A study on some difficulties in using spoken language at workplace of the fourth year english majored students, thuongmai university

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY ---GRADUATION PAPER A STUDY ON SOME DIFFICULTIES IN USING SPOKEN LANGUAGE AT WORKPLACE OF THE FOURTH-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS, THUONGMAI UNIVE

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY

-GRADUATION PAPER

A STUDY ON SOME DIFFICULTIES IN USING SPOKEN LANGUAGE

AT WORKPLACE OF THE FOURTH-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORED

STUDENTS, THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY

Supervisor:MA Pham Minh Hong

Student: Nguyen Thi My

Clas: K52N4

Student’s code: 16D170241

Hanoi, 2020

Nowadays, along with the unstoppable development of worldwide economy,English is the global language which is recognized in over the world Therefore,English plays a vital role in studying as well as employees’ career paths It is like abridge that helps you find a good job and bring a higher income

A lot of companies from many countries directly invest in Vietnam, sonumerous job opportunities can be approached to Vietnamese people, especially fornewly- graduated students

In fact, a lot of students in Vietnam have a very weak English proficiency aftergraduation Therefore, the fourth-year English students can cope with problems whenusing spoken language at work place This study aimed at enhancing the use ofcommunication skills of the seniors at English Department,Thuongmai University.During studying period at English Department, Thuongmai University, theresearcher had a chance to access difficulties of students when using English to

communicate Therefore, the researcher decided to choose the research “ A study on some difficulties in using spoken language at workplace of the fourth-year English majored students, Thuongmai University”.

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY

-GRADUATION PAPER

A STUDY ON SOME DIFFICULTIES IN USING SPOKEN LANGUAGE

AT WORKPLACE OF THE FOURTH-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORED

STUDENTS, THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY

Supervisor:MA Pham Minh Hong

Student: Nguyen Thi My

Clas: K52N4

Student’s code: 16D170241

Hanoi, 2020

HÀ NỘI - 2016

During the process of implementing the study, I have received a lot ofessential help and valuable ideas from my teachers, family and friends Thisresearch can not be completed without the great assistance and encouragement fromthose people who all deserve my sincerest thanks and appreciation

First of all, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my supervisor

-Ms Pham Minh Hong who is truly enthusiastic for the valuable guidance andsupport With her precious advice and assistance, I was able to fulfill this thesis Secondly, I would like to thank all students and interviewees at EnglishDepartment, Thuongmai University who involved in this thesis for their hugecontribution

Moreover, I hope to express my sincere gratitude to all lecturers at EnglishDepartment, Thuongmai University I am really grateful for their dedication during

4 year teaching and giving knowledge to all students The knowledge I have gainednot only for the thesis but also a treasure for my entire life

