Difficulties faced by first year english majors at thuongmai university in learning speaking skills and some suggested solutions

DECLARATION
I declare that the graduation paper entitled “Difficulties faced by first-year
English majors at Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills and some
suggested solutions” is the result of my own work and that it has not been submitted
to any other university or institution wholly or partially.
Hanoi, April 22th 2018
Student
Le Thi Oanh

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ABSTRACT
Speaking skill is one of the most important skills when learning English.
Based on the information from the teacher as well as from the reality, the students
still face many difficulties in speaking English, even though they study in English
major. In relation to that reason, the researcher conducted a study about
“Difficulties faced by first-year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning
speaking skills and some suggested solutions.” This study aims to point out
difficulties of the first-year English majors at Thuongmai University in learning
speaking skills and propose some solutions to improve their speaking skill.
The study was carried out in first-year classes of English Department at
Thuongmai University. The researcher took 50 first year students as the subject of
the research. To collect the data, the researcher used questionnaire and observation
as instrument to find the data about the students’ difficulty while speaking English
and also the students’ solution to overcome these difficulties.
After doing questionnaire and observation, the result of the research showed
that the students had many difficulties while speaking English such as lack of

confidence, idea, vocabulary; mispronunciation; nothing to say; using Vietnamese;
using incorrect grammar. Moreover, that result also proposed some solutions such
as ways to study vocabulary, pronunciation effectively; ways to build the
confidence and ways to practice English.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I am deeply grateful to my supervisor M.A Tran Thi Bich Lan for
her great support in assisting me to accomplish this study. She always guides me
with valuable suggestions, helpful comments and guidance during my
implementation of this study. Without her support, the study would have never been
completed.
I also would like to express my sincere thanks to all the lecturers of English
Department at Thuongmai University for their useful lectures and valuable advices
that helped me very much to finish my thesis.
I also want to thank the cooperation of first-year students of English
Department at Thuongmai University who have helped me to collect data for the
study.
Last but not least, I would especially thank my family; my close friends who
gave me a big encouragement to fulfill my study.
Hanoi, April 22th 2018
Student
Le Thi Oanh

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Numbe
Abbreviations
r
EFL
1
M.A
2

4

Meanings
English as a Foreign Language
The Master of Art

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

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CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
1.1.

Rationale
Nowadays, English plays an integral part in the society. It is a key factor that
helps us succeed. It is not only the language used in English speaking countries
such as England, US, Canada,…but also in over the world. The statistics reveal that
more than a quarter of the world’s population speaks English that means that about
1.6 billion people understand and relate with the help of the language of
Shakespeare. Not to mention that most of the films are in English, the largest film
industry, Hollywood, is produced in English. Although the English language doesn’t
have the largest number of native speakers in the world, it has the widest reach of
any language spoken today. People speak English to have more job opportunities.
Businesses need employees who can communicate fluently with English-speaking
partners and clients. In addition, entrepreneurs can access a far wider range of
customers online by using English. Knowing English makes it easy to travel
because English is spoken as a first or second language in so many different
countries, we are always easy to find English speakers as well as printed
information in English, especially at hotels and in areas frequented by tourists.
For these reasons, speaking is an important skill for everyone who learns
English because we cannot communicate with each other without understanding
what they are saying. In Vietnam, learners have a long time to learn English. We
have learned English from 6 years old to the time we reach the end of high school,
which means we have spent 7-10 years learning English. However, most of us
cannot communicate with foreigners. This is also the common situation of the firstyear students of the English Department at Thuongmai University. Although the
entry mark is very high; however, the speaking English skills of each student is not

good. So, why don’t they speak English well? What are the difficulties?
In order to answer this question, I want to propose the research topic:
“Difficulties faced by the first-year English majors at Thuongmai University in
learning speaking skills and some suggested solutions.”

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1.2.

Previous studies
In the past, there were many scholars who studied the difficulties faced by
learners when speaking foreign languages. They gave a lot of arguments and
evidences for this topic. In my study, I would like to introduce the study of Lejla
Basic and Lukitasari.

