Students’ Challenges in EFL Speaking Classrooms

Abstract

Speaking is considered one of the main skills of communication for English language learners. Students tend to face challenges through the process of learning and improving speaking skills. The current paper aims to study the difficulties students encounter in EFL-speaking classrooms and the major causes of these challenges. The sample for this study included six students studying the Listening and Speaking module as first-year undergraduate students for two semesters in the English department at Knowledge University. The study employed a qualitative approach using a semi-structured interview. Furthermore, it uses thematic analysis to analyze the raw data. This research paper examines the issues of speaking from students' perspectives to understand the demands and challenges of students in EFL classrooms that focus on speaking which have not been studied yet. The results of analyzing the data show that students have obstacles in EFL-speaking classrooms, like fear of making mistakes, shyness, limited vocabulary knowledge, and large class sizes. Finally, the implications of these results for both teachers and students and the limitations of the study are discussed.