Investigating the Main Factors behind Students’ Poor Mastery of the Speaking Skill

Abstract

Achieving a satisfactory level in speaking English is the primary aim of both foreign language learners and teachers. However, students in general are facing obstacles in speaking English. They avoid talking because they are not able to use this foreign language appropriately to convey their thoughts though they have the desire to reach this satisfaction. English as a Foreign language (henceforth EFL) learners find the speaking skill quite difficult to master and therefore they fail to produce acceptable utterances. In this respect, the present work deals with learners’ poor speech production. The major objective of this research work is to identify some main difficulties that hinder the learners’ capacities to speak adequately. To carry out this research project, two questionnaires were designed: one is delivered to first year LMD students, and the other one is administered to teachers. The findings prove that first year LMD students of English suffer from a number of obstacles when speaking English. Both the teachers and learners claim that these difficulties are related to: lack of reading, lack of interest, inappropriate techniques of teaching this skill, and the interference of the mother tongue. Relying on these findings, we would provide both teachers and learners with some tentative solutions to improve students’ speaking skill.