1.2.1. Lejla Basic (2011): “Speaking anxiety: An obstacle to second language learning”

Lejla Basic studied the anxiety faced by learners when speaking. In his study,
he said that the reason which causes fear of speaking is anxiety.
“Speaking anxiety has to do with fear, which in most cases has developed
from bad prior experiences. It is frequently suggested that children who have not
been encouraged to speak from an early stage also create a weaker communicative
behavior pattern. Becoming silent at an early stage also contributes to limited
opportunities to practice oral skills. Parents’ behavior and views on outspokenness
have therefore a great impact on children’s speaking development. When children
that are not used to speaking out are confronted with schools’ challenging
requirements in oral proficiency, their inhibition often results in silence and
withdrawnness.”
According to his study, “speaking-anxious people are self-conscious and afraid

of making fools of them, being laughed at or bullied” and “speaking anxiety is often
triggered by other people that the speaking anxious person does not feel
comfortable with.”
Lejla Basic’s study showed that students who have speech anxiety are often
very calm and passive and can therefore also receive less attention from teachers.
He pointed out a study that was made with Japanese foreign students at a graduate
school in America. This study showed that many of the Japanese foreign students
were anxious when speaking English with native speakers. “The fear of speaking
English made many of them remain silent and they avoided speaking English even
if the primary reason of coming to the U.S was to acquire English as a second
language. Out of the 32 participants in the study, 24 confirmed that they were
anxious when speaking with native English speakers in informal settings. The main

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reason for this was that they worried about being misunderstood and got stressed
about making mistakes.”
Lejla Basic’s study stressed on the anxiety of learners when speaking and
anxiety is the reason why they cannot have a good speaking skill. Fear of exposure
and not feeling confident have a direct connection with fear of speaking.
1.2.2. Lukitasari (2008): “Students’ strategies in overcoming speaking problems in

speaking class.”
In Lukitasari’s study, she focused on the students’ strategies in overcoming
speaking problems in speaking class. The scope of her study was the first semester
students of Muhammadiyah University of Malang in Indonesia.
The results of her study suggest that in speaking class, the students faced some
speaking problems including inhibition, lack of ideas, fear of speaking, low or
uneven participation and mother tongue use. The findings of the study showed that

the students’ speaking skill was not good because they did not master the three
elements of speaking namely vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.
Aims of the study

1.3.

My study is aimed at:

1.4.

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Identifying the difficulties facing the first-year English majors at Thuongmai

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University in learning speaking skills.
Finding out the reasons for these difficulties.
Proposing some solutions to improve the speaking skill of first year students of the
English Department at Thuongmai University.
Research subjects
My study focuses on the difficulties when speaking English of first year
students of the English Department at Thuongmai University.

1.5.

Scope of the study
Because of time limitation, the study only concentrates on some common
difficulties while learning speaking skill of first-year students of the English
Department at Thuongmai University. From these difficulties, the researcher finds

out the reasons and proposes some suggestions to improve the speaking skill.

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Research methodology

1.6.

In order to make the study easy and clear to understand, the researcher chooses
the qualitative research method in combination with the quantitative method. It
means that on one hand I deeply analyze the study topic and on the other hand I
implement the research to collect the data in reality.
- Quantitative research method: The study is

implemented using

questionnaires. The collected data are processed and encoded using software
support, which are later summarized and analyzed.
- Qualitative research method: This method is used to analyze and evaluate the
characteristics of the speaking skill when expressing ideas and exchanging
information in spoken language. It is based on the theory of speaking skill.
1.6.1. Questions of the study
The study focuses on the difficulties when speaking English facing the firstyear students of the English Department at Thuongmai University. Through this
study the researcher wants to find out the answers for three questions:
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What is the reality of learning speaking of first year students of the English

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Department at Thuongmai University?
What are the difficulties they are facing when speaking English?
How to improve their speaking skill?
1.6.2. Instrumentation
The research instruments used to collect data for this study are questionnaires
and class observation.
1.6.2.1. Questionnaires
The questionnaires consist of 12 close-questions designed in English, then
translated into Vietnamese. They are sent to 50 first year students of the English
Department at Thuongmai University during the first ten days of March. Before
sending to them, the researcher explains clearly the purposes of the questionnaire
which are to find the students’ speaking problems and ways to improve their
speaking skill.

