Difficulties in English communication reflex of fourth year students of English Faculty, Thuong Mai University

ABSTRACT
English as well as native speaker English as an important medium of
international communication is every part of the world. No one can deny that English
is a global language especially in this internationalization. With the development of the
international relationship among countries, English communication skills is playing a
more and more important role in the world. Because of this reason, learning foreign
languages for international communication has become more and more vital to
Vietnamese students.
Therefore, English communication reflex skills is an ultimate course in English
language curriculum at university. However, it is not easy for learners in this context to
achieve their fluency and proficiency in English communication reflex. This study
aimed to summarize the difficulties that the fourth year students of English Faculty at
Thuong Mai University have to face up with. To achieve the aim of the study, I applied
one tool: the questionnaire with 80 students.
According to the questionnaire, the following result were reached: English
Faculty’s students facing both internal and external challenges and give
recommendations to help students communicate English more effectively.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This Graduation Paper would not have been accomplished without the guidance
and help of some people, who in one way or another, contributed and extended their
valuable assistance in the preparation and completion of this study. In the process of
completing this graduation paper, I have faced up with many problems with apology
strategy in English, as well as the way to express my ideas. However, with the great
help, assistance and encouragement from this people who are teachers, family and
friends; I have overcome these difficulties and completed this graduation paper
successfully.

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my
supervisor, Mrs.Ha Thi Vu Ha, one of the lecturers at the Faculty of Business English
in Thuong Mai university, whose supervision and encouragement help me a lot with
managing this Graduation Paper. She has not only given me many invaluable
suggestions and comments but also provided me with valuable materials. Through
Mrs.Ha sharing and feedbacks, I was inspired and motivated to overcome all the
difficulties during the process.
Secondly, I would like to thank all teachers of English Faculty at Thuong Mai
University for their precious and useful lessons during my four-year study which have
been then the foundation of this study. In addition, my sincere thanks are delivered to
my parents and friends for their encouragement and assistance in this time, without
whose help I could not to have finished this Graduation Paper. And The last thank I
would like to spend for all of you who are interested in this topic. I hope that it will
bring some of usefulness to you.
Because of limited time, knowledge and practical experience, this Graduation
Paper certainly contains numerous mistakes. Therefore, I honestly look forward to
receiving comments and suggestions. All of the feedbacks and recommendations from
readers are warmly welcome and this will make the Graduation Paper be more perfect.
Ha Noi, April 15 th, 2020
Nguyen Thi Anh

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TABLE OF CONTENT

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Abbreviations
EFL
CTU

HPU
TMU
Q&A
ON

4

English meaning
English as a foreign language
Can Tho University
Hai Phong University
Thuong Mai University
Question and answer
Ordinal number


LIST OF TABLE AND CHART

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CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
1.1 Rationale
Nowadays, when globalization is spreading its influence, demand for improving
the human resources’ foreign language is higher than before. Additionally, most of
countries in the world are using English like a main language tool to communicate and
exchange information across every industries and sectors. Consequently, English
language becomes a global language which can be used for communication with
native-speakers and non-native-speakers worldwide, especially in the education
section, all university students need it for their studies in order to search information

and obtain knowledge. That leads to the result is a lot of universities throughout the
world need to include English language as one of their educational tool requirements.
To Vietnam, a country that has the economy is a socialist-oriented market
economy. Vietnam is considered as one of the fastest growing countries in the world.
Vietnam’s economy is also developing rapidly and expending with the globalization
trend. That makes the importance of learning English cannot be denied. For students
who are the future generations of the country, learning English becomes much more
necessary than ever to contribute to renovate and develop the country also to improve
the image of the country world-wide.
Out of the most important skills when learning foreign languages, including
English language, communication reflex skill is the most important one. It is helpful
for learners to use foreign language to express ideas, thoughts and feelings to their
interlocutors. Thus, it can be said that improvement of the knowledge of
communication skills and the influence of communication reflex skill helps their
English skill progress day by day.
In spite of its importance in English communication reflex, the state of teaching
and learning this skill has long been ignored and given little consideration time.
Therefore, many Vietnamese students express a desire to learn and practice together in
order to perfect English communication skills and use English more flexibly, which
can help them make a strong impression on recruiters in the future. However, most of
the Vietnamese students face a situation is that they always think about what they want
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to say in mind by their mother tongue and then trying to translate all the words into
English. It is a serious mistake and often interferes with English communication.
In the fact that the Vietnamese students in general, and the fourth year students
of English Faculty at Thuong Mai university in particular, still run up against many
difficulties in the process of teaching and learning English, especially using English
flexibly in communication. This study will indicate the barriers, difficulties for fourth