Finally, I would like to thank for the greatest support and encouragement from

my family and friends, which played important roles in my graduation paper

Hanoi, 23/04/2020 Student Nguyen Thi My

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 7

1.1 Rationale 7

1.2 Previous studies 8

1.3 Aims of the study 9

1.4 Research subjects 9

1.5 Scope of the study 9

1.6 Research methodology 9

1.7 Organization of the study 10

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 11

2.1 The growth of foreign investment overview in Vietnam in recent years 11

2.2 An overview of spoken language 11

2.2.1 The definition of spoken language 11

2.2.2 The characteristics of spoken language 12

2.2.3 The significance of speaking skills 13

2.2.4 The functions of speaking skills 14

2.2.5 The reality of employees’ English skills 15

2.3 Common problems of English speaking at workplace 15

2.3.1 Lack of environment 15

2.3.2 Lack of grammar and vocabulary 16

2.3.3 Lack of confidence 17

2.3.4 Lack of knowledge of different countries’ customs and cultures in the world. 17

2.4 Employers’ English language requirements 18

2.5 Speaking activities at workplace 19

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS 20

3.1 Methodology 20

3.1.1 Research methodology 20

3.1.2 Research questions 21

3.1.3 Participants 21

3.1.4 Data collection instruments 22

3.2 Data analysis 22

3.3 The results of the study 23

3.3.1 The reality of using spoken language of the fourth-year English majored students at workplace 23

3.3.2 The survey questionnaire’s result 24

3.3.3 The interview’s result 30

CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 33

4.1 Summary of the study 33

4.2 Possible solutions 33

4.2.1 Solutions for lecturers 33

4.2.2 Solutions for students 35

4.3 Recommendations and suggestions 37

4.4 Limitation of the study 38

4.5 Suggestions for further studies 39

CONCLUSION 40

REFERENCES 41 APPENDIX I

I The survey questionnaire I

II The interview questions III

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

1 Chart 3.1 Level of difficulty in English

spoken language

28

2 Chart 3.2 The frequency of students’

using spoken language at workplace

29

3 Chart 3.3 Participants’ interest level of

speaking English at workplace

30

4 Chart 3.4 The frequency of problems in

using English spoken language at

workplace

31

5 Chart 3.5 The purposes of using

Englishspoken language at workplace

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

1.1 Rationale

We are living now in a period of international integration, along with thegrowth of information technology, English is deeply effecting not only in Business,Diplomacy but also in Education, Medicine and Technique,etc Therefore, English

is necessary for everyone: children, employees, students,

As for a developing country like Vietnam, English is more important to thegrowth of economy and society In 15 years recently, English has been included inthe national curriculum for training from primary school to higher education

However, how to speak English fluently is a common problem for learners.The major challenge lays in the fact that most of Vietnamese students were trained

to focus on grammar and vocabulary instead of speaking and listening

At TMU these days, English is a compulsory subject for every department.The university has its output standard in graduation regulation for students ForEnglish Department, the output standard is over 800 TOEIC or overIELTS 6.5overall For the rest of other departments, the output is about 450 TOEIC To meetthe requirement, students in every department have to spend more time learning andimproving their English skills The university is willing to help students when theyare building relationships among many foreign universities such as the UnitedKingdom, Korea, Japan and Taiwan,etc through student exchange programs.Therefore, students have more opportunities to access the global environment andeducation to improve their English skills

Nevertheless, the fact indicates that not everyone is good at English, especiallyspeaking skills Not only general English learners but also English majoredstudents The English majored students range from freshmen to seniors havedifficulties in using spoken language They often fall into confusion when usingEnglish to communicate Because of the fact that they lack of confidence, the goodlearning method and the afraid of wrong words as well Another factor is thepassive learning environment and the same boring lessons in class without extra-activities preventing them from practicing speaking English It will be harder forthe fourth-year students when they start working at workplace This is theprofessional working environment with using English a lot It is considered that it is

an essential issue to analyse to find out the causes and solutions to help them boosttheir speaking skills That is the main reason why I decided to choose the research

“A study on some difficulties in using spoken language at workplace of the year English majored students, Thuongmai University”

fourth-1.2 Previous studies

While working on this thesis, we have consulted some good ideas from writerswho conducted the researcher about improving English speaking skills

For instance, the research has been conducted by a small group of Ajloun

National University (2016) They studied a research entitled “Improving English Language Speaking Skills of Ajloun National University Students” Their study

aimed to enhance the oral communication skills (conversations) of ANU students

Additionally, Natalia Rahayu (2015) launched the thesis “An Analysis of student’s problems in speaking English daily language program at Husnul Khotimah Islamic boarding school” The research indicated the internal and

external problems and difficulties when speaking English of students From thesechallenges, the researcher gave solutions and suggestions from both of students andteachers

Another study conducted by Nguyen Thi Dieu Huyen (Hai Phong University,

2009) She conducted a research entitled “A study on how to improve English speaking skill through extra-activities for the first year English non - major students in Hai Phong Private University” Her study is to help the first-year

English non-major students at Hai Phong Private University improve their speakingskills through extra-activities and to prepare for them the basic knowledge ofspeaking skills with higher requirements for the next graders

One more study conducted by Nguyen Thi Xoan ( Hanoi University of

Industry, 2012) She launched a research “ A study on difficulties in learning speaking skills faced by non-English majored students at Hanoi University of Industry” In the research, she showed problems encountered by non-English

majored students when learning speaking English and difficulties in teaching fromteachers From that, the suggestion was came out

There are some previous studies on how to improve English speaking skills.All the studies show problems of learning speaking English and then find out

1.3 Aims of the study

The main purpose of the research is to examine and research the currentsituation of English speaking skills of the fourth-year students at EnglishDepartment, TMU Also, it is intended to find out some problems they encounter inusing spoken language at workplace then suggest some suitable solutions for them.The study is aimed at answering 3 questions:

1) What is the reality of using English speaking skills at workplace?