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The questionnaires are designed with two parts:
Part I: Demographic data
This part including general information of the participants. The respondents
are required to answer questions such as gender, age.
Part II: Speaking skill and difficulties faced by first-year English majors at
Thuongmai University in learning speaking skills
The students answer questions about their speaking skill and the common
difficulties they have made while speaking English. From the above problems and
mistakes, those questions related to causes of oral communication problems are
asked in this part.
1.6.2.2. Class observation
The researcher uses class observation to see how the students perform their

speaking skill and what difficulties the students really encounter in speaking
lessons. The researcher randomly chooses two classes to observe. Everything
observed, heard, and experienced during each class are recorded carefully in the
following table:
Class

1.7.

Content
Before speaking
During speaking
After speaking
Before speaking
During speaking
After speaking

Student’s performance

Organization of the study
The study consists of four main chapters:
CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
This chapter shows the rationale, the previous studies, the aims of the study,
the research subject, scope of the study and research methodology.
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter aims to clarify the theory of speaking skill and its features.
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS

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This chapter focuses on analyzing collected data from the survey
questionnaires and observation at Thuongmai University.
CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
This chapter points out some suggested solutions to improve speaking skill of
first year students of English Department at Thuongmai University.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter, the researcher provides a review of related literature, including
the definition of speaking, speaking skill; the importance, purpose and aspects of
speaking. The researcher also points out some difficulties faced by first-year
students while speaking English. Details of these contents are presented in the
sections that follow:
2.1. Definition of speaking?
2.1.1. What is speaking?
There are many definitions of speaking. According to Brown (1994), Burn and
Joyce (1997): “Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that
involves producing and receiving and processing information.” Its form and
meaning are dependent on the context in which it occurs, including the participants
themselves, their collective experiences, the physical environment, and the purposes
for speaking. It is often spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving. However, speech is
not always unpredictable. Language functions (or patterns) that tend to recur in
certain discourse situations (e.g., declining an invitation or requesting time off from
work), can be identified and charted (Burns &Joyce, 1997). For example, when a
salesperson asks "May I help you?" the expected discourse sequence includes a
statement of need, response to the need, offer of appreciation, acknowledgement of
the appreciation, and a leave-taking exchange. Speaking requires that learners not
only know how to produce specific points of language such as grammar,

pronunciation, or vocabulary (linguistic competence), but also that they understand
when, why, and in what ways to produce language (sociolinguistic competence).
Finally, speech has its own skills, structures, and conventions different from written
language (Burns & Joyce, 1997; Carter & McCarthy, 1995; Cohen, 1996). A good
speaker synthesizes this array of skills and knowledge to succeed in a given speech
act. According to Chaney, (1988:13) speaking is “the process of building and
sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of
contexts.” In a related study, Bygate (1987) has a detailed definition which states
that “speaking is the skill by which learners are most frequently judged and through
which they make and lose friends. It is the vehicle par excellence of social
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solidarity, social ranking, of professional advancement and of business. It is also the
medium through which much language is learnt”. Eckard & Kearny (1981), Florez
(1999) and Howarth (2001) define speaking as a two–way process involving a true
communication of ideas, information or feelings. This top-down view considers the
spoken texts the product of cooperation between two or more interactants in shared
time, and a shared physical context.
2.1.2. The purpose of speaking
It was argued that the purpose of speaking can be either transactional or
interactional. Apparently, there are some differences between the spoken language
used in both transactional and interactional discourse. In transactional discourse,
language is used primarily for communicating information. Language serving this
purpose is 'message' oriented rather than 'listener' oriented (Nunan, 1989: 27).
Clearly, in this type of interaction, accurate and coherent communication of the
message is important, as well as confirmation that the message has been understood.
Examples of language being used primarily for a transactional purpose are: news
broadcasts, descriptions, narrations and instructions (Richards, 1990: 54- 55).
Speaking turns serving this purpose tend to be long and involve some prior

