Barriers to speaking in English among maritime students

Abstract

This study analyses the contributing factors to problems with regard to speaking in English among maritime students at two tertiary institutions in Malaysia. This study looks at five paradigms: learners’ personality, amount and quality of exposure to English, learners’ attitude, learners’ motivation, and pedagogical management of the English Language courses at the campus. The study also compares the causes of the speaking problems in English between male and female students. Survey questionnaires are distributed to 150 final-year maritime students. Data were analysed descriptively via SPSS. It is found that the main causes of the students’ speaking problems stem from the teachers’ pedagogical management of the English subjects, exposure to English, and personality which contribute moderately to the learners’ predicaments. However, motivation and attitude are identified to have contributed the least to the students’ oral skills inadequacies. Several ensuing implications for initiatives to help enhance students’ speaking proficiency in the English Language are also discussed.