Exploring English Speaking Difficulties in Graduating Students of Department of Foreign Languages, Jazan University – المجلة الامريكية الدولية المحكمة في العلوم الانسانية والاجتماعية

Ms.Azma Hussain

Department of Foreign Languages

Jazan University – Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

aliyakat@jazanu.edu.sa

Ms.Shazia Batool

Department of Foreign Languages

Jazan University – Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

smuhammad@jazanu.edu.sa

Ms.Amal Amawi

Department of Foreign Languages

Jazan University – Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Ms.Hanan Aljanad

Department of Foreign Languages

Jazan University – Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

haljanad@jazanu.edu.sa

Bio-profile:

All four above mentioned faculty members were working as Language Instructors during the research period in the Department of Foreign Languages s at Jazan University, Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Their topic of interest is in the ESL field, focusing mainly on the development of teaching-learning process of English as second language.

Abstract

Department of Foreign Languages at Jazan University is endeavoring hard to graduate students to meet labor market needs. However, it is observed that graduates are coming up with less spoken proficiency. This study aims at exploring English speaking problems of graduating students at Department of Foreign Languages , Jazan University. The focus is on exploring student’s abilities, their difficulties, the factors affecting their speaking skill and the strategies to overcome the speaking problems. The participants of the study are the graduates of batch 2023-2024 Department of Foreign Languages in Main Jazan Campuses (Male and Female). This study is categorized as a practical and illuminative category of two stages. In the first stage, where expected graduating students of three semester of 2024 filled in the questionnaire and in the second stage all agreed students went forward and participated in the interview. Both questionnaire and interview questions were supported by Arabic translation for better understanding of the students. Collected data was analyzed and the results indicated the effects of Cultural Factor: (Use of Mother Tongue), Linguistic Factor (Knowledge of Second Language), Psychological Factors (Motivation, shyness, etc) and, Ways to Improve Language, problems of graduates in spoken English and suggestions are given to help the department to improve its service.

Key words: ESL, Teaching -Learning, English speaking

استكشاف صعوبات التحدث باللغة الإنجليزية لدى طلاب الدراسات العليا

بقسم اللغات الأجنبية بجامعة جازان

عزمة حسين

شازية بتول

أمل عماوي

حنان الجناد

قسم اللغات الأجنبية – جامعة جازان – جازان، المملكة العربية السعودية

الملخص :

يسعى قسم اللغات الأجنبية بجامعة جازان جاهداً لتخريج طلاب لتلبية احتياجات سوق العمل. ومع ذلك، لوحظ أن الخريجين يأتون بمستوى أقل من الكفاءة في التحدث. تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى استكشاف مشاكل التحدث باللغة الإنجليزية لدى الطلاب الخريجين في قسم اللغات الأجنبية بجامعة جازان. وينصب التركيز على استكشاف قدرات الطلاب وصعوباتهم والعوامل التي تؤثر على مهارة التحدث لديهم والاستراتيجيات للتغلب على مشاكل التحدث. المشاركون في الدراسة هم خريجو الدفعة 2023-2024 من قسم اللغات الأجنبية في فروع جازان الرئيسية (ذكور وإناث). تصنف هذه الدراسة على أنها فئة عملية وتثقيفية من مرحلتين. في المرحلة الأولى، حيث ملأ الطلاب المتوقع تخرجهم من ثلاثة فصول دراسية من عام 2024 الاستبيان وفي المرحلة الثانية وافق جميع الطلاب على المضي قدمًا والمشاركة في المقابلة. تم دعم كل من أسئلة الاستبيان والمقابلة بالترجمة العربية لفهم الطلاب بشكل أفضل. تم تحليل البيانات المجمعة وأشارت النتائج إلى تأثيرات العامل الثقافي: (استخدام اللغة الأم)، والعامل اللغوي (معرفة اللغة الثانية)، والعوامل النفسية (الدافعية، الخجل، إلخ)، وطرق تحسين اللغة، ومشاكل الخريجين في اللغة الإنجليزية المنطوقة وتم تقديم اقتراحات لمساعدة القسم على تحسين خدماته.

