Topic: Barrier towards developing speaking

skills of English language at higher level.

Submitted By: Shaharyar Khan

Submitted to: Dr Furrakh Abbas

Roll No: 3228

Semester: 8th (B) Eve

Department of English

Linguistics
 Tables of Content:

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background

1.2. Statement of problems

1.3. Objective

1.4. Significance

1.5. Research Questions

CHAPTER 2: LITERARARY REVIEW

2.1 Literary review

2.2 Barriers of Teaching Speaking English

CHAPTER 3: Methodology

3.1 Subjects

3.2 Instruments

3.3 procedures

3.4 Data Analysis

3.5 Result and Discussion

CHAPTER 4: POBLEMS OF SPEAKING ENGLISH:

4.1. THE BARRIER PROCESSED OF ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS

4.1.1. Difficulties with the grammar

4.1.2. Difficulties with the pronunciation

4.1.3. Vocabulary and reading skills

4.1.4. Speaking the linguistic problems

4.1.5. Affected factors (Anxiety, Self-confidence, attitude &

motivation

4.1.6. Instructions (Teaching, classroom management, methodology,

and course books)

4.1.7. Family, resources and technological support

4.2. Problem of Speaking Deficiency amongst EFL Students

4.3. SOLUTION

4.3.1. Kinds of student effort’s

4.4. EDUCATION LEVEL

4.4.1. High secondary level

4.4.2. Higher level

CHAPTER 5: IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH SPEAKING

5.1. Factors play a crucial role in the English language:

5.1.1. Motivation factor

5.1.2. The Quality of Learners’ Exposure to English

5.1.3. Attitude
5.1.4. The personality of the learner

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND REFERNCES

6.1 Conclusion

6.2 References

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In the name of Allah, the most Gracious and the Most Merciful
Allhumdulilah, all the acclamation and appreciation are for Almighty
ALLAH who created the universe and bestowed the mankind with
knowledge and wisdom to search for its secrets. I offer my humblest
thanks to HOLY PROPHET HAZRAT MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON
HIM), who is, forever a source of guidance and knowledge for
humanity
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1. Introduction
The modern theories, approaches and methodologies regarding
classroom language learning perceive learning as an interactive
process. In countries like Pakistan, where English is a foreign
language, one common phenomenon is that the teachers have
to deal with large classes. English has become the most
widespread means of communication in the world from the
beginning of the Second World War. It is the most widely used
„lingua franca‟ in the present world. It is no longer in the unique
possession of the English or the American; rather it is the
language of the global world now (Shahidulla et al, 2001). Hence,
English has been an integral part of our teaching and curriculum
system.
The teaching of English has traditionally been considered as
teaching and making the students aware of certain language
aspects such as grammar, vocabulary, translation etc. In this
way, the students are hardly provided with adequate practice in
the development of communicative skill through speaking. As a
result, after years of study, students have known a great deal
about English without being able to use it to express their
thoughts and intentions. The language is usually studied in its
written manifestation and often the conversation skill is set
aside. Moreover, aspects of the spoken language are taught in a
very superficial way. Teachers also prefer to teach writing
elements as it is the most conventional form to teach (Rivers,
1968).
For this reason, many teachers give up the attempt to teach
speaking skill and concentrate on the writing aspects. There are
also several techniques of developing conversational skill and
 these are often skipped in our teaching and learning system. For
all, English is a matter of dire importance, our learners can hardly
attain competency in English especially in speaking skill. In
recent years, the emerging and ever increasing importance of
speaking skill in English both in educational and corporate areas
has drawn our attention to the development of this skill. English
has been made compulsory from the primary level in Pakistan,
but the outcome is not much satisfactory and it is still under
working.
After the completion of university education, our graduates can
hardly speak in English and they can hardly prove their
conversational worth. But the demand from the corporate area
is that they often need people with good command of English
and having a good proficiency in conversational skill. In the long
run, both the employers and the employees suffer and they start
learning English again getting admitted to English Learning
Centres.
1.1 Background:
In this era of information technology and globalization, English
has a predominant role in the communicative sphere of the
world. It is taught almost everywhere in the world. It also has a
prestigious reputation in the world. In the realm of education,
English has a special identity. A link language is a language used
by a person who belongs to any national, social or international
strata to express himself in a better manner. English has attained
such a status in the modern scenario. It has become such a
language that is used to express one’s feelings and thoughts. It
is also used to express the feelings of a social group all over the
world. It has thus become a language that is indispensable. It
helps to create a universal brotherhood among all the people in
the world and functions as a link language. (Abdullah, M. H., &
Wong, B. E. (2017). The role of the English language is becoming
inevitable in the post-modern era.
The purpose of a language is to provide an efficient and effective
medium to communicate. In Pakistan, several languages are
used and English is one of such languages. The Pakistani society
places English on a high pedestal. It is considered as the language
of the elite class. General observations make it clear that the
language used by the educated people for official
communication is English.
It is the language of prestige for many. In Pakistan, most of the
parents try to educate their children in English medium schools.
A child’s bright future can be ensured by ensuring his/her good
knowledge of English. If one is capable of communicating his/her
idea in English, he/she is regarded as an intelligent person or a
scholar.
Many institutions use the English language as their medium of
instruction. They operate in English and subjects are taught only
in English. The readership of English is increasing day by day and
simultaneously its significance too. Many people prefer English
to other languages. It has a worldwide acceptance as an
international language. (Ahmed, M. K. 2018).
Several factors lead to deficiency in the speaking skills of
Pakistani students even though they are exposed to this
language from higher studies. In order to identify the important
aspects that contribute to the barriers, this discourse observed
five areas namely motivational factor, the quality of the
exposure of the learners to the English language, the attitude of
the learners, the pedagogical management of the English
language course by the teachers while conducting online classes
and the learners’ personality.
1.2. Statement of problems:
The speaking problems are lack of general knowledge, lack of
speaking practice, fear of mistake, lack of words usage and
grammar practice, low motivation, low participation, reading
laziness, shyness, less dictionary usage, nervousness, fear of
criticism, and unfamiliar words pronunciation. The study
reported that difficulties in speaking English faced by students
were psychological problems (e.g. nervousness, fear of making
mistakes, and lack of confidence), linguistic problems (e.g.
insufficient vocabulary, grammar, expressions, insufficient
sentences organization, etc), and environmental problems (e.g.
lack of learning context for English conversation). (Shen and Chiu
2019)
The major problems faced by the students in speaking English
could be divided into affective related problems, socially-related
problems, and linguistically-related problems. (Afshar & VI | P a
g e Asakereh 2016). The affective related problems include
attitude, self-confidence, motivation, anxiety, duration of the
exposure to the language, classroom conditions, environment
family background, and students and teachers’ competencies.
The socially-related problems include comprehension to
practice English outside the classroom, and comprehension in
speaking class.
The linguistically-related problems include vocabulary, fluency,
grammar, and pronunciation. Students tend to have affective-
related problems in speaking due to some reasons, for instance
anxiety, low confidence, and nervousness. They will likely speak
slowly and less fluently as they hope not to make mistakes. They
are also shy to speak in the classroom and like to make frequent
pauses while speaking.
They always try to avoid speaking by answering the questions
from their lecturers with a yes, or a no answer only. In socially-
related problems, students usually have difficulties
comprehending conversation when speaking outside of their
classroom. The English speaking activities are always over as
soon as they finish the class. They use mother tongue or local
dialect to speak with their friends and family. In addition,
students also face linguistic problems due to their personal
reasons such as laziness to reading book and rare practice to
speak at home.
1.3. Objectives:
The objectives of this study to discover the students’ speaking
performance, speaking problems, linguistic problems and
factors associated with the problems.
1.4. Significance:
This research study will be helpful to enhancing the speaking
skills and also to create ability and confidence for EFL learner.
1.5. Research Question:
The research questions of the study are the following:
i. What English speaking skill is important?
ii. Why are most of the students of Pakistan inefficient in
speaking skill?
iii. What are the problems faced by students in speaking
English language?
iv. How can students overcome the language barriers?
v. What are the causes of Pakistani university instructors’
barriers to teaching the speaking skill?
 Chapter 2: LITERARY REVIEW

