An Investigation of English as Foreign Language Students' Attitudes Toward Improving Their Speaking Abilities at KRI Universities
Suggested citation:
Muhi, Z. H., & Dajang, I. N. (2022). An Investigation of English as Foreign Language Students' Attitudes Toward Improving their Speaking Abilities at KRI Universities. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 1(4), 171-182. Available at https://www.ujer.org/vol1no4/article114
Zubair Hamad Muhi
Urmia University, Urmia, West Azarbaijan Province, Iran
Innocent Nasuk Dajang
University of Jos, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria
ABSTRACT
The study examines English as Foreign Language (EFL) students’ attitude towards developing their speaking abilities at KRI University in order to better understand the disparities in speaking competency among undergraduates. The study utilized a quantitative approach and employed a 4-item interview survey to gather data for the study. The survey interview questionnaire was adopted from Wang, Kim, Bong, and Ahan (2013) and administered to 100 students in the departments of English of six universities in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. A semi-structured interview was developed for EFL students. The questionnaire was online and an open-ended one. The data from the participants was analyzed using thematic analysis with (SPSS) software. The finding revealed a perceived failure in EFL students' English-speaking skills and this was reported along with causes of the perceived difficulty. The finding also revealed a poor level of speaking ability among EFL undergraduates as well as little education in the skill at the university level. Apart from these, the study discovered some major challenges for EFL students such as lack of confidence, lack of planning, a demotivating atmosphere, incorrect word choice, poor gestures, and incorrect style which made the students not to be successful in their speaking abilities. The study suggested that EFL learners' competency should be securitized to strengthen their speaking abilities in the light of the results of the study. Speaking is a crucial ability in language acquisition and EFL teachers should help their students acquire it. As a means of improving students' communicative ability, task-based instruction should be utilized in educational institutions and universities. The implication of this paper is that speaking difficulties among EFL students in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region institution can be solved by putting greater focus on this ability. There are several issues to consider, including teachers, instructional methodologies, the curriculum, extracurricular activities, and assessment rules.
KEYWORDS: EFL students, KRI, speaking proficiency, semi-structured interview thematic analysis
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Al Hosni, S. (2014). Speaking difficulties encountered by young EFL learners. International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL), 2(6), 22-30
Anderson, N., & Nunan, D. (2003). Practical English language teaching. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Brown, H. D. 2007. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. USA: Pearson Education.
Crozier, W. R. (2002). State of the art: shyness. The Psychologist, 15, 460–463.
Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language. Cambridge university press.
Darjowidjojo, S. (2005). Psycholinguistic: Pengantar Pemahaman Bahasa Manusia, Yayasan Obor Indonesia.
Dolba, S. Q. (2022). TECHNICAL TERMS USED IN GENERAL ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS ACROSS DISCIPLINES. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 1(3), 164-170. Retrieved from http://www.ejournals.ph/form/cite.php?id=18204
Efrizal, D. (2012). Improving students’ speaking through communicative language teaching method at Mts Ja-alhaq, Sentot Ali Basa Islamic boarding school of Bengkulu, Indonesia. International Journal of Humanities and social science, 2(20), 127-134.
Fauzan, U. (2014). The use of improvisations technique to improve the speaking ability of EFL students. Dinamika Ilmu: Jurnal Pendidikan, 264-287
Febriyanti, E. R. (2011). Teaching speaking of English as a foreign language: problems and solutions. Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Dan Pembelajarannya, 1(2), 133-146.
Gan, Z. (2012). Understanding L2 speaking problems: curriculum Implications for ESL development in a teacher training institution in Hong Kong. Australian Journal of Teacher Education (Online), 37(1), 43-59.
Gilakjani, A. P., & Sabouri, N. B. (2016). A study of factors affecting EFL learners’ reading comprehension skill and the strategies for improvement. International Journal of English Linguistics, 6(5), 180-187
Glover, P. (2011). Using CEFR level descriptors to raise university students’ awareness of their speaking skills. Language Awareness, 20(2), 121-133.
Graves, K. (2008). The language curriculum: A social contextual perspective. Language teaching, 41(2), 147-181
Haozhang, X. (1997). Tape Recorders, Role Plays, and Turn-Taking in Large EFL Listening and Speaking Classes. In Forum (Vol. 35, No. 3, p. n3). Journal availability: http://e. usia. gov/forum/
Hinkel, E. (Ed.). (2005). Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning. Routledge.
Liu, M., & Zhang, W. (2008). An exploration of Chinese EFL learners’ foreign language anxiety, personality and self-esteem. Journal of Applied Linguistics, 5(2), 181-203.
Nunan, D. (1999). Second language teaching & learning: Newbury House teacher development. Heinle & Heinle.
Ohata, K. (2005). Potential sources of anxiety for Japanese learners of English: Preliminary case interviews with five Japanese college students in the US. TESL-EJ, 9(3), 1-21.
O'Malley, J. M., & Pierce, L. V. (1996). Authentic Assessment for English Language Learners: Practical Approaches for Teachers Author: J. Michael O'Malley, Lorrain.
Cruz, M. L. D., & Sarip, N. A. L. (2020). Technological Devices: Boon or Bane? Universal Journal of Educational Research, 1(1), 27-34. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6837255
Sayed, M. M. (2005). The effect of using a multiple intelligences-based training programme on developing English majors’ oral communication skills. Unpublished MA Thesis. Faculty of Education. Assuit University
Shabani, M. B. (2013). The effect of background knowledge on speaking ability of Iranian EFL learners. language, 1(1), 25-33.
Sühendan, E. R., & Bengü, A. A. (2014). The attitudes of students towards cooperative learning in ELT classes. International Online Journal of Education and Teaching, 1(2), 31-45.
Tinkler, B. (2002). A review of literature on Hispanic/Latino parent involved in K-12 education: Assets for Colorado Youth. Retrieved from http://www.buildassets.org /products/Latino parent report/latinoparentrept.htm
Vietnam, V. (2015). Factors affecting students’ speaking performance at Le Thanh Hien High School. Asian Journal of Educational Research Vol, 3(2).
Wang, C., Kim, D. H., Bong, M. & Ahan, H. C. (2013). Korean college students’ self-regulated learning strategies and self-efficacy beliefs in learning English as a foreign language. The Asian EFL journal, 15(3), 81-112. http://asian-efljournal.
Wang, Z. (2014). Developing Accuracy and Fluency in Spoken English of Chinese EFL Learners. English language teaching, 7(2), 110-118.
Woodrow, L. (2006) Anxiety and speaking English as a second language. SAGE Publications, 37(3), 308-328.
Zaremba, A. J. (2006). Speaking professionally. Canada: Thompson South-Western.
Plagiarism scanned by
UJER is open access and always free