الكلمات المفتاحية: اللغة الإنجليزية كلغة ثانية، التدريس – التعلم، التحدث باللغة الإنجليزية

Introduction:

English is spoken all over the world today and it is a universal language spoken in 186 countries around the world. It is used in 85 percent of documents, websites and emails and 98 percent of content is written in English. The spoken percentage of other languages of the world is two percent. The English language gives speakers an opportunity to open up to different cultures around the world and broaden their minds, which will help them learn new things and find job opportunities, and compete on the global level. (Saudi experts-Arab news 21st Sep2020). In all societies that we know of, experts at using words have gained recognition and honor. In all societies “word-experts” have been able to get good jobs as story-tellers, poets, politicians, praise-singers, preachers, lawyers, advisors, teachers, diplomats, and so forth . This research is to explore English speaking difficulties among graduates of Department of Foreign Languages in Main Jazan Campuses – Male and Female of Jazan University. (Walija (1996:4) in Wibowo (2014))

stated that language is the most effective of communication to convey an idea, message, intentions, feelings and opinion to others. Therefore, this study was focused on exploring student’s abilities, their difficulties, the factors affecting their speaking skill and the strategies to overcome them as English graduates will enter job market where good speaking skills are the key to communication

2.Significance of Study:

Who we are, where we are from, and where we feel we belong are marked by how we speak and sound to others. Research in social psychology has found that listeners attribute a variety of characteristics to speakers based on accent, including nationality, regional membership, ethnicity, and social class (Labov, 2006), intelligence (Lambert, Hodgson, Gardner, & Fillenbaum, 1960), social desirability (Kinzler & DeJesus, 2013), and suitability for employment (Kalin & Rayko, 1978).As reflected speaking defines the overall personality of a person and Department of Foreign Languages in Jazan University is striving hard to graduate students with its best mission as follows-“ The English Language Program aspires to provide graduates with quality education and research skills to master theoretical knowledge and practical skills in fields of English Language and Literature to enable them contribute to community service whilst fulfilling the demands of local labor market”. This research aims to support this mission of our Department of Foreign Languages by exploring the speaking difficulties of our graduates who are ready to enter the job market so we need to understand the hinderances in the growth of their speaking skill and provide the department with results deprived from data collection and analysis, suggesting improvement actions. This research also looks forward for further expansion with a future scope of exploring the difficulties of similar students of Jazan University in other English teaching campuses.

3.Conceptual Framework:

Arabic is the first and official language of Saudi Arabia. Still English is widely spoken and incorporated into daily transactions and functions. This country is witnessing a surge in people who want to learn English. We can see the growing need for English as trends of its usage are increasing as said by Dr.Khalid- “ In addition, business transactions between Saudi Arabia and most other nations in the world are conducted in English; thus, there is a real and growing need for more Saudis to be proficient in both spoken and written English. Furthermore, the importance of knowing English is apparent to many Saudis, given its prominence in the modern international business world”. (Saudi Gazette-DR. KHALID AL-SEGHAYER | In the light of these facts, learning English in Saudi Arabia is important and a valuable commodity. December 11, 2012).

With the introduction of Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has indicated its awareness of the need for a workforce with strong English-language skills if the country is to be globally competitive in the 21st century and enable its economy and citizens to thrive. That realization explains English’s current significance in the Saudi context—indeed, a degree of significance that will most likely expand as Saudis continue to view English as a resource for national development. ( The Newfound Status of English in 21st-Century Saudi Arabia Khalid Al-Seghayer , 2023, Vol. 15)

Department of Foreign Languages at Jazan University is endeavoring hard to graduate students to meet labor market needs. Still, it is observed that graduates are coming up with less spoken proficiency. So, this research will help the department figure out the factors, causes and problems of graduates in spoken English and help the department to improve its service.