2.1 LITERARY REVIEW:

There is little research on the language barriers of higher level

students while learning English in University of Okara as well as in
different universities. Most of the relevant research is conducted on
undergraduate or graduate students. A number of factors have been
asserted to affect the success of learning English in various contexts.
We claimed that “limited number of teachers, teachers’ inadequate
foreign language knowledge and methods, teachers’ using old
fashioned language approaches, students’ not giving importance
because of the heavy burdens of other courses in school, insufficient
language equipments in schools, students' lack of motivation and
interest about foreign language, and students' not having a chance of
using the language outside the class” these are the main difficulties
that bring out the failure in learning and teaching English (Dinçer, et
al., 2010).

We found out that many of the difficulties that Pakistani students

have encountered emerge due to their inefficacy on the linguistic
features such as vocabulary, grammar and phonology knowledge.
Soner (2007)

2.2. Barriers of Teaching Speaking English:

This research portraits the barriers in teaching speaking for EFL

learner. The barriers in teaching speaking English come from two
aspects: internal and external factors. Internal factors are native
language, age, exposure, innate phonetic ability, identity and
language ego, and motivation concern for good speaking English and
external factors are teaching speaking English at large class and
learners’ autonomy. Each barrier is connected with the available
method used in teaching speaking English.

The conclusion of this research is teacher must focus on the learners

need, the second is teacher applies for environment analysis before
conducting teaching speaking English, the last is teacher chooses the
suitable method based on the problems that he/she found in his/her
teaching speaking English.

Several methods that are often used in teaching speaking English are
Direct Method, The Silent Way, Community Language Learning, Total
Physical Response, and Communicative Language Teaching. Direct
Method receives its name from the fact that meaning is conveyed
directly in the target language through use of demonstration and
visual aids, with no recourse to the learners’ native language (Diller,
1978). The Silent Way supposed that learning is a process which we
initiate by ourselves by mobilizing our inner resources to meet the
challenge at hand.

