Factors Contributing to Students’ Habit in Learning English

This research aimed at finding out Factors Contributing to Students’ Habit in Learning English. The research was descriptive qualitative research. The subject of the study consisted of 25 students taken from five classes at the fifth semester students of FMBM. The instrument that was in the form of questionnaire. The result was analyzed by using Mile and Huberman (1994) theory (data reduction, data display, conclusion drawing and verification). The result found that there were five factors contributing to students’ habit in learning English especially speaking skill at the fifth semester students of FMBM, they were; Performance Conditions, Affective Factors, Listening Ability, Topical Knowledge, and Feedback during Speaking Activities. And the more dominant factor among those factors were; Performance Conditions (20)/90%, Affective Factors (18)/85%, Topical Knowledge (15)/75%, Listening Ability (10)/35%, and Feedback during Speaking Activities (5)/10%.

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO EFL LEARNERS’ SPEAKING PERFORMANCE

This research investigated the factors contributing to learners’ speaking performance and exploring the reasons why those factors are perceived by learners to contribute to their speaking performance. This was descriptive research that used both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The participants of this research were 28 EFL learners who were selected by using cluster random sampling. Closed-ended questionnaires, open-ended questionnaires, and interviews were used to collect the data. The data from closed-ended questionnaires were analyzed quantitatively using the descriptive statistics of frequencies and percentages, while the data from open-ended questionnaires and interviews were analyzed qualitatively. Data from all sources were triangulated to validate the data. The result of the closed-ended questionnaire showed that the factors which contribute the most to learners’ speaking performance were the time for preparation and topical knowledge with the same percentages (97.4%). The least factor that contributes to learners’ speaking performance was the pressure to perform well (60.5%). Those factors contribute to learners' speaking performance in both positive and negative ways. These influences can either help motivate learners to speak English or even discourage them from doing so. It all depends on how learners’ value, respond to, and behave towards those factors. Furthermore, this research also gives contributions on factors that contribute to learners' speaking performance; those are vocabulary and interaction with native speakers.

Challenges in Speaking Classrooms among Non-English Majors

As a great challenge to most English learners, speaking skills have aroused the interest of numerous researchers in many countries where English is taught as a foreign language. This study aimed to investigate some difficulties that students faced in speaking classrooms. A group of 57 participants at Tra Vinh university was selected to complete the questionnaires to find out students’ speaking problems from psychological and linguistic perspectives and 12 of them participated in the face-to face interviews. The results from the questionnaire revealed that non-English majors encountered more linguistic difficulties than psychological ones. Also, students’ psychological problems identified includes: pressure to perform well, being overpowered by more competent students, fear of making mistakes in front of the class and fear of criticism or losing face. The linguistic difficulties are lacking vocabulary and topical knowledge, being uncapable of arranging ideas logically, insufficient sentence formation skills and inappropriate vocabulary. The findings from the interview also showed that learners encountered more linguistic difficulties. Based on the findings above, some possible solutions are suggested to assist students in improving their speaking skills when acquiring English.

Challenges in speaking classrooms among non-English majors

As a great challenge to most English learners, speaking skills have aroused the interest of numerous researchers in many countries where English is taught as a foreign language. This study aimed to investigate some difficulties that students faced in speaking classrooms. A group of 57 participants at Tra Vinh university was selected to complete the questionnaires to find out students’ speaking problems from psychological and linguistic perspectives and 12 of them participated in the face-to face interviews. The results from the questionnaire revealed that non-English majors encountered more linguistic difficulties than psychological ones. Also, students’ psychological problems identified includes: pressure to perform well, being overpowered by more competent students, fear of making mistakes in front of the class and fear of criticism or losing face. The linguistic difficulties are lacking vocabulary and topical knowledge, being uncapable of arranging ideas logically, insufficient sentence formation skills and inappropriate vocabulary. The findings from the interview also showed that learners encountered more linguistic difficulties. Based on the findings above, some possible solutions are suggested to assist students in improving their speaking skills when acquiring English.

Factors Influencing English-majored Freshmen’s Speaking Performance at Ho Chi Minh City University of Food Industry

It has been commonly recognized that many Vietnamese students encounter difficulties in communicating and speaking the English language. This study aims to explore the problems influencing university students’ performance in learning English speaking skills. The author carried out this research by surveying 178 English-majored freshmen at Ho Chi Minh City University of Food Industry. The findings from the analyzed quantitative data revealed that the respondents’ difficulties mainly came from internal factors. The internal factors were categorized into five main aspects: overuse of L1, weak listening and pronunciation, lack of topical knowledge and ideas, shyness and nervousness, and fear of mistakes and criticism. Some other external factors having less impact on the students’ speaking performance involved practicing time, the content of the topics, IELTS-oriented speaking tests, and lecturers’ support. This study was expected to help students overcome their internal problems and suggest some recommendations to minimize the undesirable effects of negative factors.