4.Literature Review:

In 2013, Mona Hamad investigated factors affect English language speaking skills in Saudi colleges for girls in the South in terms of: a) Instructors. b) Students. c) Curriculum and textbook. d) English Language teaching methods and exercises. e) Teaching and learning environment. Her research ” Factors Negatively Affect Speaking Skills at Saudi Colleges for Girls in the South” used a questionnaire paper that was distributed to 150 students studying at Mhayeal and Almajardah colleges of King Khalid University at English languages department, and 10 female instructors were interviewed about the students’ questionnaire information. The findings revealed that using Arabic in class affect students’ proficiency, Students fear speaking English Language in public and can’t make a phone conversation using English Language, curriculum of listening and speaking does not contain enough exercises for speaking skills, instructors do not use strategies that develop speaking such as: role-play, debates, and presentation – assignment, more time is devoted to listening skills than speaking skills, labs are not used for teaching listening and speaking skills, rarely CD is used as speaking model, more than 30 students are in listening and speaking class. All of these factors affected affect English language speaking skills.

In 2014, Nesreen Saud Alhmadi conducted research entitled English speaking learning barriers in Saudi Arabia: A case study of Tibah University. She mentioned that “in Saudi Arabia, the critical knowledge of teaching and learning English is considered to be essential in education in order to raise the English language learning proficiency, especially in speaking.” She focused in her research on the English language learning barriers of speaking in Tibah University as a case study. Ten English speaking classes observed for the foundation year at Tibah University, in order to find out the reasons behind lack of English speaking. She discussed the English programme and curriculum, teaching strategies, and students’ motivation, anxiety and reticence as the most prominent factors that impact upon speaking proficiency and language learning.

Zuhoor Bani Younes and Fatima Albalawi conducted their research in 2016, entitled ” Investigating the Factors Leading to Speaking Difficulties: Both Perspectives of EFL Saudi Learners and their teachers.” The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors leading to speaking difficulties from both the EFL Saudi learners and their teachers’ perspectives. The sample of the study were three hundred and fifty female EFL students and 20 teachers of English. Three instruments were used to answer the research questions: two questionnaires and a classroom observation sheet. The findings of the research proved some factors affect Saudi EFL students’ speaking performance: conceptual knowledge, listening ability, motivation to speak, teachers’ feedback during speaking activities, confidence, anxiety, mother tongue, law participation time allow to speak and time allowed for preparation. The findings also revealed that students face the speaking difficulties when they try to speak as fear of mistakes, fear of criticism, the disability to think of anything to say, speak very little, their mother tongue and students’ feel shy to speak. Data from class observations show that students’ speaking performance is mainly affected by four factors: insufficient input, time for preparation, poor instructions and the unsatisfactory amount of practicing speaking.

Hayat Ahmed Kashmiri in her thesis ” Communication Challenges: Saudi EFL Speaking Skills and Strategies to Overcome Speaking Difficulties” in 2020, said that “In Saudi Arabia, there is a widely held perception that it is possible for the EFL learners to attain the high levels of proficiency in writing reading and listening, but they cannot speak English as compared to their peers from around the globe.” She added that ” This is quite concerning as these students have selective and compulsory English courses that run through their almost ten years of compulsory school education.

The purpose of her research is to seek answers to the challenges of speaking English from the Saudi speaking EFL students themselves. The sample of the research is 66 students who have enrolled in year one of intensive preparatory English class.

Ali Jamal Kaied Mohammed et al, presents a paper in 2019 entitled ” Attitudes of Saudi EFL Learners towards Speaking Skills” which investigated students’ perceptions of English-speaking skills and emphasized on the immediate need for improving them at all levels of higher education. For this purpose, a questionnaire was distributed for 100 students (50 males and 50 females) from colleges of Arts, Business and Community in Saudi Arabia. The findings of the study showed that lack of environment, interest and motivation are the most important factors that affect students’ speaking skills. In addition, female students’ perception towards English learning is more positive.