year students English Faculty who are directly learning and using English in a real
working environment later. Students of English Faculty at TMU will be the next high
quality employee generation and the face of the country. Hence, having an excellent
English communication reflex skill is an essential. Moreover, it is a key point helps
them to catch the eyes of employers.
However, practicing and getting a good English communication reflex skill are
also challenging and taking a long time. There are the reasons why I would like to
carry out the study in order to help the students find the recommendation and solution
to solve the issues.
1.2. Previous studies
Communication reflex and communication skill are often chosen by many
researchers in the world and Vietnam in particular. Before getting up to study, an
investigation of communication reflex skill encountered by students at Thuong Mai
university, I will show you some reviews about the related study “Difficulties in
English communication reflex of fourth year students of English Faculty, Thuong
Mai University”
1.2.1. Studies abroad
The thesis with the topic “English oral communication problem and strategies
used by Thai employees in an international workplace to communicate with the native
and non-native English speaking customers” by Fatinmar Jeharsea for the Tourism
English major (2012) should be mentioned the English oral communication problems
and strategies used by Thai employees to communicate with native and non-native
English speaking customers in an international workplace.
The second study abroad related to difficulties in English communication reflex
skill which I refer is that “The role of communication skill in learning and using the
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second languages” by Musolas Alsubaie (May,2017). This study is aimed to
investigate how individuals learning a second language communicate. The second

language acquisition is a challenge that requires many skills such as reading, listening,
writing, speaking, grammar, and vocabulary. However, even though communication
skills are important for individuals to interact and communicate, educators of second
language learners rarely include communication skills in the curriculum. The lack of
the knowledge of communication skills and the influence of communication skills on
learners illustrate the importance of conducting this study, showing some important
communication skills. Of ten participants in this study who used English as a second
language, in the US, this study explored their experiences and behaviors when they
communicate with others. The study found a need to develop communication skills
alongside grammar and vocabulary to enhance the development of second language
proficiency.
1.2.2. Studies in Vietnam
The study “Challenges to speaking skills encountered by English-majored
students: A story of one Vietnamese university in the Mekong Delta” (2017) by Vo
Phuong Quyen, Pham Thi My Nga and Ho Thao Nguyen School of Foreign
Languages, Can Tho University, Vietnam focuses on the difficulties encountered by
university EFL students while participating in oral classroom activities: Speaking
skills. The findings show that English freshmen faced both internal and external
challenges, especially the latter ones regarding the limitation of English speaking
environment and extracurricular activities.
To have a thorough gasp and more knowledge of the study I have examined, I
refer to the research “A study on techniques to improve the first year English majors’
speaking skill at Hai Phong University”. The purpose of this research was to explore
the reality of teaching and learning English speaking of the first year English majors at
HPU and then suggesting some main techniques which include the methods of
strengthening the teaching of English speaking to help students enhance their English
speaking skill. Only in this way, students who are learning English speaking can learn
it well so that they can communicate in English fluently and improve their English
speaking skill. The author expects through the study, the students of Foreign
8

