Breaking the Silence: Unveiling the Hidden Challenges to English Speaking Among Undergraduates

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the challenges encountered by undergraduate students in speaking English, utilizing a sequential explanatory design to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. In the first phase, a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire, based on Shen and Chiu (2019), was administered to 80 students from the Department of Education at three public universities in Rawalpindi and Islamabad to assess their challenges in speaking English. In the second phase, qualitative data was obtained through semi-structured interviews with six participants (two from each university), to provide deeper insights into the challenges identified in the survey. Quantitative data was analyzed descriptively, with frequencies and percentages calculated to identify prevalent trends, while qualitative data were subjected to open coding for thematic analysis. The findings revealed that linguistic barriers were the most significant contributors to students' challenges in speaking English. Key linguistic difficulties included limited vocabulary, poor sentence structure, and inadequate grammatical proficiency. Additionally, psychological barriers such as anxiety, fear of making errors, and a lack of confidence were also prominent, alongside environmental factors, notably a suboptimal learning environment characterized by insufficient support and limited opportunities for English conversation. Moreover, the qualitative data underscored the importance of regular practice, with participants emphasizing daily English-speaking exercises as a critical strategy for improving language proficiency. These findings have important pedagogical implications, suggesting the need for targeted interventions to enhance students' English-speaking abilities, particularly by addressing linguistic deficiencies and fostering more supportive and interactive learning environments.