide clues to
meaning and that students given multiple exposure to items they should learn.
They need to be taught to use vocabulary learning strategies. Making the transition
to independent learning can be easier and efficient if teachers help students learn
to recognize clues to guessing word meaning from the context. This strategy is a
key vocabulary learning skill for dealing with low-frequency vocabulary,
particularly in reading authentic texts.
d. Fluency
The level of language needed for a discussion should be lower than that used in
intensive language-learning activities in the same class: it should be easily recalled

and produced by the participants so that they can speak fluently with the minimum
of hesitation. It is a good idea to teach or review essential vocabulary before the
activity starts. Fluency includes fast speaking speeds with only a few pauses, such
as "hmm" or "uh". If learners who need to use English in their community or in
their profession and who need to keep the attention of their listeners, they should
be taught to use gambits in a meeting when they want to interrupt, for instance,
“Can I just come in here”; to hold the floor, for example, “I’d just like to make
another quick point”; or to respond, for example “I agree with that in part but…”.
These items of prefabricated language are included not only phrases, but clauses
and sentences too. Nattinger, J. R. and J. S. DeCarrio (1992) have called them
“lexical phrases” which play a strong role in language learning because of their

9


advantage, the speakers do not spend much time searching for, but they can help
learners to produce the language more fluently.
2.1.4. Characteristics of a successful speaking activity
Speaking activities can give students great confidence and satisfaction, and can
encourage them to continue learning after their teacher's sensitive guidance.
Therefore, good spoken language skill should be highly motivated. Harmer (1998)
enjoys many speech tasks, such as discussion, solving problem, playing role.
Nunan (1999) supposed that for most people, it is important to master a speaking
skill in a foreign language, and the measure of success is the ability to speak that
language.
Brown (2001) said that spoken language is sometimes easy to implement, but
difficult in some cases. When people want to speak fluently, they often encounter
difficulties. In order to succeed in speaking, they must have some characteristics
of successful speaking activities as follows:
- Learners talk a lot: In practice, teachers allow students to do this as much

as possible. This may be obvious, but students usually spend most of the time
talking with their teacher or their classmates.
- The number of participants is even: Class discussion is not dominated by a
minority of talkative participants. Everyone has the opportunity to speak, and their
contributions are evenly distributed.
- High motivation: Learners are eager to speak because they are interested
in the topic which is close to the real life, or because they want to contribute to the
achievement of the task goal.
- Language is an acceptable level: Learners express themselves in
appropriate utterances; languages are easy-to-understanding, and a level of
language accuracy is acceptable.

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2.1.5. Types of speaking activities
According to Brown (2001), there are five types of speech activities: "imitation,
reinforcement, response, interaction, and broad (monologue)." In order to
understand more clearly, the author will explain each type as follows:
a. Imitation
One type of oral performance is the ability to imitate a word or a phrase or a
sentence. Walkthrough is a part of a communicative language classroom, it
provides students with the opportunity to listen and speak words in certain
languages. In some languages, walkthrough can cause difficulties whether
phonetic or grammatical. It supplies the exercises by repetition; people are allowed
to focus on the elements of a language in a controlled activity.
b. Strengthening
Intensive speaking goes beyond imitation and can include any speaking
performance designed to practice the phonetic and grammatical aspects of the
language. Intensive spoken language can be self-initiated or it is a part of a paired

work activity where learners are learning some forms of language, Brown (2001).
For example, intensive evaluation tasks include directional response tasks, reading
aloud, complete sentences and dialogues, and translation to simple sentence levels.
c. Responsive
Many students in the classroom are responsive with short answers to questions
from teachers. These replies are usually sufficient, but they do not extend into the
conversation. Such a speech may be meaningful and true. Responsive assessment
tasks include interaction and testing comprehension, but it should be remembered
that this instant response is very culture-specific, and it is not prized by speakers
in many other language communities. Therefore, the immediate response is
somewhat limited in terms of short conversations, greetings, simple requests and
comments.

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