Languages Department at HPU, especially the first year 2 English majors at HPU can
improve their English speaking in order to get a brighter future. The author wants to
change the student attitude on speaking English and let them find English speaking
more interesting. The expectation is that the first year English majors at HPU can
consider speaking English as their favorite activity.
Overall, we can easily find out studies related to communication skill and
speaking skill. These studies have mentioned quite clearly and clearly many problems
and difficulties when communicating in English of students in different fields but there
have been no studies on communication reflex problem in students. For this reason, I
have decided to carry out a research on the shortcomings and difficulties of
commercial university final year students about reflexes in communication and
propose suitable solutions to improve English.
1.3. Aim of the study
The study is done with the following aims:
First and foremost, the difficulties and barriers in the process of improving
English communication reflex skills will be figured out in this study.
Then, the study would like to suggest and accordingly solve recommendations
to deal with these problems and create the best effect in English learning for final year
students of English Department.
Finally, this study could be very valuable for fourth students English Faculty at
Thuong Mai University in perfecting English communication skill.
1.4 Research subjects
Based on the rationale and the aims of the problems, the subject of this
research is “Difficulties in English communication reflex of the fourth year students
of English Faculty, Thuong Mai University”. It is obviously that there is one main
subject here: English communication skill. Therefore, there is one main subject of
“Difficulties in English communication reflex of the fourth year students of English
Faculty, Thuong Mai University”:

•

To investigate the English communication reflex skill problems made by students of

•

English Faculty, TMU.
To suggest some solutions in order to improve English communication reflex skill.
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1.4. Significance of the study
The study mainly aims at pointing out the causes of difficulties in improving
communication reflex of by fourth year students of Faculty English at TMU.
Additionally, the researcher also investigates the learning strategies applied by
fourth year students in practicing progress. As a result, once having been completed,
the study is expected to bring considerable benefits to both teachers and students.
Moreover, the findings and suggestions of this study are believed to enhance
the teaching and learning process of communication reflex for English majored
students in general and English Faculty’s fourth year students in particular. The results
of this study may be a good help for the students themselves and other people who are
interested in learning English communication reflex.
Furthermore, the findings of this study also provide recommendations for
completing communication reflex skill as well.
Finally, the research findings would raise the teachers’ awareness of the
students' difficulties, thereby guiding them in reconstructing their program of teaching
to suit their students’ needs. From this issues, the efficiency of teaching and learning in
TMU will increase.
1.5 Scope of the study
There are so many different material resources that require a lot of time and

efforts while my personal experience is limited. Therefore, this study can only focus
on studying the communication reflex skill of students, then determine difficulties they
had to encounter when communicating to propose some solution for improving English
communication reflex skill. This study is conducted questionnaire surveys over the
internet with the participation of the final year students of English Faculty, TMU. I hope
that this study is a value reference material for the students of TMU in particular and all
the students in Vietnam in general to get higher communication level.
1.6. Organization of the study
The construction of this study includes four part as follows:
Chapter 1: The introduction gives the rationale, the aim of study, the research subjects,
scope of the study, methodology and the structure of study
Chapter 2: The literature review shows the background literature directly relevant to
the study being discussed.
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Chapter 3: Research finding includes the result from the study, evaluation and analysis
from the survey questionnaire
Chapter 4: Recommendations and suggested techniques for improving English
communication reflex of English Faculty’s fourth-year students at Thuong Mai
University.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Definition of communication and communication reflex
2.1.1. Definition of communication
Communication, understanding in a simple way, is the act of transferring
information from one place, person or group to another. This may sound easily, but

communication is actually a very complex subject. There are many different
definitions of communication from many different sources and researchers.
According to Wikipedia: Communication (from Latin communicare, meaning
"to share") is defined as the act of conveying meanings from one entity or group to
another through the use of mutually understood signs, symbols, and semiotic rules. All
communication has 8 main steps below:
Step 1: Forming communicative motivation or reason.
Step 2: Determining the composition of message such as internal or technical
elaboration on what exactly to express.
Step 3: The message is encoded into written text, speech, pictures, gestures and
so on.
Step 4: The encoded message is transmitted as a sequence signals using a
specific channel or medium.
Step 5: The quality of signals propagating from the sender to one or more
receivers begins being influenced by noise sources in the both intentional and
accidental (natural forces, human activities and so on).
Step 6: From a sequence of received signals, the encoded message is receipted
and reassembled.
Step 7: The recipient decodes the reassembled encoded message.
Step 8: Interpretation and making sense of the presumed original message.
Richard Nordqist, a freelance writer and former professor of English and
Rhetoric who wrote college-level Grammar and Composition textbooks gave another
definition of communication. The definition of communication is detailed that it is the
process of sending and receiving messages through verbal or nonverbal means,
including speech, or oral communication; writing and graphical representations (such
12


as information graphics, maps, and charts); and signs, signals, and behavior. More
simply, communication is said to be "the creation and exchange of meaning".