“English currently serves several functions and enjoys an eminent status in various sectors at all levels within the Kingdom. This perceived growing position of English is in response to the development of Saudi Arabia in a variety of ways, including the number of founded social establishments, and the rapid changes that the social fabric has witnessed in recent years. There is an expansion of education at all levels, and the economy of the country is growing rapidly, as is its industrial and commercial base. The flux of foreign manpower, the ever-evolving attitudes of the Saudi people toward English, as well as the presence of various media sources cannot be ignored if an accurate picture of the current status of the English language in the Kingdom is to be presented. Status and functions of English in Saudi Arabia”. (Saudi Gazette-DR. KHALID AL-SEGHAYER | In the light of these facts, learning English in Saudi Arabia is important and a valuable commodity. December 11, 2012)

Our research is the first of its kind in Department of English, Jazan University and its different in aspect from the above researches as its straight focusing on the speaking difficulties of graduating students aiming in line with the department, college, university and national vision mission towards providing graduates to meet the market needs.

5.Research Questions:

What are the abilities of spoken English among graduating students in Main Jazan Campus (Male and Female)?
What are the difficulties faced by students in English subskill?
What are the factors affecting speaking skill?

4) What are the possible strategies that can help in overcoming the difficulties of speaking skill and subskills?

6.Research Methodology:

The target group in this research refers to the graduates of Department of Foreign Languages at Main Jazan Campus (Male and Female). Their age group is from 22-25 years old. As in usual teaching/learning situations, they are a heterogeneous set of learners. Their speaking proficiency level are is between lower-intermediate and intermediate. Only a handful usually qualify for the upper-intermediate level or higher.

In Department of Foreign Languages we are presently teaching old plan from level 5 to level 12 and new plan from level 1 to12. This research is conducted on old plan and new plan students as both plans have graduating students, so all questionnaires and interviews were done with them. The data of this research is shown below in form of tables and graphs for easy understanding.

7.Data Collection :

Data collection stage started with all expected graduates of 2024, who were given a consent form to fill in first. This involved quantitative methods where questionnaire (Microsoft form) link was shared on WhatsApp with 23 questions. Later interviews were conducted with students who agreed for it in the questionnaire – face-face and online using zoom, with 2 closed and 5 open ended-questions. Below table (a)shows the participants count in the questionnaire (Using SPSS software) and (b) graph along with its table shows the interview count:

8: Data Analysis:

Questionnaire statistics from SPSS:

Statement	N	Minimum	Maximum	Mean	Std. Deviation
I think speaking English is a difficult task.	95	1	5	2.37	1.158
I feel lazy to participate and answer questions most of the time though I can speak English well.	95	1	5	2.54	1.210
I prefer to get a bachelor’s degree in the English language, but I don’t focus on learning English as a skill for better communication.	95	1	5	2.56	1.343
I lose my self-confidence when I make mistakes and someone corrects me.	95	1	5	2.65	1.311
I am shy if my teacher corrects my mistakes while speaking English in class.	95	1	5	2.69	1.392
I practice English speaking regularly.	95	1	5	2.75	1.139
I like to participate in workshops, competitions, and events to improve my language speaking.	95	1	5	2.85	1.263
I find speaking English difficult because listening & understanding it is difficult, too.	95	1	5	3.07	1.282
Using correct intonation is difficult for me.	95	1	5	3.22	1.290
I find speaking English difficult because my grammar is weak.	95	1	5	3.37	1.203
The teacher allows me to use Arabic while asking and answering questions in class.	95	1	5	3.38	1.239
I feel that the absence of tutorial labs in college is a hurdle in my English language speaking practice.	95	1	5	3.56	1.286
Overall, the college environment doesn’t help me improve my English speaking.	95	1	5	3.68	1.274
I get nervous/anxious when I have to say something in English even if I am well prepared.	95	1	5	3.75	1.211
I do not have enough vocabulary that can help me express my ideas and argue about topics.	95	1	5	3.81	1.114
Organizing my ideas and sentences while speaking English is difficult.	95	2	5	3.85	0.989
I watch English movies to improve my speaking skills.	95	1	5	4.01	1.047
I always translate my ideas into Arabic before speaking.	95	1	5	4.05	0.972
I have always been encouraged by my teachers to speak English in the class.	95	1	5	4.08	1.048
When I speak in English, I worry about making mistakes in pronunciation.	95	1	5	4.21	0.898

