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Factors Affecting English Speaking Skills: Evidence from Graduate Students in

Rawalpindi
Hajra Arshad1
Dr. Ejaz Mirza2
Dr. Muhammad Farooq Alam3
1PhD Scholar, National university of modern languages Islamabad.
[email protected]
2Assistant Professor/Head of Social sciences, National University of Modern Languages Rawalpindi
[email protected]
3Assistant Professor, Department of English, National University of Modern Languages Rawalpindi
[email protected]

Abstract
The aim of this research was to find the factors affecting the speaking skills of graduate students.
The study was conducted in the selected institutions of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The objectives
of the study were to identify the factors affecting the speaking skills of graduate students and to
analyze the students’ and teachers’ perceptions of the factors affecting speaking skills. The sample
included 100 studentsfrom three institutions. Questionnaires were used to get the information from
the graduate students studying English and the English teachers. The data were analyzed using the
Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) program. Analyzed data were presented
descriptively using graphs. The results of the study show that students make errors when they
speak English. Future researchers can carry out experimental research to find how differentEnglish
language teaching method help students to acquire better English-speaking skills.
Keywords: English speaking skills, ESL, English learning barriers, Graduate Classroom

Introduction
Language as a tool is used by different speech communities for interaction and
socialization. In different geographical areas of the world, many languages are spoken. English
being an international language is spoken all over the world; it is considered the language of
science, technology, commerce, and business. Keeping in view the significance of the English
language, it is spoken in different countries as a second language after ‘mother tongue’.
Proficiencyinthe English Language includes receptive skills (listening & reading) and Productive
Skills (reading &writing) (KIE, 2002). Following this order, it is clearly shown that listening skills
make good speaking. Similarly, good reading skills ensure good writing skills. These receptive
skills help the student to empower their productive skills. The main language procedure is to be
followed while learning a second language and L2 becomes the ‘mother language’ if it is used
where the target language is used. According to Gass andSelinker (2001),this procedure is used in
learning a second language in a classroom setting.

Most of us know that languages are structures of arbitrary verbal symbols, which allow all
individuals of certain beliefs or other people who have learned the system of that culture,
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communication, or interaction. By our utterances, we do not utter words only, we also encode
messages for the decoders. In ESL classrooms, the emphasis remains on the reading and writing
skills of the students as speaking skill is not evaluated in the examination. Proficiency in speaking
skills needs a lot of dedication and practice. The mother tongue is learned through the environment.
So, the language instructor should provide the same environment to the students for language
learning instead of cramming the rules. This also helps the learners to mind their nerves while
speaking.

Problem Statement
For majority of Pakistani students, English is second or third language of acquisition. At
tertiary level of education, English is used as a medium of instruction. Researches show that the
students are under pressure to acquire English language and the stress to learn English affects the
academic performance of university students. In the 21st century, acquisition of oral
communication skills is equally important for a good career. In other words, learners engaged in
learning a second language utilize the linguistic resources of their respective languages. It is seen
that students memorize the content for exams but their oral communication skills are not polished.
The current study aims to investigate the factors affecting the English-speaking skills of graduate
students. Moreover, it looks for the communication barriers, which affect the oral communication
skills of graduate students.

Research objectives
1) To identify the common errors encountered by graduate students in speaking English.

2) To find the aspects affecting graduate students’ acquisition of speaking skills in English.

Research Questions
1) What types of common errors do graduate students usually encounter in speaking English?
2) Which factors affect the acquisition of English-speaking skills of graduate students?

Significance of the study

The findings of the research will provide solutions to the problems faced by the teachers
of English, students, and administrators while learning speaking skills. It will help teachers to
develop their pedagogies to help graduate students to overcome English-speaking barriers.
Moreover, the results of this study will help graduate students to understand the significance of
English as a language thus expediting the acquisition process.

