University Students’ Attitude towards Oral Interaction in English as a Foreign Language Classroom: Second Year Students in Focus

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to investigate students’ attitude towards oral interaction in EFL classroom. For the study, a post positivist paradigm was adopted because the post positivist assumptions have represented the traditional form of research, and these assumptions hold true more for quantitative research than qualitative research. Besides, a descriptive case study design and a quantitative research approach were employed to achieve the research objective. The participants of the study were 64 second year students in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSH), Gambella University who were selected through simple random sampling technique in the year 2023. The data were collected through close ended questionnaire. A close ended questionnaire was used to collect the data about the students’ attitude towards oral interaction in EFL classroom. In this study, a quantitative method of data analysis was employed by using SPSS 24. The data were analyzed utilizing descriptive statistics like frequencies, percentages and mean scores. The data about the students’ attitude were analyzed in terms of the three basic components of attitude. They were the cognitive, affective and behavioral components. Regarding the cognitive component of their attitude about the benefits of oral interaction, the students had little understanding about the merit of oral interaction. Pertaining to the affective component of their attitude concerning their own preferences to employ oral interaction in a classroom, the students did not prefer using oral interaction in EFL classroom. With regard to the behavioral component of their attitude towards oral interaction, the students were not enthusiastic to use oral interaction in classrooms in enhancing their oral interaction skill. Therefore, the findings the study revealed that the students had negative attitude towards oral interaction in EFL classrooms.