FACTORS AFFECTING ENGLISH SPEAKING COMPETENCE FOR THE FIRST YEAR ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS AT THUONG MAI UNIVERSITY

Because of desiring a high-paid joband good job opportunity, every student always makes effort to improve andenhance their English in four skills including listening skill, speaking skil

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY

Supervisor: Pham Thi Phuong, M.A.

Student: Doan Thi Hoang Yen

Class: K50N3

Student’s number: 14D170199

Hanoi - 2018

Nowadays, English plays an important role in Vietnam, especially during theperiod of international and global integration Because of desiring a high-paid joband good job opportunity, every student always makes effort to improve andenhance their English in four skills including listening skill, speaking skill, readingskill and writing skill However, the English speaking comprehension of studentsduring and after graduation are still poor, and many graduates are not thoroughlyequipped with necessary language skills As a result, more than half of the graduates

do not meet enough requirements of recruiters

Spoken language production is often considered one of the most difficult aspects oflanguage learning (Brown & Yule, 1983) Students have a number of difficulties inspeaking English To find out the common obstacle for learning speaking, this studywas conducted for first-year English-majored students at Thuong Mai University,

Ha Noi, Vietnam to find out the factors affecting speaking English competence It is

a combination of both qualitative and quatitative methods with questionnaires andinterviews Based on the research findings, some recommendations and suggestionsfor not only the students to improve English speaking skill but also the teachers toteach effectively were made The study was expected to help students know moreabout the difficulties and improve their performance in speaking English

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY

Supervisor: Pham Thi Phuong, M.A.

Student: Doan Thi Hoang Yen

Class: K50N3

Student’s number: 14D170199

Hanoi - 2018

HÀ NỘI - 2016

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Mrs Pham ThiPhuong, who helped, supported and encouraged me enthusiastically while Iconducted this study Without her helpful comments, valuable advice andconsiderable assistance, this study could not have been completed

Moreover,would like to thank the teachers at English Faculty of Thuong MaiUniversity for providing me best conditions to fulfill my study I also want toexpress my appreciation to the first-year English-majored students at TMU whohelped me to conduct collect data for the study to make my study more detailed