As for Media critic and theorist James Carey, communication is defined as "a
symbolic process whereby reality is produced, maintained, repaired and transformed"
in his 1992 book "Communication as Culture," showing that we define our reality via
sharing our experience with others. All creatures on the earth have developed means in
which to convey their emotions and thoughts to one another. However, it's the ability
of humans to use words and language to transfer specific meanings that sets them apart
from the animal kingdom.
There are many different definition of communication that given by many
famous researchers. However, in reality, communication can be understood as the
process of forming utterance which carries a certain meaning to express one’s idea to
the others for a certain purpose. Truly, communication is one of the most important
skills that the foreign language learners have to learn and master, it will help their
work more efficient and development.
2.1.2. Definition of communication reflex
Before studying about the definition of communication reflex, we should learn
about what is reflecting?
According to the online page “Skill you need”, reflecting is the process of
paraphrasing and restating both the feelings and words of the speaker.
The purposes of reflecting are:
•

To allow the speaker to 'hear' their own thoughts and to focus on what they say and

•

feel.
To show the speaker that they are trying to perceive the world as they see it and that

•

they are doing their best to understand their messages.
To encourage them to continue talking.
Reflecting does not only involve asking questions, introducing a new topic but
also lead the conversation in another direction and create full conversation. Speakers
are helped through reflecting as it not only allows them to feel understood, but it also
gives them the opportunity to focus their ideas. This in turn helps them to direct their
thoughts and further encourages them to continue speaking.

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Reflection while speaking English – It can understand simply that leaner have
an action in response to a stimulus from the speaker's communication action quickly,
this action is described in words by English.
Reflections in English are conditional reflex that are formed during the process
of our living, studying and working in the English environment. In other words, in
order to create reflective communication in English, it is necessary to have stimulating
factors. The stimulus here could be a question, comment or simply a daily
conversation in English. The reflex requires a response, replying or revealing feelings
on both sides to have a conversation between two or more people.
In short, Communication reflex is a general term for a format of client-oriented
psychotherapy in which the client is afforded the opportunity to examine his or her
behaviours and interactions with others while the therapist acts as a verbal “mirror”,
often by restating what the person has just said
2.1.3. The important roles of English communication reflex
Nowadays, English is one of the most important language in the world, it is the
official language of 53 countries and spoken by around 400 million people across the
globe. For Vietnam, the country is in the process of integrating with the world, English
becomes more and more important, not only for graduates looking for work but also
for students who are still sitting in their school.

Language is a tool of communication. Communication is a key to acquiring a
foreign language as English, and Communication reflex skill is obviously a crucial
skill of learner language. So studying and practicing a lot to improve communication
reflex become more important in many school and university. To have a good
communication reflex skill and keep up with the changing world outside of school,
students are encouraged to participate in English communication activities such as
presentations, criticisms, plays, and films. Through direct communication with native
speakers, students acquire other knowledge more quickly and effectively. Their
English ability and skills which include communication reflex skill will be improved.
Moreover, students become more energetic, active and socializing with other people
who have similar interests. As a result, students gain valuable experiences and learn
more useful things during study progress and extracurricular participation at the
university.
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For student, who are looking for a part-time job to earn extra incomes and help
their parents but they only find manual jobs such as server in restaurants, selling goods
in shops, etc. the reason is that they are lack of experience and don’t have any foreign
language. In contrast, if they are confident in English and good communication skills,
they can apply for the necessary positions such as English teaching assistants,
translators, interpreters, freelance guider, salesman at tourist shops. It is not only a
wonderful opportunity for students to earn money but also let them keep practicing
and developing their English skill.
Communication reflex skill is an important tool for us to exchange information,
ideals, feelings, and thoughts to the listener. The corporate world values these skills
very much for many transactions are negotiated successfully by being an effective
communicator. Recruiting in each companies always consider English as an important
criterion for selecting the suitable candidate. Furthermore, employees are expected to
be interactive and communicative with others in the team. Indeed, teamwork skill is

