Chapter one

Introduction

1.1 Background of the study

English is a language of international communication in many parts of the world. It is also the
medium of instruction in Ethiopian high schools and is given as a subject at all grade levels in
the country. The language is widely used and plays a significant role in helping students to
communicate as well as attend the various subject matters that are given in English.

Like all other languages, English requires proficiency in four major skills: listening, speaking,
reading and writing. Speaking skill, unlike other skills, requires an active involvement of the
interlocutors. For speaking to take place, there must be an active listener who contributes for the
effectiveness of the oral communication. This is due to the fact that speaking requires not only
knowledge of productive use of lexis, but also the ability to exchange meaningful messages in
real communicative situations (Celce-Murcia and Olshtain, 2000).

In relation to learners’ roles in classroom communicative situations, Prabhu (1987) pointed out
that one of the required elements of classroom speaking sessions is creation of conditions in
which learners engage in an effort to cope with classroom communicative requirements. For him,
classroom interactions involve both giving ideas to one another and receiving, and making
meaningful communication through consistent use of the target language.

The above stated ideas suggest two basic notions. The first is that learners should be provided
with authentic classroom situations that allow them to use the target language the way it has to
be used in real communicative events. This is to say that teachers should give emphasis to what
sorts of speaking activities to provide students with and how they can make learners take part in
the activities. The second is that learners should be actively participating in classroom speaking
sessions such as pair works, group works, role-plays, etc.

It is, however, unusual to observe the high school teachers and students to take part in real
classroom speaking activities. Teachers tend to focus more on teacher-centered methodologies of
teaching rather than creating classroom speaking situations for learners. In fact, some attempts

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are being made in this aspect though there is usually a tendency to immediately shift to the
traditional teacher-centered methods. Those methods are not effective enough to enhance the
speaking proficiency of the students in that they don’t give students opportunities to engage in
communicative situations.

Even if students are given opportunities to take part in classroom communicative situations, they
usually refrain from actively participating in classroom speaking activities. This could be due to
different affective factors. And hence, studying the challenges high school students face in
speaking classes would be essential to alleviate their speaking limitations.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Speaking skill plays a vital role in enhancing the language performance of students. Through
speaking, students can handle a number of classroom activities. In a country like Ethiopia where
English is a medium of instruction, learners speaking proficiency is crucial in that it helps them
to easily get the essential points out of classroom lessons.

Most Ethiopian high school students fail to use the English language both in and outside the
classroom despite the fact that they always attend their classes in the language. And the same is
true in Dejazmach wondirad Primary School. Students can answer questions in examinations, but
they find it very difficult to speak out in the classroom.

Due to this fact, the researcher focused on the assessment of speaking proficiency of grade 8
students of Dejazmach wondirad Primary School. The researcher wanted to focus on this area
since he is an English teacher in the same school and grade level. In his stay in the school he
observed that students refrain from taking part in different classroom activities. And hence, he
found it crucial to examine the various factors that lead to poor performance of students in
speaking classes.

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 1.3 Objectives of the Study

1.3.1 General Objective

The main objective of this study is to investigate the factors that hinder students’ speaking
proficiency in Dejazmach wondirad Primary School and to solve them with the use of
communicative activities.

1.3.2 Specific Objectives

The specific objectives of this study are

 To assess the basic problems students face while performing speaking activities.
 To investigate to what extent teachers are working to enhance the students speaking
abilities.
 To closely investigate the usual classroom speaking activities
 To solve the problems by preparing and implementing an appropriate plan of action.
1.4 Research Questions

In Dejazmach wondirad Primary School, the students’ speaking skill is found to be limited.
Therefore, the researchers wanted to examine the reasons behind this and formulated the
following basic research questions:

 What are the major factors behind students’ low performance in English speaking
classes?
 What roles are expected from the teachers and the students to alleviate those limitations?
 Which communicative activities are preferable to improve the students’ English speaking
skill?
1.5 Significance of the Study

The findings of this study would have some basic contributions for the teachers, students and
other researchers who would like to work on the same issue. The study would be essential for the
students in that it provides them with various hints of developing their speaking skills. It is also
useful for the teachers in that it enables them to identify the various speaking limitations of their

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students and act to find solutions for the problems. And finally, it would provide a hint for those
who would like to pursue their studies in the same area.

