Situational Problems as a Major Factor of Inadequacy of Speaking Competency in Sri Lankan Adult ESL Learners

Abstract

The main objective of the current study was to explore the impact of situational problems i.e. poor input, low topical knowledge, lack of time for practice, lack of opportunities to practice, the inability to make constructions, and low feedback on adult English as a second language (ESL) learners in learning speaking skills at a government monitored institute of higher education. The current research was prompted by a major research done previously in the same local context on problems faced by ESL learners in learning speaking skills which revealed that cognitive and psychological problems are made worse by situational problems. This qualitative exploratory study was done with 50 adult ESL learners following the higher national diploma in English HNDE at this institute. Open questionnaires and interviews were used as the data gathering instrument of the study that followed the grounded theory. A triangulation of questionnaire data and transcripts of interview data were analyzed through thematic analysis. The findings confirm the existence of situational problems in the particular context and disclose the lack of time and space given to the subject speaking skills in the curriculum following unwise revisions brought to it. The main cause of students’ low speaking competence is sadly bad teaching.