very important in multinational companies specially in trade. Because effective
communication is the means by which business processes keep working,
communicating in English is a required conditional to be an employee.
The reason why an English-speaking employee can easily gain promotion in
work more than the others is that he/she is able to communicate and learn advanced
techniques effectively through communication with foreigner. It is these language
skills that help him/her ensure a better job opportunity than someone who only
possesses original technical skills. Because of knowing this thoroughly, students who
will become employees in the workplace in the future, are practicing and studying a lot
to have the ability to communicate well in English to start interviews and the final
purpose is getting the highly-appreciated from employer. In short, good
communication skills in English will give an advantage in job interviews.
All of the recruiters want to have the employees who can basically read,
understand, speak in English and welcome the person who are master of English. The
employees can increase their marketability by learning how to converse in English
fluently. The only way makes them stay ahead in the game is that they have to perfect
15


their English skill. In the professional world, this is very important for student
represent in company meetings, conferences, and interactions with stakeholders. A
professional look has to be substantiated with effective English communication reflex
skills.
2.2. The factors affect English communication reflex
2.2.1 Objective factors
2.2.1.1 Environment
No one can deny the important of the communication environment in the
practice of communication reflex which contributes to the success in improving the
quality of training of English major universities. Perfecting English skills in which the
ultimate goal is to build and develop a favorable, healthy communication environment,

and create best factors for English students to learn English.
Howard Gardner, Ph.D. has considered in the theory of intelligence: The ideal
learning environment is the place where students communicate, interact with friends,
teachers, play, exercise, sing, dance, tell stories, or do it manually. Learning in such
environments helps learners remember more than 80% of what they learned in a year
later. Because in an English environment, we don't learn passively but actively. The
pressure in the English listening and speaking environment forces us to focus on
listening comprehension and converting from the source language (Vietnamese) into
the target language (English). Developing the communication environment is to
increase the favorable factors to help the communication process achieve higher
quality and efficiency.
2.2.1.2. Education system
According to the educational system of Vietnam, Students begin learning
English at class 3. But it is difficult to catch a person who can use English fluently
excepting English major students. It is the unreasonable educational system of
Vietnam that indirectly affects students’ ability English as well as English
communication reflex skill. Lack of alignment between programs at all levels, lack of
flexibility in teaching and textbook programs have made students’ English reflexes
very poor. Changing and improving the weaknesses are the essential things that the
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educational system of Vietnam needs to do now to help students learn English better
and improving their English communication reflex skill.
2.2.2. Subjective factors
2.2.2.1. Motivation and study’s attitude
Based on a scientific conclusion, the influence of the feeling of the learners on
the result of studying English is 80%, the remaining 20% is the method. Therefore, to
learn English effectively, the only way is that promoting 80% of learners’ emotions.
But how? And one of the current trends and secrets of effective English learning

selected by English centers is to create a good environment, where there is a full range
of stimulating effects by the senses images, sound, light, teaching methods, native
teachers and extracurricular activities help create a sense of excitement in learning,
increase the ability to receive and remember knowledge longer than in just listen and
copy traditional songs is the best answer for the question above. From that, students
will be motivated to learn English better and more effectively.
Motivation is believed to be one of the key factors to learning and teaching
English. Motivation in foreign or second language teaching has vital role as one of
language learning strategies. Motivation helps overcome obstacles and learning
difficulties, makes students are more interested in learning and also active in activities
organized by teachers. And from that, foreign language skills in general, English
communication ability in particular will be able to be improved.
2.2.2.2. Psychology
Weak psychology is one of the causes leading to weak communication reflexes.
Most English learners have a fear of speaking and communication with native people
because they are afraid of being wrong. They are not confident, ashamed and lose their
temper whenever they have to communicate in English. The main reason is because
they have not been able to train themselves to speak naturally so every time they
communicate with others, they will feel awkward and do not know how to respond.
Creating a comfortable mentality in communicating at an English-speaking school will
create familiarity as a school of communication in the mother tongue.
2.2.2.3. Choosing suitable methods
To be able to speak English fluently, learners definitely have to prepare a
certain foundation. The most important here is pronunciation, vocabulary and reflexes,
17


not just focus on grammar. The choice of communication English learning method is
very important. It will determine the effectiveness of communication reflex.
2.3. Common difficulties of improving English communication reflex

