STUDY OF STUDENTS’ PROBLEMS IN LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING OF THE FIRST YEAR M.A IN FACULTY OF HUMANITY AT MAHACHULALONGKORNRAJAVIDYALAYA UNIVERSITY

Abstract

The purposes of the research were: 1) to study problems in the speaking English of the first-year M.A students in the faculty of humanity; 2) to study the ability of the first-year M.A students in the faculty of humanity; and 3) to study the way to solve the speaking English problems of the first-year M.A students in the faculty of humanity, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University. This study was a mixed methods study between qualitative and quantitative research. A questionnaire was used for collecting quantitative data from 20 students, and an in-depth interview was used for collecting qualitative data from 3 key informants. An analysis of quantitative data statistics including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation (SD) was used, and a content analysis was conducted.

The results of the study are as follows: 1) the problems with English speaking skills of the first-year students, the problems with English speaking skills were at a high level. These were their names:1.1) causes of English-speaking problems discovered due to students' lack of time; 1.2) causes of English speaking problems discovered due to grammar; and 1.3) causes of English speaking problems discovered due to the teacher's teaching. 2) The methods for resolving problems with English speaking skills in the first year can be found, for example, using English as a mother tongue even in daily conversation, thinking English while speaking English, practicing using speaking skills from watching BBC or CNN news, and building confidence in speaking English.