University of Aden

Faculty of Saber
Department of English

Difficulties Encountered by the Third Level Students in Speaking Skill

at the Department of English, Faculty of Education-Saber, University of
Aden

STARTED SEPTEMBER 7, 2019 ENDED NOVERMBER 11 2019

Group No.4/ Pre. By (Sulaiman Yahya)
Wajeh- Ali -Abdu-Safi -Assad -Abdu-Aziz
 Contents

Contents I

Chapter One: Introductory Chapter

1.0 Introduction 1

1.1 Statement of the Problem 1

1.2 Purpose of the Study 2

1.3 Significance of the Study 2

1.4 Hypotheses of the Study 3

1.5 Research Questions 3

1.6 Study Design and Methodology 3

1.6.1 Design 3

1.6.2 Methods of Data Collection 4

1.7 Population of the Study 4

1.8 Sample of the Study 4

1.9 Structure of the Study 4

1.10 Summary 5

Chapter Two: Literature Review

2.0 Introduction 6

2.1 What is Speaking 6

2.2 Importance of Speaking 6

2.3 The Aspects of Speaking 7

2.3.1 Fluency 7

2.3.2 Accuracy 8

2.3.2.1 Grammar 8

2.3.2.2 Vocabulary 8

I
 2.3.2.3 Pronunciation 8

2.4 Speaking Difficulties Encountered by Learners 9

2.4.1 Inhibition 9

2.4.2 Nothing to Say 9

2.4.3 Low or Uneven Participants 9

2.4.4 Mother- Tongue Use 10

2.5 The Inhabiting Factors 10

2.5.1 Linguistic Background Factors 10

2.5.2 Psychological Factors 11

2.5.2.1 Fear of Mistakes 11

2.5.2.2 Shyness 11

2.5.2.3 Anxiety 12

2.5.2.4 Lack of Self-Esteem 12

2.5.2.5 Lack of Motivation 12

2.6 Review of Related Studies 13

2.7 Summary 14

Chapter Three: Methodology and Data Collection

3.0 Introduction 15

3.1 Participants of the Study 15

3.2 Description of Data Collection Instruments 15

3.2.1 Students' Questionnaire 16

3.2.1.1 Overview 16

3.2.1.2 Questionnaire Design 16

3.2.1.3 Teachers' Interview 17

3.2.1.3.1 Interview Design 18

II
3.3 Data Analysis 18

3.4 Conclusion 19

Chapter Four: Data Analysis and Discussion of Results

4.0 Introduction 20

4.1Techniques of Analysis 20

4.2 Analysis of Questionnaire 20

4.2.1 Discussion of the Results of the questionnaire 27

4.3 Interview Analysis 28

4.3.1 Discussion of the Results of the Interview 31

4.4 Conclusion 31

Chapter Five: Conclusions and Recommendations

5.0 Introduction 32

5.1 Summary of the Main Findings 32

5.2 Recommendations of the Study 33

5.3 Suggestions for Further Research 33

5.4 Conclusion 34

References 35

Appendix 1: The Students' Questionnaire 37

Appendix 2: The Teachers' Interview 39

III
 Chapter one

General Introduction

1.0 Introduction

Since English is a foreign language in our country, most students especially junior

faculty students are not familiar with it. 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.

This case brings a problem that makes junior faculty students have difficulties in

communicating in English.

Communicative efficiency is the main goal of teaching speaking in which it means

helping learners develop their ability to interact successfully in the target language. To do so,

one must have communicative competence, which means "the ability to talk easily and well to

other people", defined by Longman Dictionary LDOCE. This research will analyze the factors

that make the students face difficulties in communicating in English and suggest some teaching

and learning solutions for both teachers and learners to overcome the difficulties.

1.1 Statement of the Problem

Many students in the third level of English department, faculty of education, face many

speaking difficulties when they try to make ordinary conversations, to ask for permissions, give

some advice, offers or make requests. They may do not have confidence in which they feel

worried, afraid, shy or embarrassed of making mistakes while speaking English. Sometimes it

seems difficult to say what students are thinking about, because they lack either of vocabulary

or grammatical competence.

1
 Grammatical competence is an important part to form accurate sentences as a result

students get confused easily with grammar rules. In particular; if the students do not have

grammar rules, they will not be able to produce sentences that grammatically correct.

Environment might be another source of difficulty in speaking because it does not give

much support to speak English frequently. The environment, means the people outside the class.

Those people may think that the students want to pretend that they are great when they speak

English in daily conversations. The reaction the students get makes them lose their self-

confidence to improve their speaking. Since the students do not want to be ignored by the people

around them, therefore they use their native language in daily conversations instead. In short,

these reasons may make the students unable to communicate in English fluently.

1.2 Purpose of the Study

This study tends to achieve the following aims:

1. To answer why students are not able to speak and communicate in English language.

2. To figure out the inhibiting factors behind these problems, and how we can overcome these

difficulties.

3. To explore the strategies by faculty teachers that can make students motivated.

4. To give practical solutions to deal with speaking skills in and outside the classroom.

1.3 Significance of the Study

This study would answer many questions about the difficulties faculty students face in

learning English. More specifically, how the inhibiting factors can be decreased to develop

students' communication skills (fluency) in English language regardless having certificates with

no other benefits included. In addition, the study will keep researchers up-to-date about the kind

2
of problems students face at Faculty of Saber, it can also help other researchers to go ahead in

enlarging their knowledge in this area as well as give some guidance.

1.4 Hypotheses of the Study

It is hypothesized that the students' speaking is influenced by many factors such

linguistic background factors, psychological factors and the methods and techniques followed

in teaching speaking. The following hypotheses have been set for this study:

 There are inhibiting factors affect students' of English to learn speaking skill.

 Speaking teachers do not use effective strategies when teaching speaking.

 There are some strategies, techniques and procedures can facilitate learning speaking

skill.

