The perspectives of Second Year Students At Faculty of Education in EL-Mergib University towards Implementing of Communicative Approach to overcome the Most Common Challenges In Learning Speaking Skill

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the most common challenges encountered by second year university students in learning speaking. This study was conducted at English Department -Faculty of Education in El Mergib University. This study addresses some main issues: What are the common challenges faced by second year students at English department - Faculty of Education in learning speaking skills and What are students‟ needs to overcome their speaking difficulties? What are the attitudes of students towards different characteristics of communicative language teaching to improve/to enhance their speaking skills? A sample of 40 students was selected using a simple random sampling procedure. This study followed a quantitative method. The data collection instrument used in this study was a questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 44 items which investigated the issues mentioned above. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and percentage. The outcomes indicated that the most common challenges for undergraduate students in learning speaking were the lack of practice, opportunities and motivation to speak in English classes. In addition, the techniques/approaches that are used in the lecture do not encourage learners to speak English. Therefore, this study will help second year university students to indicate the difficulties that face in learning to speak English, and what they need to do in order to overcome these challenges. This study also will investigate communicative approach (CA) as the most effective approach to improve and develop speaking skills of second year university students.