Questionnaire Data Analysis:

A closed Questionnaire was designed to target the findings about students’ strengths and weaknesses, strengths and the impact of different factors in learning and mastering different sub skills. They were sent to the students initially through Microsoft links to gather the data and analyze it to locate out if our findings and hypothesis have any correlation. The data has been analyzed by the SPSS software to see how values represent the survey responses on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 indicated strongly disagree and 5 indicated strongly agree. The results are shown in the table below that reveal the following statistics in different categories:

While observing students’ difficulties and challenges from the provided data in the table, some factors have prominent effect on students’ fluency on speaking English for example, 4.21% students express their pronunciation mistakes as a great challenge for them which is 84% of the sample population, 81% population of the students are suffering with language shift and translating their ideas into native language first and then shifting them into the target language, 71% students found the absence of tutorial labs in the campus is the major factor to hinder their learning process. 74% found college environment a bit challenging where mostly students prefer to use their native language as a common communication tool. 75% students show nervousness while using English language and 76% have not enough vocabulary to communicate in English properly and fluently. Similarly, 77% students face challenges in organizing their ideas and generating sentences directly in the target language. Overall, pronunciation, language shift, native language interference, lack of language labs, college environment and organizing their ideas in English are identified as challenging areas for students. Categorically, the data has been sorted into cultural, psychological and linguistic factors. As it has been mentioned above that psychological factors such as lack of confidence, fear, and nervousness, seem to play a significant role in students’ students’ language learning experiences. The importance of creating a supportive and encouraging environment is emphasized in overcoming these psychological barriers.
The data on the table replicates the results of questionnaire that show that there are some minor factors which also hinder students English speaking abilities such as 68% students admitted that some teachers allow them to use their mother tongue to answer their questions, 67 % students have weak grammar, 64% students found that intonation of the English speaking is challenging to use correctly, 61% students felt it is hard for them to listen and understand the language simultaneously, 54% students get shy and shunned when their teachers correct their mistakes while speaking in the class room. They lose confidence likewise. 51% students feel lazy to response to the queries in English although their English-speaking skills are good. Same number of students have their focus on getting just bachelors’ degree in English language to fulfill the market and stake holders demand and they normally ignore the need of learning this skill for multiple uses of it in practical life. 47% students have got the overgeneralized notion that speaking English is a difficult task and they carry this notion without discussing it to anyone.
The data shows plenty of strengths of students in speaking English as well. While 82% students are getting great support and feedback from the teachers when speaking English, 80% students are watching movies to learn the speaking skill. The data suggests that students generally feel more confident about vocabulary and grammar.
The data reflects students suggested way to improve speaking skill by students themselves is watching movies. 80% students have shown their interest in it. 57% students show their interest to participate in workshops, competitions, and events to improve their speaking skill. 55% students try to practice English speaking regularly through different activities such as listening songs and podcasts and engaging themselves in different speaking activates.
82% students acknowledge the role of their teachers as a great source of encouragement to improve their English-speaking skill and keep them motivated to learn it more and use it more.
74% students reflect the problem of the environment that does not support them to improve their speaking skill.

Interview Data Analysis:

Interviews were conducted with students as a second instrument to obtain the students’ perspectives on the speaking difficulties that they face. These interviews were analyzed statistically using SPSS software. During the analysis of the interviews, overall results revealed the following:

About 53% of the participants appeared strong in grammar. Pronunciation got the second position. About 42% of the participants agreed that pronunciation is the easiest speaking subskill for them. The third position went to vocabulary as 40% of the participants said vocabulary is easy and it is not a challenge for them. Most students appear weak in fluency. 9% of the participants show that fluency is not a challenge for the, while others see that fluency is a big challenge for them when they speak.
10% of the students expressed issues related to confidence, fear, and nervousness, which means that psychological factors do not play a significant role in affecting their speaking skill.
68% of students considered lack of vocabulary, limited grammar knowledge, insufficient practice the common difficulties that affect their speaking skills.
Several participants mentioned a lack of regular English practice as a major challenge.
6% of the participants said that speaking English language is difficult for them as it is not their native language while another 6% considered their late starts to study English language is the reason for their speaking difficulty.
For the best solution for the participants’ speaking difficulty, 55% of them saw that practice the language daily is the most effective solution for them to overcome the speaking difficulty. 33% of them considered reading in English, listening more to English broadcast, watching more English movies might improve their speaking skill. 12% only asked for more additional speaking courses to overcome their speaking difficulty.
For the role of teachers and the department, majority of the participants agreed upon the importance of their role as they are the main part of the solution that can help students improve their speaking skill and overcome their difficulty.

8.Conclusion:

As mentioned earlier, the focus of the research is to validate the hypothesis that effect the spoken English skill of students in Main Jazan Campus (Male and Female) of Department of Foreign Languages , Jazan University. It is the first time such practical research is done in these campuses where the strengths of its students, factors and root cause effecting spoken English among graduates have be stated above. Below given are some suggestion and recommendation thus helping the department to improvise and perform better in its future graduating batches.

9.Suggestions / Recommendations:

Overall results show, the participants appear strong in grammar and vocabulary. However, they need improvement in pronunciation and fluency. The students need to work hard to improve these two areas. The participants recommended various strategies that include regular practice and communication with native speakers. Giving the students the chance to speak without focusing on their mistakes and correcting them could help improve fluency. They should be involved in discussions which are not interrupted to correct their mistakes. Regarding pronunciation, students should be encouraged to follow some steps that can help them improve. That includes learning to listen, learning with the best English pronunciation dictionaries online, using pronunciation podcasts and videos, speaking as much as they can and many others.

Many students expressed issues related to confidence, fear, and nervousness, suggesting that psychological factors play a significant role. About 74% of the participants get nervous and anxious when they have to say something in English even if they are well prepared. They worry about making mistakes in pronunciation when speaking. This is why a supportive and encouraging environment is recommended to address these concerns. Teachers should try their best to provide such an environment that can help students speak in the class without fear. One way this can happen is through positive reinforcement. Students can get rid of fear, nervousness and lack of confidence if they know that the teacher appreciates their efforts and they won’t be embarrassed if they make any mistakes.

The results show that 59% of the participants do not practice English speaking regularly. Students should know that a big part of improving their speaking skill depends on their own effort. Teachers can guide them to the ways that can help them improve. 56% of the participants do not like to participate in workshops, competitions and events but at the same time they recommended that the teachers and department provide a variety of educational workshops and give more opportunities for events and presentations. According to them, teachers can conduct more speaking-focused workshops. It is recommended to engage the students in speaking activities and workshops. Providing additional classes for speaking practice and encouraging interactive lectures can be helpful especially if the students are given marks for being active. Presentations can help students build confidence to speak in front of others and focus on pronunciation and clarity. 83% of the participants agreed that they have always been encouraged by their teachers to speak English in the class which means that teachers’ encouragement is essential. The participants suggested a number of ways that teachers can do to help students improve. Conducting more speaking-focused workshops is one of them. Another is providing additional classes for speaking practice and encouraging interactive lectures. In addition, supporting students with more speaking activities and presentations and using more practical and real-life examples are two effective ways. Teachers can guide the students to strategies that can help them communicate and practice with native speakers through applications and channels. Students can take advantage from social media; there are many applications through which students can benefit from. Most of the participants watch English movies to improve their speaking skills. Therefore, students should be encouraged to watch movies, listening to broadcasts, and read to enhance language skills.

Students should not be allowed to use Arabic in the class when communicating with the teacher or with their classmates. Encouraging the students to use English in the class definitely forces them to use English and will help them improve. Participating in workshops and other activities outside the classroom, regular self-practice through movies, books, and broadcasts, building confidence through self-presentation and engaging in daily language exercises and conducting more speaking-focused workshops are all strategies suggested by participants.

