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

Abstract

Communication is essential for human beings, since, thanks to it, we can express what we feel or need. In addition, it is very important within society and thus people are able to integrate and relate in a world full of different cultures. Therefore, learning to speak English is a boundless challenge for students. This descriptive study was conducted in the city of Cuenca through a survey sent in Google Forms. Items in the survey had a Likert scale, which was applied to 70 students. The results obtained in this study were analyzed in a program called SPSS. They indicated that students’ speaking problems are related to anxiety, fear of making mistakes, lack of confidence, pronunciation, grammar rules, and lack of vocabulary. The speaking activities they did in classes included recording audios, making oral presentations, and pair-work. Students had positive perspectives about pair work. They agreed this is advantageous to develop oral competencies. However, they mentioned that one disadvantage of pair-work is that the students with higher proficiency are the ones who speak more. This descriptive study is useful for EFL teachers who want to help students overcome the speech barriers mentioned in this study. Keywords: SPEAKING, SPEAKING DIFFICULTIES, EFL STUDENTS, ORAL COMMUNICATION