Review of literature
The following section provides a brief review of available literature with regards to the
phenomenon related to understudy.
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Knowledge of the Second Language

Research studies claim that people cannot acquire or learn a language without significant
exposure to the target language. People must understand and successfullycommunicate in the
target language (e.g. English language) to become second language speakers. Asher (2003)
augments that the ESL (English as Second language) teachers demonstrate the language for ESL
learners to explain the content and context of the language. To listen and speak a second language
(s), learners must have a listening and speaking attitude (Krashen, 1988); this helps learners gain
knowledge and can utilize it in reading and writing. Richard and Rodger (2001) argue that in
conventional pedagogies of ESL, the speaking skills of learners are overlooked and the major
emphasis remains on improving the reading and writing skills of ESL learners. For example, in
GTM (Grammar Translation Method), the reading and writing skills of ESL learners are the main
focus of teaching, whereas the listening and speaking skills of students are given the least
importance. Eminent scholars like Ur (2000) claim that all language skills including listening,
speaking, reading, writing,and speaking are vital for powerful correspondence. A similarviewpoint
is given by Baker and Westrup (2003) who assumed that students who speakEnglish canget better
training, securing great positions, and getting advancement in their learning.

Characteristics of Speaking
Mazouzi (2013)says that speaking practice can enable students to build up their informative
skills. The principal normal for speaking is familiarity and it is the maintopic of educators in
expressing speaking ability. As per Hughes (2002), familiarity tells about the capacity of students
who can talk in correspondence to the context and engage the audience members, if students’
communication is not justified with the context, it can cause boredom to listeners and audience
members might lose interest in the speech of students. Hugh further adds that familiarity defines
the ability to reply comprehensibly by connecting the words, which helps in articulation by using
accurate pitch and stress patterns.

Another characteristic of speaking performance is exactness. Students should be

familiarwith the remote language. ESL teachers mustemphasize precision in their instructing
procedure. Moreover, students should pay special attention toprecision when speaking, for
example, sentence structure, words, and expression (Mazouzi, 2013). Thornbury (2005) directed
thatstudents should know the right use of language and expressions and also be familiar with the
length and articulations in different settings. Precision regarding lexis intends to choose
appropriate words in reasonable settings. He further adds that articulation is the minimal element
of information students normally focus on. Students should be familiar with the phonological, and
syntactic patterns of language to have precision while speaking.Moreover, they should know about
the pitch and sound of words. This helps students to speak the English language more successfully.
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Speaking Problems of ESL Learners

There are a few difficulties in speaking ability that instructors can run over in helping
understudies to talk in the classroom. The constraints involved in speaking ESL are shyness, low
interest in a second language, and the liberty of using the first language or mother tongue (Tuan
and Mai, 2015). Students commit errors in ESL and this creates embarrassing situations for the
students.Littlewood (2007) communicated that a language classroom can create problems for
students who are poor at speaking the English language. Pastry and Westrup (2003) explained that
ESL learners have poor knowledge of English vocabulary and grammar rules, and it isextremely
troublesome for students to answer when their teachers question in English. They do not know
what to be said, which vocabulary item to be applied, or how to construct sentence structure
according to a reasonable setting.

The less interactive, teacher-centered, classrooms turned out to be another reason for the
poor speaking skills of ESL learners. These classrooms provide the least participation to students.
A few students overwhelm the entire class while others do not talk. The last difficulty identified
with the speaking capacity is that when a few students share a similar primary language, they speak
in speaking class with comfort as it is not an issue for them but others do have difficulty in speaking
(Tuan and Mai, 2015). Moreover, the utilization of primary language is exceptionally normal for
students to utilize. Ifinstructors do not instruct to talk in English, students will naturally use their
first language to relateinformation to their fellow students.

Capability, Availability, and Operation of Instructional Resources

Effective instructions may be acknowledged If the material used for instruction is

beneficial in the classroom Mutai (2006) said in his investigation that if the material is not used in
learning it rebounds the entire procedure (Igwe et al., 2014). A similar argument is built byKitheka
(2005) saying that a couple of instructional materials are effectively used for improving learning
and accomplishment of instructive objectives and goals. The creator additionally includes that
deficiency of these materials could prompt poor execution in institutions.

Methodology
This research is quantitative in nature. It is a descriptive study and a convenient
sampling technique was used to carry out this study. The sample comprised 100 graduate students
studying in institutions, which are NUML, FJWU, and BPGCW. Data were collected through
standardized questionnaires. The questionnaire had 18 items in the form of statements. Likert scale
having options of Strongly Disagree (SD) Disagree (D), Neutral (N), Agree (A),and Strongly
Agree (SA)was used. The respondents were asked to choose one of the options for each statement.
5 experts validated the questionnaire.
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Delimitations
The present research involved institutions located in Rawalpindi and Islamabad only.
Secondly, depending on the nature of the study, only graduate students were sampled. The sample
size for the study includes only three institutions and 35 students from each institution filled
questionnaire.The data was analyzed through the SPSS.
Results
This study intends to observe the factors affecting the speaking skills of graduate students
for this purpose sample of 100 was selected. Table 1 shows the statements of tools and percentages
of responses for each statement.

Table 1
Percentages of responses against each statement
Item SD D N A SA
1. English as a medium of instruction can improve the 0 0 16 55 29
teaching of English.
2. Your teacher speaks Urdu while teaching English class. 14 22 24 38 2
3. Your teacher encourages you to participate in classroom 6 1 3 38 52
activities.
4. The environment of institution can have positive impact in 2 7 4 49 38
learning English.
5.Effective use of different A.V Aids can improve the teaching 1 7 22 59 11
of English.
6. Learning the English language is mostly a matter of 0 0 12 51 37
learning a lot of grammar rules.
7. I have positive aptitude for English learning. 0 3 6 68 23
8. I feel shy while speaking English in front of my class 0 20 37 28 15
fellows.
9. Family support has a strong influence on English speaking 2 7 8 53 30
skills of students.
10. There is influence of family background on students’ 0 15 4 48 33
English speaking skills.
11. Mother-tongue can affect the speaking skills of students. 0 7 8 68 17
12. Inspiration is a key element in second language learning. 1 3 7 54 35
13. Active listeners are always good English speakers. 2 8 3 40 47
14. Lack of confidence canaffect the speaking skills of students 0 4 8 50 38
studying English as a subject.
15. It is important to rehearse and practice language to attain 0 9 17 46 28
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English language competency.

16. It is easier for someone who already speaks a foreign 2 37 22 28 11
language to learn another one.
17. If students are allowed to make mistakes in the beginning, 17 15 18 41 9
it becomes hard for them to correct at later stages.
18. Everyone can learn to speak a foreign language. 2 10 21 56 11

Figure 1: English as the medium of instruction can improve the teaching of English

The above figure shows that 16% of the students were neutral, 55% of students agreed and
29% of the students strongly agreed with the statement. Overall, the majority agrees that using
English as the medium of instruction (MEI) can help in improving the English language skills of
students.

Figure 2: Using Urdu for teaching English subject

In response to the second statement, 14% of the students strongly disagreed that their
teachers do not speak Urdu while teaching English class, 22% of students disagreed with that, 24%
observed as neutral, 38% agreed and 2% strongly agreed with that.The majority of the respondents
agreed withthe second statement.
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Figure 3: Encouraging attitude of English teachers to engage students in classroom

activities

Table 3 shows that 6% of the students strongly disagreed with that, 1% of the students
disagreed means their teachers do not encourage them to participate in classroom activities, 3%
observed as neutral, 38% expressed agreement and 52% strongly agreed with the third statement.
It shows that ESL teachers teaching at the graduate level are aware of the students’ needs and have
an encouraging attitude towards students. This kind of attitude can motivate students to be more
interactive in classroom discussions, which can ultimately help students in developing good
communication and interactive skills.

Figure 4: The role of the institution environment on the English speaking skills of learners

2% of the students strongly disagreed with the statement that the institutional environment
has a role in improving the English-speaking skills of students, 7% of the students disagreed, 4%
observed as neutral, 49% agreed with the statement and 38% strongly agreed with that. Overall,
the percentage of agreed participants is significant and it can be said that the institutional
environment can play a major role in improving the English speaking skills of ESL learners.
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Figure 5: The role of AV aids in improving the teaching of English

1% of the students strongly disagreed, 7% disagreed, 22% were neutral, 59% agreed and
11% strongly agree with statement number 5. Overall, the majority of the participants agreed that
the use of AV aids in English language teaching can play important role in improving the English
speaking skills of graduate students.

Figure 6: Learning English means learning English grammar rules

Table 6 shows responses about English language learning along with a lot of grammar
rules, 0 % disagreed, 12% were neutral, 51% agreed and 37% strongly agreed with that.The
majority of the participants have a conception that learning the English language means learning
grammar.
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Figure 7: Students’ positive attitude toward learning English as a language

Only 3% disagreed, 6% were neutral, 68% agreed and 23% strongly agreed with statement
number 7. Overall, the majority agreed that learners have a positive attitude towards learning
English as a second language.

Figure 8: Students feel shy while speaking English in front of the class

20% disagreed, 37% were neutral, 28% agreed and 15% strongly agreed with that.The
majority agreed with the statement and the percentage of neutral participants was high. The
shyness of the students acts as a barrier and due to this reason;students fail to develop good English
speaking skills.

Figure 9: Role of family support in improving English speaking skills

2% strongly disagreed with that, 7% disagreed, 8% were neutral, and 83% agreed with to
statement that family support has a strong influence on developing English-speaking skills of
graduate students. Since domestic and academic languages are different for most Pakistani
graduate students, at home parents encourage family members to speak ‘mother tongue’ or Urdu;
the only place for English speaking practice is the classroom.
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Figure 10: The role of family background on students' English speaking skills

15% disagreed, 4% were neutral, and 81% agreed that the family background of students
influences the English speaking skills of graduate students.

Figure 11: ‘mother tongue’ affects English speaking skills of learners

7% disagreed, 8% were neutral, 68% agreed and 17% strongly agreed with that. So, the
majority of participants agreed that ‘mother tongue’ influences the ESL learners’ speaking
skills.The majority of Pakistanis come from a rural background and the majority of them have a
regional language as their ‘mother tongue’. For Pakistani children usually ‘mother tongue’ is L1,
after those students learn Urdu as a second language. The English language is used as an academic
and official language but it rarely has any domestic use. The expression of the mother tongue is
strong and when these learners speak English, the listener can easily feel the influence of the
mother tongue in the utterances of the speakers.
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Figure 12: Role of inspiration in learning the English language

3% disagree that inspiration has a role to play in learning the English language, 7% were
neutral, 54% agreed and 35% strongly agreed with that.

Figure 13: Active learners are good English speakers

Figure 13 shows responses about active listeners who are always good speakers.82%
strongly disagreed with that, 8% disagreed, 3% were neutral, 40% agree and 47% strongly agreed
with that. Overall, the majority of students feel that active learning is a strong reason to learn
English.

Figure 14: Lack of confidence and learning English

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Figure 14 shows responses about lack of confidence and its impact on the speaking skills
of students studying English as a subject; 4% disagree, 8% were neutral, 50% agreed and 38%
strongly agreed with that. 88 percent of students agreed which shows that lack of confidence is
one of the significant barriers to improving the English speaking skills of students and learning
English as a subject.

Figure 15: English speaking practice and English speaking skills

9% disagreed, 17% were neutral, 46% agreed and 28% strongly agreed with that. Overall,
the majority of the students agreed that practicing English is one of the factors in improving their
English-speaking skills. As mentioned previously, ESL classrooms are the best place to practice
English conversations and improve the speaking skills of graduate students.

Figure 16: Learning English is easy for learners who speak a foreign language

In responses about the statement 16, 2% strongly disagree with that, 37% disagree, 22%
were neutral, 28% agree and 11% strongly agree with that. Although the majority agreed, the
percentage of neutral and disagreed responses is also high.
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Figure 17: Correcting language errors atthe start can help in learning the correct language

Figure 17 shows responses to the statement thatif students are allowed to make mistakes,
in the beginning, it becomes hard for them to correct at later stages. 17% strongly disagreed with
that, 15% disagreed, 18% were neutral, 41% agreed and 9% strongly agreed.

Figure 18: Everyone can learn to speak a foreign language

2% strongly disagree with that, 10% disagreed, 21% were neutral, 56% agreed and 11% of
the students strongly agreed with that.

FINDINGS
English as a Medium of Instruction and Role of Institutional Environment
About majority of the students agreed that their teachers use the English language as the
medium of instruction for teaching English. It helps inthe improvement of English among students.
Otherwise, students translate twice to comprehend the content. There were multiple responses
from the students that their teachers speak Urdu while teaching in English. Teachers use
translanguaging pedagogies, but this may demotivate the students because most students follow
their teachers as role models. The teachers want to improve the content learning abilities of
students and play the role of facilitators, students usually imitate the instructors and intentionally
or unintentionally do not give much attention to improving English-speaking skills.
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Half of the students agreed that the environment of the institution can have a positive impact
on learning English which means that a positive environment of the institution can play a vital role
in learning English.
Effective use of Different A.V Aids in Classroom Activities
Half of the students express a strong agreement that their teachers encourage them to
participate in classroom activities. It is a positive sign for the enhancement of English in students.
About majority of the students agreed that effective use of different A.V Aids can improve
the teaching of English. Its means that using different A.V Aids can improve the teaching of
English so English teachers try to use different A.V Aids during the teaching of English.
Learning English and Grammar Rules
Half of the students agreed that a lot of grammar is to be learned for learning the English
language,which means that students must learn grammar rules for learning the English language.
Positive Aptitude for English Learning
Most of the students agreed that they have a positive aptitude for English learning. When
someone has a positive attitudetowardlearning anything they learn quickly and efficiently.
Lack of Confidence and Shyness
Some of the students were neutral while responding to the statement that students feel shy
while speaking English in front of their class fellows. It shows that they don’t have enough
confidence to face their class fellows while speaking in class, here teachers can play a vital role
by motivating and encouraging shy students and trying to give them enough confidence that they
can face their class fellows.
Half of the students agreed that lack of confidence can affect the speaking skills of students
studying English as a subject. confidence is the key to success without confidence we can not attain
anything. So students must try to develop confidence and teachers must try to adopt such strategies
through which students' confidence levels increase.
Influence of Family Support and Family Background
The majority of the students agreed that family support has a strong influence on their English-
speaking skills of students. It means that those students belongto strong families they have strong
English-speaking skills.About half of the students agreed that there is an influence of family
background on students’ English-speaking skills, it shows that those students who have an
educated family background have good English-speaking skills because in educated families’
students learn a lot from their parent’s siblings and surroundings.
Effects of ‘Mother Tongue’
The majority of the students agreed that ‘mother tongue’can affect their speaking skills of
students. As we are not native speakers of English so there is always the influence of our mother
tongue on our English speaking skills.
Inspiration is a Key Element
The majority of the students agreed that inspiration is a key element in second language
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learning. As our students are learning English as a second language until they are not inspired they
cannot learn the English language because inspiration is the key element in second language
learning.
Importance of English-speaking Practice and Active Listening
About half of the students agreed that it is important to rehearse and practice language to
attain English language competency, it is a common phenomenon that without practicing, no one
can attain competency in anything.
About half of the students strongly agreed that active listeners are always good English
speakers. Obviously, without paying attention no one can learn anything.
Mistakes in the Beginning
About half of the students agreed that if students are allowed to make mistakes, in the
beginning, it becomes hard for them to correct at later stages. If teachers do not correct the students
at earlier stages, it will become their habit, so teachers should correct the mistakes of the students
at the earlier stages.
Learning a Foreign Language
There were multiple responses to the statement that language is easy to learn for those who
already speak a foreign language. About half of the students agreed that in learning of foreign
language,for this they have to put their efforts, they have to build confidence and practice a lot.
Conclusions
English language acquisition can be achieved if students are provided with AV aids and
given chance to speak freelyto improve their vocabulary for use. The methods used in the
classroom setting, the instruction can motivate students to speak or demotivate them inthe learning
process. In our country,mostteachers use the direct method of teaching which demotivated the
students because in direct methods teachers are active and the students’ role is passive so there is
less participation from the students which decreases their confidence.

Learning English as a second language, in our society where English is not our first
language so there is always the influence of our mother tongue. So our students made errors while
speaking in English. Students’ wrong pronunciations and direct translation from their mother
tongue to English is the main problem while speaking.

As this study found many factors which affectthe speaking skills of graduate students like
motivation, the influence of mother tongue,family foundation and condition, inspiration, poor
direction, Poor listening aptitude, absence of confidence, nervousness, absence of appropriate
vocabulary, age, and admission.
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Recommendations
Recommendations from the findings of the study include;
1. Instructional materials help inthe teaching of English-speaking skills and they should be
used over time. So our institution must use new and modern instructional material and
different A.V Aids for enhancement of the speaking skills.
2. Teachers should use learner-oriented strategies like role play and dialogue, instead of a
direct method in which students’ role is passive. These strategies help in building
confidence and minimize mother tongue use. Teachers should use advanced strategies
while instructing in English class.
3. Students should be encouraged and motivated by teachers. It will help them to develop an
interest in reading like newspapers, educational magazines, articles, and storybooks. It will
increase their vocabulary. Students should practice speaking English in school and at home.
Students might communicate in English with fellow students and insist to respond in
English.
4. Students should be encouraged to participate in debates and speeches to improvetheir
English-speaking skills and teacher should appreciate students.

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