03 03 2020 1583242531 8 IJLL 4. IJLL Difficulties Facing College Students In Speaking English ‘ Conversation’ Proofread

International Journal of Linguistics

and Literature (IJLL) & International Academy of Science,

ISSN(P): 2319-3956; ISSN(E): 2319-3964
Vol. 9, Issue 2, Feb—Mar 2020; 25-38 Engineering and Technology

© IASET : : : ;
IASET Connecting Researchers; Nurturing Innovations

DIFFICULTIES FACING COLLEGE STUDENTS IN SPEAKING ENGLISH
‘CONVERSATION’

Elnour Sabit Abdelkarim

Assistant Professor, Jzana University, Jizan, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

This study entitles “Difficulties Facing College Students in Speaking English ‘Conversation’. The study analyzed the
causes that make the students difficult to communicate in English and suggest some solutions that can overcome the
difficulties. Descriptive nature of this present paper highlights the difficulties faced by college student in speaking English
— particularly in conversation. Result revealed that students use English more frequent only inside the class and less
frequent outside the class. Whereas, outside the class in order to get familiar with spoken English. Next, the Environment
was the leading cause for the problems in learning English. Another major finding was that rural students perceived more
problems than urban students. Lack of reading habit and listening tends to challenge several problems in learning English.

Recommendations in the light of findings are also discussed in this article.

KEYWORDS: Spoken English, Communication, Conversation

Article History
Received: 25 Jan 2020 | Revised: 25 Feb 2020 | Accepted: 03 Mar 2020

INTRODUCTION

Language is the most significant part in communication. It is very challenging to consider of a society without language. It
sharpens people’s thoughts, guides and controls their entire activity. It is a carrier of civilization and culture (Bolinger,
1968). In the case of the mother tongue, the child learns it easily, due to the favorable environment and by the great amount
of exposure to the language. But, learning a second language requires conscious efforts to learn it and the exposure to the
second language acquisition (James, 1996). There are so many factors affect the process of learning a second language,
including attitude, self-confidence, motivation, duration of exposure to the language, classroom conditions, environment,

family background, competent of student and availability of competent teachers (Verghese, 2009).

Second language learners find it difficult to express themselves in spoken language in the target language. Each
student has his own problems. One of the greatest widespread problems among learners of foreign languages is their
considerably lower speaking performance when compared to their passive knowledge. Those Learners are not able to
express their thoughts and opinions satisfactorily, generally use a more simplified language which does not match their
overall acquired level, often make mistakes and slips speak slowly and less fluently, making frequent pauses and thinking
of suitable or correct words and are usually very shy and hesitant when it comes to speaking. They try to avoid such
situations if possible and do not cooperate with the teacher or with their peers, respond briefly, often using only one word

answers, e.g. “Yes or “No“ andsometimes have nothing to say at all. For such learners, the poor speaking performance is a

www.iaset.us editor @iaset.us

26 Elnour Sabit Abdelkarim

big handicap, as it makes their ability to use the language for its most important purpose - the exchange of information
becomes limited. This leads to a frustration and anxiety; seldom such people lose all love for the language and get

discouraged from further studies.
Statement of the Problem

The researcher noticed that most of the college students at Jazan University avoid to express themselves through speaking,
particularly conversation for several reasons. Therefore, the researcher intends to carry out this study to investigate the
reasons behind this problem through the analysis and investigation of the prepared questionnaire in order to give logical

solutions, suggestions and recommendations.
Significance of the Study

Language is a tool for communication. People communicate with others, to express their ideas, and to know others’ ideas
as well. Communication takes place, where there is speech. Without speech, people cannot communicate with one another.
The importance of speaking skills hence is paramount importance for the learners of any language. Without speech, a

language is reduced to a mere script.