Last but not least, I would especially thank my family, my close friends and

my classmates who supported and encouraged me to conduct this study

Ha Noi, 10th April, 2018

Student

Doan Thi Hoang Yen

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vii

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 Previous studies 2

1.3 Aims of the study 3

1.4 Research subjects 3

1.5 Scope of the study 4

1.6 Research methodology 4

1.7 Organization of the study 4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Definition of speaking 6

2.1.1 Definition of speaking 6

2.1.2 Definition of competence for speaking 6

2.1.3 Components of speaking process 7

2.2 Types of speaking 7

2.2.1 Interactive speaking 8

2.2.2 Partially interactive speaking 8

2.2.3 Non-interactive speaking 8

2.3 Preparation before speaking 8

2.3.1 Be a good listener 9

2.3.2 Structure speaking process in mind 9

2.3.3 Manner and attitude 9

2.3.4 Micro-skill 9

2.4 Factors affecting to speaking process 10

2.4.1 Listening ability 10

2.4.2 Pronunciation and accent 11

2.4.3 Vocabulary 11

2.4.4 Grammar 12

2.4.5 Learning environment 13

2.4.6 Emotional factors 15

2.5 Summary 17

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS 18

3.1 Procedures for conducting questionnaire survey and interview 18

3.1.1 Procedure for conducting questionnaire survey 18

3.1.2 Procedure for conducting interviewing 18

3.2 Analysis of research findings 19

3.2.1 Students’s real situation of learning English 19

3.2.2 Students's attitudes toward English speaking competence 20

3.2.3 Student's problem in learning speaking English process 23

3.2.4 Difficulties affecting English speaking comprehension of students 25

3.2.5 Activities for improving English speaking skill of students 28

3.3 Main findings and discussion 29

CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 32

4.1 For students 32

4.2 For teachers 34

CONCLUSION 36 REFERENCES

APPENDIX

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Order

numbe

r

Abbreviations English Meaning Vietnamese Meaning

1 TMU Thuong Mai University Trường đại học Thương

Mại

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

TABLES

Table 3.1: The questionnaire results of students' years on learning English 20

Table 3.2: Figures for strengths of students in speaking English skill 23

Table 3.3: Figures for weaknesses of students in speaking English skill 24

Table 3.4 Figures for listening comprehension of students at class 26

Table 3.5 Figures for activities of students in improving speaking English 29

CHARTS Chart 3.1: Students' assessment of learning speaking English skill 21

Chart 3.2: Numbers of students who determine the degree of importance' factors affecting speaking English skill 22

Chart 3.3: Time for self-study speaking English a day at home of students 25

Chart 3.4 The percentage of students's mood when speaking in English with four kinds of listeners 27

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

1.1 Rationale

There are many reasons why the author chose this topic for studying:

First, a great number of non-English speakers as well as native English speakers useEnglish as an important standard of international communication in every part ofthe world English is recognized as the international language which people in manycountries use to communicate with each other Listening and speaking skills aremore and more essential to communicate with foreigners As a consequence, it isnecessary for Vietnamese people to be able to use English effectively Without adoubt, the ability to communicate in English in real life situations will remainessential, and students are expected to be able to communicate in the Englishlanguage The purpose of learning English is, thus, to communicate in Englishefficiently in the real world

Second, speaking English skill provides learners or students with several distinctadvantages It is the capacity to express one's thoughts, opinions and feelings clearlyand skillfully in the form of words put together in a meaningful way It also bringsback good opportunities for Vietnamese students to work in an internationalenvironment

The last but not the least, speaking plays a more important role than other skills inoverall communication Spoken language production is often considered as one ofthe most difficult aspects of language learning Students have a number ofchallenges in speaking English However, they do not know which learning method

is appropriate to follow, the efficiency and the result are not clear

With the three main reasons presented above, it is reasonable to say that Englishspeaking is an important skill that learner needs to improve besides their mothertongue However, there are many problems that learners have to encounter whenlearning and many factors which affect speaking English competence Therefore,

students at Thuong Mai University, helping them first improve their speakingEnglish skill.

1.2 Previous studies

There are many studies about factors affecting competence for speakingEnglish However, the author would like to study whether those are suitable for thefirst-year English-majored students at Thuong Mai University or not

The research conducted by Tanveer (2007) is a widely-known one which examined

the factors caused anxiety for learners in learning speaking ability and the impact

of anxiety on target language communication The obtained results indicated that

learners’ feeling of stress and anxiety stop their language learning and performanceabilities The researcher emphasized that the high anxiety lowers the learners’speaking performance

Ali Dincer & Savas Yesilyurt (2013) in their study Pre-Service English Teachers’ Beliefs on Speaking Skills Based on Motivational Orientations They showed that

“Students’ ideas about the importance of speaking skills among the four language

skills are diverse; this diversity is associated with the students’ motivational orientations and students’ feeling competent/ incompetent in speaking Also,

students’ self-assessment about their speaking ability was generally negative andthey expressed themselves as incompetent speakers Few of them said that,

"compared to other students, they had a better position both in participating in

speaking activities and speaking English", (p.25).

Lukitasari (2008) conducted a study focusing on the students’ strategies inovercoming speaking problems in speaking class The population of her study wasthe first semester students of Muhammadiyah University of Malang in Indonesia

The findings revealed that students often feel not confident enough when speaking

or presenting before class because they are shy and afraid of their wrong or bad

pronunciation

listening ability and speaking ability The results show that there is a significantrelationship between listening and speaking, they support each other and affectdirectedly each other because communication need both listeners and speakers Boonkit (2010) carried out a study on the factors increasing the development oflearners’ speaking skill The results represented that the use of appropriate activitiesfor speaking skill can be a good strategy to decrease speakers’ anxiety The resultsalso revealed that the freedom of topic choice urged the participants to feelcomfortable, persuaded to speak English, and increased the speaking confidenceamong EFL learners