organization of content and use of linguistic devices to signal either the organization
or type of information that will be given (Basturkmen, 2002: 26). On the other
hand, some conversations are interactional with the purpose of establishing or
maintaining a relationship. This latter kind is sometimes called the interpersonal use
of language. Examples of interactional uses of language are greetings, small talks,
and compliments. Apparently, the language used in the interactional mode is listener
oriented. Speakers' talk in this type tends to be limited to quite short turns
(Dornyei&Thurrell, 1994: 43 and Richards, 1990: 54-55). However, in spite of the
distinctions between the two types, in most circumstances, interactional language is
combined with transactional language. This helps to ease the transactional tasks to
be done by keeping good social relations with others. In other words, we can say
that speakers do one thing by doing another (Brazil, 1995: 29). So, both purposes
can be viewed as two dimensions of spoken interaction. Analyzing speaking

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purposes more precisely, Kingen (2000: 218) combines both the transactional and
interpersonal purposes of speaking into an extensive list of twelve categories below:
1. Personal: expressing personal feelings, opinions, beliefs and ideas.
2. Descriptive: describing someone or something, real or imagined.
3. Narrative: creating and telling stories or chronologically sequenced events.
4. Instructive: giving instructions or providing directions designed to produce
an outcome.
5. Questioning: asking questions to obtain information.
6. Comparative: comparing two or more objects, people, ideas, or opinions to
make judgments about them.
7. Imaginative: expressing mental images of people, places, events, and
objects.
8. Predictive: predicting possible future events.

9. Interpretative: exploring meanings, creating hypothetical deductions, and
considering inferences.
10. Persuasive: changing others’ opinions, attitudes, or points of view, or
influencing the behavior of others in some way.
11. Explanatory: explaining, clarifying, and supporting ideas and opinions.
12. Informative: sharing information with others
2.1.3. Aspects of speaking
Eventually, aspects of the speaking skill need to be closely scrutinized and put
into consideration. These aspects pose some challenges and identify some
guidelines for understanding this skill and hence design instructional activities to
prepare learners to communicate effectively in real life situations.
2.1.3.1. Speaking is face to face

Most conversations take place face to face which allows speakers to get
immediate feedback, i.e. “Do listeners understand? Are they in agreement? Do they
sympathize (Cornbleet&Carter, 2001: 16). Thus, communication through speaking
has many assets, such as facial expressions, gestures and even body movements.
Speaking also occurs, most of the time, in situations where participants or

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interlocutors are present. Such factors facilitate communication (El Fayoumy, 1997:
10, Widdowson, 1998 & Burns, 1998).
2.1.3.2. Speaking is interactive

Whether we are speaking face-to –face or over the telephone, to one person or
a small group, the wheels of conversation usually turn smoothly, with participants
offering contributions at appropriate moments, with no undue gaps or everyone
talking over each other (Bygate, 1998: 30 and Cornbleet& Carter, 2001: 27). Turn

taking, a main feature in interaction, is an unconscious part of normal conversation.
Turn takings are handled and signaled differently across different cultures, thus
causing possible communication difficulties in conversation between people of
different cultures and languages (Mc Donough& Mackey, 2000: 84).
2.1.3.3. Speaking happens in real time

During conversations, responses are unplanned and spontaneous and the
speakers think on their feet, producing language which reflects this (Foster et al.,
2000: 368). These time constraints affect the speaker's ability to plan, to organize
the message, and to control the language being used. Speakers often start to say
something and change their mind midway; which is termed a false start. The
speaker's sentences also cannot be as long or as complex as in writing. Similarly,
speakers occasionally forget things they intended to say; or they may even forget
what they have already said, and so they repeat themselves (Miller, 2001: 27). This
implies that the production of speech in real time imposes pressures, but also allows
freedoms in terms of compensating for these difficulties. The use of formulaic
expressions, hesitation devices, rephrasing and repetition can help speakers become
more fluent and cope with real time demands (Bygate, 1987: 21; Foster et al., 2000
and Hughes, 2002: 76). Actually, exposing students to these spoken discourse
features facilitates their oral production and helps them compensate for the
problems they encounter. It also helps them sound normal in their use of the foreign
language.
2.1.4. The importance of speaking

