Speaking Problems

Common speaking problems1. Student inhibitionSpeaking activities require a student to have all eyes on him and exposure to an audience can often give students stage fright. They may also be worried about making mistakes, being criticized or losing face in front of the rest of the class.

2. Nothing to sayAnother common problem is that students sometimes think they have nothing to say on a particular topic. In reality, they may be bored or feel that the topic is unrelated to anything they know. If this is the case, they will have no motivation to speak other than the fact that they know they should be participating in the speaking activity. Students often lack confidence in their speaking ability and feel they have insufficient language skills to express exactly what they want to say.

3. The low of participationThere will always be dominant students in an english class making it difficult for more reserved students to express themselves freely. Dominant students who interrupt frequently or who constantly look for the teacher's attention tend to create an environment in the esl class where more timid students are quite happy to sit back and watch the lesson unfolding instead of participating.

4. Mother-tongue useStudents who insist on using their mother tongue are students who are fearful of criticism and need to be encouraged to speak english. Students must understand that they cannot revert to their mother tongue as this will take away precious speaking practice time during lessons and slow down oral progress.