Investigating Speaking Skills Problems of Pakistani Learners in ESL Context

Abstract

A pivotal skill that needs focus and concentration for efficient communication is speaking. It is taken as one of the toughest skill for learning of language. However, the issue to attain speaking proficiency becomes more problematic in Second language contexts. Specifically in English language speaking situations and ESL contexts, the learners are unable to communicate effectively and they are reluctant to speak due to various problems. Particularly in Pakistan English is regarded as official language for communication, yet only small percentage can communicate in English effectively. This investigation objects to explore the hindrances and problems faced by Pakistani ESL learners while speaking English. The population for this current investigation comes from Pakistan whereas the sample comes from four provincial capitals (Sindh, KPK, Punjab, Baluchistan) and one federal capital of Pakistan i.e. Islamabad. The sample size from the population was 100 (20 each from provincial and federal capital). Quantitative research design was used in which questionnaire was conducted from the people to explore various factors affecting the English speaking in Pakistani peoples. The results revealed that ESL learners in Pakistan do face a lot of psychological, linguistic, and social problems while speaking English. The results concluded that these factors create hindrances to achieve fluency in English language speaking. The outcomes of this study are significant to help concerned administrators, institutions, educators and teachers to eliminate these problems to attain efficiency in speaking English.