The participants mentioned five strategies that can aid in improving their speaking skill. Regular self-practice through movies, books, and broadcasts is one of them. They also see that engaging in daily language exercises is another one. Building confidence through self-presentation and participating in workshops and activities outside the classroom are also important. Finally, creating a language-rich environment at home is effective. Five strategies by management were indicated by participants. These include arranging additional classes for extra practice is one way, providing more opportunities for events and presentations, ensuring a variety of educational workshops are two effective ways, encouraging social media interactions with native speakers is helpful and promoting English usage through courses and specialized programs. Moreover, 63% of the participants feel that absence of tutorial labs in college is a hurdle in their English language speaking practice.

10.References:

Alhamdi, Nesreen (2014). English speaking learning barriers in Saudi Arabia: A case study of Tibah University. AWEJ Vol. 5, Pp. 38-53 ,https://www.awej.org/images /AllIssues /Volume5/Volume5Number2June2014/4.pdf
Ali, J. K. M., Shamsan, M.A., Guduru, R., & Yemmela, N.(2019) Attitudes of Saudi EFL Learners towards Speaking Skills. Arab World English Journal, 10 (2) 253-364 . https://
doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol10no2.27
AL-Seghayer, Dr. Khalid ( December 11, 2012). In the light of these facts, learning English in Saudi Arabia is important and a valuable commodity: Status and functions of English. Saudi Gazette.

https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/24861

Al-Seghayer , Khalid (2023).The Newfound Status of English in 21st-Century Saudi Arabia, International Journal of Linguistics ISSN 1948-5425, Vol. 15, No. https://www 4.macrothink.org/journal/index.php/ijl/article/view/21262
Shammar, Hebshi ( 21st Sep2020 ). Saudi experts praise English language move. Arab news .

https://arab.news/5tkc7

Bani Younes, Zuhoor and Albalawi, Fatima.( 2016).Investigating the Factors Leading to Speaking Difficulties: Both Perspectives of EFL Saudi Learners and their teachers. AWEJ. Vol. 7. Pp. 268-287. https://www.awej.org/images/AllIssues/Volume7/Volume7

Number2june/18.pdf

Hamid, Mona.( 2013). Factors Negatively Affect Speaking Skills at Saudi Colleges for Girls in the South. English Language Teaching, Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education Vol. 6, No. 12. https://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/ view

/31754

Jeon E.H, In’nami.Y(3/25/2024); Understanding L2 Proficiency : Theoretical and Meta-analytic Investigations, Volume 13 eBook , Amsterdam / Philadelphia, John Benjamins Publishing Company
Kashmiri, Hayat. (2020). Communication Challenges: Saudi EFL Speaking Skills and Strategies to Overcome Speaking Difficulties. AWEJ. Theses ID 267 Pp. 1- 61. https://

awej.org/images/Theseanddissertation/HayatAhmadKashmiri/Hayat-Ahmad-Kashmiri-Fullthesis.pdf

Lawrie Douglas G (2005). Speaking to good effect- An introduction to the theory and practice of rhetoric, Study Guides in Religion and Theology ,Publications of Stellenbosch University’s, Reyneveld street, Stellenbosch

Appendix

QUESTIONNAIRE

(Microsoft Form created linked shared with students)