1.5 Research Questions

The present study aims to answer the following questions:

1. What are the difficulties students face in speaking skill?

2. What are the inhibiting factors that affect students' of English to learn speaking skill?

3. What are the strategies that used by speaking university teachers in teaching speaking

skill?

4. What are the suitable solutions for speaking difficulties?

1.6 Study Design and Methodology

1.6.1 Design

According to the data collected as well as the procedures for analyzing the data, the

study follows a quantitative and qualitative research design.

3
1.6.2 Methods of Data Collection

For the purpose of examining the data, questions and hypotheses, the study uses the

questionnaire for the students and the interview for the teachers. This study relies on the data

gathered through these methods, which are administrated in the Department of English at the

Faculty of Education/Saber, University of Aden in the first semester of the academic year 2019-

2020.

1.7 Population of the Study

The population targeted by this study is the third year students at the Department of

English at the Faculty of Education/ Saber, University of Aden. The population of the study

also includes teachers of speaking in the same department.

1.8 Sample of the Study

The sample of the current study consists of twenty two students who have been chosen

randomly from level three in the Department of English at the Faculty of Education/Saber,

University of Aden. The sample of the study has also included three teachers of speaking who

were interviewed by the researchers.

1.9 The Structure of the Study

This study comprises five chapters as follows:

Chapter one provides general introductory remarks of the study. It introduces the

statement of the problem, the purpose of the study, the hypotheses and the research questions.

It describes the significance of the study, the design and methodology of the study, population

and sample of the study and finalizes by the structure of the study.

4
 Chapter two introduces the review of some related studies to the area of the study. It

shows some of the studies that are related to the field of second language speaking and its needs

especially for university students.

Chapter three includes the methodology of the study. Specifically, it is concerned with

describing the population and the sample of the study. It provides a clear description of the

instruments used to collect the data related to the topic of the study.

Chapter four presents the details of the quantitative and qualitative analysis along with

the procedures used for analyzing data. In addition, it provides the overall discussion of the

findings of the study, obtained by students' questionnaire and teachers' interview.

Chapter five shows the findings of the study through the choices and discussions of the

research questions, along with some recommendations for developing the teaching process,

self-study process and finalizing by some suggestions for further studies.

1.10 Summary

The introductory chapter presented the statement of the problem, the purpose of the

study, the hypotheses of the study along with the research questions, the significance of the

study, the design and methodology of the study, the population and sample of the study, and

finalizes with the structure of the study.

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 Chapter Two

Literature Review

2.0 Introduction

This chapter mainly deals with introducing the theoretical background of the study. It

particularly focuses on discussing some concepts, aspects and factors that help to fluency of

speaking. This chapter mainly begins with the definition of speaking difficulties. Another part

of this chapter is the importance of speaking skill .The third section of this chapter explains the

aspects of studying speaking. The fourth part deals with the speaking difficulties. The fifth part

describes the inhibiting factors that cause speaking difficulties to students of English and one

more aspect to be under discussion is the review of related studies and finalizes with a brief

summary of this chapter.

2.1 What is Speaking?

Speaking is a process of sending and receiving messages by using verbal expressions, in

this seek Ur (1991) states: “Speaking is the productive aural/oral skill. It consists of producing

systematic verbal utterance to convey meaning." (p.120).

However, the use of non-verbal symbols like gestures is also considered as a part of

speaking. Cameron (2001) defines: “speaking is the active use of language to express meanings

so that other people can make sense of them." (p.40). That is to say, that speaking is the major

way for understanding and expressing meanings to interact with others. On the other hand,

speaking is the skill by which people are judged while first impressions are being formed.

2.2 Importance of Speaking

It is known in the field of didactics that people who master speaking are considered as if

they master all the other language skills. It generally helps the speaker to communicate his

thoughts and ideas. This has been pointed by Ur (2000): “Of all the four skills, speaking seems
6
intuitively the most important: people who know a language are referred to speakers of the

language, as if speaking included all other kinds of knowing." (p.12). Teachers expect from

students to use the language properly and correctly in order to speak confidently in order to

attract the audience who provides a great opportunity to convey the message. Baker and

Westrup (2003) stated that “a student who can speak English well may have a greater chance

for further education, of finding employment and gaining promotion." (p.5). that is, speaking is

important not just inside the classroom but also outside where most of the companies and

organizations look for people who master a foreign language and have a good speaking ability.

2.3 The Aspects of Speaking

"According to (Leong & Masoumeh 2017) there are two major criteria in the foreign

language proficiency, which they are fluency and accuracy. These two aspects both are the

crucial purposes of language learning that is why students need the opportunities to enhance

and develop these criteria." (p.36).

2.3.1 Fluency

When teaching speaking, teachers have the same goal to achieve which is oral fluency;

the main important trait in performing. Fluency in the view of Hedge Tricia (2000) "is the ability

to know how to put words, sentences and ideas effectively together in an appropriate way. The

term fluency relates to the production and it is normally reserved for speech. It is the ability to

link units of speech together with facility and without strain or inappropriate showiness, or

undue hesitation." (p.54).According to Hughes (2002), "fluency is achieved when learners are

able to express themselves in a clear and reasonable in order to be understood without hesitation

otherwise the listeners will lose their interest. It is assumed by the majority of EFL learners that

being fluent in speaking is that you need to speak quickly without pauses." (p.54).

7
2.3.2 Accuracy

Learners give much importance to fluency without paying attention to accuracy that is

why teachers focus more on accuracy in their teaching. Without accuracy in the speaker will

produce incorrect utterance while speaking and the listener will not understand him so this later

will lose interest. Accuracy has been defined by Skehan (quoted in Ellis and Barkhuizen1996)

as referred to “to how well the target language is produced in relation to the rule system of the

target language". (2005 p.139). Broughton, Brumfit, Flavell, Hill and Pincas (1980) stated,

"learning to use a language involves a great deal more than acquiring some grammar,

vocabulary and a reasonable pronunciation."(p.35).Thus, students need to pay attention to the

grammatical structure, vocabulary and pronunciation in order to perform an accurate and

comprehensive language.

