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

Abstract

Abstract: This investigation deals with factors that influence students' oral communication skills in English. The objective was to determine which linguistic and emotional problems affect the oral communication skills of high school students in face-to-face educational settings. This study was conducted at a public high school in the province of Loja and employed a mixed method approach, which included both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The sample of this study comprised forty-one first-year senior high school students and an EFL teacher. The instruments used during the data collection stage were a students' questionnaire, a teachers questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, and an observation sheet. The data were tabulated and organized in two tables and based on the results the outcomes were analyzed. Furthermore, the results revealed that linguistic factors had a great impact on students' oral communication skills. Thus, the lack of vocabulary was the most influential linguistic factor, and the lack of self-confidence was the emotional factor that most influenced the students when speaking in English.