1.3 Aims of the study

Realizing the importance of speaking English skill besides natural languageand the difficulties that first-year students have to face when learning speaking, theresearcher decided to do research to find out which factors affecting to their Englishcompetence The researcher would like to give some suggestions andrecommendations to help them improve their speaking comprehension and developthemselves

The study was carried out in order to answer and solve some followingquestions:

1 What are the problems that the first-year English-majored students at ThuongMai University encounter when they learn to speak English?

2 What are the factors that affect their speaking performance?

3 What are effective methods of studying English, especially speaking skill?

4 What do first-year English-majored students have to do to improve speakingEnglish skill?

1.4 Research subjects

In this study, the researcher would concentrate on making inquiries about thechallenges which first-year English-majored students at TMU deal with when theyspeaking English and discover factors affecting competence for speaking English.Moreover, the author would examine related aspects of speaking performance inorder to support first-year English-majored students at TMU to learn English,especially speaking skill and make them feel comfortable and confident instead ofbeing shy or afraid of speaking wrong.

1.5 Scope of the study

This study was conducted with first-year English-majored students at ThuongMai University, which includes English faculty and some teachers who teachEnglish subjects with many experiences

1.6 Research methodology

The methods the author choosed was a combination of the two followingones: Questionaire survey and Interview They have some following features incommon:

- Data Collection: First-year English-majored students at TMU

- Samples of the study: Select randomly some students and teachers to create a

sample frame and results for the study

The questionnaire survey and interview questions are attached in Appendix Thequestionnaire survey was designed for first-year English-majored TMU studentsonly and the interview was conducted with teachers at language practice subject atThuongmai University too

These domains may reflect the factors that negatively affect speaking skills atThuong Mai University for first-year English-majored students

1.7 Organization of the study

This study was divided into four main chapters including chapter 1, chapter

2, chapter 3 and chapter 4 named "Overview of the study", "Literature review",

"Research findings" and "Recommendations and suggestions" respectively.

Depending on the content and idea of each main part, there are other small partswhich support for the main one

In Chapter 1, there are seven small parts, including "Rationale", "Previous studies",

"Aims of the study", "Research subjects", "Scope of the study", "Research methodology", and "Organization of the study." It shows some general information

about the study so that readers could have an overview of the entire study

In Chapter 2, the author prestents some theories of the content of the study andother related sides

In Chapter 3, the author shows the research findings according to questionnairesurvey and interview

In Chapter 4, the author gives some recommendations and suggestions of how tohelp students improve their English speaking competence

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Definition of speaking

2.1.1 Definition of speaking

According to Oxford Dictionaries, speaking is defined as the action of conveyinginformation or expressing one's thoughts and feelings in spoken language It is alsothe activity of delivering speeches or lectures

Speaking is basically one of the four skills in learning foreign language besides

listening, reading, and writing David Nunan, Guralnik, loc cit., p 39 showed that

"To most people, mastering the speaking skill is the most important aspect oflearning a foreign or second language and success is measured in terms of ability tocarry out a conversation in the language."

Literally, speaking means to say words for purpose of talking about something,having a conversation with somebody; addressing somebody in word While speechmeans the power of action of speaking a manner or way of speaking

Furthermore, speaking is the term that the writer uses for verbal communicationbetween people (B.F.Skinner 1948, p.151) When two people are engaged in talking

to each other, the writer is sure that they are doing communication Communicationbetween people is an extremely complex and changing phenomenon There arecertain generalizations that we can make about the majority of communicativeevents and these have particular relevance for the learning and teaching process

2.1.2 Definition of competence for speaking

In other words, competence for speaking is found out that the skills which give usability to communicate attractively and effectively An individual is supposed to be

a good speaker when he/she conveys his/her message into thoughtful manner orconvincing manner

In addition, it is understood that the capacity of flexible combining words makesspeech or speaking process become more easy, interesting and natural.