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The four language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing are all
interconnected. Proficiency in each skill is necessary to become a well-rounded
communicator, but speaking is generally thought to be the most important of the

four skills. The capacity to put words together in a meaningful way to reflect
thoughts, opinions, and feelings provides the speaker with these important
advantages:
• Ability to inform, persuade and direct:
Business managers, educators, military leaders, lawyers, and politicians,
among others, seek to develop their speaking skills to such a level that they are
transformed into master communicators. Speaking clearly and confidently can gain
the attention of an audience, providing the golden opportunity for the speaker to
make the message known. Wise speaker is the speaker who gains and then holds the
attention of an audience, with well-chosen words in a well-delivered presentation,
forming a message that is effective, informative, and understood.
• Ability to stand out from the rest:
When one thinks of speaking skills, one tends to think of it as a common skill.
Think again. The ability to stand before others and speak effectively is not an
ordinary ability. Many people are deathly afraid of public speaking; others have
little ability to form thoughts into sentences and then deliver those words in a
believable way. The bad news is that at any given moment the world has precious
few with the speaking talents of, say, Winston Churchill or John F. Kennedy. The
good news is that a speaker whose skills are honed and developed with constant
application and hard work can stand out.
• Ability to benefit derivatively:
Well-developed verbal skills can increase one’s negotiation skills. Selfconfidence is improved. A growing sense of comfort comes from speaking in front

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of larger and larger audiences. A reputation for excellence in speaking can accrue
over time, thereby imparting a certain credibility to the speaker.
• Career enhancement:
Employers have always valued the ability to speak well. It is, and always will

be, an important skill, and well worth the effort in fully developing.
Speaking skills are important for career success, but certainly not limited to
one’s professional aspirations. Speaking skills can enhance one’s personal life,
thereby bringing about the well-rounded growth we should all seek.
2.2.

Oral Language Learning
For language learning to take place, there are four conditions that should exist,
and they are the exposure, opportunities to use the language, motivation, and
instruction. Learners need chances to say what they think or feel and to experiment
in a supportive atmosphere using language they have heard or seen without feeling
threatened‖ (Willis,1996, p.7). A fact that is highlighted by second language
research is that progress does not occur when people make a conscious effort to
learn. Progress occurs as a result of spontaneous, subconscious mechanisms, which
are activated when learners are involved in communication with the second
language. The subconscious element demands a new range of activities, where
learners are focused not on the language itself but on the communication of
meaning (Littlewood, 1984). Harmer (1982) also argued that in a communicative
task, the students’ attention should be focused on the content of what they are
saying, rather than the form. They should use a wide variety of language. According
to Ellis (2003), this can be done by involving learners in performing two types of
communicative tasks: focused communicative tasks and unfocused communicative
tasks. Both of these tasks seek to engage learners in using language pragmatically
rather than displaying language. They seek to develop language proficiency through
communication. Through communication learners can integrate separate structures
into a creative system for expressing meaning (Littlewood, 1984, p.91).

2.3.

Difficulties faced by speaking English learners

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According to Hymes (1974), (Richarts & Rogers, 1986; and Hedge, 2000), to
learn to speak a language, one needs to have communicative competence.
Communicative competence includes linguistics competence, socio-linguistics
competence and discourse competence. The factors determine the success of
learning to speak a language. This also is the factor that affects to speaking skill of
learner. There are some common difficulties that learner often facing such us:
linguistic difficulties, mother tongue use, nothing to say and inhibition.
2.3.1. Linguistic difficulties
Most of student struggle to find the appropriate vocabulary item when trying
to speak in English, which reflects their insufficient vocabulary repertoire. When
speaking, they spend a lot of time to find a suitable word in mother language and
then translate it into target language. In order to convey a desired meaning, learners
should possess a knowledge of the meanings of words, the four types of sentences,
the complete sentence and a firm grasp of syntax; that is, they must fully
comprehend how words are segmented into various sounds and how sentences are
stressed orally and in writing in particularly effective ways.
2.3.2. Mother tongue use
It is easier for the student to use their mother tongue in their class because it
looks naturally. Therefore, most of the students are not disciplined in using the
target language in the learning process.
2.3.3.

Nothing to say
Many learners complain that they cannot think of anything to say, they have
no motive to express themselves beyond the guilty feeling that they should be
speaking. When speaking English, they often lack of idea and that is the reason
causes the fear of speaking.

2.3.4.

Inhibition
Unlike reading, writing or listening skills, speaking requires some degree of
real-time exposure to an audience. Learners are often inhibited about trying to say
thing in foreign language in the classroom, they worried about mistakes, fearful of
criticism or simply shy of the attention that their speech attract. Those could block
the process of students’ ability in oral communication.
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In addition, Rababa’h (2005) pointed out that there are many factors that cause
difficulties in speaking English among EFL learners. Some of these factors are
related to the learners themselves, the teaching strategies, the curriculum, and the
environment. Some learners also lack the motivation to speak English. They do not
see a real need to learn or speak English. Actually, motivation is the crucial force
which determines whether a learner embarks in a task at all, how much energy he
devotes to it, and how long he preservers (Littlewood, 1984, p.53). The
development of communicative skills can only take place if learners have the
motivation and opportunity to express their own identity and relate with the people
around them (Littlewood, 1981). Teaching strategies also contribute to this problem
as they are inadequate and they do not put emphasis on speaking, which results in a
meagre development of this skill. Besides, vocabulary items are taught in isolation,
and listening materials are not used by the majority of schoolteachers because of the
large number of teachers compared with the number of cassettes available. Teachertraining programs were found to be not very successful in changing the teachers’
methodology (Rababa’ah,2005).
2.4 . What a good English speaker should do?

A speaker's skills and speech habits have an impact on the success of any

exchange (Van Duzer, 1997). Speakers must be able to anticipate and then produce
the expected patterns of specific discourse situations. They must also manage
discrete elements such as turn-taking, rephrasing, providing feedback, or
redirecting (Burns & Joyce, 1997). For example, a learner involved in the exchange
with the salesperson described previously must know the usual pattern that such an
interaction follows and access that knowledge as the exchange progresses. The
learner must also choose the correct vocabulary to describe the item sought,
rephrase or emphasize words to clarify the description if the clerk does not
understand, and use appropriate facial expressions to indicate satisfaction or
dissatisfaction with the service. Other skills and knowledge that instruction might
address include the following: producing the sounds, stress patterns, rhythmic
structures, and intonations of the language; using grammar structures accurately;
assessing characteristics of the target audience, including shared knowledge or
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shared points of reference, status and power relations of participants, interest levels,
or differences in perspectives; selecting vocabulary that is understandable and
appropriate for the audience, the topic being discussed, and the setting in which the
speech act occurs; applying strategies to enhance comprehensibility, such as
emphasizing key words, rephrasing, or checking for listener comprehension; using
gestures or body language; and paying attention to the success of the interaction and
adjusting components of speech such as vocabulary, rate of speech, and complexity
of grammar structures to maximize listener comprehension and involvement
(Brown, 1994).
Teachers should monitor learners' speech production to determine what skills
and knowledge they already have and what areas need development. Bailey and
SavageÕs New Ways in Teaching Speaking (1994), and LewisÕs New Ways in
Teaching Adults (1997) offer suggestions for activities that can address different
skills.

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CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS
3.1. Data analysis
This chapter focuses on analyzing collected data from the survey
questionnaires and observation at Thuongmai University.
3.1.1. Data analysis from the survey questionnaire
The questionnaires were designed in English for 50 first-year students of
English Department at Thuongmai University. It was supported by M.A Tran Thi
Bich Lan. Her comments made the questionnaires more valid. Then the
questionnaire was revised. From March 1, 2018 to March 3, 2018, the
questionnaires were delivered to 50 first-year students of English Department at
Thuongmai University. The researcher explained clearly the purposes of
administering the questionnaire which were to find the students’ speaking problems,
the factors affecting their performance and to find ways to improve the students’
speaking skills. Then the researcher instructed the students to complete it before
they answered the questionnaire to avoid any misunderstandings. Then, completed
questionnaires were collected.
3.1.1.1. Student’s learning English experience
Chart 1: Student’s experience
Chart 2: Time of learning English
This question aimed to know experience of first year English majors about
studying English. As we can see from the figure 1 and figure 2, 90% of the students
of the English Department studied English before college. And only 10% of them
have not ever studied English before. Specially, 60% of them studied English for a
long time (more than 7 years); 25% for 5 – 7 years; 13% for 2 – 5 years and only
2% for under 1 year.
This result showed that most of the students studied English before college.

