Perceptions Towards Speaking Difficulties Encountered by Young EFL Learners Case Study of 4th Year Pupils at Madjdoub Mokran Middle School

Abstract

Abstract: Speaking is one of the most significant skills to be developed as a mean of effective communication. Speaking skill is viewed as one of the most difficult features of language learning. Most pupils find difficulties to express themselves in a spoken language. They face problems to use and to communicate with the foreign language in order to express their ideas effectually. This study aimed to explore the factors that caused the EFL learners’ English speaking difficulties and then investigate the successful learners’ strategy use to improve their English speaking performance. In this research study, we investigate the major difficulties encountered by EFL learners of Medjdoub Mokran middle School in Algeria (RAS EL OUED) through questionnaire given to 40 pupils chosen randomly. The results of the analysis showed that psychological problems (lack of self-confidence, anxiety, lack of motivation, fear of making mistakes, shyness and inhibition) was the primary reason for English speaking difficulties followed by linguistic problems (vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar) and nonlinguistic problems such (use of mother tongue, low participation and nothing to say). A majority of successful learners tended to use various speaking strategies to improve their English speaking performance and particularly focused on linguistic fluency and accuracy by practicing pronunciation and intonation. Furthermore, learners and teachers should follow some strategies in order to avoid such problems and to develop speaking performance.