EXPLORING FACTORS AFFECTING QASSIM UNIVERSITY EFL STUDENTS’ ACQUISITION OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE SPEAKING SKILLS

Abstract

This qualitative study was conducted to explore the factors affecting Qassim University EFL students’ acquisition of English language speaking skills. Thirty students enrolled in the Intensive Course Program (ICP) in the English Language and Translation Department of the Sciences and Arts College in Unaizah, Saudi Arabia, participated in this study. Information on the factors affecting students’ acquisition of English Language speaking skills was gathered using semi-structured interviews with students who were usually active participants in the classroom. A qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the interview-generated data. The qualitative data was interpreted using manual coding, which requires thoroughly in-depth reading of the transcripts and assigning codes and themes. The findings of the study revealed that Qassim University EFL students’ acquisition of English language speaking skills is affected by a variety of factors including psychological factors such as motivation, lack of confidence, second language anxiety, shyness and introversion, pedagogical factors like classmates’ behaviors, teaching methods and materials, instructor’s feedback, classroom atmosphere, topical knowledge and interest, class size, and linguistic factors such grammatical understanding, vocabulary knowledge, and correct pronunciation. It can therefore be assumed that the factors affecting English language speaking acquisition among EFL students have to be considered within multidimensional aspects rather than simply originating from students themselves. In light of the findings, some pedagogical implications were offered, as well as suggestions for future research.