2.1.3 Components of speaking process

Pronunciation:

It includes some features: vowels, consonants, stress, intonation, accent

Grammatical range and accuracy

It is a linguistic category, which is generally defined by the syntactic ormorphological aspects, for example using sentence structure and tenses

Vocabulary and collocation:

It decides and make the sentence sense, it maintains all the information of speakingprocess

Fluency and coherence:

It is the flow of speech, which is using words with no cognitive or mental effort It

is having mastered word recognition skills to the point of over learning Thesefactors make the speech or speaking process be more natural and do not makeothers feel uncomfortable when listening

(Eds.), 1987 Reviews of English language proficiency tests Washington, DC:TESOL.)

Speakers hope to accomplish general and specific purposes when theycommunicate Each kind is structured with gernal purposes such as: to inform, topersuade, to entertain When a speaker seeks to inform, they want the audience toleave the speech knowing more than they knew beforehand Speakers may want toexplain an idea or process, share new information, or show how to do something.When a speaker aims to persuade an audience, they want them to adopt a newposition or belief, to change their minds, or to be moved to action Persuasion calls

a speaker to advocate one position among others that are possible and be willing todefend it against challenges It sometimes requires different rules and structures.Based on audience, It is divided into three kinds of speaking situations which isseen in our daily life:

2.2.1 Interactive speaking

It includes face-to-face conversations and telephone calls or direct dialogue In thissituation, there are both speaker and listener The listeners have a chance to ask forclarification, repetition, questions, demonstrations or even debate from theirconversation partners

2.2.2 Partially interactive speaking

It happens when giving a speech to live audience, where the convention is thataudience does not interrupt the speech without permission It may be somesituations such as: meeting, presentation, lecture

Depending on kinds of speaking situation above, speakers also need to preparecarefully before speaking in order that the speaking process is smooth Goodspeaker have ability to analyze and absort the information given to them, assess itfast and to make decision and communicate with others

2.3.1 Be a good listener

The key factor to become a good speaker who can think on the spot and respondintelligently is to be an active listener Harmer, J & Amold, J (1978) Advancedspeaking skills Harlow: Longman

This means that the speaker need to pay attention to listen carefully and observereaction of listener, to be concerned with the words, tone, emotion and logic behindwhat the other one is speaking

2.3.2 Structure speaking process in mind

It means that you have to think carefully before you speak Depending on your time,You shoud spend one minute on organising ideas and thoughts quickly You shouldalso structure new information related to your topic so that you can respond withincase audiece wants to ask you for more information

The basic structure of any speech invloves: opening, body and conclusion Besides,you need to prepare some topic vocabularies, grammar or suitable tenses It is veryuseful in delivering speeches and especially for spwkaing in special situations

Be thoughtful before speaking plays an important role in adding value in terms ofcommunicating speaker's thought, ideas and feelings

2.3.3 Manner and attitude

In any cases, speakers always do not lose control and be in refined manner andattitude Let's show or express the suitable feeling in situation For example, if youare at a meeting, you should show serious and enthusiastic

2.3.4 Micro-skill

If you are not a foreigner, here are some micro-skill involved in speaking that youneed to note:

The speaker need to pronounce clearly distinctive sounds of the language so thatlistener can distinguíh them, especially tonal distinctions You should try to use thecorrect forms of words, tenses, cases and gender

Moreover, unless you pay much attention to use vocabulary appropriately and putwords together in the correct order, listeners will find it hard to understand what youare speaking

2.4 Factors affecting to speaking process

2.4.1 Listening ability

Listening skill plays an extremely important part in the development of speakingability Listening skills have been a great concern for language learners since it isregarded as one of the prior conditions of oral output in language learning process.Listening comprehension is a very basic skill that one must have to become a goodEnglish speaker

Speaking skills cannot be developed unless we develop listening skills Listenersmust understand what is said to them to have a successful conversation Everyconversation can last or not, it depends on the ability of both speaker and listener tomaintain the content of interaction When one person speaks, the other respondsthrough attending by means of the listening process Unless one can understand orlisten which others are saying, the conservation will not continue

The most common mistake that non-native English speakers often make is they onlyconcentrate their time and effort on improving their speaking English skill withoutpracticing their English listening skill first As a result, many non-native speakerscannot understand the questions or things others saying Foreigners often speak sofast and some can find it hard to listen their accent If you cannot hear, you will nothow to answer or give an appropriate answer

The importance of pronunciation in communication cannot be denied In fact, it is

as essential as grammar and vocabulary Yet, the evidence of mother tongueinfluence on English is very obvious This manifests in the form of incorrectpronunciation

According to Wikipedia, pronunciation is the way in which a word or a language is

spoken This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used inspeaking a given word or language in a specific correct pronunciation, or simply theway a particular individual speaks a word or language

Accent is nearly alike to pronunciation, it is a distinctive mode of pronunciation of alanguage, especially one associated with a particular nation, locality, or social class.For example, it is very easy to say if someone is from Australia, America or Britisheven if they all speak English because accent usually reflect the place where peoplecome from

The two components affect directly to speaking skill because the speakers need toknow how to pronounce a word correctly before speaking a full sentence.Foreigners have difficulties in listening non-native English speaker as they oftenpronounce wrong

The fact that people often are influenced their own pronunciation and accent fromthe community where they interact For students, moreover, if the teacher has a non-native accent, it will affect students’ pronunciation as well Pronunciation andaccent are like the foundation that you need to be firm, you have to get used tousing English fluently as your mother tongue if you want to be good at English

2.4.3 Vocabulary

It is acceptable that vocabulary is indispensable in producing speech withappropriate meanings as well as in generating syntactic, morphological, andphonological structures in speaking process

Vocabulary is considered as the key to communication with others For a largemajority of English learners, the ultimate goal of studying is to be able to

mastering vocabulary is not just important, but crucial in a foreign Englishenvironment.

Improving your vocabulary has a postitive impact on your capacity of building upyour language proficiency in general and speaking English skill in particular Avariety of vocabularies make the skill of speaking English easier to perform Whenyour working memory is not loaded with hesitation about the correct spelling orpronunciation and contextual use of the words, you can focus completely on higherlevel aspects of language such as using precise sentence structures, grammar andappropriate expressions for the type of conversation which is going on

In addition, vocabulary will create the content of the conversation and bycombining the words together However, besides using vocabulary, English speakersneed skills relating to grammar, using suitable structures, form of words andappropriate tense to make the sentence sense Therefore, before becoming a goodEnglish speaker, you should focus on improving and expanding your variety ofvocabularies In other words, vocabulary also shows your topical knowledge ofrelevant topical information; it also enables speakers to use language with reference

to the foreigners

2.4.4 Grammar

Using the correct grammatical structure speaking English play an indispensable role

in avoiding misunderstandings, and in supporting others understand you easily Ifyour English is full of mistakes, you will slow down communication andconversations, and find it harder to express your ideas or thoughts clearly andconcisely

Moreover, grammar is very important because it may help enhance accuracy in

English Marcel (1853) - p.424 highlights this point in his book He clarifies how

grammar develops accuracy in communication as "it forms the mind to habits oforder and clearness; concurrently with logic and rhetoric, it accustoms learners toaccuracy of language, and hence, to accuracy of thinking" This means grammar

rules can help learners develop a habit of thinking logically and clearly Therefore,after studying grammar, they will become more accurate when using language.Besides, an appropriate usage of grammar is a sign of respect, both for speakers andlisteners For speakers, speaking in exact way means they take time to polishthemselves with a good impression from the listeners A person with a poorgrammar can let native listeners have negative impression on the first-timecommunication For listeners, a proper usage of grammar shows that their thought isconcerned Speakers do not want them to waste time trying to figure out or try tofind out what they are saying.

