Exploring English Speaking Proficiency Challenges Faced by ESL Learners in the English Department at the Shaikh Ayaz University

Abstract

Speaking is one of the essential skills in English language learning, along with reading, writing, and listening. English is a prestigious global language as well as the official language of many countries in the world, including Pakistan. As Pakistani learners acquire English as a second language (ESL), they face various complications while speaking English. The present study aims to explore the English-speaking challenges faced by the English department students in Shikarpur, Sindh, Pakistan. It adopts a quantitative research design with a sample of 132 out of 200 to address the existing gap, following Krejcie & Morgan (1970) (0.05%) through purposive sampling. A closed-ended, five-point Likert scale questionnaire was used as an instrument to collect the data through WhatsApp online. The results were presented in pie charts. The results reveal that the students experience several challenges in speaking, including nervousness, fear of making grammatical and pronunciation mistakes, and a lack of adequate vocabulary. The study also provided recommendations for both students and teachers to address and overcome speaking challenges and mitigate these challenges, and enhance speaking fluency.