2.3.1. Speaking difficulties
Speaking skill is actually a difficult challenge for the learners, because speaking
a foreign language especially English requires to know well gramma, vocabulary,
pronunciation… so there are many people find difficulty when learning English.
There are some problems for speaking skill that teachers can come across in
helping students to speak in the classroom. These are some typical difficulties of
speaking skill.
2.3.1.1. Limitation of vocabulary and grammar knowledge
Vocabulary and grammar knowledge related significantly to English skill, is the
background knowledge. The problems of vocabularies occur when someone is lack of
vocabulary needed to talk and does not know how to combine the vocabularies into a
good sentence. In the field of the second language learning and teaching, vocabulary
has been undervalued for many years. Fortunately, a change of attitude towards
vocabulary has occurred recently. According to Laufer (1997, 147) “vocabulary is no
longer a victim of discrimination in second language learning research, or in
language teaching. After decades of neglect lexis is now recognized as central to any
language acquisition process, native or non-native. what many language teachers
might have intuitively known for a long time, that a sold vocabulary is necessary in
every stage of language learning, is now being openly stated by some language
researchers”.
It’s so easy to realized that the numbers of students who learn English as a
foreign language have difficulties to use word and expression to speak. In the real
communication, nobody paid much attention to the correct grammar expression, but
emphasized the content and how to reply. Besides, there are a lot of grammatical rules
in the English language, so it is difficult for the students to correctly understand and
use grammar. The nervous of new grammar, unknown words and the catching message
form speech fails is the barriers for students when communicating. Grammatical
competence can help speakers apply and perceive the structure of English language
18

correctly that leads to their fluency (Latha, 2012). If learners do not know the rules of
grammar, they will never be able to communicate using English effectively. Grammar
becomes difficult because learners do not learn structures one in a time. Having not
mastered English grammar will lead to appear the errors such as “she are doing
homework” when students speak.
2.3.1.2. Inhibition
It is the first problem when students encounter in class. This is the fear or
apprehension occurring when a learner is expected to perform in the second or foreign
language. Inhibition can affect the communication strategies students employ in
English class. Students seemed to be fairly comfortable responding to a drill or
delivering prepared speeches in English class but they tend to freeze in a role-play
situation. They are worried about making mistakes and fearful of criticism. They are
ashamed of the other students’ attention towards themselves. Littlewood (2007)
expressed that a language classroom can also create inhibitions and apprehension for
the students.
2.3.1.3. Lack of motivation to speak
Motivation is the most important factor affecting learning foreign language,
especially English. It is drive directed towards goal. Motivation is the effort which
learners put into learning a second language as a result for their need or desire to learn
it. In fact, Students usually complain that they cannot remember anything to say and
do not have any motivation to express themselves. This is supported by Rivers (1968)
who thinks that learners often have nothing to say probably because their teachers had
selected a topic that is not appropriate for them or they do have enough information
about it. Baker and Westrup (2003) also supports the above idea and stated that it is
very difficult for learners to answer when their teachers ask them to tell things in a
foreign language because they have little opinions about what to say, which
vocabulary to apply, or how to use grammar accurately.
2.3.1.4. Lack of cooperation in practice
The low of participation in speaking class is the third factor that affects English

communication reflex skill. The lack of interaction among students has occurred when
just one student talks at a time and the other students try to hear him/her without any
19