However, the development of social network and technology, people becomegrammatically lazier They tend to use sentences that are as simple as possible.Moreover, they also use fragments of sentences and they consider grammar asunnecessary as long as what they say is understandable Nevertheless, this causesmisunderstanding among listeners, especially for non-native ones Speakers shouldpay more attention to grammar when they learning speaking English

Also, they do not let students learn speaking through listening to the records on theradio or video and present the report back to the class so that students can improvetheir English listening comprehension and fluency There are some cases thatteachers often require students to ask for feedback or comments but, they do notpresent some pronunciation points to help students to develop their English fluency

Therefore, the knowledge which students are learned at school are not practical andeffective enough to put into practice.

Moreover, some teachers have poor speaking activities at class, give less time todifferent speaking exercises As a result, students feel bored when English lessonsand they have no motivation to learn

Besides, many students expect their teacher to give them feedback about theirperformance at class However, the teacher should know how to give commentspositively, to motivate their students without let them feel confused or too bad to trytheir best

In conclusion, if teachers use of the techniques, strategies and entertainmentactivities on teaching, students will show their interest and pay more attention tolessons Furthermore, careful selection of full-qualified English teachers with goodEnglish language command need to be done

 Classmate-related factors

In any classes, there are always both strong and weak learners and each of them hasdifferent abilities and knowledge The strong and quick students are often seen to bedominating and overtaking the slow and weak students The weaker students do notget opportunity to show or express ideas and thought because of the presence ofgood ones This make them feel insecure about themselves and they hesitate beforewhat they want to speak

Therefore, it is very essential to divide class into different groups with differentlevels so that students have the best condition of learning Teachers also shouldbuild up student's confidence by giving some simple and easy tasks for the weakgroup to encourage them to participate in class activities Teachers also need beaware that the learners’ acquisition of given skills is on their shoulder; hence, theyshould take full responsibility to monitor, facilitate, and supervise their students’learning On the other hand, students need to be made aware of the responsibilitythey have on their learning They should be told that their learning development istheir own duty so that they should take full responsibility to monitor their own

2.4.6 Emotional factors

 Self-confidence and attitude

A real good speaker is one who is able to be confident in front of listeners and tocreate impression No one would take you seriously unless you believe in yourselfbecause confidence relflects the way you deliver your speaking content, the wayyou handle the audience, the way you show your body language and eye-contact.The speaker should be comfortable when standing in front of a wide range ofaudience instead of being confused or stressful

Hanton, Mellalieu and Hall (2003) reveal how low self-confidence level affectsperformance and they extract a sentence form one of the participants’ response totheir interview as: “If self-confidence is low, then the feelings start to edge towardsthe negative which would be very bad for performance.” (p 481) Anotherextraction in the same study reveals how effective the high level of self- con denceis: “High self-confidence increases the intensity of thoughts and feelings that youcan control If you’re confident you stay in control of your thoughts ” (p 481)

In addition, postive attitude also play an indispensable part when speaking Studentsoften have tend to evade when being asked to address to speak to a group of over 50individuals, they definitely not like the idea and come up with several excuses toavoid the same The problem is really nowhere but in our attitude, the way we seethings Professionally it always helps to look at the brighter sides of things.Remember, cribbing leads to no solution

An individual who accepts challenges with a smile is the one who climbs thesuccess ladder within the shortest possible time frame You should remember not tomake an issue of every small thing Speaker's mission is to ensure that his/herlisteners has understood what are discussed at the session Positive attitude helpsyou concentrate and also keep calm Speakers should keep a smile on their face andconnect with listeners Those with a negative attitude generally find it difficult toadjust with listeners Instead, speakers should learn to accept mistakes and not feel

bad if someone points out the mistake Positive attitude also helps you deal withcriticism and face critics.