Campus:_________________________ Gender: Male / Female

Statements		Strongly Agree اوافق بشدة	Agree اوافق	Neutral حيادي	Disagree لا اوافق	Strongly Disagree لا اوافق بشدة
	Cultural Factor: (Use of Mother Tongue) العامل الثقافي: (استخدام اللغة الأم)
I. study English to get a degree, and I am not interested in learning it or improving my skills in it. أدرس اللغة الإنجليزية للحصول على شهادة، ولست مهتمًا بتعلمها او تطوير مهاراتي فيها.
2. I always translate my ideas into Arabic before speaking. أترجم أفكاري دائمًا إلى اللغة العربية قبل التحدث .
3. The teacher allows me to use Arabic while asking and answering questions in the class. يسمح لي المدرس باستخدام اللغة العربية أثناء طرح الأسئلة والإجابة عليها في الفصل.
4. I like to use Arabic to communicate with my classmates in & outside classroom. أحب استخدام اللغة العربية للتواصل مع زملائي في الفصل وخارجه.
	Linguistic Factor (Knowledge of Second Language)
5. I find speaking English difficult because listening & understanding it, is difficult, too. أجد صعوبة في التحدث باللغة الإنجليزية لأن الاستماع إليها وفهمها أمر صعب أيضًا.
6. Using correct intonation is difficult for me. استخدام نبرة الصوت المناسبة للكلام صعب بالنسبة لي.
7. I find speaking English difficult because my grammar is weak. أجد صعوبة في التحدث باللغة الإنجليزية لأن قواعد اللغة لدي ضعيفة.
8. I do not have enough vocabulary that can help me express my ideas and argue about topics. ليس لدي ما يكفي من المفردات التي يمكن أن تساعدني في التعبير عن أفكاري ومناقشة المواضيع.
9. Organizing my ideas and sentences while speaking English is difficult. يعد تنظيم أفكاري وجُملي أثناء التحدث باللغة الإنجليزية أمرًا صعبًا.
Psychological Factors (Motivation, shyness, etc.) العوامل النفسية (الدافع ، الخجل ، إلخ.)
10.When I speak in English, I worry about making mistakes in pronunciation. عندما أتحدث باللغة الإنجليزية ، أشعر بالقلق من ارتكاب أخطاء في النطق.
11. I think speaking English is a difficult task. أعتقد أن التحدث باللغة الإنجليزية مهمة صعبة.
12. I am shy if my teacher corrects my mistakes while speaking English in class. اشعر بالخجل إذا قام أستاذي بتصحيح أخطائي أثناء التحدث باللغة الإنجليزية في الفصل.
13. I lose my self-confidence when I make mistakes and someone corrects me. أفقد ثقتي بنفسي عندما أرتكب أخطاء ويصححني أحدهم.
14. I get nervous/ anxious when I have to say something in English even if I am well prepared. أشعر بالتوتر / القلق عندما أضطر لقول شيء ما باللغة الإنجليزية حتى لو كنت مستعدًا جيدًا.
15. I have always been encouraged by my teachers to speak English in the class. لقد شجعني أساتذتي دائمًا على التحدث باللغة الإنجليزية في الفصل.
16. I feel lazy to participate and answer questions most of the time though I can speak English well. أشعر بالكسل للمشاركة والإجابة على الأسئلة في معظم الوقت على الرغم من أنني أستطيع التحدث باللغة الإنجليزية بشكل جيد.
Ways to Improve Language طرق تحسين اللغة
17. Do you practice English speaking regularly. هل تتحدث اللغة الإنجليزية بنظام؟
18. I like to participate in workshops, competitions and events to improve my language speaking. أحب المشاركة في الأنشطة والفعاليات اللامنهجية لتحسين مهاراتي اللغوية.
19. I watch English movies to improve my listening & speaking skills. أشاهد الأفلام الإنجليزية لتحسين مهارتي في الاستماع والتحدث.
20. I feel that absence of tutorial labs in college is a hurdle in my English language speaking practice. أشعر أن غياب المعامل التعليمية في الكلية يمثل عقبة في ممارستي للتحدث باللغة الإنجليزية.
21. Overall, the environment doesn’t speaking English language. بشكل عام ، لا تدعم البيئة التحدث باللغة الإنجليزية.
22. Are you interested to participate in the interview? هل أنت مهتم بالمشاركة في المقابلة؟			Yes نعم 1. Face to face وجها لوجه 2. Zoom زووم 3. Microsoft Team مايكروسوفت			No لأ
	23.Please Give us your phone and email to contact you for interview. Phone: Email: