Investigating Students Perception towards Learning Speaking Skills and Speaking Strategies Used To Develop Their Speaking Skills: The Case of Biftu Nonno Secondary School Grade Ten in Focus

Abstract

Le this research aimed to explore and analyse students perception in learning speaking skill and its challenges. To achieve this objective, the study employed descriptive survey research method with quantitative and qualitative data collecting approaches. The quantitative data collecting approach was used to collect data from 154 sample respondents of students through questionnaire. Sample respondents were selected as the sample respondents for this study through simple random sampling. The collected data were analysed through descriptive statistical analysis. Percentages, frequencies, mean and standard deviations were used as descriptive statistics to analyse the data. On the basis of the analysis the study showed that students had have positive perception towards learning speaking skills. The result of the study indicated that the students faced challenges in learning speaking skills causes from teachers teaching technique, students’ attitude towards learning speaking, lack of students’ active participations in speaking exercises, teachers working load, constrained instructing hours and students’ lack of confidence and motivation and the teacher had not focused on students center teaching and learning process to equip students speaking skills. In addition, the result of the study revealed that lists of strategies that were used by the students to learn speaking skills were produced grammatical expressions to learn speaking skills, using an acceptable pronunciation to learn speaking skills, participated in role playing activities to learn speaking skills, participated in game playing activities to learn speaking skills and participated in turn taking activities to learn speaking skills. The result of the study indicated that students overcome challenges they have been faced through improving their grammar skill to use for learning speaking, improving their vocabulary skill to use for learning speaking, improving their pronunciation skill through practice out of the class to use for learning speaking and developing confidence to speak English language without fear. Finally, the study recommended that should participate and purposeful in their participation in learning speaking skills.