Difficulties in speaking English of English majored freshmen at Tay Do University

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore the speaking difficulties encountered by English majored freshmen at Tay Do university, and to discover the causes of such difficulties. Speaking English has been a vital importance in international communication. Speaking fluent English is a common problem among the nonnative speakers. The second language learners have gone through a variety of cases to learn how to speak not only correct grammar and using the right vocabulary but with correct accent and pronunciation. Many obstacles, therefore, have been known as the predictors of such a problem among the language learners. For this reason, the research “The difficulties in speaking English of English-majored freshmen at Tay Do University” was conducted to find the difficulties that freshmen students encounter during the learning process. A total of 60 first-year English-majors from two English classes, 17A and 17B at Tay Do University were the participants of the study. To collect data, a questionnaire and a paper interview are the two main instruments used in this study. This is a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research. The findings could point out that the participants are having difficulties with vocabulary, listening skill, pronunciation, grammar, psychology and background knowledge. The results of this study also assist them in determining the best ways to improve their speaking skill.