VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES BA THESIS FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENT IN LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL AT VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE NHỮNG NHÂN TỐ ẢNH HƯỞNG VIỆC HỌC KỸ NĂNG NÓI CỦA SINH VIÊN HỌC VIỆN NÔNG NGHIỆP VIỆT NAM Student : NGUYEN VIET ANH Student code : 621245 Major : ENGLISH Supervisor : DANG XUAN PHI M.A Supervisor : TRAN THU TRANG Hanoi – 2021 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES BA THESIS FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENT IN LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL AT VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE NHỮNG NHÂN TỐ ẢNH HƯỞNG VIỆC HỌC KỸ NĂNG NĨI CỦA SINH VIÊN HỌC VIỆN NƠNG NGHIỆP VIỆT NAM Student : NGUYEN VIET ANH Student code : 621245 Major : ENGLISH Supervisor : DANG XUAN PHI M.A Supervisor : TRAN THU TRANG Hanoi – 2021 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled “FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENT IN LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL AT VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE” submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor in the English Language Except where the reference is indicated, no other person's work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis Hanoi, 2021 Nguyen Viet Anh Approved by SUPERVISOR (Signature and full name) Date:…………………… i ACKNOWLEDGMENT During the process of this thesis, I would like to thank all of my comments and encouragement to contribute to the completion of this research First of all, I thank all family members and friends They have constantly encouraged me throughout the research process They are a great source of energy and motivation to keep me from getting stressed by completing this study Next, I want to express my gratitude to my two guides, M.A Dang Xuan Phi and Mrs Tran Thu Trang Although they are busy, they are always enthusiastic to help, urging me to timely complete the research, besides giving great suggestions and professional information Moreover, they inspire me so much that I can finish successfully Finally, I would like to thank the 120 members who enthusiastically participated in this study for helping me have a most objective view of the matter On the other hand, I would like to thank the Center for Foreign Languages and International Education for providing workplace and information Ha Noi, June 2021 NguyenViet Anh ii TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i ACKNOWLEDGMENT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii ABSTRACT v LIST OF ABRREVIATION……………………………… ………………… vi LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF FIGURES vii PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY 1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 1.2.1 Aims of the study 1.2.2 Objectives of the study 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 1.6 DESIGN OF THE STUDY PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 REVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS STUDY 1.1.1 Aboard 1.1.2 Home 1.2.2 Review of theoretical preliminaries employable as tools for conducting the thesis 1.3 SUMMARY 17 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 19 2.1 RESEARCH GOVERNING PRINCIPLES 19 2.1.1 Research questions 19 2.1.2 Research hypothesis 19 iii 2.1.3 Research types: 20 2.1.4 Research approaches: 22 2.1.5 Principles/ criteria for data collection and data analysis 22 2.2 RESEARCH METHODS 22 2.2.1 Major methods 23 2.3 SUMMARY 24 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 26 3.1 RESULT 26 3.1.1 Overview 26 3.1.2 Factors affecting student in learning english speaking skill at vietnam national university of agriculture 26 3.2 SUMMARY 46 PART 3: CONCLUSION 48 RECAPITULATION 48 CONCLUDING REMARKS ON EACH OF THE THESIS OBJECTIVES 48 2.1 WHAT PROBLEMS DO NON-MAJOR STUDENTS FACE IN LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS? 48 2.2 WHAT ARE POSSIBLE FACTORS INFLUENCING A STUDENT'S SPEAKING SKILLS ? 