Most college students will feel some level of foreign language anxiety, especially when starting out. But the good
news is that after a few conversations, the idea of trying to be perfect often goes away. Even if they take some time to find
their words, they eventually understand that there’s no need for any anxiety. Speaking in a different language is a
wonderful experience and it’s likely what they are aiming for. The sense of accomplishment after completing a

conversation in a different language is greater than they can imagine.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
e To recognize the problems of speaking English for college students and suggest logical solutions.
e To enable college students master the appropriate techniques to communicate successfully.
e To help college students to use effective strategies to overcome the difficulty of speaking
Hypotheses of the Study

e 1. College students face difficulty in speaking English, particularly “conversation”, which is a result from the lack

of confidence.
e 2. The appropriate use of speaking strategies lead to good communication through spoken language.

e 3. The continuous practice for the speaking skill helps college students overcome the difficulty of speaking in

English.
Questions of the Study
e 1. To what extent college students face difficulties when they are asked to express themselves verbally?
e 2. Does the appropriate master for speaking strategies lead college students to improve their speaking skill?
e 3. How can college students deal with the different techniques and strategies of speaking skill to overcome the

problem?

Impact Factor (JCC): 5.6362 NAAS Rating 2.67

Difficulties Facing College Students in Speaking English ‘Conversation’ 27

METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

This study should be applied at Jazan University, Faculty of Science and Art ‘Department of English’ - 2018-2019. The
study used a questionnaire as a tool of data collection. The study deals with descriptive analytic method to investigate the

students’ problem in speaking activities.
Limits of the Study

The study sample is chosen from a group of English language lecturers whom are teaching at Jazan University in different

colleges in the academic year 2018-2019.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Speaking Skill

It was noticed that two main approaches are adopted to define speaking, the bottom-up and the top down approach.
Explaining the bottom up view, Bygate (1987: 5-6) points out that traditionally the focus in speaking was on motor
perceptive skills. Within this context, speaking is defined as the production of auditory signals designed to produce
differential verbal responses in a listener. It is considered as combining sounds in a systematic way, according to language
specific principles to form meaningful utterances. This approach is adopted by audio-lingualism. Eventually, in terms of
teaching speaking, the bottom-up approach suggests that we should start with teaching the smallest units- sounds and move

through mastery of words and sentences to discourse (Cornbleet&Carter, 2001: 18).

Speaking is one of English skills used to express ideas and to communicate with other people in the entire world
with a variety of reason such as: relationship, business, networking, overseas travelling, etc. Speaking is a skill which
means not only to be known or learnt, but also to be practiced. Speaking is not about what should be said only but what
people should listen from you to know and to understand each other. It determines how long it is listened, how well it is
understood, and applied between two people or among people. To know and understand what speaking is, there are some
definitions of Speaking as the following: According to Walter and Woodford (in Cambridge School Dictionary, 2008),

‘Speaking is to say something using your voice or to make a speech to a large group of people’.
Components in the Development of Speaking Skill

English language teachers should train students to develop their oral communication. According to Brown (2007), oral

communication can be maintained by having three components.

The First Component: is fluency which is the ability to speak spontaneously and eloquently with no pausing and with
absence of disturbing hesitation markers. It also refers to some aspects like responding coherently within the turns of the
conversation, using linking words and phrases, keeping in mind a comprehensible pronunciation and adequate intonation

without too much hesitation (Richards, 2006).

The Second Component: is accuracy. It refers to the mastery of phonology elements, grammar and discourse. It also
refers to the linguistic competence that deals with the correction of the utterances to get a correct communication.
According to Thornbury (2005), speaking English accurately means doing without or with few errors on not only grammar

but vocabulary and pronunciation.

The Third Component: is pronunciation. It is “the production and perception of the significant sounds of a particular

language in order to achieve meaning in context of language use. This comprises the production and perception of

www.iaset.us editor @iaset.us

28 Elnour Sabit Abdelkarim

segmental sounds of stressed and unstressed syllables and of the speech melody or intonation” (Carter & Nunan, 2004:56).
Without a good pronunciation, listeners cannot understand what another person says and this will make the communication
process more difficult. Therefore, pronunciation has a central role in both academic and social fields in the way that
students can be able to participate and integrate successfully in their community. Generally, fluency, accuracy, and

pronunciation are three important and complementary components in the development of students’ speaking skill.

