Factors affecting student's English communication skills

Abstract

Abstract:The present research has been conducted to identify the principal factors that affect public high school student's proficiency in English oral communication. The sample of this research consisted of twenty-five students of 1st year of senior high school students and an EFL Ecuadorian teacher of a public high school located in the city of Azogues. The students' age arrayed from 15 to 16, and the teacher was 34 years old. This research applied quantitative and qualitative approaches. Data were obtained from three instruments. A survey was applied to the students while an interview was carried out to the teacher. Besides, class observations were implemented during five periods. Once the information was collected, tabulated, and organized, it was analyzed in order to answer the research questions. Findings from this study reveal that teachers' materials and activities, methodologies, and the use of current technology are the most important pedagogical factors that motivate students to foster their oral communication skills. Results also display that students' factors that affect the improvement of their oral communication skills are the motivation to learn the language, lack of interest in the topic, the excessive number of students in the school, and the lack of English knowledge.