48 2.3 WHAT ARE THE EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES THAT STUDENTS CAN USE TO IMPROVE ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS? 49 LIMITATIONS OF THE CURRENT RESEARCH 50 SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 51 REFERENCES 52 APPENDIX 55 iv ABSTRACT Today, the world is entering the integration process Therefore, humanity needs to choose a language as a means of communication Furthermore, English is selected so that it is becoming more and more crucial If students learn English well, they can improve their opportunity of expanding their knowledge, while finding well-paid jobs in the future On the other hand, speaking skills are arguably the most important but difficult to master the four skills Therefore, this study is conducted to find the factors that prevent students from becoming good at English The study was carried out at the Center for Foreign Languages , and International Education at VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE Participants included 120 students studying at the center This study aims to a) find out the current situation of speaking learning in students; b) find out the main factors that influence them c) give out some suggestions for students to improve their speaking skills To fulfill those purposes, the questionnaire is used as the primary research instrument to collect data After comparing students who spend different time studying at home, the findings show the two groups of factors affecting students, including the group of factors that can be minimized by study time and the group of factors not minimized by study time The group of factors minimized by learning time has a positive change from students who not study to those who spend hours learning as: hard to learn Grammar, Lack of confidence, Listening ability The other group that did not show any change included: Difficulty in learning vocabulary and Lack of Environment Additionally, the study also suggested some recommendations From the research, it can be shown that the factors can be completely overcome by a reasonable study time For the factor "Difficulty to learn vocabulary" students need to find a method that suits them best and does not hesitate to expand the environment to find partners to study and progress together v LIST OF ABBREVIATION B.B.A: Bachelor of Business Administration EFL: English as a Foreign Language ESL: English as a Second Language FFD: Future Funiture Design HPU: Hai Phong Private University M.B.A: Master of Business Administration LIST OF TABLES Table 2.2.1.1: Criteria for judging the degree 23 Table 3.1.2.1: 1a Difficult to use appropriate word & 2a Use the wrong synonym or antonym 32 Table 3.1.2.2: 3a Can’t use the alternative sentence structure, 4a Difficult to remember and use tense & 5a Can’t distinguish part of speech 33 Table 3.1.2.3: 6a Misspronoucing the word & 7a Difficult to learn word stress and sentences 33 Table 3.1.2.4: Result of EFA 35 Table 3.1.2.5: 8b, Being lazy, stress 37 Table 3.1.2.6: 9b, Being not confident to speak with other & 10b, being hesitant, difficult to express 37 Table 3.2.2.7: 11b, Afraid of making error; 12b, Afraid of speaking is not accepted by friend, teacher & 13b, Often forget what will say 38 Table 3.1.2.8: Result of EFA 39 vi Table 3.1.2.9: 14c, Unable or difficult to hear anything from native speaker & 15c, Can’t translate the word given correctly 41 Table 3.1.2.10: 16c, Abuse the mother tongue 42 Table 3.1.2.11: 17c, Difficult to find someone to practise and learn together & 18c, Little chance to speak English at class and at home 42 Table 3.1.2.12: Result of EFA 44 Table 3.1.2.13: Learner’s opinion about factor 46 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.2.1.1: The process of analyzing the One-way ANOVA test 24 Figure 3.1.2.1: Student’s Characteristic 26 Figure 3.1.2.2: Learner's time for learning English 27 Figure 3.1.2.3: Students' interest in English 28 Figure 3.1.2.4: Student's time to study English at home 29 Figure 3.1.2.5: Learners who have taken the B1 exam and have not yet 30 Figure 3.1.2.6: Learners' assessment of the importance of speaking skills 31 Figure 3.1.2.7: Result of ANOVA test 36 Figure 3.1.2.8: Result of ANOVA test 40 Figure 3.1.2.9: Result of ANOVA test 44 vii PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY Nowadays, English is considered an international language all over the world "It has become the common language all over the world and used directly in business, technology, and education throughout many countries." Therefore, English is essential for students in every country These days, Vietnam is integrating with the international labor market when considerably participating in the ASEAN Economic Community (A.E.C.), and more foreign investors focus on this potential market This issue requires students to have specialized knowledge and be proficient in English, especially English speaking skills, to get more job opportunities Thus, the student should concentrate on their English learning to improve and enhance four of their English skills According to McKong & Kerubo (2017), four essential skills in learning a language are developed in order Firstly, the learners should sharpen their listening skills After that, reading skills are expected to be improved Last but not least, it is writing skills From this point of view, speaking is such an essential skill in learning English Gilakjani (2012) claims that "it is vital that English speakers, whether native or non-native speakers, can exchange meanings effectively" Therefore, Speaking skills in English are considered essential but the most difficult to master According to Fitriani et al (2015) and Leong et al.