Factors that influence high school students English oral communication skills in Ecuadorian face-to-face learning environments

Abstract

Abstract: In learning English as a foreign language, oral production is considered a of the most important skills that students should master; However, for For many of them this represents a great challenge. For this reason, the aim of this study is to identify the factors that influence oral communication skills in English of high school students in face-to-face Ecuadorian learning environments. The participants were 43 students and a first-year high school English teacher from a school located in the Saraguro canton of the Province of Loja. This study was carried out using a mixed approach, which involves the use of quantitative methods such as qualitative. The instruments to collect the information were questionnaires of students, a questionnaire for the teacher, observation sheets and a questionnaire for carry out the interviews. Regarding the results, this study revealed that the factors that interfere with students' oral communication are both linguistic and emotional. With respect to linguistic factors, language transfer, use of vocabulary and poor pronunciation are the most prominent ones that hinder the performance of students' speaking skills. While fear, lack of confidence and Anxiety are the emotional factors that cause the greatest impact on oral communication of English in students.