Perspectives of EFL students’ difficulties in speaking: a descriptive study

Abstract

The present study is a descriptive research and quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed to answer questions and to get deep information about students’ difficulties in speaking. This skill could be a big challenge for most of students and teachers. In addition, this research was carried out in a Higher Education Institute in Riobamba city. The results were obtained through an online survey and the results were tabulated and ordered in the SPSS program to obtain descriptive statistics. The findings showed that the main challenge for students is to have correct pronunciation. Therefore, this concern creates fear of making mistakes and anxiety about speaking in public. The study also showed that students do not express themselves well. This investigation corroborates that the use of pair-work activities helps learners to develop and improve their speaking skills. The results should be interesting to EFL teachers who try to enhance students’ speaking difficulties during the learning process. Keywords: speaking difficulties, correct pronunciation, pair-work, EFL learners