(2017), the success of learning a foreign language is accounted for by the level of learners' speaking skills This is concretized by dividing the level into levels by some proficiency tests According to Common European Framework of Reference" for Languages: Learning Teaching and Assessment; English proficiency level of learners are divided into three large levels and six detailed sub-levels, along with the requirements that learners need to reach a certain level Confidence(3.1.2.6 & 3.1.2.13),Anxiety (3.1.2.7 & 3.1.2.13 ), Listening ability ( 3.1.2.9 & 3.1.2.13) and Mother tongue influence to the pronunciation ( 3.1.2.10, 3.1.2.3 & 3.1.2.13) There was a significant reduction when comparing the mean of the above factor with the student groups who spent different study time Therefore, it is possible to give initial suggestions to minimize the difficulties that these factors are affecting ● Factors that cause difficulties even for students who have spent enough time learning involve Difficulty of learning vocabulary( 3.1.2.1 & 3.1.2.13) and Lack of Environment (3.1.2.11 & 3.1.2.13) For students, the large vocabulary of English makes it quite difficult when learning and remembering vocabulary is also a big challenge if they not study suitably Besides, environmental factors, although not frequent, also affect the frequency of students' practice and interaction in English 2.3 WHAT ARE THE EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES THAT STUDENTS CAN USE TO IMPROVE ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS? Based on the above findings, we can conclude that if students spend time studying and practicing English at home for at least hours or more, they can completely reduce most of the problems they are facing Learning English is a long and patient process, learners need to work harder to master the knowledge that has to be learned and practiced a lot to improve as grammar, listening ability, or the influence of the mother tongue in pronunciation In addition, to increase the effectiveness in learning, learners can use some methods as follows: First, let's talk in English, in which, identify the mistakes that you make in your words You can speak slowly and write it down to make it easier to visualize From there, determine where learners have used incorrect grammar or incorrectly pronounced words Besides, in order to improve listening skills, learners can find good and recommended English listening resources such as listening learning websites (Listen a minute, Listen and Write, ); books, 49 newspapers (Voice of America, Ted, BBC, ), or movies, foreign music Or they can also study according to the topic they want to get excited about As a result, they will no longer worry that they not have enough knowledge, so the problems such as lack of confidence, anxiety, or lack of motivation will be eliminated If they still lack confidence, they need to practice standing in front of a mirror to talk to themselves or have a camera record all of their words The recorded video will show the weak points that need to be overcome Learners must fix them then keep repeating the practice until they are more confident to speak with others in English Nowadays, there are many ways to learn vocabulary that are easy to understand and enjoyable Some quick ways to learn and remember vocabulary include: Memorizing images, exaggeration, movement, Creation, Emotion In addition, there are studying methods such as flashcards, Writing words repeatedly, Taking vocabulary quizzes, Using vocabulary in conversation and writing, using mind maps Learners can also learn through movies, books, etc Each learning method has its advantages and disadvantages, so students should try and find the most suitable and inspiring way Moreover, students should actively practice by expanding their search and not hesitate to find themselves a person or a group of people with the same purpose of improving their skills in particular and English in general Groups like these often appear on social networks, so students can simply seek, and organize extracurricular activities such as walking on the street to find opportunities to talk with foreigners When they must directly use and communicate