2.3.2.1 Grammar

Harmer (2001) states that "there are many rules go to make up a native speaker's

competence". (p.13).

2.3.2.2 Vocabulary

By choosing the necessary and appropriate words while speaking, he/she may achieve the

vocabulary accuracy and he/she will be able to transmit his point concisely. Students often find

some difficulties when they try to convey a message and they misused the words particularly

in the case of synonyms that do not have the same meaning in all contexts. "According to

Harmer (2001), the knowledge of the word classes also allows speakers to perform well-formed

utterances; therefore students should be able to use words and expressions accurately." (p.21).

2.3.2.3 Pronunciation

Pronunciation means to say words in ways that are generally accepted or understood. That

is, if the pronunciation is incorrect, the speakers will not be understood and the message will
8
not be conveyed in an appropriate way and therefore accuracy is not achieved. Longman has

defined pronunciation as "the way in which a language or a particular word is pronounced.

2.4 Speaking Difficulties Encountered by Learners

Learners of English often encounter some difficulties while dealing with such a difficult

skill, even those who have a clear idea about the language system face the same problems.

"According to Ur (2000), there are four main problems in getting students speak in the foreign

language in the classroom." (p.110).

2.4.1 Inhibition

When students want to participate in the classroom, many of them experience inhibition,

which is caused by many issues as shyness and fear of making mistakes. In this perspective, Ur

(2000) states that: “Learners are often inhibited about trying to say things in a foreign language

in the classroom. Worried about, making mistakes, fearful of criticism or loosing face, or simply

shy of the attention that their speech attracts.”(p.111).

2.4.2 Nothing to Say

"When students are obliged to share their thoughts and talk about a given topic, most of

them prefer to keep silent while others might say, “I have no idea” or “No comment”. These

expressions are due to the lack of motivation in expressing themselves on the chosen topic."

(Leong & Masoumeh, 2017, p.35).

2.4.3 Low or Uneven Participation

Participation has been defined as the number of unsolicited responses volunteered

Burchfield & Sappington (1999); "low participation is about the amount of each student’s time

of talking. There are some of them tend to be dominant and take the place of others who prefer

to keep silent or they are uncertain whether what they will say is correct or not and the situation

9
will get worse. Therefore, Classroom discussion is dominated by a minority of students who

are capable to talk. Participants and contributions are not evenly distributed. This may be due

to the mixed ability groups." (p.290).

2.4.4 Mother-Tongue Use

In cases where the majority if not all the students share the same mother tongue, they

prefer to use it outside and even inside the classroom rather than the target language since they

feel more comfortable. According to Baker and Westrup (2003), “barriers to learning can occur

if students knowingly or unknowingly transfer the cultural rules from their mother tongue to a

foreign language."(p.12). Therefore, the learners will find it difficult to use the target language

correctly, if they keep on borrowing words and terms from their mother tongue which is a result

of target language vocabulary lacks.

2.5 The Inhabiting Factors

The inhabiting factors as defined by Longman LDOCE are "the causes that lead the

learning to ingrowing or developing". There are two types of factors psychological and

linguistic factors.

2.5.1 Linguistic Background Factors

Linguistic background includes pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar structure .Thus,

when students study a foreign language they study how words are combined into various

sounds, and how sentences are stressed in different ways. Thus, linguistic factors enables

speakers to use and understand accurately, which contributes to their fluency.

Pronunciation is important because if the speaker mispronounce of the words the listener

also will misunderstanding about the words. Learners often make mistake in sounds, stress, and

intonation.

01
 Besides, grammar is a key role in learning English structure. The learners are difficult to

produce right grammatical structure in speaking. Thus, grammar in earlier studies has been

found to be one of the most important aspect that the EFL learners find difficult in learning

foreign language.

Vocabulary is also important to students since it is a basic in speaking. Students have a

lot of trouble in communication because of poor vocabulary, so, that is why students are silent

rather than speak in English class.

2.5.2 Psychological Factors

It has been mentioned earlier that there are some psychological factor that stop students

from practicing their speaking in English class.

2.5.2.1 Fear of Mistakes

"In the classroom students who is afraid of making mistakes get bad grade in the course,

a fail on the exam, a reproach from the teacher, a smirk from a classmate, punishment or

embarrassment imposed by oneself. Outside classroom, individuals learning a second language

face other negative consequences if they make mistakes. They fear looking ridiculous; they fear

the frustration coming from a listener's blank look, something that they have failed to

communicate ; they far the danger of not being able to take care of themselves; they fear the

alienation of not being able to communicate and thereby get close to other human beings .

Perhaps worst of all, they fear a loss of identity." Brown (2000 p.149).

2.5.2.2 Shyness

"Shyness is an emotional and embarrassing feeling that many students suffer from at some

time when they are required to speak in the English class. This indicates that shyness could be

a source of problem in students’ learning activities in the classroom especially in the class of

speaking. The feeling of shyness makes students' mind go blank or that they will forget what to
00
say. In other words, it can be said that shyness plays an important role in speaking performance

done by the students."(Leong & Masoumeh 2017 p.38).

2.5.2.3 Anxiety

"Anxiety plays an important role in second language acquisition .Even though we all have

experienced feelings of anxiousness; anxiety is still not easy to define in a simple sentence. It

is associated with the feeling of uneasiness, frustration, self-doubt, apprehension, or worry".

(Scovel, 1978, p.134).

