Although oral fluency is essential for success in EFL classes, there are many obstacles to Thai EFL learners’ speaking and listening skills. The aim of this study is to investigate these obstacles for a better understanding of oral expression skills. Based on a comprehensive literature review, a customized questionnaire was designed and sent to a number of Thai students. An exploratory factor analysis was applied to the processed data to validate the instrument and identify the underlying barriers. The results showed that the KMO measure of sampling adequacy was 0.912, while the Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant at 2345.423 (p < 0.05), confirming the justification of the factor analysis. Barriers include six main components, such as Listening and Comprehension Obstacles (LCO) or Speaking Anxiety and Confidence Issues (SACI) with eigenvalues ranging from 1.066 to 12.990, explaining 60.305 percent of the variance of the 32 variables. These results emphasize the need for effective yet usable listening opportunities, attention to classroom culture, and grammar instruction that is neither too tight nor too loose. Educational practitioners and policy makers need to adopt the best implementation practices to solve the problems associated with Thai EFL learners’ oral proficiency, which in return will enhance their academic and professional performance.

Authors:
Patsawut Sukserm, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

About the Presenter(s)
Patsawut Sukserm is an English lecturer in the Division of English for Science and Technology at Chulalongkorn University Language Institute, Bangkok, Thailand.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule

Bookmark