1.6 Delimitations of the Study

This study was conducted in Dejazmach wondirad Primary School and took grade 8 students
speaking limitations in to considerations. It was delimited in exploring the various factors that
affect grade 8 students speaking skills. It explores the factors both from the students and the
teachers’ perspective. It, therefore, provides a detailed analysis of the problems concerning the
students’ speaking limitations.

1.7 Limitations of the Study

The researcher is aware that the study would have been more reliable and useful if it was
conducted in a wider scope. However, the researcher found it difficult to include many subjects
due to various limitations, especially shortage of time. Therefore, the researcher conducted the
study by considering only grade 8 students in Dejazmach wondirad Primary School.

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 Chapter Three

Research Design and Methodology

3.1 Design of the Study

The population of this study included grade 8 English teachers and students of Dejazmach
wondirad Primary School. Thus, the samples for the study were taken from this population. To
gather data, the researchers used both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. And
during the analysis of the quantitative data, the researchers organized the data in tables and used
simple statistical measures such as percentages.

3.2 Participants of the study

The participants of this study are 30 randomly selected grade 8 students out of six sections and
three English teachers who teach in grade 8 at Dejazmach wondirad Primary School. The student
participants took part in the data gathering process by responding to structured questionnaires.
On the other hand, the teacher participants were supposed to respond to interview questions that
were prepared by the researchers.

3.3 Data Gathering Instruments

While conducting this research, the researchers employed two data gathering instruments:
questionnaire and interview. The questionnaire was intended to gather data from the student
respondents in that they can provide data by being free from any frustration. And the interview
was administered to get detailed data from teacher respondents.

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3.3.1 Questionnaire

As mentioned above, questionnaire was found to be preferable to gather relevant data from
student respondents. To this end, the researchers prepared four close-ended and one open-ended
question and distributed them to the randomly selected students. The choice of questionnaire
over interview to gather data from student participants is that the students do not feel free to
respond to interviews, but they can respond privately and freely to questionnaires.

3.3.2 Interview

Interview was the second data gathering tool that was employed by the researchers. This data
gathering instrument was intended to get relevant data from the selected English teachers. The
researchers administered four interview questions for teacher respondents believing that it allows
the teachers to raise as many factors as possible for students’ low academic performance in
English speaking classes. To this end all the interview questions were made open-ended.

3.4 Method of Data Analysis

Both qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis were used in this study. The data
obtained through the questionnaire were analyzed quantitatively. To do so, the data were
arranged in tables and the amount of respondents for each question was numbered and expressed
in terms percentages. And the data obtained from the interview were analyzed qualitatively in
that the researchers tried to associate the teachers’ responses to the relevant literature in the study
area.

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 Chapter Four

Data Analysis and Interpretation

3.1 Analysis and Interpretation of Data Obtained from Students

3.1.1 Students’ Responses on the Number of Speaking Activities per a Week

Number of speaking activities per a Number of Percentage

week respondents
5 - -
4 - -
3 - -
2 or fewer 30 100%
Total 30 100%
Table 1: Distribution of respondents based on the number of speaking activities per a week

As can be seen from the above table, student respondents were asked to choose from the
suggested frequencies of speaking activities per a week. Accordingly, all (100%) of them replied
that they were given two or fewer speaking classes in a week. From this, the researchers
understood that little attention is given to speaking activities. And this, in turn, contributed for
the low academic performance of the target students in English speaking classes.

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 3.1.2 Students’ response on whether they use only English in all classes

Do you use only English in all English Number of respondents Percentage

classes?
Yes - -
No 30 100%
Total 30 100%
Table 2: Distribution of respondents that do/do not use English in classes

The data presented on table 2 tells us whether the student respondents use only English in all
English classes. In response, all (100 %) of the respondents replied that they do not use only
English in all classes. This means that they switch between their mother tongue and English now
and then in all English classes. Based on this, the researchers concluded that the students’ growth
in speaking skill is highly affected by the interference of their mother tongue; hence, the students
became less proficient in speaking English.

3.1.3 Students’ response on whether they have any difficulty in speaking

English

Do you think you have any difficulty in speaking Number of respondents percentage
English?
Yes 27 90%
No 3 10%
Total 30 100%
Table 3: Distribution of respondents who have/ do not have difficulty in speaking English

The above table demonstrated that 27(90%) of the respondents believed that they had difficulty
in speaking English. On the other hand, the remaining 3(10%) of the respondents replied that
they did not have any difficulty in speaking English. Since the vast majority of the respondents
admitted the fact that they had difficulty in speaking English, the researchers concluded that the

8
students have serious limitations in speaking English, and appropriate classroom measures has to
be taken to help the students combat the issues they have with speaking English.