Conditions Affecting Speech

Spontaneous Speech
Speech takes place under two conditions:

Processing Conditions: Speech takes place under the pressure of time. Time constraints have observable effects on spoken
interaction. They affect planning, memory and production. The ability to master processing conditions of speech enables

speakers to deal fluently with a given topic while being listened to.

Reciprocity Conditions: Refer to the relation between the speaker and the listener in the process of speech. Because the
listener is in front of us, we have to take into account the listener and constantly monitor the listener’s reactions to check

that the assumptions we are making are shared and that the listener understands what we are saying.
Difficulties to Speak English Fluently

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.
Language Interference of Students and Teachers

Some teachers have a barrier in using English as the only language of instruction. That is, by many teachers choose local
language for teaching. Observation shows that classes are held in both Arabic and English so that the areas and the
socioeconomic status of the students in some educational institutions appeared to be a major reason for the low proficiency
of the students. Many teachers in these educational institutions said that since students in some universities are accustomed
to learn English by translating into Arabic language and they did this in any course relate to their studies. In addition to

this, they did not find anyone at home to them learn English and they received little exposure to English language outside.

Difficulties in Speaking English

Fear of Mistake

As argued by many theorists, fear of mistake becomes one of the main factors of students’ reluctance to speak in English in
the classroom (Tsui in Nunan, 1999; Yi Htwe, 2007; Robby, 2010). With respect to the fear of making mistake issue, Aftat,
(2008) adds that this fear is linked to the issue of correction and negative evaluation. In addition, this is also much
influenced by the students’ fear of being laughed at by other students or being criticized by the teacher. As a result,
students commonly stop participating in the speaking activity (Hieu, 2011). Therefore, it is important for teachers to
convince their students that making mistakes is not a wrong or bad thing because students can learn from their mistakes.
The primary reason of fear of mistake is that students are afraid of looking foolish in front of other people and they are
concerned about how other will see them (Kurtus, 2001). In addition, Hieu (2011) and Zang (2006) cited in He and Chen

(2010) explain that students feel afraid of the idea of making mistakes as they are worried that their friends will laugh at

Impact Factor (JCC): 5.6362 NAAS Rating 2.67

Difficulties Facing College Students in Speaking English ‘Conversation’ 29

them and receive negative evaluations from their peers, if they make mistake in speaking English.
Shyness

Shyness is an emotional thing that many students suffer from at some time when they are required to speak in 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. Therefore, paying attention on this aspect is also quite important in order to help the students do their
best in their speaking performance in the classroom (Gebhard, 2000). In line with this, Baldwin (2011) further explains that
speaking in front of people is one of the more common phobias that students encounter and feeling of shyness makes their
mind go blank or that they will forget what to say. This theory is also supported by the result of this research in which most
students fail to perform the speaking performance at their best. As they say, their inability to show their ability in speaking
is also influenced much by their feeling of shyness. In other words, it can be said that shyness plays an important role in
speaking performance done by the students. The cause of shyness, Bowen (2005) and Robby (2010) argue that some shy
learners are caused by their nature that they are very quiet. In this case, the students are not very confident and tend to be

shy because most of them find it very intimidating when speaking English in front of their friends and teacher.
Anxiety

Anxiety is a feeling of tension, apprehension and nervousness associated with the situation of learning a foreign language
(Hurwitzet all cited in Nascente, 2001). Further Nascente writes that, among other affective variables, anxiety stands out as
one of the main blocking factors for effective language learning. In other words, anxiety influences students in learning
language. Therefore, paying attention to this factor of learning should also be taken into consideration. The fact that
anxiety plays an important role in students’ learning is also shared by other researchers like Hurwitz (1991) as cited in
Sylvia and Tiono (2004). He believes that anxiety about speaking a certain language can affect students’ performance. It
can influence the quality of oral language production and make individuals appear less fluent than they really are. This
explanation suggests that teachers should make an attempt to create a learning atmosphere which gives students more
comfortable situations in their learning activity. The causes of anxiety, Horwitz and Cope (1986, in Zhao Na, 2007) based
on the findings of their study, found out three main causes of students’ anxiety are i.e communication apprehension, test
anxiety and fear of negative evaluation. The communication apprehension refers to the students’ ability to communicate in

the target language. Their low ability in this aspect, in many cases, causes anxious feeling among many students.
Lack of Confidence