Community Language Learning, by applying this method, learners’

confident will appear and they will be communicative in saying
something based on their idea because teachers support them and
consider their learners as “whole persons”. Total Physical Response,
in this method after the learner internalizes an extensive map how the
target language works, speaking will appear spontaneously.
Communicative Language Teaching became clear that communication
required that learners perform certain functions as well, such as
promising, inviting, and declining invitations within a social context
(Wilkins, 1976).

We conducted a study to investigate the effectiveness of task-based

instructions in developing the speaking skills of university students in
Okara, Pakistan. The reason behind us study was the students’
significant low performance in speaking. In our study, an informal
questionnaire was assigned to 40 students. The questionnaire aimed
to explore and identify the current methods in teaching speaking. It
was found that both teachers and supervisors had no adequate
knowledge of the speaking skills necessity for students. In addition,
students had no opportunities to practice speaking because of the
short time allocated in class.

Moreover, teachers expressed their needs for new and better

teaching methods that could help in increasing students’ motivation
in speaking. It was observed that teachers were obsessed with
correcting errors which led to students’ lack of self-confidence which
impeded their fluency. Furthermore, it was found that students’ books
had very few activities that tackled speaking and that books focused
more on language forms. They did not include real information gap or
motivating topics to influence students to speak.

The researcher recommended that speaking skills should be given

more attention. More time and effort should be dispensed to the
speaking skills; students should be given opportunities to practice
authentic speech on a daily basis. Finally, both teachers and students
should be aware of the importance of the speaking skills and what is
necessary for educational studies at each level in order to develop the
language properly and successfully.
Chapter 3: METHDOLOGY

The study is a quantitative research and hence it incorporates field

work. For collecting data, a survey as part of the study was carried out
for 3-4 days in five Departments under the Department of English,
University of Okara.

3.1. Subjects

The participants of the survey include 40 students. They were selected

from five Departments; 8 students from each Department. The
students were selected from the Departments of Zoology, Molecular
Biology, Chemistry, International Relations and Botany other than
English Department. The students studying in the English Department
have been excluded, because they do not represent the general
students of Pakistan. All the students were selected from (BS Honors)
as they study in the middle of Bachelor and Master Programs and
serve the best purpose of the survey.

3.2. Instruments

A questionnaire was used to collect data. The research is quantitative

research. The questionnaire contained different types of questions.
The subjects were required to answer those questions by putting a tick
mark on the appropriate answer. They were asked questions or
statements about their present speaking performance, their
classroom environment, teachers‟ cooperation and performance,
their past activities in the English classroom at SSC and HSC levels,
their opinion about the contribution of SSC and HSC syllabus and
Comprehension, Fluency, Vocabulary, Pronunciation, and Grammar
etc. Students‟ background information was also taken in the
questionnaire. But there was no option for students‟ names for
maintaining confidentiality.
3.3. Procedure

The survey was conducted directly going to the respondents and the
duration of the survey was 3-4 days. The purpose of the survey was
clarified to the respondents at first. Then, the items of the
questionnaire were clarified to them. It took them 8-10 minutes to
answer the questions. However, many of them were found very
enthusiastic in answering the questions.

3.4. Data Analysis:

The data analysis framework of the study is as follows: The first
statement in the questionnaire is that speaking is very essential in
English language. The respondents were asked how strongly they
agree or disagree with the statement. Nearly 67.5 % respondents
strongly agreed with the statement and another 32.5% respondents
agreed. It is important to note down here that nobody disagreed with
this statement.
Response Respondent Percentage
Strongly agree 27 67.5%
Agree 13 32.5%
Disagree 0 0
Total 40 100%

The second statement in the questionnaire is “Why are most of the

students of Pakistan inefficient in speaking skill?” Nearly 37.5%
respondents agreed on Vocabulary problems, 22.5 % respondents said
low communication and 27.5% respondents agreed on grammar
problems While 12.5% agreed on pronunciation.
 Response Respondent Percentage
Vocabulary problems 15 37.5%
Low communication 09 22.5%
Grammar problems 11 27.5%
Pronunciation 05 12.5%
Total 40 100%

The third statement in the questionnaire is “What are the problems

faced by students in speaking English language? Nearly 50%
respondents agreed on Vocabulary problems, 20 % respondent’s low
communication and 17.5% respondents agreed on grammar problems
While 12.5% agreed on pronunciation.

Response Respondent Percentage

Vocabulary problems 20 50%
Low communication 08 20%
Grammar problems 07 17.5%
Pronunciation 05 12.5%
Total 40 100%

The fourth statement in the questionnaire is that “How can students

overcome the language barriers?” Nearly 20% respondents agreed on
Build the interest & confidence level, 40% respondent’s Reading the
English books, Magazines & Newspapers and 22.5% respondents
agreed on Grammar & Vocabulary While 17.5% agreed on Writing and
communication skills.
 Response Respondent Percentage
Build the interest & confidence 08 20%
level
Reading the English books, 16 40%
Magazines & Newspapers
Grammar & Vocabulary 09 22.5%
Writing and communication skills 07 17.5%
Total 40 100%

The fifth statement in the questionnaire is “What are the causes of

Pakistani university instructors’ barriers to teaching the speaking
skill?” Nearly 50% respondents agreed on Lack of student interest,
12.5% respondent’s limited time for lecture and 7.5% respondents
agreed on limited teaching resources While 25% and 05% agreed on
lack of experience & motivation and Interference of the mother
language.

Response Respondent Percentage

Lack of student interest 20 50%
Limited time for lecture 05 12.5%
Limited teaching resources 03 7.5%
Lack of experience & motivation 10 25%
Interference of the mother 02 05%
language
Total 40 100%
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:
Students always concentrate on the items necessary for passing and
getting a good grade in the examinations. They do not focus on the
conversational skills and other items though they are very essential in
real life situations. Firstly, natural and contextual practice is necessary
for improving one’s skill. But our students are indifferent to the
practice of conversation in different contexts. Secondly, vocabulary is
a very important component in any language. It is far more important
than grammar.
Only grammar cannot make us express our thoughts. But if one has
only vocabulary, he/she can express thoughts and communicate with
others. Vocabulary is unlimited deriving from a wide range of sources.
In the consequence, our students fail to internalize the necessary
amount of vocabulary. Again, they memorize vocabulary without any
reference of context and when those are needed, they can hardly use
those properly.
Thirdly, unfavorable environment undermines students‟ proficiency
in speaking skill. For developing speaking skill, a favorable
environment is needed, where a student can practise his conversation
without any hesitation or shyness.
Fourthly, Pakistani learners suffer from fear and hesitation while
attempting to speak English.
Fifthly, the role of teachers in English speaking class is to cooperate
with students to develop their skill. But many of our teachers are not
concerned about their responsibility and act as rulers over the
students. Such kind of non-cooperation on the part of teachers highly
contributes to the lack of competency in conversational skill in English.
CHAPTER 4 PROBLEMS IN SPEAKING ENGLISH:
4.1. The Barriers Possessed of English Speaking
There are some reasons that make why English speaking is difficult for
students of secondary and higher classes:
(i) The students have no ideas about what they want to say. (ii) They
are feeling shy and uncomfortable as well as not assured if they are
making some mistakes. (iii) The students do not confident to speak up
in front of the class because there are their friends. (iv) The students
have less vocabulary, and they think badly in pronunciation.

4.1.1. Difficulties with grammar:

Grammar is the set of language rules that you use, most of the time
waste to make phrases and sentences that the meaning. According to
Saaristo, grammar guide how language should spoke or written
correctly. Grammar is an important part in learning. Before someone
speaks, he or she has to think about some factors and components of
what he or she is going to speak. In speaking, we produce many words.
These words need to be united together to form phrases, clauses or
sentence that is correct and meaningful. Someone cannot
communicate in English as a foreign language without knowing the
grammatical rules and structures.

4.1.2. Difficulties with pronunciation:

Pronunciation is one of the most important and problematic area

faced by learners while learning English despite the amount of training
in classes (Gilakjani, 2011). Pronunciation is one of the most
important sub-skills of speaking and regardless of accuracy or poor
pronunciation can make the comprehension really difficult. Pakistani
students are not good at English pronunciation due to interference of
mother tongue, learners’ age, attitudes, psychological and
instructional factors.
Pronunciation is the way for students to produce clearer language
when they speak. It relates with the phonological process that refers
to the component of a grammar made up of the elements and
principles that establish how sounds very and pattern in a language.
Pronunciation is another part of English speaking.

Everyone that speaks English should be using good pronunciation. At

least, the listeners understand what we say. In English foreign
language, we have to demand our pronunciation when we speak so
that, the listener does not ambiguity.
Pronunciation is a set of habits of producing sound, pronunciation
refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning.
Different pronunciation means different meaning even the letters are
the same.

Students who can speak English with good pronunciation are more
understandable than others. Because when we speak clearly and with
good pronunciation, the listener will catch our meaning easily. For
some students, learning pronunciation is quite difficult.

4.1.3. Difficulties with the vocabulary and reading skills:

The knowledge of vocabulary is essential for learners to develop their

speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. Despite the role of
vocabulary in communicating effectively, learners experience many
problems in learning vocabulary (Çelik & Toptaş, 2010). There are a
number of barriers affecting learning vocabulary such as individual
differences, the affective issues (motivation, attitudes towards
vocabulary learning, fear of failure) or the language learning aptitude.
In addition, the pronunciation or spelling of words can be another
barrier for language learners.
However, the most prevalent factor hindering vocabulary acquisition
is that learners are not conscious or good at using effective vocabulary
learning strategies (Kocaman & Kızılkaya Cumaoğlu, 2014).

In English speaking skill, the foundation for the students to speak is

vocabulary. We are cannot say anything when we do not have
vocabulary. This related to Alqahtani, he stated that vocabulary is the
total number of words that needed to communicate ideas and express
the speakers meaning. In speaking, the choice of vocabulary
determines the meaning of delivering the message.

Communication does not occur if there are no words. Vocabulary is

central of English language teaching because, without sufficient
vocabulary, students will not understand or cannot express their
ideas. Mastering vocabulary is important for students who learn
English as a foreign language. This because everybody who learns
English, or a certain language should know the words. Mastering
vocabulary can support them in speaking.
The people cannot conduct communication effectively or express
their ideas both oral and written form if have a lack of vocabulary.
Therefore, vocabulary means the appropriate diction which is used in
communication.

Reading is considered to be a gate way to multiple function of

language involving meaning, comprehension, fluency etc. It functions
in many for motivational, behavioural as well as functional
development of readers or language learners. Reading influences and
pursues learners to get close towards the target language and its
culture. This linguistic task can work to minimize psychological gap
between a non-native language learner and a foreign language by
inventing and introducing new world of curiosity to new comer
learners. An effective reading material definitely functions not only as
a linguistic tool or resource, but also a source of innovation,
information, joy and entertainment. Learners can subconsciously
develop linguistic skills through reading for these diversified and ‘non-
pressurized’ purposes; which they are not compelled to perform as
the part of their academic activities.
For smooth, enjoyable and spontaneous reading learners need to
achieve and build up some quality and characteristics. When reading
is a habit to learners, they are very close to overcoming the burden of
reading materials of foreign language.

There are certainly suggestions in the secondary textbook for use of

realia for building habit and facilitating learning. If teachers are always
dynamic to think about interest of learners in reading topic, learners
never lose their patience and interest of reading.

4.1.4. Speaking the linguistic problems:

Lecturers of speaking the linguistic problems can be dealt with by the

lecturers of language element subjects (vocabulary, grammar, and
pronunciation). Speaking lecturers need to pay attention to non-
linguistic problems. The most common non-linguistic problem faced
by most students was “fear”. The lecturers should make them brave
to speak.
Speaking lecturers should not criticize any mistakes made by students
in vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation but give more praises for
student’s progress. Mistakes can be discussed separately. In speaking
activities, the focus should be on expressing ideas/contents
well, not on forms.

The lecturers should provide the students with the expressions that
are needed for speaking (such as conversation gambits and ideas)
before the students do speaking practice, and create speaking classes
that are enjoyable and comfortable for students so that they are
interested in learning speaking. Besides, the lecturers who teach
speaking should create communicative and fun activities as well as
select appropriate topics in teaching so that the students are
motivated to speak because speaking is one of the difficult language
skills for the students.

The lecturers should also be friendly to the students. They should be

willing to help the students who have problems in speaking. The
lecturers should give more exercises for speaking while they are
teaching speaking so that the students can present, produce and
practice the language more. Speaking lecturers should also give more
opportunities to the students to speak in class through small group
discussions so that the students are accustomed and not shy and
afraid to speak.

It is also better for lecturers of speaking should provide their time to

address such issues as how to teach speaking well, the interesting
materials and topics for speaking including communicative classroom
activities, as well as the
books that are used in speaking.

From the entire things, the most pivotal thing is how the lecturers can
stimulate their students in speaking so that they are eager to speak.
The lecturers also try to persuade the students not to be worried or
afraid if they make mistakes in speaking. Lecturers of Speaking
should provide affective supports, such as: (a) showing a supportive
attitude to the students, (b) selecting challenging topics and activities,
(c) considering students’ language ego states, (d) showing patience
and understanding to the students. (Brown 2001)

The key factor to the success of learning speaking is the students

themselves. It is suggested that the students be braver to speak,
without feeling afraid of making mistakes. They should be creative to
find their own ways to develop their speaking ability. The students
should use every opportunity to practice English in and out of class.
They may make commitments with classmates to use English as much
as possible in their daily communications. For increasing vocabulary,
there are some ways that can be done by the students including
consulting the dictionary if they find difficult, watching TV, listening to
the radio or music, etc.

The students should also provide specific times for reading extensively
every day because reading can add and increase their vocabulary.
Another strategy is to get students to try to memorize a number of
vocabulary items every day and use them in sentences so that the
words that have been memorized are not easily forgotten.
This research focused on students’ perceptions of their problems in
speaking class, and the causes of their problems were that they were
afraid. It may be interesting for other researchers to study the
lecturers’ behaviors which can facilitate or hinder the students’
learning.

There are some phrases that the students stated to describe their fear
in speaking such as ‘being afraid of speaking’, ‘being afraid of making
errors, and ‘being afraid of being mocked by friends’. It needs to be
explored furthermore because these deal with non-linguistic
problems.

4.1.5. Affective Factors (anxiety, self-confidence, attitude and

motivation)
Affective factors including motivation, anxiety, self-confidence and
attitude have great impact on the language acquisition process as
both impeding and facilitating role in utilizing language input
(Krashen, 1985). In their study with higher educated students, we
found that the anxiety, boredom, hopelessness and low self-
confidence are main factors that affect the success of foreign language
learning.

The results revealed that pronunciation, immediate questions by

teachers, fear of making mistakes and negative evaluation influence
the anxiety level and success of language learning. Kayaoğlu and
Sağlamel (2013) categorized the causes of language anxiety in
speaking classes as due to linguistic difficulties (vocabulary,
pronunciation, grammar and sentence structure), cognitive challenges
(fear of failure in front of others, fear of exams, fear of failure in
communication, lack of self-esteem, fear of making mistakes), the role
of the teachers, competitiveness and lack of information in learners.
Attitudes and motivation are other affective factors in determining
the success of foreign language learning.
Self-confidence has also a crucial role in second language learning and
developing attitudes towards language learning. We categorized the
increasing difficulty of vocabulary and grammar, getting low marks in
the exams, poor performance, caring about peers, parents and
teachers’ criticisms on their success as leading to develop low self-
confidence about their ability to learn English.

