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

Abstract

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that most influence the Oral communication skills of students from Ecuadorian face-to-face schools. The participants were forty-five second-year high school students and two English teachers. For this purpose, a mixed research approach was applied. combining quantitative and qualitative research methods. In order to collect data, research techniques such as survey, interview and class observation they were applied. The instruments used were: a teacher survey, a student survey, one student interview, and four class observations. The statistical data of the surveys are presented in two tables, which represent the linguistic and emotional factors, which helped interpret the results taking into account the other research instruments. The results show that the most influential linguistic factors in students' oral production are native language interference and pronunciation; the emotional factors that most affects are lack of motivation and lack of confidence; and that emotional factors affect in greater magnitude than the linguistic ones.