Identifying English Language Use and Communication Challenges Facing “Entry-Level” Workplace Immigrants in Canada

Canada has one of the world’s largest immigrant populations, with one in five people in Canada born outside the country. Among these immigrants, a great majority started their lives in Canada working in entry-level jobs. This study examined the English language use and communication challenges among these new Canadian immigrants in entry-level workplace settings. Fourteen participants were interviewed. The results showed four distinct patterns of categories: topical knowledge, language knowledge, personal attributes, and communication strategies. These patterns of language use and communication challenges were narrated in each workplace where these immigrants survive and thrive using English. This study addresses the research gap of entry-level workplace immigrants in Canada and provides a nuanced understanding through work and life stories in reference to their English language ability.

Survey on EFL Students’ Writing Anxiety: Level, Types, and Causes

This study attempts to investigate the EFL learners’ writing anxiety. Being more specific, the researcher was interested to measure the EFL learners’ writing anxiety levels, to find out types of writing anxieties (i.e., Somatic Anxiety, Cognitive Anxiety, Avoidance Behavior), and elaborate the triggering factors of writing anxiety. The research subjects were 28students who registered for Essay Writing in English Study Program; Two different questionnaires were administered to gather the data; SLWAI questionnaire designed by Cheng (2004) and another questionnaire developed by Zhang (2011). To investigate the level of writing anxiety and its types, the data from the SLWAI questionnaire were analyzed and calculated to find the mean. Moreover, to find out the causes of writing anxiety, the data from the second questionnaire were ranked from 1-7 based on the most chosen items. The findings showed that students experience high level of anxiety (M=65.86, >65). Then the most common type of anxiety was Cognitive Anxiety, and the mean score is 23.9 in which it was the highest of all the types. Furthermore, linguistics difficulties (82%), lack of topical knowledge (68%), and insufficient writing technique (60%) were the dominant sources of students’ writing anxiety

Faktor-faktor yang Mempengaruhi Speaking Performance Mahasiswa Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris

Speaking skill is one of the most important skill to teach for English department students. Most activities in speaking class are oral presentations, however, there are many students who admitted to have obstacles on speaking performance. The main aim of this study was to find out the factors influencing students’ speaking performance in speaking class, furthermore, it was also to know what difficulties faced by the students of English department at IKIP Budi Utomo Malang. This study applied the descriptive qualitative method which describes the findings and the result of the study qualitatively. The data were collected by using observation, questionnaire, and documentation. This analysis found that both linguistics and non linguistics aspects influenced students’ speaking performance. The linguistics aspect includes vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar while the non-linguistic aspect covers confidence, anxiety, and topical knowledge.

FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN SPEAKING PERFORMANCE OF THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMA NEGERI 1 TIWORO KEPULAUAN

Students’ speaking performance could be affected by factors that come from performance conditions (time pressure, planning, standard of performance and amount of support), affective factors (such as motivation, confidence and anxiety), listening ability, topical knowledge and feedback during speaking activities. The purpose of this study was to analyze, describe and determine factors affecting students’ difficulties in speaking performance of the tenth-grade students of SMA Negeri 1 Tiworo Kepulauan. This study employed quantitative design in the form of survey. The samples were 30 students of X MIA 2 which were taken by using random sampling. The data were collected by using close ended questionnaire and were analyzed by using SPSS version 16. The results of this research showed that of the three factors affecting students’ difficulties in speaking, the highest percentage was linguistic factors including grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. It was concluded that the students got difficulties in performing speaking task. Keywords: Students, Difficulties, Speaking Performance

Factors Affecting Students’ Difficulties in Speaking Performance of The Tenth Grade Students of SMA Negeri 1 Tiworo Kepulauan

Students’ speaking performance could be affected by factors that come from performance conditions (time pressure, planning, standard of performance and amount of support), affective factors (such as motivation, confidence and anxiety), listening ability, topical knowledge and feedback during speaking activities. The purpose of this study was to analyze, describe and determine factors affecting students’ difficulties in speaking performance of the tenth-grade students of SMA Negeri 1 Tiworo Kepulauan. This study employed quantitative design in the form of survey. The samples were 30 students of X MIA 2 which were taken by using random sampling. The data were collected by using close ended questionnaire and were analyzed by using SPSS version 16. The results of this research showed that of the three factors affecting students’ difficulties in speaking, the highest percentage was linguistic factors including grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. It was concluded that the students got difficulties in performing speaking task. Keywords: Speaking Performance, Students’ Difficulties