Foreign language learning is a field that is closely related to human

psychology. It has been highly affected by psychology and many
studies have been performed to find out the relationship between
language learning and affective variables.
The common point of all these studies is that they reveal the
remarkable influence of affective factors on language learning
process. The affective variables which are associated with the
emotions and feelings of human beings involve certain personality
traits or qualities such as self-esteem, empathy and introversion.
Research on the relationship between foreign language learning and
affective variables generally focuses on a number of personality
factors such as self-esteem, risk taking, extroversion, motivation and
anxiety. In the process of language learning, these factors may have
positive or negative effects. Among them, anxiety is an important
facet of the affective domain.

4.1.6. Instruction (Teacher, classroom management, methodology,

coursebooks)
Teachers as individuals and their choice of methods and materials as
well as coursebooks can affect the success of learners’ improvement
in second language learning. The learners reflected on teachers’
pedagogy-specific knowledge, personality traits, professional skills
and classroom behaviours.

According to the learners, teachers should be fair, enthusiastic,

friendly, loving, creative and experienced in terms of personality.
Regarding pedagogy-specific knowledge, teachers should teach
pronunciation and four language skills adequately and explain
grammar rules well.

Teachers should also be proficient in grammar and vocabulary, and be

good at classroom management, reducing anxiety and use of
technological and visual materials.
The results of the study were reported as that learners appreciate the
teachers who are good at pronunciation, classroom management,
grammar teaching, use of technological devices and creating an
affective atmosphere in the classroom.

Learning content and materials, teachers’ competence and teaching

styles were found to be important demotivating factors for Pakistani
learners. Lessons with too much grammar focus, accuracy based
activities, long reading passages, least amount of communicative
skills, course book and exercise books have been reported to be
demotivating by the learners in the study. It is also clear that besides
teachers as individuals, teaching methods and course books have
great impact on improving second language learning.
University learners mostly complain about the teachers’ behaviours,
methods, use of mother tongue, difficult textbooks, peer pressure,
lack of technological materials and the difficulty of vocabulary and
grammar as demotivating factors in their context of learning English.

4.1.7. Family, Resource and Technological Support

Learners who live in rural areas can have difficulties in reaching some
sources necessary for their second language improvement. There is
little research on the effect of family support on the effect of learners’
second language development. The results show that well-educated
parents have been perceived to be more helpful in leading the
learners’ success since they can provide support and be good models
for their children.

Parents’ direct (namely, the parents’ direct assistance in helping their

children learn English, such as helping them with their English
homework, providing them with private English lessons after school,
etc.) and indirect behaviours (home literacy and language
environment and the parents’ English proficiency) have been reported
to influence learners’ foreign language learning positively.
While studying English or any other language, learners need some
resources to get help. Besides their families, the use of dictionaries
and technology in today’s world are good resources to provide
necessary information and language learning practice.

The use of advance dictionaries may be helpful in the beginning stages

of learning, they can mislead learners to choose the wrong equivalent
of a word which has multiple meanings in the target language. The
results show that learners both utilize and have positive attitudes
towards the use of ICT to support their learning out of the class on
vocabulary learning and developing listening and writing skills.

4.2. The Problem of Speaking Deficiency amongst EFL Students

The fact that most instructors do not understand the educational
objective sought after by most learning institutions in supporting the
implementation of the EFL programs may interfere with their overall
ability to effectively teach the EFL speaking skills (Bailey, 2006).

Research has shown that learning institutions particularly in non-

English speaking nations have increasingly encouraged for the
dispensation of competent speaking skills among learners at all
education levels following the internationalization of the English
language as a basic medium of communication around the globe (Al-
Jadidi, 2009).

The lack of practicing the language caused an increase in problems

among learners and eventually leads to deficiency in mastering the
speaking skills. We pointed out that the more practice students are
given the better they perform in speaking. We also discussed that
formal speaking improves among students when teachers give them
an insight on how to organize their thoughts and ideas, and when
students are well prepared for their presentations. This helps reduce
the feeling of fear and helps create a friendly atmosphere.
We stated that students were fraught with fear of using English in rural
areas in Pakistan. (Thapalia 2006).

They lacked the ability to speak English although they scored well in
their subjects. Higher school teachers were perceived as the cause of
this issue due to the use of their mother or national tongue Urdu in
teaching EFL. The bilingual and translation methods were the teaching
approaches they used for FLT. As a result, the development of the
listening and speaking skills were neglected because focus was to
achieve scores in the previous methods.
Because they were deprived from listening and speaking English, they
couldn’t produce the language with such minimal listening input. To
solve this problem, higher schools were advised to equip classrooms
with audio/video materials to improve listening and speaking skills.

I also notice during the process of teaching and learning took place
were (1) students often have no ideas about what to say, so they tend
to keep silent, (2) they are also shy and uncomfortable as well as not
confident if they make mistakes., (3) the students are afraid of making
errors in class as they will be laughed at by their friends., and (4) the
students are not used to talking in class since their pronunciation and
vocabulary are poor and confined.