in English and it happens regularly, they will get better and better at the level they aimed for LIMITATIONS OF THE CURRENT RESEARCH Data is gathered by surveying a representative number, namely nonspecialized students studying and reviewing B1 at the center Due to the impact 50 of COVID-19, the questionnaire was designed in an online format, making it difficult to survey Moreover, the questionnaire is the subjective opinion of students and large-scale, so it is not detailed and in-depth Besides, there was no other information provided from the participants, making it difficult for the researcher to discover new factors affecting students Finally, the suggestions given above have not been tested, so to evaluate the application requires the time of observation and experiment SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER RESEARCH For further studies, to get better results, interviews or observation methods are needed for more detailed and in-depth research In addition, researchers can also study specialized students to compare and contrast non-specialized students to have a clearer view of the factors they encounter Finally, although difficulties and limitations inevitably exist, the research has been completed under the guidance of the supervisor and self-effort Every comment or criticism will be essential for further better research 51 REFERENCES Bhattacharya, S (2017) A Study on the Factors Affecting ESL Learners' English Speaking Skills International Journal of English Research, 31-37 Boonkit, K (2010) Enhancing the Development of Speaking Skills for Non-Native Speakers of English Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2010), 1305–1309 Bozorgian, H (2012) The Relationship between Listening and Other Language Skills in International English Language Testing System Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2(4), 657-663 Bygate, M (1987) Speaking Oxford: Oxford University Press Brown, H Douglas 2001 Language Assessment Principle and Classroom Practice New York: Longman Chaney, A (1998) Teaching Oral Communication in Grades K-8 USA A Viacom Company Fitriani, D A.; Apriliaswati, R & Wardah (2015) A Study on Student's English Speaking Problems in Speaking Performance Fluency and accuracy https://www.britishcouncilfoundation.id/en /english/articles/fluency-vs-accuracy [ Acess date : 18/3/2021] Gerald Gillis (2013) The Importance of Speaking Skills 10 Gilakjani, A P (2012) A Study of Factors Affecting EFL Learners' English Pronunciation Learning and the Strategies for Instruction International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 119-128 11 Heriansyah, H (2012) Speaking Problems Faced by the English Department Students of Syiah Kuala University 4, 37-44 52 12 Hosni, S A (2014) Speaking Difficulties Encountered by Young EFL Learners.22-30 13 Leong, L M & Ahmadi, S M (2017) An Analysis of Factors Influencing Learners' English Speaking Skill International Journal of Research in English Education, 34-41 14 Lukitasari, N (2003) Students’ Strategies in Overcoming Speaking Problems in Speaking Class University of Muhammadiyah Malang 15 Mazouzi, S (2013) Analysis of Some Factors Affecting Learners' Oral Performance A Case Study: 3rd Year Pupils of Menaa's Middle Schools 16 Quyen, T.N.A (2017) Factors Affecting Engineering Student’s Motivation In Practising English Speaking Skills At College Of Urban Works Construction 17 Richard Nordquist (2020) English Grammar: Discussions, Definitions, and Examples 18 Richards, J C & Renandya, W A (2002) Methodology in Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 19 Tanveer, M (2007) Investigation of the Factors That Cause Language Anxiety for ESL/EFL Learners in Learning Speaking Skills and the Influence It Casts on Communication in the Target Language Dissertation, University of Glasgow 20 Tarigan, H Guntur 2008 Berbicara: Sebagai Suatu Keterampilan Berbahasa Bandung: Angkasa 21 Thornbury, S (2005) How to Teach Speaking Harmer, J (Ed) London: Longman 53 22 Ur (1996) PA course in language teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 23 Urrutia León, W., & Vega Cely, E (2010) Encouraging Teenagers to Improve Speaking Skills through Games in a Colombian Public School, PROFILE, 12(1), 11-31 Bogotá, Colombia 24 What is speaking? https://www.englishclub.com/speaking/what-is- speaking.htm 25 Cách học từ vựng hiệu nâng cao trình độ tiếng Anh https://acet.edu.vn/cach-hoc-tu-vung-hieu-qua/ 54 APPENDIX Dear students, The purpose of this questionnaire is to explore the factors that affect learning speaking skill at B1 level of non-major students The ultimate goal is to improve and help to overcome your