 Motivation

Motivation shows how successful language learners are, especially when speakinglearning Motivation is the answer that researchers and teachers provide whenregarding to efficient language learning Motivation help student determine theextent of active, personal involvement in learning speaking Oxford & Shearin,

1994, as cited in Huang 2007 It is shown that motivation directly influences howoften students use strategies of speaking, how much students interact with nativespeakers and how long they persevere and maintain speaking skills

Although not everyone who is motivated to learn manages to succeed, most peoplewho do achieve a high level of success also turn out to be very strongly motivated.Learning another language is a long, full of difficulties and challenges process.Students who want to improve their speaking English are required to try their bestand spend as much time as possible on practicing English fluently In reality,students tend to have a variety of reasons why they want to learn, and differentaspects motivate them at different times

However, learner's motivation can change, which depends on each stage of times itfocuses on learners' abilities to envision an ideal future for themselves as positive,competent and successful second language speakers Therefore, speaking learnersshould keep and maintain not only their mood but also motivation to get the bestresults of learning English process

 Anxiety

Phillips and Endler, 1982 supposed that "Anxiety is an unpleasant feeling whichinvolves apprehension, distress, embarrassment, surprise and dread and it is morethan certain that if not all students may be anxious during classes, they are generally

Anxiety has been considered a verry nagative factor in learning a foreign language,especially in learrning to speak English In Horwitz et al (1986:126) words,

"anxiety is a major obstacle to overcome in learning to speak another language."Speaking is is a promblematic because the spontaneity allows the speaker nopreparation time in which to moniter and correct what he or she wants to say, thusthe risk of being wrong in an oral class is high (Horwitz & Young 1991) Anxiety is,therefore, considered a major obstacle to developing language skills, andparticluarly speaking skills

Learning English or any second language is a systematic complex process, whichrequires the knowledge of language structures, vocabulary, and pronunciation aswell as corresponding skills That is the reason why many learners experience adeep anxiety in their efforts to master a new language From this point of view aforeign language class may be more anxiety-provoking than any other course formany students (MacIntyre, 1995; MacIntyre & Gardner, 1991a; Liu, 2007; Ohata,2005)

In learning process, students tend to make more mistakes when thet are nervous.The more mistakes they make, the more nervous they will be, and the less likelythey are to perform well at speaking skills It is cetain that anxiety can create thedifference between success and failure in language learning process

2.5 Summary

There are many factors which affect to competence for speaking English skill, bothpositive and negative factors Learning second language is a difficul process, whichrequires learners many features named above: listening ability, pronunciation andaccent, vocabulary, grammar, learning environment, emotional factors In order toget best results, you are always patient and try your best, make a detailed plan oflearning together with suitable methods

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS

In this chapter, the author gives the full analysis of data collected through thequestionnaire survey and interview for teachers and students on the factors affectingEnglish speaking competence for the first-year English-majored students at TMU Itshows an attempt to answer the four research questions posed at the beginning ofthe study.

3.1 Procedures for conducting questionnaire survey and interview

3.1.1 Procedure for conducting questionnaire survey

The questionnaire survey in English was designed (attached in Appendix); itconsists of 12 questions which are specified in the three main parts Besides 12questions, there are extra three questions designed for collecting generalinformation of students; questions of part I aim at finding out personal views andopinion on learning speaking comprehension; questions of part II related todifficulties when learning speaking English and questions from part III mainly seekfor the activities and techniques of learning in speaking English Fifty sheets ofquestionnaire survey were delivered randomly to the first-year English-majoredstudents at Thuong Mai University at their break time

To guarantee the reliability and the validity of the samples, before asking thelearners to do the questionnaire survey, the researcher briefly stated the purpose andsignificance of the study and clarified any misunderstanding about the surveyquestions In addition, the written instructions on the handout, oral the instructionsand explanations in Vietnamese were presented to avoid any ambiguity Therefore,the questionnaire survey for students was delivered to 50 English-majored students

of K53 at TMU

3.1.2 Procedure for conducting interviewing

The researcher first designed the interviewing question sheet (attached inAppendix) Oral instructions and explanations were given in detail to the teachers

by the researcher before they answered the question to avoid any