Exploring university students’ perceptions of the factors barring their English-speaking skills in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

This study examined students’ perceptions of the factors barring their English-speaking skills. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire from the students of the English and Education departments studying in different semesters at the University of Malakand Pakistan. Data were analyzed using various statistical tools such as frequency distribution, mean, standard deviation, and independent samples t-test. The results showed a positive attitude of students (both male and female) toward developing English-speaking skills as the grand mean score was 3.54, higher than the mid-point of 3.0 on the five-point Likert scale. Further, the results showed no significant difference in students’ perceptions of studying in the different departments (p=0.066>0.05) and semesters (p=0.083>0.05) towards English-speaking skills. However, factors impeding the English-speaking skill of the students identified include students’ background-related factors (grand mean score 2.36<3.0), the current English communication environment (p=0.005<0.05), teaching methodology (p=0.009<0.05), and the examination system (p=0.048<0.05). This study concludes that the English-speaking skills of the students could be improved by focusing on the mentioned impeding factors.