The speaking difficulties of Chinese EFL learners and their motivation towards speaking the English language

Abstract

One of the most important skills to acquire in learning a foreign language is speaking. It is however, viewed as one of the most difficult. This study involved the observation of non-English major students in the foreign language department of Nanjing Tech University. Its aim was to assess critically the factors that affect the speaking performances of Chinese EFL Learners, find out their motivational levels and explore ways to improve EFL proficiency. Two survey questionnaires, as well as an interview item, were constructed. Seventy-five respondents were conveniently sampled for the Chinese EFL learner’s speaking difficulty questionnaire and, the English motivational scale, and ten out of the Seventy-five were randomly selected to respond to the interview. The factors that inhibit speaking performances were categorized as either linguistic or psychological. The outcome of the study revealed that Chinese EFL learners have speaking problems that relate more to psychological factors like anxiety, fear of mistakes, unwillingness, and fear of negative evaluation than linguistic factors such as lack of vocabulary, pronunciation, insufficient knowledge of grammar rules, reading and oral presentation. Furthermore, the researchers investigated the motivational levels of respondents toward speaking English as motivation is considered a fundamental element in achieving oral proficiency. The findings showed that Chinese EFL learner’s instrumental motivations are slightly dominant than their integrative motivation. The study recommends that instructors or teachers should create a conducive environment that will help reduce anxiety or shyness and gather adequate strategies like regular oral presentations or classroom debates to boost EFL learners' speaking confidence.