problem You are in the learning process to the outcome exam of VNUA, especially speaking, thus your opinion is very important to find out the correct method Your personal information is totally secured Therefore, Please give your own opinion frankly! Please, tick the answer that best describes your ideas and add final comments at the bottom of the sheet if you wish Many thanks for your cooperation! Gửi bạn sinh viên, Mục đích bảng hỏi để khám phá nhân tố ảnh hưởng đến việc học kỹ nói B1 sinh viên khơng chun Mục đích sâu xa để tìm hiểu giúp bạn vượt qua vấn đề tồn mà bạn mắc phải Bạn q trình học ơn luyện để thi môn tiếng anh đầu trường, cụ thể kỹ nói, ý kiến bạn vơ quan trọng để tìm phương pháp nghiên cứu xác Thơng tin cá nhân bạn bảo mật hoàn toàn Vì mong bạn đưa ý kiến thẳng thắn mình! Hãy tích miêu tả ý kiến thêm bình luận phía bạn có nhu cầu Cảm ơn nhiều tham gia bạn! I General information ( thông tin chung) Male(Nam) ☐ Female(Nữ) ☐ How long you have been learning English? (Bạn học tiếng anh rồi?) …………………………………………………………………………………… Do you like English? (Bạn có thích tiếng Anh khơng ?) Yes(Có) ☐ No(Không) ☐ 55 How much time you spend learning English at home ? (Bạn dành thời gian để học tiếng Anh nhà?) Never(không bao giờ) ☐ 1-2 hour (từ đến tiếng) ☐ Less hour (dưới tiếng) ☐ more than hour( tiếng) ☐ Have you taken an exam at B1 levels, especially speaking? (Bạn thi kì thi B1 trước đây,cụ thể kĩ nói chưa?) Yes ☐ No ☐ Do you think that speaking skills is important? (Bạn nghĩ kĩ nói tiếng anh có quan trọng khơng) …………………………………………………………………………………… II Student’ speaking problems (Những vấn đề kỹ nói sinh viên) Rate on scale from Never to Very Often, How often you have problems when you are learning B1 speaking skills ? tick (X) where appropriate: Đánh giá theo thang từ không đến thường xuyên, Bạn có thường xuyên gặp vấn đề học kĩ nói trình độ B1 khơng? Tích (X) vào chỗ phù hợp No Problem (Vấn đề) Never Rarely (Không (Hiếm bao giờ) Khi) Sometimes Often (Thỉnh Thoảng) Very (Thường Often xuyên) (Rất thường xuyên) A, Linguistic Problem (Những vấn đề ngôn ngữ học) 56 Difficult to use appropriate word (Khó sử dụng từ ngữ phù hợp) Use the wrong synonym or antonym (Sử dụng sai từ đồng nghĩa trái nghĩa) Can’t use the alternative sentences structure( sử dụng cấu trúc câu thay thế) Difficult to remember and use tenses (Khó nhớ sử dụng thì) Can’t distinguish part of speech(Noun, Verb, 57 Adjective ) (Không thể phân biệt từ loại) Mispronounci ng the word (Phát âm sai từ) Difficult to learn word stress and sentences (Khó học cách nhấn trọng âm từ câu) B, Non Linguistic Problem (Những vấn đề phi ngôn ngữ) Being lazy, stress (lười, căng thẳng) Being not confident to speak with other (Không tự tin giao tiếp với người khác) 58 10 being hesitant, difficult to express (ngần ngại, khó bày tỏ) 11 Afraid of making error (Sợ mắc lỗi) 12 Afraid of speaking is not accepted by friend, teacher (Sợ nói mà bạn bè giáo viên bảo sai) 13 Often forget what will say(thường xuyên quên định nói) C, Other 14 Unable or difficult to hear anything from native speaker (khơng thể nghe khó 59 nghe người địa nói) 15 Can’t translate the word given correctly (Không thể dịch từ đưa cách xác) 16 Abuse the mother tongue (lạm dụng tiếng mẹ đẻ học) 17 Difficult to find someone to practise and learn together (Khó kiếm người để học thực hành) 18 Little chance to speak English at class and at home( Ít hội 60 nói tiếng anh lớp nhà) 17.Other:(Specify) (Khác)…………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… III Factors affecting student in learning B1 speaking skill (Những nhân tố ảnh hưởng đến sinh viên việc học kĩ nói B1) Below are factors that affect the learning speaking English process of students Tick the appropriate response(s) based on the degree of influence using the scale given below Dưới số nhân tố ảnh hưởng đến q trình học kĩ nói sinh viên Tích vào phù hợp dựa vào độ ảnh hưởng đo thang đánh giá đây: 1: Strongly Disagree( Rất không đồng ý) 2: DisAgree( Không đồng ý) 3: Undecided (Phân vân) 4: Agree (Đồng ý) 5: Strongly Agree (Rất đồng ý) No Factors Mother tongue influence to the pronunciation (ảnh hưởng tiếng mẹ 61 đẻ đến phát âm) Difficulty of learning grammar (Sự khó khăn việc học ngữ pháp) Difficulty of learning vocab(SỰ khó khăn việc học từ vựng Lack of motivation (Thiếu động lực) Lack of confidence (thiếu tự tin) Anxiety (Lo âu) Lack of environment (Thiếu môi trường học 62 tập) Ability to listen (Khả nghe) Other factor: (specify) (Nhân tố khác) : - Thank you for your participation -(Adapted from Yen, Y.L.H (2019) A study on factors affecting English speaking skill of the 10th-grade ethnic minority students at Van Hoa high school) 63