NGUYEN THI LINH MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING PHENIKAA UNIVERSITY GRADUATION PAPER A STUDY ON DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS OF THE FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT PHENIKAA UNIVERSITY Nghiên cứu về những khó khăn trong học kỹ năng nói tiếng Anh của sinh viên năm thứ nhất chuyên ngành Ngôn ngữ Anh – Trường Đại học Phenikaa Student: Nguyen Thi Linh ENGLISH LANGUAGE Student ID No: 20010012 Course: 2020 -2024 Field: English Language Mode of study: Full-time Supervisor: Dr. Dang Thi Huong Thao Ha Noi – 2024 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING PHENIKAA UNIVERSITY GRADUATION PAPER A STUDY ON DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS OF THE FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT PHENIKAA UNIVERSITY Nghiên cứu về những khó khăn trong học kỹ năng nói tiếng Anh của sinh viên năm thứ nhất chuyên ngành Ngôn ngữ Anh– Trường Đại học Phenikaa Student: Nguyen Thi Linh Student ID No: 20010012 Course: 2020 -2024 Field: English Language Mode of study: Full-time Supervisor: Dr. Dang Thi Huong Thao Ha Noi – 2024 i ABSTRACT English speaking skills are considered as the most challenging skill with all most of learners. The study is interested in the difficulties in learning English Speaking skills of first-year major students at Phenikaa University.
The main purpose of the research is to find out the difficulties in learning English Speaking skills among students and provide some strategies to help students overcome difficulties. The tool used for collection data in the research is a questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed for first-year English majors and specifically, 132 students at the Phenikaa University participated in the survey. The results show that learners encounter many difficulties in learning listening skills, divided into 5 main categories: challenges related to vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, linking words, and learning environment.
Furthermore, the study has found some strategies to help students overcome the difficulties and improve their English-Speaking learning. ii DECLARATION I, NGUYEN THI LINH - 20010012, certificate that no part of the above report has been copied or reproduced by me from any other person’s work without acknowledgements and that the report is originally written by me under strict guidance of my supervisor. Hanoi, 1st July, 2024 Supervisor Student Dr. Dang Thi Huong Thao Nguyen Thi Linh iii ACKNOWLEGEMENT First of all, I would like to send my sincerest and deepest thanks to Dr.
Dang Thi Huong Thao for helping me throughout the process of completing my graduation thesis over the past 8 weeks. Your support, dedicated guidance and valuable suggestions have helped me not only complete my work but also learn many useful things and accumulate many valuable experiences for myself. She closely advised and encouraged me to continue working hard and persevering with my goals. She not only helped me see problems more clearly and logically, but also instilled in me a passion and spirit of learning in scientific research.
This graduation thesis is the result of my own tireless efforts along with her dedicated guidance and support. I am truly grateful and appreciate what you have given me throughout the past process. Once again, I would like to send my most sincere thanks to you. Wishing you good health, happiness and continued success in your teaching and research career.
iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT. iii LIST OF PICTURES. vi LIST OF CHARTS. 1 1 Rationale for the study.
1 2 Aims and objectives of the study. 2 3 Scope of the study. 2 4 Significance of the study. 2 5 Method of the study.
3 6 Design of the study. 3 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW. Overview of Speaking. Definitions of Speaking.
Aspects of speaking skills. The importance of speaking skills. Difficulties in Learning English Speaking Skills. Strategies for developing speaking skills.
Previous studies on English speaking difficulties. Previous studies in Vietnam. Previous studies Overseas. 16 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.
Participants and setting. The setting of the study. Participants of the research. Data collection instruments.
Data collection produres. 23 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. Results and discussion from questionnaires of students. Strategies for improvement of English Speaking skills.
Findings of the study. Students’ difficulties in English Speaking skills. Strategies to improve in English Speaking skills. Recommendations for Students.
Recommendations for Teachers. viii vi LIST OF PICTURES Number of Title of pictures Page pictures Figure 1.1 The important English Speaking skills 10 vii LIST OF CHARTS Chart Number Chart Title Page Chart 3.1 The English vocabulary difficulties 24 Chart 3.2 The English grammar difficulties 27 Chart 3.3 The English pronunciation difficulties 29 Chart 3.4 The English linking word difficulties 32 Chart 3.5 The English learning environment difficulties 34 Chart 3.6 Strategies to enhance your vocabulary 36 Chart 3.7 Strategies to enhance your grammar 38 Chart 3.8 Strategies to enhance your pronunciation 39 Chart 3.9 Strategies to enhance your linking words 40 Chart 3.10 Strategies to enhance your learning 41 environment viii ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English as a Foreign Language ESL: English Second Foreign Language 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale for the study In the process of development of a country, education is one of the especially important areas that the society pays attention to and invests in at all levels of education, especially improving the quality of foreign language training, including English Language. At colleges and universities, English language is a subject chosen by many students every year, trained to develop on four skills of listening - speaking - reading - writing. Speaking skills are considered an important skill in training learners in addition to the other three skills.
However, in fact, somewhere, I noticed that the speaking skills of English language majors, especially first-year majors, are still very limited. A part of students after researching and surveying, the following students have a lot of difficulties in speaking skills and have a lot of anxiety when practicing speaking skills. The project " A Study on Difficulties in Learning English Speaking Skills of the First-year English Majors at Phenikaa University" was conducted on the basis of theory and practical practice of speaking skills of students in speaking skills. This study aims to investigate the difficulties students face when practicing speaking skills caused by limited vocabulary - grammar, too little practice time, discuss time, debate time leading to difficult in speaking skill, some students are affected by anxiety and shyness or many other factors.
As an English Language major, I have the skill to say that this is one of the difficulties that even I have encountered in my freshman year. And through this research project, I want first-year English language students at Phenikaa University to realize their difficulties in speaking. From there, find a strategy not only to consider this speaking practice as a module to pass, but will help students love this skill and develop this skill well, like the other three skills right from the first year when entering the field. That is why I chose the most foreign language students to find out the difficulties in speaking skills as well as partly overcome the difficulties and limitations that they encountered in the learning process.
2 Finally, I will conclude the research with some concrete conclusions and propose strategies to improve students' verbal skills to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools. The research topic was conducted to highlight the difficulties and limitations students faced. After that, the study will analyze the information and data collected during the assessment survey to be able to propose strategies to overcome difficulties students majoring in English language in speaking skills. 2 Aims and objectives of the study Aims and objectives are to find out the difficulties in learning English speaking skills of first-year English majors at Phenikaa University through practical analysis and research.
From there, to offer strategies to help them improve their English-speaking skill. The objectives of the research are presented as the following: * To find difficulties in learning English Speaking skills of first-year English majors at Phenikaa University. * To offer strategies to help first-year English majors at Phenikaa University improve their English Speaking skills. 3 Scope of the study The study was conducted with first-year English majors at Phenikaa University.
The students come from many areas, mostly urban areas, and study English for over 7 years. However, many students still have difficulty learning speaking skills. The study only focused on first-year majors with 132 students participating in the study. The study lasted for about 8 weeks.
4 Significance of the study This topic is important in terms of education and personal development of students, as well as having a positive impact on the quality of teaching and learning at Phenikaa University. The study of the difficulties in learning English speaking skills of first-year English majors helps to better understand the specific challenges students face during their studies. By recognizing and understanding these difficulties, teachers can develop appropriate teaching methods and support 3 measures to help students overcome difficulties and improve their English communication skills. At the same time, this topic can also contribute to improving the quality of teaching and learning at Phenikaa University and benefit students' personal and professional development.
5 Method of the study To obtain reliable and valuable data for research, the study uses quantitative research methods by using survey questionnaires to collect data from first-year majoring. This method allows for the systematic collection and analysis of quantitative data, providing reliable research results. 6 Design of the study This study is divided into main sections, each serving a specific purpose. Including the introduction and conclusion, the study also has three chapters that help clarify the research objectives, methods, findings and conclusions, designed as follows: INTRODUCTION: This part includes rationale; aims of the study; scope of the study; significance of study, method of study, and the design of the study.
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, the study will present consists of theoretical reviews and difficulties in learning English Speaking skills and mention previous studies on English Speaking difficulties. CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This chapter will detail the methods used for selecting the population and participants, describe the data collection techniques, and explain the data analysis process. CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS In this chapter, the study will present the findings and initiate a discussion. Additionally, it will offer recommendations for overcoming challenges in listening skills.
CONCLUSION: This part will present a conclusion of the study, limitations of the study, and suggestions. 4 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1. Overview of Speaking 1. Definitions of Speaking Speaking is one of the language skills that is very important to be mastered by students to be a good communicator and can be defined in several different ways.
Fulcher [1], speaking is the verbal use of language to communicate with others. Speech is about making choices. Students must decide how to communicate and build social relationships through their speech. Or, Hornby [2], speaking is about something to talk about, say something about something, mention something, have a conversation with somebody, address somebody in words, say something, or express oneself in a particular language.
According to Nunan [3], Webster's New World Dictionary said that speaking is to say words orally, to communicate by talking, to make a request, and to make a speech. For instance, Chaney [4] speaking is the process of creating and sharing meaning by using verbal and non-verbal symbols in different contexts. Brown [5] and Burns and Joyce [6] defined speaking as an interactive process of making meaning that includes producing, receiving, and processing information. Bygate [7] defined speaking as the production of auditory signals to produce different verbal responses in listeners.
It involves systematically combining sounds to create meaningful sentences. Besides, Thornbury [8] states that speaking is an activity in real life carried out by a speaker to carry out his/ her ideas to interact with listeners. The activities are unstructured and evolve based on situational needs.