2.5.2.4 Lack of Self-Esteem

"Self-Esteem is probably the most pervasive aspect of any human behavior. It could easily

be claimed that no successful cognitive or affective activity can be carried out without some

degree of self-esteem, self-confidence, knowledge of yourself, and belief in your own

capabilities for that activity. Personality development universally involves the growth of a

person's concept of self, acceptance of self, and reflection of self as seen in the interaction

between self and others". (Harmer, 2001, p.145).

2.5.2.5 Lack of Motivation

"It is accepted for most fields of learning that motivation is essential to success; that we

have to do something to succeed at it. Without such motivation, we will almost certainly fail to

make the necessary effort. If motivation is so important, therefore, it makes sense to try and

develop our understanding of it. Motivation is some kind of internal drive, which pushes

someone to do things in order to achieve something," stated by Harmer (2001 p.51). Brown

(2000) points out that "a cognitive view of motivation includes factors such as the need for

exploration, activity, stimulation, new knowledge, and ego enhancement." (, p.160-166).

02
2.6 Review of Related Studies

In this section, some studies pertinent to the factors influencing speaking skill are

reviewed Park and Lee as cited in Leong & Masoumeh (2017) "investigated the connection

between second language learners' anxiety, self-confidence, and speaking performance. One

hundred and thirty two Korean learners participated in this research. The results obtained from

this research showed that students' anxiety level had a negative relationship to their oral

performance."(P.38-39).

Boonkit (2010) carried out a study on the factors increasing the development of learners’

speaking skill. The results represented that the use of appropriate activities for speaking skill

can be a good strategy to decrease speakers’ anxiety. The results also revealed that the freedom

of topic choice urged the participants to feel comfortable, persuaded to speak English, and

increased the speaking confidence among EFL learners.

Ali Dincer and Savas Yesilyurt (2013) carried out a study towards teachers’ beliefs on

speaking skills based on motivational orientations. The results of their study indicated that the

teachers had negative opinions about speaking instruction though they believed that it was of

great significance in speaking skill. The results also revealed that the teachers felt unskilled in

oral communication though they had various motivational orientations towards speaking

English. The researchers indicated that that learners have different opinions about the

significance of speaking skill in English language and this difference is related with the

learners’ motivational orientations and their competent/incompetent feelings in speaking skill.

The results demonstrated that learners’ self-assessment about their speaking skill was negative

and they expressed themselves as incapable speakers of English. Just some of them expressed

that they had a good position in taking part in speaking tasks.

Tanveer (2007) examined the factors caused anxiety for learners in learning speaking

ability and the impact of anxiety on target language communication. The obtained results
03
indicated that learners’ feeling of stress and anxiety stop their language learning and

performance abilities. The researcher emphasized that the high anxiety lowers the learners’

speaking performance.

Eissa, Misbah, and Najat (1988) performed a study towards the difficulties of using

English as a means of instruction and communication. The results of this study displayed that

learners had many difficulties in using English language as a means of instruction. Many

participants stated that their learners have low English proficiency. The results also indicated

that many learners faced serious difficulties in understanding the lectures’ content without

translating or applying L1 to deliver the content of the lectures.

2.7 Summary

This chapter presented the theoretical background to the field of speaking difficulties. It

started with high lightening to the speaking importance. More specifically to the aspects of

speaking, the difficulties countered EFL Learners, the inhibiting factors and the review of

related studies were also discussed in this chapter. Finally, the summary states the sections that

were discussed in this chapter.

04
 Chapter Three
Methodology and Data Collection

3.0 Introduction

This chapter focuses on describing the methodology of collecting the required data. It

begins with describing the participants of the study and how they were chosen. The chapter also

includes a description of the instruments used for data collection.

3.1 Participants of the Study

The participants of this study were 30 students studying at the third level at the department

of English, Faculty of Education/Saber, University of Aden. They were selected randomly. All

students 'participants' completed the questionnaire at the faculty in the first semester of the

academic year 2019-2020.

Three teachers of speaking from the same department were chosen for the interview. All

three teachers were interviewed in the faculty classes in the first semester of the academic year

2019-2020.

3.2 Description of Data Collection Instruments

Data collection is an important aspect of any type of research study. This component of

research is, in fact, a process of gathering information on a topic in a specific way by which

researchers can answer relevant questions and evaluate outcomes.

After establishing the problem of the study and specify its purpose and questions,

researchers start to determine the appropriate research instruments by which they can answer

their questions. A data collection instrument can be defined as "the means, either physical or

nonphysical, by which data is produced" Griffee (2002), as cited in (Abdulla 2017, p.47). More

specifically this definition of data collection instrument shows that instruments can be either

05
physical such as written questionnaire, or nonphysical such as interview by which data is

collected to be analyzed and interpreted in order to answer the questions of the study.

In an attempt to answer the questions of the current study, the researcher used two

instruments: Students' Questionnaire, and Teachers' Interview.

3.2.1 Students' Questionnaire

3.2.1.1 Overview

A questionnaire is a very popular tool in collecting data or information about a specific

topic of interest. Richards et al. as cited in Alban (2016) define questionnaire as "a set of

questions on a topic or group of topics designed to be answered by a respondent". (p.41). Bell

(1999) as cited in Alban (2016) confirms that " questionnaires are a good way of collecting

certain types of information quickly and relatively cheaply as long as you can sufficiently

disciplined to abandon questions that are superfluous to the main task"(p.41).

3.2.1.2 Questionnaire Design

The rationale behind choosing a questionnaire was to collect data about the students'

experience and behavior with learning speaking. The questionnaire was divided into two

sections. The first section tried to gather information about participants' background such as

whether they studied the previous years at the same college, and whether they took some

English courses in any institutes. In the second section, the participants were asked to determine

their level of agreement on some items related to their learning experience.

There were fifteen items in the questionnaire, which could be clustered into three

different groups to investigate the factors that may affect the speaking skill.

The first group consisted of six items that sought to find out data about participants

aptitude and the ability of learning and mastering the speaking skill. This group of items mainly

investigated whether the participants have the ability to appropriately choose vocabulary, speak
06
accurate English, and pronounce words correctly. Moreover, they explored the participants'

ability to use the language communicatively and fluently, produce clear and well sentences, and

whether they can make sentences and work on their own in speaking activities.

The next four items (i.e. the second group) sought to find out participants' attitudes and

motivation towards the speaking skill. This cluster of items particularly aimed at investigating

whether participants practice speaking and have confidence, motivation and strength or not in

speaking activities.

The third group, which consisted of items 11-15, was related to participants' and teachers

inside the classroom. These items tried to explore whether the problem is the students'

themselves or their teachers weakness and old activities of teaching speaking. This group of

items also sought to investigate the participants' reaction and teachers' actions to the speaking

class of speaking.

3.2.1.3 Teachers' Interview

The second method of data collection used in the current study is interview. This type of

data collection instruments provides in-depth information about the topic of the interview

(qualitative data). "Like survey questionnaires, interviews can serve different purposes.

Through an interview, the researcher can inquire or find out data about participants'

background, reported behavior, and opinions and attitudes." Mckay (2006), as cited in (Abdulla

2017, p.50).

There are different types of interviews such as structured, unstructured, and semi-

structured interviews. The researcher of the study used the semi-structured interview format,

which combines the flexibility of the unstructured open-ended interviews with the directionality

and agenda of the survey questionnaire.

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3.2.1.3.1 Interview Design

The rationale behind using an interview was to collect in-depth information about

teachers' experience of teaching as well as their opinions about students' problems of Speaking

and the difficulties that may lie behind such problems. The interview was divided into five

sections:

The first section of the interview tried to gather information about participants'

background such as qualification, and teaching experience.

The second section included six questions that aimed at collecting data about students'

problems of speaking and the causes of difficulties behind such problems. In the first question

of this section, participants were asked about the activities they use with their students in

speaking. They were given the freedom to add information based on their experience. The

second question of this section, tried to overall evaluation of the students. The third question of

this section, inquired whether students' difficulties due to psychological factors or learning

factors. The fourth question of this section, aimed at figuring out the causes that led to such

factors. The fifth question of this section, they were asked whether we have possibility to solve

the problem or not. The sixth question of the interview aimed at exploring the procedures that

teachers use in class to decrease such problems.

3.4 Data Analysis

This study followed both the qualitative and quantitative approaches of data analysis. In

analyzing the interview, the researcher used the data obtained, identified the similarities and

differences among the teachers' responses, and transcribed and discussed them according to this

base. Following the quantitative analysis, the data obtained from the questionnaire was interred

into computer software using the SPSS program. It was processed statistically and analyzed by

using frequencies and percentages. This has been discussed in chapter four in detail.

08
3.5 Conclusion

The chapter presented a description of the methodology used in the study. It mainly

introduced the study participants and provided a description and design of the instruments used

to collect data of the study.

09
 Chapter Four

Data Analysis and Discussion of Results

4.0 Introduction

This chapter is devoted to provide a detailed analysis of the data gathered through the data

collection instrument (i.e. students' questionnaire, and teachers' interview). At the beginning,

the findings of questionnaire are presented and discussed with tables. The findings of the

teachers' interview are analyzed and discussed later in this chapter. This quantitative and

qualitative analysis of data is used as an attempt to answer the study questions and validate the

hypothesis.

4.1 Techniques of Analysis

In order to obtain a clear and well-organized analysis, researchers usually follow some

procedures in their analysis process. In the current study, the researcher used descriptive

statistical analysis such as frequencies, percentages, and the mean using the SPSS (Statistical

package for Social Sciences) program to analyze the data gathered.

The items of the questionnaire were grouped into three clusters representing the factors that

may affect the students' speaking skill. Each cluster was interpreted separately using the

frequencies and percentages of students' responses to the items with reference to the mean of

each item.

4.2 Analysis of Questionnaire

In the following, all the 15 items of the questionnaire will be analyzed in detail.

Table 4.1 represents the results of the participants' responses to the first five items of the

questionnaire, which are clustered under the title language learning.

Table 4.1

21
Language Learning

No Strongly Strongly
Statements Agree Neutral Disagree Mean
. agree disagree

I have a limited ƒ 6 9 5 2

1 range of Per 3.77

27 41 23 9
vocabulary items %

ƒ 2 4 6 7 3
I cannot make full
2 per 2.77
sentences 9 18 27 32 14
%

I feel weak in ƒ 3 7 6 4 2

3 pronouncing some per 3.23

14 32 27 18 9
words correctly %

ƒ 3 6 3 8 2
I feel weak in
4 English language per
3.0
14 27 14 36 9
grammar %

I feel weak in ƒ 3 6 8 2 3
understanding the
5
3.18
expressions of per
14 27 36 9 14
English language %

ƒ= Frequency per= Percentage M= Mean

Regarding to item No.1 (I have a limited range of vocabulary items), the results show that

41 % participants agreed with the statement and 27% of them assured their strongly

agreement. The results also show 23 % of the participants were neutral in their decision and

9% of the participants show their strongly disagreement to the statement which they have a

20
range for vocabulary items. The mean of this statement is 3, 77 which indicates that limited

vocabulary is one of the basic issues in speaking.

With regard to item No.2 (I cannot make full sentences), the results show that 32 %

participants disagreed with the statement and 27% of them were neutral. While 18 % of them

show their agreement. The results also show 14 % of the participants of the participants show

their strongly disagreement and 9% of them show their strongly agreement to the statement.

The mean of this statement is 2, 77 which refers to that students can write full sentences

correctly.

In relation to item No.3, (I feel weak in pronouncing some words correctly), the results

show that 32 % participants agreed with the statement and 27% of them were neutral. While

18 % of them show their disagreement. The results also show 14 % of the participants show

their strongly agreement and 9% of them show their strongly disagreement to the statement.

The mean of this statement is 3, 23 which refers to students' weakness in pronouncing words

correctly.

Referring to to item No.4, (I feel weak in English language grammar), the results show

that 36 % participants disagreed with the statement and 27% of them show their agreement.

While 14 % of them show, their agreement and 14% of them were neutral. The results also

show 9 %

of the participants show their strongly disagreement to the statement. The mean of this

statement is 3, 0 which refers to students' weakness in English grammar.

Concerning item No.5, (I feel in understanding the expressions of English language), the

results show that 36 % participants were neutral and 27% of them show their disagreement.

While 14 % of them show, their strongly disagreement and 14% of them show their

agreement. The results also show 9 % of the participants show their disagreement to the

22
statement. The mean of this statement is 3, 18 which refers to students' weakness in

understanding the English expressions.

Table 4.2 represnts the results of the participants' responses to items 6,7,8,9,and 10 of the

questionnaire which are grouped under the title Psychological Issues.

Table 4.2

Psychological Issues

No Strongly Strongly
Statements Agree Neutral Disagree Mean
. agree disagree

I am not interested ƒ 3 7 3 5 4

6 in English speaking Per 3

14 32 13 23 18
skill %

ƒ 3 9 6 2 2
I feel shy when I
7 per 3.22
speak in English 9 36 32 14 9
%

ƒ 3 9 6 2 2
I feel confused
8 when I speak in per 3.40
14 41 27 9 9
English %

I do not have ƒ 8 7 3 3 1
confidence when I
9 per 3.81
try to speak 36 32 14 14 4
English %

10 ƒ 12 6 2 2
3.27

23
 I lack for per
motivation to speak 55 27 9 9
%
English
ƒ= Frequency per= Percentage M= Mean

As shown in the Table 4.2, the participants' response to itemNo.6 ('I am not interested in

English Speaking skill), reveal that 32% of them stated that they agree with the statement and

23% ranked "disagree". On the other hand, 18% of the participants said that they strongly

disagree and 14% of them show their strongly agreement. The results also show that 13%

were neutral. The mean of this statement is 3 which signifies that student lack for interest to

English language learning.

Regarding to itemNo.7 ('I feel shy when I speak in English), states that 36% of

participants agreed with the statement and 32% ranked "neutral". On the other hand, 14% of

the participants said that they disagree. The results also show 9% of them show their strongly

agreement and the same degree for strongly disagreement. The mean of this statement is 3,22

which signifies that student feel shyness when trying to speaking English.

With regard to the itemNo.8 ('I feel confused when I speak in English), reveals that

41% of them stated that they agree with the statement and 27% ranked "neutral". On the other

hand, 14% of the participants said that they strongly agree. The results also show that 9% of

participants show their strongly disagreement and the same degree for disagree. The mean of

this statement is 3.40, which signifies that student feel confused whenever they want to speak

English.

Regarding to the itemNo.9 ('I do not have confidence when I try to speak English ),

reveals that 36% of them stated that they strongly agree with the statement and 32% ranked

"agree". On the other hand, 14% of the participants said that they disagree and the same

degree show they were neutral. The results also show that 4% of participants show their

24
strongly disagreement. The mean of this statement is 3.81, which signifies that student do not

have confidence when they try to speak English.

Concerning itemNo.10 ('I lack for motivation to speak English), reveals that 55% of

them stated that they agree with the statement and 27% ranked "neutral". On the other hand,

9% of the participants said that they disagree and the same degree show strongly

disagreement. The mean of this statement is 3.27, which signifies that student lack for

motivation when they speak English.

Table 4.3 represents the results of the participants' responses to item 11,12,13,14, and 15 of

the questionnaire items which grouped under the title The Teachers' Methods.

Table 4.3

The Teachers' Methods

No Strongly Strongly
Statements Agree Neutral Disagree Mean
. agree disagree

ƒ 5 5 5 2 5
I understand the
11 Per 3.13
teacher well 23 23 23 9 22
%

The teacher uses ƒ 4 3 6 5 4

praise words; for
12 example, very good per 2.90
18 14 27 23 18
or excellent when I %
speak English

The teacher uses ƒ 4 9 4 3 2

Arabic language
13 per 3.45
when he speaks 18 41 18 14 9
with the students %

25
 The teacher makes ƒ 7 5 6 1 3
pairs and groups
14 per 3.54
work in speaking 32 23 27 4 14
class %

The teacher
ƒ 5 4 3 7 3
explains the
15 activities before the 3.04
per
students practice 23 18 14 32 13
doing them %

ƒ= Frequency per= Percentage M= Mean

In replying to item No.11 (I understand the teacher well) as shown in table 4.3, 23% of

the participants show their strongly agreement to the statement and the same degree for agree

and neutral. The results also display that 22% of the participants strongly disagree to the

statement while 9% of the participants show disagreement to the statement. The mean for this

statement is 3.13, which tells that the students understand the teacher speaking.

In response to item No.12 (The teacher uses praise words; for example, very good or

excellent when I speak English) as shown in table 4.3, 27% of the participants were neutral

and 23% of the participants do not agree to that the teachers use praise words. On the other

hand, 18% of the participants show strongly disagreement to the statement and the same

degree for strongly agreement. The results also display that 14% of the participants agreed to

the statement. The mean for this statement is 2.90, which tells us that the teachers use praise

words very often.

In replying to item No.13 (The teacher uses Arabic language when he speaks with the

students) as shown in table 4.3, 41% of the participants show their agreement to the statement

and 18% of them show their strongly dis agreement to the statement and the same degree for

26
neutral. The results also display that 14% of the participants disagree to the statement while

9% of the participants show strongly disagreement to the statement. The mean for this

statement is 3.45, which tells that the students understand the teacher speaking.

Concerning item No.14 (The teacher makes pairs and groups work in speaking class) as

shown in table 4.3, 32% of the participants show their strongly agreement to the statement

and 27% of them show their neutral to the statement . The results also display that 23% of the

participants agreed to the statement while 14% of the participants show strongly disagreement

to the statement and 4% of the participants show disagreement. The mean for this statement is

3.54, which tells that the teacher makes pairs and groups work in speaking class.

In replying to item No.15 (The teacher explains the activities before the students

practice doing them) as shown in table 4.3, 32% of the participants show their disagreement to

the statement and 23% of them show their strongly agreement to the statement. The results

also display that 18% of the participants agree to the statement while 14 % of the participants

were neutral and 13% of them show strongly disagreement to the statement. The mean for this

statement is 3.04, which tells that the students understand the teacher speaking.

4.2.1 Discussion of the Results of the Questionnaire

This section discusses the results obtained by the questionnaire. The results analyzed in

4.2 confirm that the participants' speaking negatively affected by various factors.

The factor that has the strongest effect on the participants' speaking is the language

learning. The participants' speaking seems poor because of their terrible language learning.

The last factor, in rank, is the psychological factor. It was found that the participants'

weakness in speaking is due to the psychological effects such as shyness ,lack of confidence

and lack of interest.

27
 The next factor that negatively affects the participants in speaking as revealed, is the

teachers behaviors and methods of teaching they use inside classroom includes the language

and the activities.

Table 4.4 concludes what discussed above in reference to the means of the three factors after

they were calculated.

Table 4.4

The Factors Affecting Speaking Ability

Rank Factors M

1 Language learning 15.95

2 Teaching Methods 16.7

3 Psychological issues 16.06

M= Mean

4.3 Interview Analysis

In this section, the items of the interview that were responded by the participants are

analyzed in details. The values were presented in table and interpreted accordingly.

First, the participants were asked about the activities they use in teaching speaking .They

were given a direct question to mention the activities they use.

The participants speaking activities differs. The participants AM, AA and WA agreed that

their activities are based on role-play, games and discussion. On the other hand, AA and AM

added that they also use dabate.While WA tends to use group work and pair works activities.

After getting a clear picture of what activities the participants use in teaching, they were

asked to evaluate their students.

28
Table 4.5

The teachers evaluate their students.

No. of Responses
Options
Ƒ Per %
Good 2 0
Average 0 67
Weak 1 33
Total 3 100
ƒ = Frequency Per=Percentage

Table 4.5 reveals that two participants stated that the students' level is average .On the other

hand; one participants stated that the students' level is weak.

The third question, the participants were asked to select which of the following are what

students lack in the Table 4.6.

Table4.6

The problems students face in English speaking.

Yes No Total
Statements
ƒ Per% ƒ Per% ƒ Per %

Pronunciation 2 67 1 33 3 100

Vocabulary 2 67 1 33 3 100

Self-Confidence 3 100 0 0 3 100

Sentence Building 3 100 0 0 3 100

Motivation 2 67 1 33 3 100

ƒ =Frequency Per= Percentage

As seen from the results, AM the participants stated that the students face problems in

many different areas such as pronunciation vocabulary, self-confidence, sentence building, ,

and motivation. While the participant AA stated that, the problems are vocabulary, self-
29
confidence, and sentence building. Whereas the participant WA stated that, the problems that

students face in speaking English absolutely are pronunciation, self-confidence, sentence

building, and motivation.

Fourth, the participants were asked about the reason behind the previous problems in the

Table 4.6.

The participant AA stated that the problems due to the students and teachers environment and

social factor such as gender. The participant WA stated that these problems due to the lack of

knowledge and shyness. The participant AM stated that the problems due to the lack of

background knowledge and they have no basic knowledge of English.

Table 4.7

The possibility of overcoming the difficulties of speaking

No. Responses
Options
ƒ Per %

Yes 3 100

No 0 0

Total 3 100

ƒ = Frequency Per= Percentage

Table 4.7 reveals that all the participants agreed that there is a possibility to overcome the

difficulties of speaking in English.

The sixth question, the participants were asked what procedures to follow in order to

overcome these difficulties. The participant AM stated that to overcome these mistakes and

difficulties we have to follow some steps such as encouragement listen more and read more

because the more you listen and read the perfect you speak. The participant WA try to correct

mistakes that students make give advice encourage them tell them that when they speak they
31
have to ignore the teacher and relax and speak freely. The participant AA stated that

correcting mistakes of the students to some extent but should be at the end of the activities

either by writing the corrections on the board or recording them not monitoring the students.

4.3.1 Discussion of the Results of the Interview

The results of the interview reveal and confirm what has been found through the

questionnaire. The participants indicated that students face many problems when trying to

speak; and the possible factors behind such problems can be related to students, teaching and

learning process. Participants should highlight and mention the mistakes and the corrections

on the board or by recording them. It can be concluded from this discussion that, motivation

can be attributed to the techniques used by teachers when teaching speaking. Another aspect

is the activity type students practice. Students are exposed to practice pair work and group

work

4.4 Conclusion

In this chapter, the results gathered through the two instruments were analyzed and

discussed and the procedures of the analyzing data were explained, as well. First, the

researchers analyzed the data of the questionnaire statistical measures such as frequencies,

percentage and mean. The teachers' interview was analyzed latter in this chapter.

30
 Chapter Five
The Conclusions and Recommendations

5.0 Introduction
This research aims to explore the inhibiting factors of speaking English of the third level

students of English faculty of Education, University of Aden. This chapter presents the findings

of the study in relation to the questions and hypotheses of the research. This chapter also

includes some recommendations to develop the teaching process of speaking. It also provides

some suggestions for further studies and a summary of the chapter.

5.1 Summary of the Main Findings

This section presents and summarizes the most important results.

In terms of the first research question, which looked at the issue of the difficulties students

face in speaking, the results revealed that some of these difficulties are learning background of

the students. In other words, these difficulties are due to the lack of knowledge. Another

difficulty is deals with psychology that influences the students' behavior such as the lack of

motivation. Moreover, the findings also showed that students do not put too much consideration

to these difficulties in order to lower them. These findings are consistent with previous research

conducted by (Al Nakhalah.A.2016), he indicated that learners appear to have many problems

when speaking in English, such as noting to say and shyness. This is due in part to their lack of

knowledge of English language. The findings of this question supported the research hypothesis

No. 1, that is, there are difficulties students encounter in speaking.

Regarding the second research question, (What are the inhibiting factors that affect

students' English speaking abilities?), the findings showed that the language learning factors

are much important than psychological factors. Students do not have language learning or

background of English. In addition, they cannot speak and build sentences automatically.

32
 In reference to the third research question, that is, the techniques teachers of speaking

use when teaching speaking, the results confirmed that the teachers' techniques in teaching

speaking are not adequate to help students acquire the speaking skill. As obtained from the

questionnaire, students stated that the teachers' techniques followed in teaching speaking do not

help them achieve real goals outside classrooms. The interview findings also confirmed this in

that some teachers do not use group and pair work. In other words, some teachers do not equip

their students and help them practice different activities. The findings of this question supported

the research hypothesis No.3, that is, speaking teachers do not use effective strategies when

teaching speaking.

5.2 Recommendations of the Study

1- Learners can join English-speaking groups through social media in order to get some

the practice they lack in the classroom.

2- The teachers of speaking should create a comfortable environment by strengthening the

confidence of English language learners.

3- The teachers of speaking should not try to correct the students' errors when they first try

to speak. Instead of, they should speak to them privately to eliminate any

embarrassment.

4-The teachers of speaking should encourage all the students to speak with them in English.

5.3 Suggestions for Further Research

1- The study was carried out to explore the inhibiting factors that influence the students'

ability in speaking skill. The Researchers suggest conducting a study to explore the

influence of a particular factor; for instance, the linguistic factor and its role in

developing the communicative area.

2- This study explores linguistic and psychological factors the researchers suggest

conducting a study of to another faculty to know if the results better or worse.

33
5.4 Conclusion

This chapter provided the general findings of the study by answering the research questions. It

also presented the recommendations and some suggestions for further studies.

34
 References

Brown, H.D. (2004). Language assessment; principles and classroom practices, New York:

Longman.

Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching language to young learners. London: Cambridge

University Press.

Ur, P. (2000). A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Brown, H. D. (2000). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. (4th ed.). New York:

Pearson Education.

Hedge, T. (2000). Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

Hughes, R. (2002). Teaching and Researching Speaking. New York: Pearson Education.

Al Nakhalah.A. (2016), Problems and Difficulties of Speaking That Encounter English,

International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention, 5(12)96-101

Retrieved from http;//www.ijhssi.org

Al Hosni.S(2014). Speaking Difficulties Encountered by Young EFL Learners, International

Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature,2(6)22-30 Retrieved from

http;// www.arcjournals.org

Alban.H,(2016). Morpheme Errors of Simple Present, Simple Past and Possessive case in the

writing of the first Year B.A. Students at the Department of English, Faculty of

Education-Saber, University of Aden.

35
Abdulla.N, (2017), Investigating the Factors behind the Low Writing Proficiency Level of

Fourth Year Students at the Department of English/ Faculty of Education/Saber,

University of Aden.

36
 Appendix 1

The Students' Questionnaire

This questionnaire tends to explore the difficulties students encounter in speaking skill of

the third level at the Department of English, Faculty of Education-Saber. I will be grateful if

you cooperate and respond to the questionnaire items. Please tick (√) the appropriate option

for each item. For not to worry your answers will be confidential to serve the purpose of the

study. Thank you for your collaboration in advance.

Part one: Background information

Have you studied the previous two years in this faculty? Yes / No

Have you studied any English course before? Yes / No

Part Two- Questionnaire Items

A-Please, tick (√ ) the degree of your agreement on each of the following:

Strongly Strongly
No. Statements Agree Neutral Disagree
Agree Disagree
I have a limited range of
1.
vocabulary items
2. I cannot make full sentences
I feel weak in pronouncing some
3.
words correctly
I feel weak in English language
4.
grammar
I feel weak in understanding the
5.
expressions of English language
I am not interested in English
6.
speaking skill
7. I feel shy when I speak in English

37
 I feel confused when I speak in
8.
English
I do not have confidence when I
9.
try to speak English
I do not have motivation to speak
10.
English
11. I understand the teacher well
The teacher uses praise words; for
12. example, very good or excellent
when I speak English
The teacher uses Arabic language
13.
when he speaks with the students
The teacher makes pairs and
14.
groups work in speaking class
The teacher explains the activities
15. before the students practice doing
them

38
 Appendix 2

The Teachers' Interview

This interview was designed for teachers of speaking to explore the difficulties

encountered by the students of the third level at the Department of English /Faculty of

Education Saber.

Part One: Background Information:

 Qualification:

o Ph.D.

o M.A

o B.A

 Teaching experience:

How many years have you been teaching at this faculty?

………………………………………………………………………………………………...…

Part Two: Interview Questions:

1. What activities do you use when teaching speaking?

……………………………………………………………………………………………

2. How do you evaluate your students?

 Good

 Average

 Weak

39
3. What are the problems your students face when speaking? (You can take more than one

choice)

 Pronunciation

 Vocabulary

 Self confidence

 Sentence building

 Motivation

 Others specify……………………………………………………………………………

4. These difficulties due to what?

……………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………

5. Is it possible to overcome these difficulties?

 Yes

 No

6. What procedures do you use to help students overcome these difficulties?

……………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………

41