2) What are difficulties in using spoken language of the English fourth-yearstudents, Thuongmai University at workplace?

3) Which possible recommendations for English seniors at ThuongmaiUniversity to improve their English speaking skills?

1.4 Research subjects

The subject of research in this study is the fourth-year students of EnglishDepartment, TMU and focuses mainly on some difficulties in using spokenlanguage at workplace During four years at the university, the English seniors havebeen familiar with the shool’s curriculum, method of learning and teaching, theenvironment and especially they have learned a lot of subjects related to Englishskills such as Sementic, Translation, Interpreting, American and British Cultures,and Business English, Significantly, although they have opportunities to accessEnglish, they have difficulties in using spoken language not only at school but also

at workplace As a result, the researcher decided to choose the study to point outproblems of using English spoken language at workplace of the fourth-year Englishmajored students and find out effective solutions to improve the current situation

1.5 Scope of the study

Due to the time limitation, resources and knowledge as well as otherconditions, the study focuses on finding out the problems of the fourth-year students

at English Department, TMU then giving effective solutions for them to developtheir English speaking skills Thus, the study is valuable for English students ingeneral and all English learners in particular

1.6 Research methodology

In the course of scientific research, research methodology is one of theimportant factors determining the success of a research paper Determining the right

method is considered as a first step and ensures the scientific and accurate results ofthe research.

In order to reach the achievement of this study, the researcher carried outsome following methods: survey method, quantitative method and methods of dataanalysis and synthesis To be more specific, 60 students in different classes ofEnglish Department, TMU involved in the research From the result of the survey,the researcher has conducted the analysis by statistics, selection and calculation toproduce the most accurate and objective results Then I will summarize and describethe data through charts and tables to show the problems that they often cope with inEnglish speaking skills of seniors at English Department, TMU

1.7 Organization of the study

Besides opening part including Abstract, Acknowledgment, Tables ofcontents, List of abbreviations, List of figures and tables and closing part includingConclusion, References, Appendix; the research consists of four main parts:

- Chapter 1: Overview of the study

This chapter presents the overview of the study including rationale, previousstudies, aims of the study, research subjects and research methodology as well asorganization of the study

- Chapter 2: Literature review

This part includes the theoretical background, it focuses on the concept ofEnglish speaking skills It also consists of the reality of employees using spokenlanguage at workplace as well as the employer’s English requirements nowadays

- Chapter 3: Research findings and suggestions

The applied methodology and the types of the research will be shown in thispart Then the instrumentation and procedures chosen are discussed In addition, itprovides the details of the findings including interviewing results and survey resultsthrough the questionnaire given to participants

- Chapter 4: Recommendations and suggestions

This part includes the summary of the study, possible suggestions, discussionsand conclusions before ending with recommendations for further study

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 The growth of foreign investment overview in Vietnam in recent years

Vietnam was an official member of the WTO in 2006 After joining, Vietnamhas been developing strongly and steadily thanks to expansion relations and reformpolicies

According to Singapore Morning Combined Newspaper on October 9 published

an article by Mr Sam Cheong Chwee, General Manager of UOB Bank (UnitedOverseas Bank), the amount of foreign direct investment flowing into the Vietnamesemarket has been constantly increasing in recent years Statistics from the UnitedNations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) show that Vietnamattracted up to the US $16 billion of foreign direct investment ( FDI ) in 2018

Not only that, the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam recentlyreleased a report that said that the country in the first 9 months of 2019 attractedmore than 18.4 billion USD of FDI

