FACTORS AFFECTING GRADE 10 STUDENTS ’ SPEAKING SKILLS IN EFL CLASSROOMS: AT THREE SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF CHOLE WOREDA, ARSI ZONE OROMIA REGIONAL STATE

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the factors affecting Grade 10 students’ speaking skills in English language. Three secondary schools in Oromia region in Arsi Zone, Chole Woreda were purposively selected. To achieve the overall purpose of this study, a descriptive survey design was employed. To collect data, three data gathering instruments were utilized, i.e., classroom observation, questionnaire and interview. Seven grade ten English teachers and 110 grade ten students participated in the study via comprehensive sampling and stratified purposeful sampling, respectively. Both quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods were employed to analyze the data. Accordingly, the finding from the classroom observations revealed that classroom conditions and seating arrangements; the classroom teachers’ activities; teachers' effort to create genuine communication; students' effort to improve their speaking proficiency are the factors which affect the effective implementation of speaking skills lesson in the research setting. In addition, the finding from students’ questionnaire revealed that lack of exposure to practice, lack of practice in and out of the class room, poor background experience and fear of making mistakes affect speaking skills development than the other factors. Furthermore, other personality factors like lack of self-confidence and anxiety also affect speaking skills development than the other factors. Furthermore, the finding from the teachers interview revealed that the most influential factors which influence secondary school students speaking performance as identified in this section are lack of practice, lack of motivation, lack of self- confidence and lack of speaking materials. These factors are directly related to the students’ speaking performance because they are central to teaching of speaking skills. Based on the above findings, it is recommended that, as speaking skill requires practice both in and out of the classroom, the Woreda education office and the schools' management should create a conducive environment for the students to help them practice speaking.