4.3. SOLUTIONS
We tried to explain that all problems pertaining to speaking EFL will
be resolved when teachers give attention to each learner individually
(Kannan 2009). Teachers should motivate students to participate and
to speak in English only. Lots of practice must be given to learners.
Furthermore, the atmosphere of the classroom should be friendly and
appealing. We concludes that extra attention and coaching must be
given to slow learners.
We points out that the speaking skill among students is in a deficient
level due to the ways students are taught English. (Samantray 2009).

Students are forced to speak, read, and answer questions although

they have not had enough listening tasks. This means that they have
not received enough input to be able to produce language. Teachers
main focus is to look for students’ mistakes and correct them,
neglecting learners’ effort in trying to produce the language. Because
that is their focus, students put more effort on accuracy at such an
early stage which hinders them from speaking easily and fluently.

4.3.1. Kinds of Student’s Efforts in Speaking:

Pertaining to the students’ efforts to cope with their difficulties in

learning speaking, it was ascertained that there were 22 attempts that
they had done for these.
They were (1) practice English with friends, (2) try to be braver in
speaking, (3) making sentences from difficult words, (4) making
English club, (5) sitting with friends who give support to speak, (6)
looking up the dictionary for words, (7) doing exercises on grammar
book, (8) memorizing vocabulary, (9) reading English grammar books,
(10) reading English in order to get new ideas, (11) reading
conversation books, (12) practice English by themselves, (13) listening
to the radio, (14) listening English conversation cassettes, (15)
listening to music, (16) watching TV, (17) asking friends if any difficult
words, (18) studying 12 tenses, (19) reading English books, (20)
looking for difficult words by reading book then memorize them, (21)
taking English course, and (22) practice English at home.
All the above students’ efforts to overcome their difficulties in
speaking matched with the characteristics of successful language
learners, it was intended to find justification for the students’ efforts
to solve their problems.

4.4 EDUCATION LEVEL:

4.4.1 Higher secondary

At this stage, both school and madrasah students are enrolled for
two years of formal education after secondary level of five years.
English is also here a mandatory and one of the most important
disciplines which is a challenge for the students to pass this level or
get entrance into higher level of education.
4.4.2 Higher level

At higher level of education Pakistan has universities and colleges.

Universities are of two types private and public. Public universities
follow both Urdu as well as English as the medium of instruction, but
private universities use English as the only medium of instruction. It is
relevant to mention that because the of the limited number of public
university, remarkable number of students is now getting enrolled at
private university and this number is getting increased with time.

So those students who could not do well in English at secondary level

and are now getting admitted to private university must be in trouble
and hamper the quality of private university where they would not
have any medium of learning but English.
CHAPTER: 5 IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS

Speaking is one of the most important skills in learning EFL. It is the

means through which one can communicate with others to achieve
certain goals or to express his opinions, intentions, hopes and
viewpoints in a clear way. Unlike written language, spoken language
consists of short, often fragmentary utterances. It is characterized by
the use of non-specific words and phrases, the use of fillers,
repetition, loosely organized syntax and an overlap between one
speaker and another. (Nunan, D. 2003)

It is important to increase the students' self-confidence in the skills of

speaking in order to support and stimulate them to be more willing to
translate their ideas in the second language.

English Learners can also be able to interact with people in the

neighborhood, participate in social and political activities as well as
advance into the future.

5.1 Factors that Play a Crucial Role in the English Speaking Skills
Several factors lead to deficiency in the speaking skills of Pakistani
youngsters even though they are exposed to this language from higher
school and university studies. In order to identify the important
aspects that contribute to the barriers, this discourse observed five
areas namely motivational factor, the quality of the exposure of the
learners to the English language, the attitude of the learners, the
pedagogical management of the English language course by the
teachers while conducting online classes and the learners’ personality.
5.1.1 Motivational Factor
Different schools and universities of thought had defined this concept
in a precise and clear manner. Motivation as a crucial factor in the
retention and acquisition processes of a novel language. At all phases
of education, success of learning is affected by both extrinsic and
intrinsic factors (Ng & Ng, 2015). Success is based on the intensity of
desire and the effort a person puts to attain that goal. This
psychological aspect or the instinct which creates that particular
action is known as motivation. It is something that incites, stimulates
or arouses an action.

It can also be comprehended as an amalgamation of strong

determination and attempt to accomplish the end of learning a
language. Enthusiasm towards acquiring a novel language is added
along with this. Motivation is accompanied by several factors.
A motivated person takes the effort towards accomplishing a
particular task, but the expended effort may not suggest that the
person is strongly and totally motivated (Gardner, 1985). It gives
learners a direction and aim.
Ultimately, it is a prominent factor in the process of learning language.
Lack of motivation can create difficulty in language acquisition.
Effective learning can be impeded due to lack of motivation. Basically,
there are three prominent factors to motivation. They are: the
pleasure derived from the learning process, the attitude a learner has
towards the foreign language and extraneous pressure factors
(Alizadeh, 2016).

5.1.2 The Quality of Learners’ Exposure to English

Multiple factors affect the process of learning a second language.
Opportunity to make use the target language is one among them.
Briere states that acquisition of the foreign language is highly
influenced by the period of time in exposure to a target language in
the environment of linguistics (Briere, 1987).

Language exposure can be understood as the proficiency level and the

rate of language acquisition level resulting from the process of
learning.
Learning a new language can be conducted in its best form in formal
and informal manner. Only a formal mode of exposure may not give
the desired effect compared to that in formal and informal
environment (Sheela, 2016; Ravikumar, 2016). Some activities should
be conducted outside the classroom for increasing the language
proficiency of the students. Research shows that an exposure given to
the students outside the classroom is highly beneficial for acquiring
second language.

It has a good and positive impact compared to in-class instructions.

The vocabulary acquisition was found relatively high in outside
classroom practice. The crucial aspects that help in improving the
proficiency of the students are interactions between students and
teachers and the exposure to English environment in the campus.
But, to the contrary, at the time of this pandemic, no such activities
are possible. Online means of teaching cannot provide such an
atmosphere to every student as the reach of technology is limited.
Moreover, most of the students are not capable of affording huge cost
for their studies.

The analysis was based on the lexical properties and the quantity of
words uttered by both the students and teachers during the online
sessions. The findings suggest that the language of the students
develops significantly when they interact in English with teachers in a
classroom ambience rather than in an online, technology-based
system.
5.1.4 Attitude
The success of learning a new language is basically linked to the
attitude of the person. We agreed that motivation and language
attitudes are very crucial in the acquisition of the second language (L2)
which donates significantly in the readiness of the learners to interact
and the willingness to communicate in the second language (Jackson,
2016). A comprehensive study is conducted by Abdullah and Wong in
the amalgamated realm of socio-politics and language. The study
aimed at finding the relationship between the socio-political nature in
Pakistan and the attitude of people towards learning English.

The researchers also examined the correlation between the attitude

of youngsters towards learning the English language and the probable
threats it poses on national identity (Abdullah & Wong, 2017). The
study revealed the fact that the respondents who believed in the
power of English in political and social realm found its teaching and
learning worthy.

On the other hand, the respondents who believed that English has an
authoritarian power showed an apprehension towards its learning.
They believed that English will erase their national and ethnic identity.
In a Pakistani university, the relationship between mastery over
English speaking skills and attitude of youngsters is analyzed based on
a study among 40 Pakistani students (Motobayashi & Takahashi,
2019). The result of the study was astonishing. It was found that a
highly positive approach and attitude towards speaking English is
developed in the youngsters when they favored speaking English in an
ambience away from that of their first language using locality.

The hypothesis was that if the students prefer a particular section of

the language more, there is a possibility that they would achieve
mastery of the skill or area in a better manner.

5.1.5. The Personality of the Learner

Another crucial aspect which affects a student’s language
development and willingness to communicate in foreign language is
the personality trait. Various scholars have conducted studies on the
relationship between language learning and the personality of the
learner. Second language acquisition and personality are correlated
strongly.
The failure or the success of the language learning process is linked to
the learner’s personality. The introverted ones will be slow in
responding in the target second language compared to an extrovert
person (Ehrman, Krashen, & Skehan, 1989). Introverts acquire or
respond in second language in a slower manner compared to an
extrovert.
Therefore, it is crucial for an extrovert to get acquainted with some
other means to get acclimatized to the communicative elements.
There are five important aspects related to the personality of the
learner in the process of language learning and they are
conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and
extroversion. A learner’s personality trait is directly linked to his or her
willingness to communicate (WTC) in a foreign or second language.
This readiness can further be influenced by the situations of the
learner. In the context of WTC, conscientiousness and agreeableness,
both had a negative and direct relationship to WTC in a non-native
language.
On the other hand, openness to experience does not have an impact
on learners’ WTC. Moreover, neuroticism affects WTC in a positive
and direct manner. Thus, as a conclusion, it is clear that WTC and
personality traits have direct relation with WTC in foreign language.
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND REFERNCES

6.1 CONCLUSION

Nevertheless, the more effective strategy is what students think

effective for them. The technique or way they follow spontaneously
can bring them more apt development than anything else. Therefore,
the teachers should always encourage students to talk about what
strategies they think will help them approach a reading assignment
more easily, and then they can discuss after reading about what
strategies they actually used and what was its benefit and faults.

This helps students develop flexibility in their choice of strategies.

Unless students read flexibly, there are few possibilities for them to
improve in reading. ‘Pressurized Reading’ has been proved to be
fruitless or ineffective to allow the students expected development in
reading. There are number of students who perform excellent in the
exam paper, but still they lack in reading and speaking skills.

However, this study finds that the current activities which are applied
for developing the reading skill of university students of are not
adequate enough, rather these are little relevant to the real context
and need and method.

There is a strong correlation between the teachers and the students

on evaluation of syllabus. Both groups of the respondents suggest that
the lessons and tasks are not interesting, enjoyable and suitable for
the age of learners. Hence, it can be said that it would not be possible
to develop the reading skill until students read English spontaneously.
And in order to reach this goal teacher must always follow dynamism
along with the above mentioned remedies.

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