It is commonly understood that students’ lack of confidence usually occurs when students realize that their conversation
partners have not understood them or when they do not understand other speakers. In this situation, they would rather keep
silent while others do talking showing that the students are lack of confidence to communicate. In response to this, Tsui
cited Nunan (1999) says that student who lack of confidence about themselves and their English necessarily suffer from
communication apprehension. This shows that building students’ confidence is an important part of teacher’s focus of
attention. This means that the teacher should also learn from both theories and practical experience on how to build the
students’ confidence. The main cause of students’ confidence is their low ability in speaking English. In this case, as they
add, many students think that their English is bad and feel that they cannot speak English well. The other cause of students’

lack of confidence also deals with the lack of encouragement from the teacher (Brown,2001).

www.iaset.us editor @iaset.us

30 Elnour Sabit Abdelkarim

Lack of Motivation

Motivation is a key to students’ learning success Songsiri,(2007). With regard to the issue of motivation in learning, Nun
an (1999) stresses that motivation is important to notice in that it can affect students’ reluctance to speak in English. In this
sense, motivation is a key consideration in determining the preparedness of learners to communicate. Zua (2008) further
adds that motivation is an inner energy. She says that no matter what kinds of motivation the learners possess, it will
enhance their study interest. It has been proven in many studies that students with a strong motivation to succeed can
persist in learning and gain better scores than those who have weaker motivation of success showing that building students’
motivation to learn is urgent for every teacher. Gardner in Nun an(1999) elaborates the causes of the students ‘lack of
motivation e.g. uninspired teaching, boredom, lack of perceived relevance of materials and lack of knowledge about the

goals of the instructional program. These four, as he further says, very often become source of students’ motivation.
Aspects of Speaking

Eventually, aspects of the speaking skill need to be closely scrutinized and put into consideration. These aspects pose some
challenges and identify some guidelines for understanding this skill and hence design instructional activities to prepare

learners to communicate effectively in real life situations.
Speaking is Face to Face

Most conversations take place face to face which allows speakers to get immediate feedback, i.e. “Do listeners understand?
Are they in agreement? Do they sympathize (Cornbleet & Carter, 2001: 16). Thus, communication through speaking has
many assets, such as facial expressions, gestures and even body movements. Speaking also occurs, most of the time, in
situations where participants or interlocutors are present. Such factors facilitate communication (El Fayoumy, 1997: 10,

Widdowson, 1998 & Burns, 1998).
Speaking is Interactive

Whether we are speaking face-to —face or over the telephone, to one person or a small group, the wheels of conversation
usually turn smoothly, with participants offering contributions at appropriate moments, with no undue gaps 35 or everyone

talking over each other (Bygate, 1998: 30 and Cornbleet & Carter, 2001: 27)

Turn taking, a main feature in interaction, is an unconscious part of normal conversation. Turn takings are handled and
signaled differently across different cultures, thus causing possible communication difficulties in conversation between

people of different cultures and languages (McDonough& Mackey, 2000: 84).
Speaking Happens in Real Time

During conversations, responses are unplanned and spontaneous and the speakers think on their feet, producing language
which reflects this (Foster, 2000: 368). These time constraints affect the speaker's ability to plan, to organize the message,
and to control the language being used. Speakers often start to say something and change their mind midway; which is
termed a false start. The speaker's sentences also cannot be as long or as complex as in writing. Similarly, speakers
occasionally forget things they intended to say; or they mayeven forget what they have already said, and so they repeat
themselves (Miller,2001: 27). This implies that the production of speech in real time imposes pressures, but also allows
freedoms in terms of compensating for these difficulties. The use of formulaic expressions, hesitation devices, self-

correction, rephrasing and repetition can help speakers become more fluent andcope with real time demands (Bygate,

Impact Factor (JCC): 5.6362 NAAS Rating 2.67

Difficulties Facing College Students in Speaking English ‘Conversation’ 31

1987: 21; Foster, 2000 and Hughes,2002: 76).

METHODOLOGY

This current study entitled “Difficulties Facing College Students in Speaking English “Conversation”. This chapter will be
devoted to the methodology that followed by the researcher to investigate the collected data; the researcher has adopted the
descriptive method, because it has great value in providing facts on which professional judgment can be based. The
researcher identified the hypothesis of the study and selected the data instrument which is represented in a questionnaire;

first the data has been collected, second analyzed and discussed.
Population of the Study

The researcher attempts to generalize the results of the study through a group of English lecturers at Jazan University. The
population number is [25] lecturers, males and females. All of them are teaching English language at Jazan University in

different colleges in the academic year 2019 - 2020.
Sample

The sample of this study is represented by [25] English language lecturers, who teach in different colleges and their
experience ranges from (1—20+) years, however, some of them are High Diploma, Ma holders and others have PhD in

ELT.

Tools of Data Collection

The Questionnaire

The questionnaire consisted of [15] items with five options [agree — disagree — strongly agree - strongly disagree and
neither], it is designed to cover three dimensions. The items from 1-5 were designed to investigate the problems that stand
behind students' weak performance in speaking namely ‘lack of confidence’. The items from 6-10 were designed to
provide the students with appropriate strategies to improve their speaking skill. The final items 11-15 were devoted to deal
with different techniques of practicing speaking skill to overcome students’ difficulty in speaking. Moreover, the prepared
questionnaire requested lecturers to determine their [gender — qualifications — graduating college — experience years —

English lectures per a week] to enrich the analytical process.
The Questionnaire Validity

Bachman (1990) reports that, “validity is the most important quality to consider in the development, interpretations and the
use of the language test”. Therefore, to ensure the face validity of the questionnaire, certain procedures were followed and
the prepared version of the questionnaire presented to specialize people, second the questionnaire modified in regard of
wording, the number of items and restatement of certain items. Finally the questionnaire collected, analyzed, scored and

tabulated.
The Questionnaire Reliability

Individuals' performance may be affected by different factors in testing conditions such as fatigue, anxiety and
carelessness, thus, they may obtain scores, which are inconsistent from one occasion to the next. Reliable questionnaire

should have the same scores if it is given in a future time to the same group of subjects.

www.iaset.us editor @iaset.us

32 Elnour Sabit Abdelkarim

Procedures

The researcher followed certain procedures to prepare the questionnaire. First, the designed version of the questionnaire
was presented to expert people who have long experience in the field of English language teaching and syllabus designing.
Second, this questionnaire which consists fifteen items was designed and used according to the syllabus nature and
contents. Then, it was distributed among English language lecturers at Jazan University who teach English language at

different colleges, and it was constructed through the following steps: The proposed questionnaire was design first.
e The questionnaire is presented to expert people to check face validity.
e The corrections were made according to the recommendations for the final version of the questionnaire.
e The questionnaire consists of five options for each item, so a respondent has to tick the suitable one.
e The questionnaire was distributed among [25] lecturers of English at Jazan University.
e Finally, the questionnaire was collected.
DATA ANALYISIS AND DISCUSSIONS

The practical part comprises of the research, is to examine that the students at Jazan University are aware with the speaking
English and their difficulties in practicing it. This research connects to the theoretical part of this thesis, as it brings new
insights and further examines the importance and position of speaking in today’s society particularly in the university

students’ community.
Data Analysis

Total number of [25] questionnaires were distributed to the lecturers at different campuses teaching English at Jazan
University. The questionnaire consists of 15 items in total, including various measurements about difficulties in speaking

English especially conversation, where the subjects must respond by ticking one option from the given options.

The researcher used the statistical package of the social sciences (SPSS) to analyze the questionnaire; a set of
statistical tools was used with following measurements to achieve the hypotheses of the study such as “Cornbrash’s Alpha,

ratios, means, one sample-test, Mann- Whitney u, Kruskal-Wallis H and Chi-square test’.

Questionnaire Validity and Reliability

Table 1
Statement Items Alpha ;
Statement No No vale Conclusion
eee It has a high degree of reliability, greater than the
Remeby 23 : o standard reliability of 60.

The degree of validity is equal to 92. This means that the questionnaire statements are coherent, clear and can be

applied in the study community

Gender
Table 2
Gender Number Percentage %
Male 22 88 %
Female 3 12%

Impact Factor (JCC): 5.6362 NAAS Rating 2.67

Difficulties Facing College Students in Speaking English ‘Conversation’

College

Years of Experience

Academic Qualification

Lectures per Week

Table 3
College Number Percentage %
Education 18 72 %
Arts 5 20 %
Other 2 8 %
Table 4
Years Number Percentage %
5-1 3 20 %
10-6 3 12 %
15-11 6 24 %
20-16 6 24 %
+20 3 20 %
Table 5
Qualification | Number | Percentage %
High Diploma 1 4%
MA 14 56 %
PhD 10 40 %
Table 6
Qualification | Number | Percentage %
8-4 5 20 %
12-9 1 4%
18-12 16 64 %
18+ 3 12 %

Questionnaire Reliability

33

The researcher used ‘One sample — test’ to recognize the reliability of the questionnaire. It was found that there is a

statistical significance because the level.000 of the calculated subject is less than the standard level of.05. This means that

the students face difficulties in speaking skill.

Table 7
No | Mean Medium | Mean | Std. D T df | Sig. Conclusion
25 45 27.48 7.21 12.16 | 24 | .000 | Students face difficulties

The researcher used ‘Mann-Whitney U’ to recognize if there are differences among the gender. It was found that

there is no statistical significance because the level of calculated morale is greater than the standard level of.05. This means

that there are no differences between the genders in their assessment of those difficulties.

Table 8
Gender _| No Mean Rank Sum of Ranks Sig. Conclusion
Male 22 13.52 297.50 34 No differences
Female 3 9.17 27.50

www.iaset.us

editor @iaset.us

34 Elnour Sabit Abdelkarim

The researcher used ‘Kruskal-Wallis H’ to recognize if there are differences in the academic qualification.It was
found that there are no differences because the level of the calculated.50 is higher than the standard level of 05. This means

that there are no differences to support for the academic qualification in their assessment of difficulties.

Table 9
Qualification | No. | Mean Rank | Chi-square | df Sig. Conclusion
H. Diploma 1 6.50 1.37 2 50 No differences
MA 14 14.21
PhD 10 11.95
Total 25

The researcher used ‘Kruskal-Wallis H’ to recognize if there are differences in the years of experience. It was
found that there is a statistical significance because the level of the calculated morale is.03 less than the standard moral

level.05. This means that there are differences in the category of experience 11-15 years.

Table 10
Qualification No. | Mean rank Chi-square df | Sig. Conclusion
1-5 3 15.50 11.22 4 .03 | There are differences for the

6-10 3 5.50 experience 11 — 15 years
11-15 6 18.75

16-20 6 14.17

< 20 5 6.70

Total 25

The researcher used ‘Kruskal-Wallis H’ to recognize if there are differences in the university colleges. It was
found that there are no differences because the level of calculation is.22 greater than the standard level of significance.05

this means that there are no differences between colleges in their assessment of difficulties.

Table 11
College No. Mean Rank | Chi-Square df Sig. Conclusion
Education 18 11.42 3.08 2 22 No differences
Arts 5 17.60
Others 2 15.75
Total 25

The researcher used ‘Kruskal-Wallis H’ to recognize if there are differences in the lectures per week. It was found
that there is no difference because, the level of calculation is.99 is greater than the standard level of.05. This means that

there are no differences in terms of weekly lectures in their assessment of difficulties.

Table 12
Lectures per Week No. | Mean Rank | Chi-Square | df | Sig. Conclusion
4-8 5 12.20 15 3 .99 | No differences
9-12 1 13.00
13-18 16 13.41
18+ 3

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The following chapter concerns with the overall summary of the research study which has findings, suggestion and

recommendations.

Impact Factor (JCC): 5.6362 NAAS Rating 2.67

Difficulties Facing College Students in Speaking English ‘Conversation’ 35

SUMMARY

In brief, the research is well depicted using some techniques and useful recommendations in improving speaking skill and

conversation practices. Skills takes a lot of classroom practice, motivation to speak, and skill and adding creative.
FINDINGS
The main findings focused on the different dimensions of developing speaking skills at the university level.

e Students in the communicative classroom should get as many speaking opportunities as possible and their

speaking time should slowly but steadily rise so as to prepare them for various communicative situations.

e Each classroom should offer a wide range of learners differing in their abilities, knowledge, confidence,

motivation and learning styles.

e Teachers should provide their students with a proper environment that would help them develop their skills,

independent of their main characteristics and diversity.

e Providing the students with various methods and tools to solve the speaking and conversational problem by

supporting the students to speak English frequently in the environment inside or outside the class.

e Communication between Lecturers and teachers with their students inside classrooms in meaningful situations is

necessary to improve speaking.
RECOMMENDATIONS
e Appropriate English environment is needed to let the students practice speaking English frequently.

e English teachers and lecturers should create a comfortable environment by strengthening the confidence of

English language learners.

e Teachers and lecturers should try to minimize using of Arabic during English practicing by encouraging students

to get their meanings across.

e Teachers and lecturers can also speak to the students privately to eliminate any embarrassment, shyness, anxiety,

lack of confidence during the English speaking class.

e Students can have an English conversation club that consists of their own classmates. They can share and talk

about anything in English during that time, they can correct each other without feeling embarrassed.

e Classroom discussion and students participation is not dominated by a minority of talkative participants; all

students should get a chance to speak fairly.
SUGGESTIONS

e Lecturers have to make a good planning for carrying out a good speaking class. It is suggested to the students to

take every chance to practice speaking skills because practice makes perfect performance.

e Further research is needed to compare the relative efficacy of using task based instruction to address different

speaking genres.

www.iaset.us editor @iaset.us

36

Elnour Sabit Abdelkarim
Further research is needed to explore the effectiveness of other task based instruction programs in the preparatory
and university stages.

Other studies are needed to investigate the effectiveness of applying a similar program over a longer period of

time on students’ skills especially on pronunciation and fluency.

Additional studies are needed to investigate the effectiveness deeply for applying a similar program on different

speaking genres (descriptive, narrative, expository and so on).

Further research is needed to compare different cognitive approach strategies in terms of their effectives in

developing EFL students’ speaking skills.

Further research is needed to explore how task based instruction can be adaptable to take account of individual

differences so different pedagogical alternative are available which reflect such differences.

REFERENCES

ve

10.

11.

i2.

13.

Widdowson, H. (1998). “Skills, Abilities, and Contexts of Reality”. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, V.
18,n3, Pp: 323-33.

Nun an, D. (1999).Second Language Teaching and Learning. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.

McDonough, K. & Mackey, A. (2000). “Communicative Tasks, Conversational Interaction and Linguistic Form:

An Empirical study of Thai”. Foreign Language Analysis. V. 33, n. 1, Pp: 82-91.

Foster, P., (2000). “Measuring Spoken Language/: A Unit for all Reasons”. “Applied Linguistics, V.21, n. 3, Pp:
354-375.

Cornbleet, S. and Carter, R. (2001). The Language of Speech and Writing. London: Routledge.
Bygate, M. (1987). Speaking. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Bygate, M. (1998). “Theoretical Perspectives on Speaking”. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics. V.18. n.1, Pp:
20-42.

Burns, A. (1998). “Teaching Speaking”. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, V.18, n.3, Pp: 102-123.
Hughes, R. (2002). Teaching and Researching Speaking. Warlow: Longman.
Richards, (2006 ) Communicative language teaching today. New York: Cambridge University Press,

Baldwin, Caroline, (2011). How to Overcome Shyness during an Oral Presentation. [Online]
Available:http://www.ehow.com/how_7852354_overcome-shyness-during-oral-presentation.html — (February17,
2011)

Brown, H.D. (2001). Teaching by Principles. An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. Englewood Cliffs:
Prentice Hall.

Hieu, Trung, (2011), Students Lack Confidence to Use English. [Online]
Available:http://vietnamnews. vnagency.com. vn/Talk-Around-town/2 12262/Students-lack-confidence-to-use-
English. html(July15, 2011)

Impact Factor (JCC): 5.6362 NAAS Rating 2.67

Difficulties Facing College Students in Speaking English ‘Conversation’ 37

14,

15,

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

235

24.

29:

26.

27.

Robby, §S, (2010), Conquer Your Fear of Making Mistakes when Speaking English. [Online]
Available: http://englishharmony.com/conquer-fear-of-making-mistakes-when-speaking-English/ (March 15.
2011)

Zhao Na. (2007). A Study of High School Students’ English Learning Anxiety.The Asian EFL Journal

Quarterly. Volume 9, Issue 3.

Zua, Li. (2008). Exploring the Affective Factors Influencing Teaching of Spoken English.[Online] Available:
http://okarticle.com/htmI/Thesis/20080104/26.html (February 19, 2011).

Kurtus, R, (2001), Overcome the Fear of Speaking to Group. [Online] Available:http:/www.school-for-
champions.com/speaking/fear.htm (June 20, 2010)

Hurwitz, Elaine. K., & Hurwitz, Michael B. (1986). Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety. Joann Cope
Source:The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 70, No. 2 (Summer, 1986), pp. 125-130

Tiono, Nani I and Sylvia, A. (2004).The Types of Communication Strategies Used by Speaking Class Students with
Different Communication Apprehension Levels in English Department of Petra Christian University, Surabaya.A

Thesis, Petra Christian University.
Algahtani Mofareh, A. "Difficulties Facing Students in English Language Conversation."

Akabogu Josephine Uzoamaka & Anstasia Dike. E,“Effect of Electronic English Pronouncing Dictionary
Instructional Resource on Senior Secondary School Students Achievement in Oral English in Enugu State

Nigeria” International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences(IJHSS) (2015) :45-52

Mesfin Aberra, “Practices and Challenges in Enhanceing Female Students English Language Skills at First Cycle
Level: The Case of Four Primary Schools in Sidama Zone” International Journal of Humanities and Social

Sciences(IJHSS)(2016): 91-104

Monalisa Nayak Jash,“TWEETER - A Technological Tool For English Language Learning” IMPACT :
International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Literature(IMPACT : ITRHAL)(2014): 23-28

Abduallah Hassan Al Saqqaf & Maruthi Kumari Vaddapalli,“Teaching English Vowels to Arab Students: A
Search For A Model and Pedagogical Implications” International Journal of Educational Science and

Research(2012): 34-45

Arjunan M & Selvam P, “Interference of Mother Tongue in Learning English among Rural Tamil Students in
Selected Engineering Colleges in Coimbatore District” BEST : International Journal of Humanities, Arts,

Medicine and Sciences(BEST : ITHAMS) (2015): 177-188

Catherine W. Ndungu & Dr. Agnes W. Kibui, “Teachers' Characteristic on Motivation of Pre-School Children in
Learning The English Language in Starehe District in Nairobi County, Kenya” BEST : International Journal of
Humanities, Arts, Medicine and Sciences(BEST : ITHAMS)(2016): 61-66

Badriyeh Mirzaie Rizi, Mohd. Akhtar Siddiqui, Reza Afshar Moghaddam & Shankar Mukherjee, “Deficiencies In
Teaching And Learning English As A Foreign/Second Language In The Secondary Schools Of Iran & India”
IMPACT : International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Literature(IMPACT : IJTRHAL)(2014): 5-14

www.iaset.us editor @iaset.us