interactions. That’s cause leading to the situation in speaking class some learners
dominate the whole class while others talk very little or never speak. The other cause
affecting the speaking ability is that when some learners share the same mothertongue, they try to use it in the speaking class because it is very easy for them.
According to Harmer (1991), there are some reasons why learners use mother-tongue
in their speaking classes. The first reason is the lack of knowledge to express their idea
when teachers ask them to talk about a topic, they will use their language to replace.
And the addition reason related to this is that the application of mother-tongue is very
natural for learners to use. Students are not serious about the attitude required to use
English in language class. If teachers do not urge their learners to talk in English,
learners will automatically use their first language to explain something to their
classmates.
2.3.1.5. Lack of professional environment to speak
The Teachers need to be aware of the important of urging their learner using
English in class and restricting the use of their mother tongue. Hyland in the survey
“Asian Journal of English Language Teaching” (January ,2007) investigated learners
from eight disciplines at five Hong Kong institutions. The findings of his research
indicated that proficiency in English was a significant factor in the academic success
of an English environment. The learners’ language difficulties are also presented in
this research related to the productive skill of writing and speaking. Evans and Green
(2007) examined the language difficulties experienced by the students at a Hong Kong
university. The results of this study showed that the students’ difficulties centered on
the academic speaking such as grammar, fluency, and pronunciation and the academic
writing like style, grammar, and cohesion.
2.3.2. Listening difficulties
Listening is becoming increasingly important in every fields of life, especially

in learning a foreign language such as English. There are some difficulties when
listening English that the learners have to face up with.
2.3.2.1 Cultural differences of language
Being unfamiliar of cultural knowledge of language plays a great role
understanding the context. The marriage between language and culture is indivisible
20


(Brown, 1994). It means that when the learners learn the second language, they need to
study about the cultural of this language. In some of situations, Students may receive
the topic that contain completely different cultural matter than they have. That leads to
the case students may have difficulties to imagine what has been told. This is the
reason why the instructors should give prior knowledge about the topic beforehand.
For example, if the listening part is about Easter Day and it is not common in the
area that language is being taught students cannot catch some points. But if there are
the information about Easter Day before, students can easily catch what they are
listening to.
2.3.2.2. Accent differences
Munro and Derwing (1998) claimed that too many genres of accented speech
would result in a significant reduction in comprehension. Fan (1993) pointed out that
usually ESL/EFL listeners are used to “their teacher’s accent or to the standard variety
of British or American English”. Therefore, teachers have to familiarize the students
both British and American accent. The consequence is an endless debate has occurred
that what is the Standard English? Some people believe that the British English is the
standard. But the real is that English is spoken all over the world by many countries
such as Indian, Australian, Chinese, Turkish, and so on. As my view, English is a globe
language so it has not certain standards. The best thing is every one can communicate
together without any barriers language.
2.3.2.3. Length and speed of the listening
The effect of listening to long parts and keeping all the information in the mind

depends on the level of students. Three minutes is the most suitable time for the lower
level students to listen and complete the desired activities. It is not easy for them to
listen more than three minutes. Additionally, short listening texts facilitate listening
comprehension and diminish boredom, keep learner concentration alive (Atkins et al
1995). If the text contains a lot of information, it is not easy to store everything in
mind, exceptional listening ability and strategy required to understand. The speed is
also a reason that makes listening text difficult. Speaking faster than normal is the
cause leading to have difficult to catch target words of the listeners. Because on the

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contrary of reading comprehension, the listener cannot control speed of the speaker
and this cause the greatest difficulties in listening.

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2.3.2.4 Lack of concentration
The listeners have difficult when concentrating in a foreign language. People
can easily concentrate on something if they feel it interesting. For example, in a
seminar about literary language, listener sometimes feel tired and bore about the
speech because it is hard for them to understand it because they do not have any
knowledge about it. Even when they are interested in it, they still spend a huge amount
of effort in order to not miss the meaning. That’s also a reason why students feel
bored and lead to lack of concentrating. In listening comprehension, even the smallest
pause in attention may considerably spoil comprehension.
2.3.3 Lack of physical settings
2.3.3.1. Practice environment
Most of the major English students have ability to reading and writing quite