3.1.4 Students response on factors that hinder their English speaking

proficiency

No. Factors that hinder students’ speaking Number of respondents percentage

proficiency affected by each factor
1 Lack of regular practice 27 90%
2 Lack of vocabulary 20 66.67%
3 Difficulty in pronunciation 11 36.67%
4 Inability to organize ideas 25 83.33%
5 Lack of confidence 9 30%
6 Lack of the required support from teachers 18 60%
7 Fear of grammatical mistakes 22 73.33%
8 Poor background knowledge 16 53.33%
Table 4: Distribution of respondents by factors that hinder their speaking proficiency

As indicated on the above table, student respondents were given the chance to choose from eight
expected factors that might contribute for the low academic performance of students in English
speaking classes at Dejazmach wondirad Primary School. The respondents were allowed to
choose more than one expected factors as they were likely to face similar problems in English

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speaking classes. According to the data in the table, lack of regular practice was chosen by
27(90%) of the respondents to be the most hindering factor against their English speaking
proficiency. Following that was inability to organize ideas. It was chosen by 25(83.33%) of the
respondents. And fear of grammatical mistakes was chosen by 22(73.33%) of the respondents as
a factor toward their low performance in English speaking. Similarly, 20(66.67%) of them chose
‘lack of vocabulary’, 18(60%) of them chose ‘lack of required support from teachers’,
16(53.33%) of them chose ‘poor background knowledge’, 11(36.67%) of them chose ‘difficulty
in pronunciation’, and 9(30%) of them chose ‘lack of confidence’ as factors that hindered their
English speaking proficiencies. It is, therefore, possible to conclude that the students’ speaking
ability is mostly affected by lack of regular practice, inability to organize ideas, and fear of
grammatical mistakes respectively.

3.1.5 Students’ Responses on Major Challenges They Are Facing in Speaking

Classes

Student respondents were also asked to mention possible challenges that they were facing in
English speaking classes. In response, most of them replied that lack of fluency (inability to
convey meaning without difficulty), fear of making mistakes in front of classmates, lack of
confidence, shortage of appropriate words for each communicative situation, and interference of
their mother tongue were among the major challenges they were facing in English speaking
classes. They also confirmed that the existence of such challenges contributed a lot for their low
academic performance in English speaking classes. The researchers, therefore, found out that the
students were struggling with the above mentioned challenges in English speaking classes;
hence, appropriate remedial measures need to be taken by both teachers and students in English
speaking classes at the target school.

3.2 Analysis and Interpretation of Data Obtained from Teacher Respondents

The researchers believed that the data collected from the student respondents would not be
enough to get the full picture of the speaking limitations that the students are experiencing. For
this reason, they conducted an interview with three selected English teachers who are teaching in
the same grade level at the target school. Those teacher respondents were asked one leading
close-ended question and four open-ended questions about the causes of speaking problems of

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the students, the measures that need to be taken to solve the problems, the frequency of their
usage of communicative activities in English speaking classes, and the common methods of
teaching they use in English speaking classes.

Firstly, the English teachers were asked whether their students had any difficulty in speaking
English. In response, they said that the vast majority of their students had serious difficulty in
speaking English. And the reasons for this were said to be unwillingness to actively take part in
speaking classes, lack of sufficient communicative activities, focusing more on forms rather than
real life communication, and fear of judgment from others. From this, it can be understood that
grade 8 students of Dejazmach wondirad Primary School were having various difficulties in
speaking classes due to the above mentioned reasons.

Secondly, the teacher respondents were asked to mention the necessary measures they believed
should be taken to alleviate the speaking problems of the students. And they replied that the
students should be regularly exposed to real communicative activities so that they can internalize
the most appropriate social expressions for different communicative situations. This clearly
indicates that the English teachers recognize the need to engage students in real life
communicative activities so as to improve their students’ speaking ability.

Thirdly, they were asked about the methods of teaching they usually used to teach their students
English speaking. For this, they replied that they usually did most of the talking in speaking
classes. They said that the vast majority of the students remain passive in speaking classes, and
hence, the teachers were usually forced to skip the lessons with mere explanations. From this, the
researchers found it possible to conclude that the teachers usually used the lecture method of
teaching in speaking classes. And this method is less engaging; as a result, there shall be a
dramatic shift in the method of teaching from lecture to communicative based activities.

Lastly, they were asked about their frequency of including communicative activities in English
speaking classes. And they responded that they rarely included communicative activities in the
speaking classes. They did not spend much time on speaking lessons. Rather, they focused more
on explaining social expressions instead of letting their students talk about real life situations.
From this, it is understood that the English teachers are not frequently incorporating

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communicative activities in their speaking lessons; consequently, the students are less likely to
be accustomed to real life communicative situations.

Chapter Five

Conclusion, Action Plan and Reflection

5.1 Conclusion

Based on the data gathered, analyzed and interpreted in the previous chapter, the researchers
made the following main conclusions:

 Grade 8 students of Dejazmach wondirad Primary School were given little opportunities
to practice speaking in English. And this situation resulted in low speaking proficiency
of the target students.
 The students did not solely use English in speaking classes. They used to immediately
shift to using their mother tongue in English speaking classes.
 Almost all the students have serious limitations in speaking in English.
 The students’ speaking ability was found to be highly affected by lack of regular
practice, inability to organize ideas, and fear of making mistakes.
 The vast majority of the students did not actively participate in English speaking classes,
which eventually resulted in low communicative abilities.

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  English teachers usually focused on the teaching of forms rather than real life
communicative activities.
 English teachers usually preferred the teacher-centered method of teaching speaking.
They used to do most of the talking, so the students did not get sufficient opportunities in
speaking classes.

5.2 Action Plan

No Identified Problems Action to be taken Responsible Time

bodies Frame
1 Interference of mother -Set strict ground rule that -English February 9,
tongue in speaking classes forces students to use only teachers and 2024- April
English in speaking classes. students 6, 2024
2 Lack of regular practice -Prepare at least three -English February 9,
speaking activities in a week; teachers and 2024- April
in addition, teach speaking by students 6, 2024
integrating it with other skills.
3 Inability to organize ideas -Prepare organized pair work -English February 9,
activities, dialogues, group teachers and 2024- April
activities, debates and role students 6, 2024
plays and let the students act
out those organized activities
before asking them to prepare
and organize their own.
4 Fear of making mistakes -Provide continuous and -English February 9,

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 constructive appraisal to any teachers 2024- April
of the students’ efforts in all 6, 2024
speaking classes.
5 Lack of active participation -Prepare engaging group and -English February 9,
in speaking classes pair work activities and let teachers and 2024- April
every student take part in the students 6, 2024
activities.
6 Teachers focus more on -Focus more on -English February 9,
forms rather than real life communicative activities such teachers 2024- April
communicative activities as group or pair work, role 6, 2024
plays, debates, dramas, etc. on
different social issues.

5.3 Reflection

In this part of the study, the researchers would like reflect on the overall processes, the lesson
learned, what should be done in the future. The reflection mainly focuses on the experiences
obtained throughout the process of conducting the study and the proposed plan of action
designed to be implemented for the sake of improving the speaking limitations identified based
on the research findings. Therefore, the researchers would like to briefly comment on their
experience with the student respondents, English teachers, and the proposed actions to be taken.

Firstly, the researchers found it a crucial experience communicating with the students. While
gathering data from the students, it has been understood that the students are highly responsible
and cooperative. If they are given the opportunity to contribute for change in the teaching-
learning process, they are huge assets to consider. The data they provided were genuine in that it
was highly pertinent to those of the teachers’.

Secondly, the researchers have learned from the teacher respondents that the main problem
toward improving students’ English speaking ability is not teachers’ failure to understand the
existing limitations but having less commitment to plan for change and take appropriate actions
for improvement. The researchers say this due to the fact that the teacher respondents mentioned
the hindering factors and the possible measures to be taken and yet have not taken anything to

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alleviate the problems they have already identified. Besides, especially for teacher researchers
working in other schools, it was an invaluable experience discussing teaching-learning matters
with the same subject teachers across schools.

All in all, the entire process of conducting the study was a great experience; and hence, what has
been indicated in the action plan part above needs to be implemented well within the given time
frame of two months and the results shall be communicated with the other implementers,
students and all English teachers available so as to make re-planning possible. In general, this
study was worth doing for the researchers in that it helped them to understand their students and
their colleagues, and what needs to be done to improve the speaking ability of their students.

References

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 De Jong, N. H. (2014). Teaching Speaking. In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics

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 Prabhu, N. S. (1987). Second Language Pedagogy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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