Economic and industrial growth will help Vietnam in the next decade to be animportant partner and market in Southeast Asia The Government of Vietnam hasmade efforts to develop infrastructure in key economic and industrial zones, therebyenhancing the ability to attract foreign direct investment Vietnam is becoming abright star in attracting foreign investment in Southeast Asia

2.2 An overview of spoken language

2.2.1 The definition of spoken language

A spoken language is a language produced by articulate sounds, as opposed to

a written language Many languages have no written form and so are only spoken

An oral language or vocal language is a language produced with the vocal tract, asopposed to a sign language, which is produced with the hands and face The term

"spoken language" is sometimes used to mean only vocal languages, especially bylinguists, making all three terms synonyms by excluding sign languages Others refer

to sign language as "spoken", especially in contrast to written transcriptions of signs

Speaking also is one of the basic four skills in learning foreign languagebesides, listening, reading, and writing It has been though since the studentsentered elementary school, however it is not easy for the students to communicate

in English They have to think more often when using English spoken language.According to Brown and Yule (1999:14) stated that speaking is depending on thecomplexity of the information to be communicated However, the studentssometimes find it difficult to clarify what they want to say

2.2.2 The characteristics of spoken language

Spoken language has the following characteristics (Halliday, 1989, p 31):

Variation in speed - but it is generally faster than writing

Pausing and phrasing

As well as this, there are differences in the actual language used (Biber, 1988;Biber, Johansson, Leech, Conrad & Finegan, 1999; Chafe, 1982; Cook, 1997;Halliday,1989)

- Less Complex

Spoken language is less complex than written language

Spoken language is grammatically less complicated than written language Ithas fewer subordinate clauses, fewer "that/to" complement clauses, fewer sequences

of prepositional phrases, fewer attributive adjectives and more active verbs thanwritten language

Spoken texts are longer This means that there is more repetition According toUre (1971), the percentage of different words in a text is generally below 40% forspoken texts and above 40% for written texts

Spoken texts also have shorter, less complex words and phrases They havefewer nominalisations, more verb- based phrases, and a more limited vocabulary.Spoken texts are lexically less dense than written language - they haveproportionately more grammatical words than lexical words.

Spoken language has more words that refer to the speaker, more quantifiersand hedges, and less abstractness

Spoken language has:

More verb- based phrases

(e.g having treatment (W), being treated (S), hospital care (W), go to the hospital (S))

More predicative adjectives

(misleading statistics (W), statistics are misleading (S))

More pronouns (it, they, you, we).

More lexical repetition

More first-person reference (I).

More active verbs than written language

Fewer complex words and phrases

Spoken texts are:

More fragmented - more simple sentences and more use of coordination and, but, so, because rather than subordination (embedding).

Lexically less dense

Longer

2.2.3 The significance of speaking skills

Language is a tool for communication We communicate with others, toexpress our ideas, to deliver thought, and feeling, and to know others’ ideas as well.Communication takes place, where there is speech Without speech, we cannotcommunicate with one another The importance of 3/10 speaking skills, hence isimmense for the learners of any languages Without speech, a language is reduced

to a mere script The use of language is an activity that takes place within theconfines of our community We use language in a variety of situations People attheir workplaces, i.e researchers working either in a medical laboratory or in a

language laboratory, are supposed to speak correctly and effectively in order tocommunicate well with one another Any gap in commutation results inmisunderstandings and problems

For a smooth running of any system, the speakers of a language need to beespecially and purposefully trained in the skill of speaking

In order to become a well-rounded, one communicator needs to be competent

in each of the four language skills: listening , speaking, reading and writing, but theability to speak skillfully, provides the speaker with several distinct advantages Thecapacity to express one’s thoughts, opinions, and feelings, in the form of puttingwords together in a meaningful way, provides the speaker with these advantages.The joy of sharing one’s ideas with others is endless When we speak to others wecome to have a better understanding of our selves, as Robert Frost once said: ‘‘I am

a writer of books in retrospect, I talk in order to understand, I teach in order tolearn.’’ Undoubtedly, the clarity in speech reflects clear thinking

2.2.4 The functions of speaking skills

According to Brown and Yule, there are three functions of speaking, “…threepart version of Brown and Yule’s framework (after Jones 1996 and Burns 1998):talk as interaction, talk as transaction, talk as performance Each of these speechactivities is quite distinct in terms of form and function and requires differentteaching approaches

1) Talk as interaction

Our daily communication remains interactional with other people This refers

to what we said as conversations used in daily activities in social interaction; Whenpeople meet, they exchange greetings, engage in small talk, recount the experiences,and soon

2) Talk as transaction

In talk as the transaction is more focused on message that conveyed andmaking other people understand what we want to convey, by clearly and accurately.While talking as transaction is about the situation focusing on the meaningdelivered or the message for instance, like teachers teach students, etc

3) Talk as performance

In this case, speaking activities is more focus on monolog better than dialog.The function of speaking as performance refers to public talk which transmitsinformation to an audience, such as classroom presentations, public announcements,and speeches

2.2.5 The reality of employees’ English skills

English becomes a communication method for global business There aremore and more corporations in over the world requiring their employees to useEnglish at workplace Not mention firms are based in native countries such asBritain, America, For instance, Samsung, Rakuten and some other corporations inAsia using English at workplace have become a popular trend

But the process of building an English foundation for employees, key leaders,

as well as changing the way businesses operate to get the English-speaking policyinto place is completely straightforward with Asian and Southeast Asian businesses.And Vietnam is not an exception

Due to the impact of English education at school and the passive environment

in Vietnam, the majority of employees are pretty good at reading and writing whilespeaking and listening skills are not be improved In light of the fact shows thatthere are a few jobs in Vietnam which require English speaking skills such asinterpreters, tour guides, And the rest almost uses reading comprehension andwriting skills at workplace They almost use English as means to collect data, writeand reply to emails, write business correspondences, and they rarely need English

to communicate during their time at workplace

According to the ETS latest report, South Asian’s TOEFL results: Singapore 98,Philippines 89, Malaysia 89, Indonesia 82, Myanmar 79, Vietnam 78, Thailand 76,Campuchia 69, Laos 68, Timor- Leste 62, respectively Furthermore, a survey wascarried out by Education First Organization interviewing 910.000 participants in 70countries ( do not use English as mother language) The results were based on IELTSand TOEFL and Vietnam was listed in the moderate group with 53,81/100 points

2.3 Common problems of English speaking at workplace

2.3.1 Lack of environment

As I mentioned before, English learning environment in Vietnam is passiveand not professional enough, especially for speaking skill development Not onlystudents do not have favourable conditions to improve English skills but alsoemployees at workplace Due to the influence of education from school, they were

trained English focusing on vocabulary and grammar to pass the exams Therefore,speaking skills were absolutely ignored.

At workplace, most companies in Vietnam nowadays have at least one, two ormore departments using or needing English as means to communicate and deal withcustomers, suppliers, and partners Thus, some departments such as Sale, Purchase,Customer services, have a quite good environment to develop English skills andother departments such as HR ( Human Resource), IT ( Information Technology), that do not use English to work frequently If they have to use English to do tasks,they often use reading or writing skills instead of speaking skills, so speakingbecomes getting harder and more confused for them And another fact that they usemother language to communicate with co-workers at the departments or company,

so English speaking skills is not improved In the contrast, Samsung corporation( Korea) and Rakuten Corporation (Japan) require their employees to use Englishevery time at workplace

Some people are in need of improving speaking English, they take courses atEnglish centers However, due to time limitations and do not have partners orfavorable conditions then they could not improve very much

2.3.2 Lack of grammar and vocabulary

When mentioning English communication, some people insist that grammar isunimportant and while learning English for communicating, we do not need to focustoo much on grammar This is an incorrect assumption

If you learn English for fun, for know a little or as street vendors, you can takeEnglish grammar for granted However, in case you really want to learn English foryour career and studying, grammar plays a vital role in English communication.Grammar supports listeners deeply and fully understand what you say