well. It is easily for them to answer email and compose document. They also have a
quite good specialized knowledge. But their weakness will occur when they meet
foreigners. Students are unable to communicate smoothly. This is consequence of lack
of practice environment and only focuses on books. The environment is the major
force of communication reflex that is a key of having a perfect communication reflex
skill.
2.3.3.2. The partners
Learning is the essential part helps students to reach business successful in the
future. To reach business successful, the students not only get knowledge from school
or teachers but also need the help of others students as the partners. Searching for
partners in learning process helps improve expose to and learn more new experience
and knowledge. Studying in a group or with a partner will make learners feel more
excited and motivated to improve communication reflexes.
2.3.3.3. Finding suitable English material source
With the explosion of Industry and the advent of digital technology, the
appearance of the Internet brings many benefits in life, including English. The English
learners certainly recognize the role of the Internet in learning English. This is a great
tool for learning languages. However, it also has negative impact besides positive.
Internet brings the learners a huge data English learning resources and a good
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opportunity to practice English through using Facebook, Snapchat to send messages to
foreign friends, listening to music on Youtube, writing online content in English. But if
the learners misuse the use of the Internet that will lead to the wrong choice of purpose
and be distracted too much in the learning process.
There is a fact that Vietnamese students are good at English grammar but weak
in communication. Thousands of opportunities to work in an international environment
slipped through their fingers because of this weakness. No one can deny that learning a
foreign language is like a child learning mother tongue, learning needs to start with

listening - imitating and learning to speak in order to have a suitable communication
environment and then learn to write and read. But in Vietnam, this is opposite.
Following the process of learning English of Vietnamese students, from class 3 to
university, Students learn about grammar and writing first. The syllabus is too focused
on this and takes no notice of practicing. As the result, the ability to communicate of
the students is limited. Form that leads to many others consequences in the future.
For most of the students at TMU, they are all in the general situation is that
their communication skills only stop at the basic level in basic communication
situations. That makes students trouble in office environment required good
communication skill. Although English proficiency of many students, whether they
have reached TOIEC 750 or IELTS 6.5, the first impression of the person facing the
foreign language ability of the students is still through communication and quick
reflexes. It shows not only our ability to speak fluently, but also our understanding of
the culture and linguistics of students.
2.4. Strategies for improving communication reflex
2.4.1. Improving communication reflex by thinking in English
A situation that always happens when Vietnamese learn English is to impose the
way of thinking of Vietnamese. That is extremely wrong and hinders our progress. To
learn English well, students need to immediately learn to think in English.
2.4.1.1. Stop thinking about translating into Vietnamese
According to the article “How to Develop your ability to think in English”
written by Robby-the owner of English harmony system, stop thinking in the mother
tongue is one of the effective way to learn English well.
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There is a fact that before the Vietnamese learners produce words into English,
they usually tend to think of the mother-tongue first. This is a wrong way and the
learners need to remove it from the mind. English and Vietnamese are very different
from accent, grammar to the meaning of vocabulary. So students shouldn’t translate

every words hearing into Vietnamese or try to find words that are accurate to express
speaking ideas in English. Instead of that, it is essential for the learners to make their
brain get use to reflecting and using English frequently. To obtain this, the Students
have to stop the old way of thinking, replacing it by the new method: only English in
the mind when learning English. By this way, reflective thoughts will be many times
faster, reflecting with English so much better.
2.4.1.2. Planning in English
Another effective way to improving communication reflex based on thinking in
English is that thinking of the plans in head in head in English. The learners should put
it into practice in daily life. For example, you wake up at 6 am, spend 10 minutes in
bed to make yours’ plan what your schedule is in today: “today is my day off so I do
not need to go to work. I will do the morning exercises fist, then taking my yummy
breakfast. Spending all the day off morning to playing game is my habit”. These are
actually daily thoughts, but instead of Vietnamese, try to think of it in English.
2.4.1.3. Practice thinking in English with familiar objects
This way not only helps the learners improve communication reflex but it also
helps them expend English vocabulary and grammar significantly. The learners can
start practice with familiar items at home such as dishes, cabinet, closet or she which
they see every day by calling the named of this items in English. It is also a test to see
how much of life's vocabulary using in communication you know.
2.4.1.4. Practice thinking in English with emotional expressions.
American people have a cultural of expressing their emotions through words.
Easily to see that throughout actors in American movies. There are a lot of words to
express feelings. "Wow", "Oh my god" is spoken when Americans meet something
unexpected, surprising, "Poor you", "I'm sorry" when they feel sorry for someone, or
more simply like " Well, you know, actually, …”. Learners can completely follow and
apply these words in practice communication and also practice speaking English
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