CHAPTER I

Introduction

Background of the study

Effective communication is a vital skill for the 21st century and speaking is a crucial aspect of it. As
student progress through their academic journey, they are expected to develop and refine their
speaking skills to articulate their thoughts, express their opinions and engage in meaningful discussions.
However, many students struggle to communicate effectively, hindering their academic and personal
growth.

Humans are programmed to speak before they learn to read and write. In any given, human beings
spend much more time interacting orally with language rather than using it in its written form. Speaking
is the most important skill because it is one of the abilities that is needed to perform a conversation.
English speaking is not an easy task because speakers should know many significant components like
pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Learners should have enough English
speaking ability in order to communicate easily and effectively with other people.

Rivers (1981) studied the use of language outside the classroom situation and understood that speaking
is used twice as much as reading and writing combined. According to Brown (1994), listening and
speaking are learners’ language tools. Efrizal (2012) Pourhosein Gilakjani (2016) expressed that
speaking is of great significance for the people interaction where they speak everywhere and every day.
Speaking is the way of communicating ideas and messages orally. If we want to encourage students to
communicate in English, we should use the language in real communication and ask them to do the
same process. Richards and Rodgers (2001) stated that in the traditional methods, the speaking skill was
ignored in the classrooms where the emphasis was on reading and writing skills. For example, in The
Grammar-Translation method, reading and writing were the important skills and speaking and listening
skills were not of great significance.

According to Ur (2000), of all the four language skills called listening, speaking, reading, and writing,
speaking is the most important one that is very necessary for the effective communication. The
significance of speaking is indicated with the integration of the other language skills. Speaking helps
learners develop their vocabulary and grammar skills and then better their writing skill. Students can
express their emotions, ideas; say stories; request; talk, discuss, and show the various functions of
language. Speaking is of vital importance outside the classroom. Therefore, language speakers have
more opportunities to find jobs in different organizations and companies. These statements have been
supported by Baker and Westrup (2003) who said that learners who speak English very well can have
greater chance for better education, finding good jobs, and getting promotion.

Previous researches approve that persons cannot learn a language without many opportunities for
meaningful repetition. Oral language interactions and the opportunity to produce the language in
meaningful tasks provide the practice that is very important to internalizing the language. Asher (2003)
supports the idea that very soon after teachers model the language, learners like to imitate what have
been said. Krashen (1988) examined the relation between listening and speaking skills. He stated that
when students speak, their speaking provides evidence that they have acquired the language. This idea
led some teachers to jump quickly from speaking teaching to reading and writing teaching. .

When students learn English, speaking is significant to support their ability to apply the language.
Speaking skill has been very important to the success of human beings. The significance of speaking skill
is observed in the daily activities of persons. Speaking is an interactive activity and it occurs under the
real time constraints. That is, persons can use words and phrases fluently without very much conscious
thinking. Speaking skill enables individuals to produce sentences for the real communication, in other
words they actually like to communicate in language to get specific objectives (McDonough & Shaw,
1993).

The Grade 10 level is a critical juncture in students' educational careers, as they transition from junior
high to senior high school. At this stage, students are expected to demonstrate increased proficiency in
speaking, as they engage in more complex and abstract discussion. Nevertheless, research suggests that
many Grade 10 students struggle with effective speaking, citing factors such as language barriers, lack of
confidence and inadequate instructional support.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to address the following research questions:

Scope and Delimitation

This study aims to investigate the factors that influence the effectiveness of speaking activities focused
primarily with Grade 10 students in Pioduran National Highschool (PDNHS). The research will focus on
identifying the relationship between students, teacher , classroom environment and activity design
factors that affect the effectiveness of speaking.

The study will focus on speaking activities in English and the findings and the findings will not be
applicable to other languages. The research will be conducted in Grade 10 students of Pioduran National
Highschool (PDNHS) . By acknowledging these delimitations, the study aims to provide a nuanced
understanding of the factors that influence the effectiveness of speaking activities among Grade 10
students.

Significance of the Study

This study seeks to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on effective speaking instructions for
Grade 10 students. The significance of this research is its potential to create a more engaging and
effective learning environment, leading to improved academic performance and a deeper understanding
of the English language.

 Students: The study findings can help Grade 10 students to build confidence in their ability to
speak and participate in classroom discussion. This in return van lead to increased motivation
and engagement in learning. This could also provide insights on how to improve students'
communication skills.
 Teachers: The findings will provide teachers with insights to develop effective strategies for
boosting students' communication skills, both written and oral, in English.
 Future Researchers: This study will serve as a resource for future researchers conducting similar
or related investigations, offering a framework for further exploration.
  School: The results may encourage the school to incorporate creative strategies, such as
collaborative storytelling, to further enhance students' communication skills.

Analyzing the Factors to Effective Speaking Activity of The G-10 Students