At workplace, people also lack grammar and vocabulary when speakingEnglish The reason lays in the fact that they just know one meaning of words, sowhen catching a new meaning, they are confused Moreover, they think that theyhave enough vocabulary sources to communicate, so they are embarrassed whennew words come out or they misunderstand the words’ context Another reason isthey lack specialized vocabulary Therefore, dealing with work problems has

difficulties About grammar, do not understand grammar knowledge deeply causesother’s misunderstanding and not fully understand what you say

2.3.3 Lack of confidence

When communicating in a new language, people tend to fall into confusionand lack of confidence And it is the common problem of Vietnamese when theylearn English In Vietnam, English teaching and learning methods often concentrate

on grammar whereas pronunciation is the fundamental foundation to learn a newlanguage in general and English in particular Consequently, Vietnamese learnershave chances to access English soon but speaking skill is not good enough As forthem, speaking English is an invisible fear because they are afraid that they usewrong words, grammar and they could not find the suitable vocabulary to express The environment for learning English as I mentioned before is one of thefactors leading to lack of confidence when speaking English For employees, theyare afraid of making mistakes when communicating in English too While speaking

or negotiating with customers or partners, they usually feel unconfident becausethey think that they are not good enough to communicate, so they fall intoconfusion They fear to make mistakes and listeners cannot understand what theysay

2.3.4 Lack of knowledge of different countries’ customs and cultures in the world.

The factor of culture is really important when learning languages We cannotmaster a language without grasping the characteristics of a culture and we cannotunderstand the subtle nuances and profound meanings of a culture withoutunderstanding the language Language is the most important mean of humancommunication, but communication is only effective when both the transmitter andthe receiver of the information have a common understanding Each nation has itsown customs, practices, and rituals reflected in the language People of differentcultures will find it even more difficult to understand each other when they meetwords that represent specific things

Knowing and understanding cultures help learners and communicators to

the context and leading to misunderstanding by chance The issue may be moreserious if there is a lack of different cultures and customs As a result, it will causeculture shock and conflict in light of the impact of mother language TakingVietnamese for example, Vietnamese people tend to ask questions such as “ Howold are you?”, “ Do you get married?”, or “ How much is your salary?”, theyconsider it is small talk and concern to others Nevertheless, Western peopleconsider as an impolite issue

When communicating with foreigners at workplace, people should improvetheir knowledge of cultures and customs to avoid displeasure and dissatisfactionfrom customers or partners

2.4 Employers’ English language requirements

For many businesses today, English is considered one of the top criteria whenapproaching candidates If you want a good job, you need to be good at English.Currently, besides qualifications and experiences, English has become therecruitment criteria of some businesses for candidates In addition, even if notrequired, there is a certain priority for candidates with English ability is better thanthe rest

English is the standard language for people to meet together incommunicating, negotiation, transaction and other purposes of their business in theperiod of integration Reading comprehension in English is essential for maintainingprofessional knowledge, as it is the language most often used in internationalcontracts, transactions, journals, and translation Speaking skills tend to be moreimportant because of its influential function in service industries such as travel,customer services, leisure, Writing is another skill you need to be good at whenyou are required to write an email to purchase, deal with customer’s complain orreply to emails from customers, The highest English language requirements are inbusiness sectors, such as Banking, Finance, and Law, where business publicationstend to use complicated and technical English

At present, popular English certificates for recruiting staff are TOEIC (Test ofEnglish for International Communication) and IELTS (International EnglishLanguage Testing System)

2.5 Speaking activities at workplace

During people’s time at workplace, there is always time for communicatingand most cases use spoken language may be divided as below:

- Communicate with status staff, the same department at the company This isthe most often case because they meet, talk and discuss with co-workers every day

- Communicate with supervisors/bosses This case is also often seen atworkplace, employees usually have to report or ask supervisors

- Communicate at meetings They may communicate with co-workers atother departments in the same company at meetings Moreover, they may speak tothe public at the meetings

- Communicate in teamwork activities There are always active in theirteamwork and in this case they have to communicate with others very much toreach good results

