Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions of Speaking Skills: the case of Kellem Secondary School Grade Ten in Focus.

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions and practices of both teachers and students on teaching and learning speaking skill in Kellem Secondary School of grade ten students. To achieve the purposes, a descriptive research design was employed by using both quantitative and qualitative approach. The sample population of the study includes 220 students, 20% of the total population, selected using simple random sampling technique. In addition, 13 EFL teachers of the target school were selected purposively. The data were gathered through questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observation. A set of questionnaires were prepared for both teachers and students to identify the extent of their perception and their practices. It was pilot tested to check the reliability of the items and administered to the sample teachers and students. Besides, teachers were interviewed based on semi structured checklist. In addition, classroom observation of spoken classes was also conducted to observe the real life situation and the actual practices of teachers and students. The quantitative data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Frequency scores, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and grand mean values were quantified to analyze the extent of the perception and practices of both teachers and students. Furthermore, Pearson Correlation Coefficient was run on SPSS version 20 and analyzed to show whether there is relationship between the perception and practices of respondents’ responses. The result of the study revealed that even though the perception of most teachers on teaching and learning speaking skills in spoken classes high, the teachers were observed when they rarely practice in spoken classes. The teachers were seen skipping over the spoken activities in favor of teaching grammar lessons so that the portion could be covered. Teachers never assess the spoken performance of students, they do not tell the students the purpose/ the goal of the spoken lesson, and they do not use authentic materials in spoken classes. The students’ participation in spoken lessons was very low due to the fact that class was mostly teacher dominated. The perception of students on how speaking ability could be learned/ developed was very limited. As a result, the majority of students were supposed to listen to their teachers’ talk rather than actively involved in various classroom speaking activities. It was also possible to find that there was a negative relationship between the teachers’ perception and their practices while a negative relationship was found on the perception and practices of students. To this end, teachers and students also ought to play prominent role in the teaching and learning speaking. That is, teachers should use modern methodologies, clearly tell their students the purpose of the spoken task, use authentic materials give feedback and correct students’ mistake without interruption which give room for students’ active participation. On the other hand, students should try to use English in the classroom confidently, take responsibility to participate in groups/ pair works and give equal attention to speaking and other skills.