Normazidah, Koo, & Hazita (2012); Trawiski (2005), also presented the factors that impact

the EFL learners to have poor performance in English language learning as followings:
English is regarded as a difficult subject to learn.
Learners learning depends on the English teachers as authorities.
There is a lack of support to use English in the home environment and the community.
Learners have insufficient or lacking of exposure to the language as there is a limited
opportunity to use English outside the classrooms
Students have a limitation of vocabulary proficiency as well as English reading materials
are not always available.
Learners have an unwillingness and lack of motivation to learn English as they do not see
the immediate need to use the language.
Lack of motivation for learning or the negative attitude towards the target language.

Factors Causes Students Low English Language Learning: A Case Study in the National
University of Laos (PDF Download Available). Available from:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234556706_Factors_Causes_Students_Low_English_L
anguage_Learning_A_Case_Study_in_the_National_University_of_Laos [accessed Aug 28,
2017].

If you know the feeling of rage turning into tears that do not fall, you can guess how I felt when
one of my students answered boys upon being asked what the verb was in the sentence The
boys go to school every day.

To say that our students knowledge of the English language has deteriorated is a gross
understatement.

The first, and the most crucial, reason for their bad English is their negative attitude today toward
the language. Students often say, Mag-Filipino tayo, Pilipino tayo eh. Or: Pa-English-English
pa!

These statements give the impression that they consider it unpatriotic to be talking in English,
but do they really? Arent these words that they have picked up from their parents and their non-
English teachers? It is disappointing that students who are taught critical thinking in school
mimic the words of fools.

Saying Makabayan ako, magpi-Filipino ako is, in many cases, just an excuse not to learn
English, a way to cover up insecurities about speaking the language.

But even when they do not say anything, you can sense there is something wrong about how
students regard English.

Whenever I ask someone to speak in front of the class, some of the students give one another
meaningful looks, or make faces at their classmate who is speaking. Others simply do not listen.
They dont realize that whenever they sneer by words or facial expressionsPa-Ingles-Ingles
pa! Nosebleed!they discourage their classmates from using the language for fear of being
ostracized. (I hope my students are reading this.)

English is taught as early as Kindergarten in most schools, so it is shocking for me to find some
high school students who cannot even construct a sentence. What happened during their six years
of elementary school education?

I think English is not taught clearly and adequately in grade school, particularly the parts of
speech. If students acquire the necessary knowledge and skills in the language in their formative
years (teachers, you know this), they will not have a hard time in high school.

As we know, the older a student gets, the harder it is for a student to learn a new language.

Intimidated

A second problem is that many Filipinos feel intimidated by someone who speaks fluent English.
This should not be the case.

No language should be viewed as superior to others. We teach and learn English not because it is
a better language than the others but because, for now at least, it is the global language for
business, media, science and many more human activities.

We need to actively teach our students the value of English as a second language and the benefits
they can derive from being able to write and speak it fluently.

I always tell my students that English is not only for intelligent people, but for everyone who is
educated.

If we are fluent in the language, there will be no feeling of intimidation. English does not make
one better; it makes one equal to others.

Lack of practice is another problem. Students have so little time to speak and write English.

In school, they spend an hour in English class where they are supposed to learn to be conversant
in the language. But that is not often the case because English teachers have to make time for
other language macro-skills.

At home, many students spend hours playing computer games and logging on to Facebook and
other social networking sites. The games are hardly verbal and the language in social media is
often faulty. Where is the opportunity for the young to learn correct
English?

Malpractice

If there is lack of practice, there is also malpractice.

News reports tell us of errors in textbooks, especially those to be used in K-12 (Kindergarten to
Grade 12). The errors can be corrected, but what is beyond our control is the students choice of
reading materials when they are on their own.

It may surprise and worry you that the trending books are not those with superb literary value,
written by William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe and other literary giants.

Inside the books that our students are reading these days are comma-spliced and run-on phrases,
instances of incorrect subject-verb agreement and sentences that end not just with one but a
whole set of punctuation marks (!?!?!?!).

I find it disturbing that anyone can publish books in the Philippines without having them checked
by good editors, and even sell them through reputable bookstores.

We learn to write by reading. So, let us not expect our students to write well if the books they are
reading are full of errors.

What students hear also affects how they learn English. What we hear most of the time, we tend
to say unconsciously. This is why you find yourself singing a song that you hear constantly
although you dont particularly like it.

Even if I say se-re-MOW-nee (stress on the third syllable, mow) in class, my students still put
the stress on the second syllable because other teachers keep pronouncing ceremony that way
(se-RE-moh-ni).

If there is one English teacher who uses the right pronunciation but there are seven or eight
others who do not, there will be no transfer of learning in a one-hour English class.

The truth is, all of us using the language in school are indirectly teaching English. So let us
follow this simple guide: If you cannot teach the students proper English, do not confuse them
with your English.

All teachers, even those who do not teach English, have to participate in the task of changing our
students attitude toward the language. We should give them more opportunities to use English,
to correct improper usage and to be proficient in the language.

Remember, whatever we do before our students is what we teach them.

Students Difficulties in Speaking English and How to

Solve It
Since English is a foreign language in our country, most students especially senior high
school students are not familiar with it (Hetrakul, 1995). Kavin Hetrakul also said that they use
English more frequent only inside the class and less frequent outside the class. Whereas,
students have limited time to learn English in class, and they still do not have enough
encouragement to practice English outside the class in order to get familiar with English. This
case brings a problem that make senior high school students have difficulties to communicate in
English. This article will analyze the causes that make the students difficult to communicate in
English and suggest some solutions that can overcome the difficulties.

The first cause that makes the students difficult in speaking English is that the
environment does not support the students to speak English frequently. The environment here
means the people outside the class. Those people may think that the students just want to show
off when they speak English for daily conversation. The response that the students get makes
them loose their self-confidence to improve their speaking. Since the students do not want to be
rejected by the people around them, so they use their native language in daily conversation. That
makes the students unable to communicate in English fluently outside the class.

The second cause is problem with grammar. English always deals with reference of time
while Indonesian does not have one. Moreover, there are singular and plural forms that the
students have to distinguish and still many forms that have to be learned. Most students are very
easy to get confused with English grammar, while grammar is very needed to form a right
sentence. If the students do not have grammar mastery, of course they will not be able to produce
sentences that grammatically right. Realizing that the grammar students have is very weak, so
they feel embarrassed when they want to produce English sentences orally.

Now, English is an international language. Even technology and working world use
English. It is believed that the students want to be the winner in working world competition that
is getting tight day by day. One of the conditions that the students must require is having ability
to speak English fluently. This skill will be their plus point in facing the working world. From
now on, the students have to try hard to overcome their difficulties to speak English fluently.

There are two ways to encourage students to overcome their problem. The first one is a
way for the teacher to do. It is considered necessary for the teacher to force the students only to
speak English during the class. The teacher may fine the students every time they speak their
native language. The teacher himself must be able to convince his students to be brave to speak
English, does not matter if they have very bad grammar. Just say whatever the students want to
say. And the teacher must convince his students that making errors is a normal thing in learning.
This way will raise students confidence to try to speak English. It will be better if the teacher
does not give correction every time his students make errors, but he should give feedback and
give explanation for every error after the students finish their speech.

The second solution is for the students themselves. They can have an English
conversation club that consists of their own classmates. They can share and talk about anything
in English during that time. In this club, they can learn together. Students can correct each other
without feeling embarrassed. English will become students routine by doing that activity
(Hetrakul, 1995).

Every problem can be solved, likewise the problem to speak English fluently that senior high
school students have. Even though the problem seems as students problem, but in fact teachers
also play an important role in solving this problem. Students difficulties to communicate in
English must be solved as soon as possible considering their needs in facing the working world.
In conclusion, by forcing the students only to speak English during the class and having
conversation club will solve their difficulties to speak English.

REFERENCE:

Hetrakul, Kavin. 1995. The Second Language. http://eserver.org/courses/spring95/76-

100g/KavinHetrakul.html (Accessed on October 28, 2005)

The following recommendations can be made

in order to improve and facilitate the learners and teachers:
1. Students should be motivated to acquire a confidence whenever they make mistakes in
language classrooms
2. Parents should try to encourage their children to actively involved in learning the English
language at home and schools.
3. English teachers should equip well-training courses at the Faculty of Education, National
University of Laos and abroad.
4. Students should be encouraged to practice English language with native speakers in both
inside and outside classrooms.
5. The curriculum designers should think about the learners needs in language learning
when they plan to design curriculum.
6. Future research needs to continue to determine the pedagogical practices of learning and
teaching in this country and at the same time, to evaluate and inspect the English teachers
qualifications and knowledge before allowing them to teach.

Factors Causes Students Low English Language Learning: A Case Study in the National
University of Laos (PDF Download Available). Available from:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234556706_Factors_Causes_Students_Low_English_L
anguage_Learning_A_Case_Study_in_the_National_University_of_Laos [accessed Aug 28,
2017].