They spent a lot of time learning English and they had a good English basic.
However, they only pay much more attention to the results of the final exam and

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university entrance examination which focus on grammar, structures and reading
skill. That’s why they neglected improving speaking skill.

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3.1.1.2. Students’ attitudes towards speaking skill
Chart 3: Students’ attitudes towards the importance of speaking skill

Chart 4: Students’ attitudes towards speaking skills in their job
From the figure, it can be seen clearly that the majority of students highly assessed the
importance of speaking skill. 94% of the student agreed that speaking skill is very important
and only 6% thought that it is not important. 81% of the students responded that speaking
English skill is very necessary for them to find a job in the future, 7% of them thought it is
normal and only 4% thought that it is not necessary. Through this result, we can see that most
of the students know how important English is in their career. With a good speaking skill,
they could get ahead of other candidates when they were applying for a new job or
got a promotion by being proficient in English. Speaking English opened up a wide
range of new opportunities both in their career and in their personal life.
3.1.1.3. Student’s attitudes towards speaking English
Chart 5: Students’ attitudes towards speaking English
From the result in the chart 5 we can see that not all of the students in the
English Department like speaking English. Only 33% of them like speaking
English, 38% feeling normal (do not like as well as do not hate), 21% chose rather,

6% thought that they like speaking English but like very little and 2% chose not at
all. Students revealed that they do not really like English but they still chose to
study at the English Department because they knew the importance of English in
society. It was a key factor to help them easily find a good job with high salary.
Chart 6: Students evaluation on their speaking skill
When the students were asked to evaluate their speaking skill, more than half
of them (63%) thought that their speaking skill was very normal (neither good nor
bad); 13% chose good and only 8% thought their speaking skill was very good.
10% of them felt their speaking skill was bad and 6% felt that it was very bad.
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Through this result we can see that speaking skill of first-year students of the
English Department at Thuongmai University was not really good. The number of
student who can speak English fluently and confidently was very small. Most of the
students felt their speaking skill is normal. It meant that they can speak but they
speak very little or they cannot become fluent in English. They said that before
college they only focused on studying grammar to get high marks in the university
entrance examination. During that time, they practiced English very little or never
did it. That is the reason why they had knowledge but they could not speak well.
Chart 7: Students’ feeling when speaking English
This question aimed to find out the feeling of students when speaking English. From the
chart, it can be seen clearly that more than a half of the students felt unconfident when
speaking English (55%). 23% of them felt normal, 4% felt anxious and only 10% and 8% felt
confident and very confident, respectively.
As mentioned above, although first year students had a good basic English
knowledge they did not concentrate on practicing speaking skill when learning at
high school; therefore, they tended to make more mistakes when speaking English.
That was the reason why most of the student felt unconfident when they spoke English. They
were unconfident because they were afraid. They were so afraid that they spoke stupidly and

nobody could understand them. Also, they were unconfident because they were afraid that
they made mistakes when speaking. The students reported that they spoke very little or
nothing in speaking class. Most of the time, they could not think of anything to say
so they used Vietnamese. A significant number of students also claimed that they
were fearful of criticism or losing face.
Chart 8: Students’ attitudes when feeling nervous, afraid or unconfident
The aim of this question was to find out what students do when they felt
nervous, afraid or unconfident while using English. The results given in chart 7
revealed that more than a half student tended to find ways to relax and then
continued speaking English (53%). 47% of them chose stopping and giving up.
However, the number of students who chose relaxing and continuing is higher than
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stopping and giving up. This result revealed that when feeling nervous, afraid or
unconfident, students tended to find ways to overcome it, try their best to fight the
nervousness.

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