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS

3.1 Methodology

3.1.1 Research methodology

The survey questionnaire

The survey questionnaire was designed to attain objective results Theresearcher has consulted several ideas from the supervisor and people who fullyunderstand this topic All the theories have been carefully selected and gatheredthrough reference books and documents on Internet websites

Additionally, the survey was conducted for English fourth-year students atTMU about their attitudes, matters, and difficulties when using English spokenlanguage at workplace The survey questionnaire has been designed as the key datacollection of the study

The quantitative and qualititative method

The quantitative data collected from the questionnaires were analyzed usingExel program The questions were sent to the fourth-year English majored students.After the students completed the questions, the questionnaires were collected,removed the inappropriate or had incomplete answers, statistical and using Excelsoftware to calculate the percentage and export related charts or tables

Moreover, the method of this research is qualitative research It is based on theresearch focus; to analyze the students’ problems in speaking English at workplace.Through statistics and analysis of collected database from the questionnaires andinterviews with students, the results are shown that English seniors encounter a lot

of difficulties in using spoken language at workplace such as lack of confidence,vocabulary, making mistakes, From the weaknesses, they are improving theirspeaking skills in many ways

The rationale behind the use of survey method

The survey questionnaire was chosen for the research because it is aninexpensive way to collect data and it can access numerous people in a very shorttime Furthermore, the survey method is to find out the origin of the incidents,

focusing on collecting information and evidence It is very useful because it reflectsthe actual opinions and attitudes of students about the current situation theyencounter when using spoken language at workplace

3.1.1.1 The purposes of the survey questionnaire

The major aim of the study is to collect and analyze data regarding therecognition and the utilization of communicating This part is designed for thefollowing purposes:

- To find out matters and difficulties of the fourth-year English students copewith when they use spoken language at workplace

- To find out the opinions and attitudes of students towards English speakingskills

- To study how oral communication skills are used in projects

3.1.1.2 The design of the survey questionnaire

The survey questionnaires consist of 10 alternative questions which are raised

to students to study the reality of using speaking skills at workplace Students wereasked to tick the most suitable answers which correspond with their opinion Inquestion, there are some options, the informants can choose more than one option

3.1.2 Research questions

The major purpose of the study is to find out difficulties in using Englishspoken language at workplace of the fourth-year English majored students at TMU.Also, the research pointed out some possible solutions and suggestions for Englishseniors to improve their English speaking skills Here are three questions which thestudy has to solve:

1 What is the reality of using English speaking skills at workplace?

2 What are difficulties in using spoken language of the fourth-year Englishstudents, Thuongmai University at workplace?

3 Which possible recommendations for English seniors at ThuongmaiUniversity to improve their English speaking skills?

3.1.3 Participants

The participants consist of 60 fourth- year students at English Department,TMU The survey questionnaire includes 10 questions and they are given to 60students who belong in different classes They are asked to explore theirrecognition, attitudes, evaluations of the matter and the difficulties that theyencounter when communicating in this research

3.1.4 Data collection instruments

In order to reach the aims of the study with objection and reability, theresearch utilized two data collection instruments: the survey questionnaire and theinterview

3.1.4.1 The survey questionnaire

The survey questionnaire was conducted via the Internet website and it wastaken by 60 students from different classes at English Department, TMU Thissurvey includes three groups which are served for distinct purposes

- Questionnaire No.1 : This questionnaire consists of 4 questions ( inEnglish) focusing on respondents’ level of English spoken language

- Questionnaire No.2: This questionnaire consists of 5 questions ( inEnglish) concentrating on challenges, difficulties, and purposes of English spokenlanguage at workplace

- Questionnaire No.3: This questionnaire includes 1 question ( in English)about the effective ways to improve English speaking skills that were chosen byrespondents

3.1.4.2 The interview instrument

The interview is directly conducted via social media and given to five Englishseniors at TMU It focuses on challenges that the fourth-year English majoredstudents may encounter during their time at workplace and they giverecommendations to improve English spoken language of the fourth-year Englishstudents at TMU

3.2 Data analysis

After collecting data from the survey questionnaire and the interview, theresearcher will analyze as follow: