A RESEARCH PROPOSAL TO FIND OUT FACTORS THAT INHIBIT ENGLISH LEARNERS FROM BEING FLUENT IN THE LANGUAGE, SUGGEST SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEM AND TEST ON A SAMPLE OF LEARNERS.
Table of Contents
Problem Statement………………………….3Questions of Study…………………………...3Objectives ………………………………………..3Significance of study ………………………….4Literature review ………………………………..4Research design ………………………………….6References ………………………………………….7
Problem Statement:
English is widely accepted as the language of doing International business, as such many non-English speakers are increasingly learning the language to improve their competence professionally. There are several factors that slow down the progress of these learners and can become reasons for their stagnant level in English. This study aims to investigate the factors that prevent students from speaking English fluently even after memorizing phrases and rules of the language.
Questions of the study:
This study addresses the following problems:
What factors are responsible for the inability of English learners to speak the language?What counter techniques do English language teachers use to counter the problem of stagnant progress in English learners?What techniques could the learners employ to overcome their inability to apply skills that they learn in the classroom?
Objectives:
To describe factors that affect English speaking capacity of leaners.To describe techniques that English teachers use in improving speaking skills of learners.To point out methods that English learners could employ to help their frustration of not being able to speak after completing classroom lessons.
Significance of the study:
The findings of this study will contribute greatly to English language learners and teachers. They have a common objective being the student speaking English. However, certain factors slow down or prevent the success of the learner and the teacher. Considering that English is the language of global business, English learners will be empowered when they finally speak the language fluently.
Literature review:
Low motivation to speak is one of the important factors that do not allow learners to practice English. Speaking in a language that you are not fluent in, is a difficult task and learners who lack the courage to face this hurdle will choose to escape option. They find themselves avoiding conversations or replying with short answers. The more you practice a skill, the better you get. Such psychological factors are important to overcome if the learner is to be comfortable in speaking fluently. Juhana (2012: 101) mentions in her research paper thatthis fear is linked to the issue of correction and negative evaluation.She further adds thatmotivation is an inner energy. When it comes to language, it is only by making mistakes that we can correct them. This is not to put the weight on students, as mentioned previously the teacher and the learner have a common goal. It is up to both to work together to break the confidence boundary in English speaking.
Another factor that inhibits learners’ fluency is the low vocabulary and grammar knowledge of learners. Students often form a sentence in their mother tongue and translate to English before speaking out. This is a natural process which measures the fluency of the speaker. It is only when the learner is able to think and speak in English will they be considered fluent. Learners often do not know enough words to allow them hold conversations with native speakers. The English sentence structure is also a problem that makes it harder for students to translate a sentence from their mother tongue to the English language. According to Natalia Rahayu (2015) in her the thesis paper, even in classroom speaking drillsstudents usually use mother tongue in speaking activities, because it is easier, and also they feel less exposed if they are speaking their mother tongue.
The are several ways a teacher can counter the low speaking level of their students, one of which is using message-based focus while teaching students how to speak. It is important to have all the grammar and vocabulary right but what is more important is delivering the message across. This approach encourages students to speak and goes a long way to help them break their confidence boundary. It is not necessary to correct all errors that a student makes. Levffi Noviyenty talks about this concept in hisStrategies in Learning and Techniques in teaching English (2018) paper.
Grammar and vocabulary should always be learnt in comparison with the native language of the learner. As mentioned earlier, the learner needs to translate from their mother tongue to English when speaking. It is a life hack for them if these some of these comparisons are made beforehand especially in grammar and vocabulary. For example, verbs naturally come before objects in English while in several languages’ objects do come before verbs in their basic sentence structure. With knowledge of these, the learner would do less thinking in an attempt to structure a sentence verbally. Brown (2001:273) states in his paper that speaking lessons can be perform as part of some pair work activity, where learners are going over certain form of language, which will involve translation from their mother tongue to English.
Leffi Noviyenty(2018) also suggested in his Strategies in Learning and Techniques in Teaching English Speaking paper thatGood learners find their own way.Students are encouraged to view their journey to being fluent in English language as a project. It is very important for learners to identify their personal weakness that stops them from being fluent in English. No two people are the same and so no two learners will have the same issues. The teacher can only assume and generalize their lesson plans. Once the learner identifies what is slowing down the success of their project, they can consult a teacher to get special methods to overcome their shortcoming.
Research Design:
A group of learners are identified and interviewed informally. Questionnaires will be structured to suggest the particular problem that they face in their course to become fluent in English. The techniques will to counter their hindrances will be employed on a voluntary course and students will be monitored and tested periodically. The sample size considered will be 20 mixed gender English learners between the ages of 18 and 40. Learners will be chosen at random from various language schools. Periodic tests will be verbal, and conversations will be recorded and played back at the next test. The student and other learners will be allowed to evaluate their own progress.
References:
Samira Al Hosni, (June 2014). Speaking difficulties encountered by EFL Learners, Researchgate.NATALIA RAHAYU, (2018). AN ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS’ PROBLEMS IN SPEAKING ENGLISH DAILY LANGUAGE PROGRAM AT HUSNUL KHOTIMAH ISLAMIC BOARDING SCHOOL.,Leffi Noviyenty, (2015) Strategies in Learning and Techniques in Teaching English Speaking, Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Curup. Emily Kaplan, (2019), 6 Essential Strategies for teaching English learners,https://www.edutopia.org/article/6-essential-strategies-teaching-english-language-learners
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