ESP TEACHERS AND LEARNERS' VIEWS ABOUT ABOUT SPEAKING DIFFICULTIES: A VIEW THROUGH A CRITICAL LENS

Abstract

It seems axiomatic that EFL learners at schools or universities have major challenges to overcome. Over the years, there has been a specific focus on the teaching of students the academic literacy skills which they would need in their higher education. Though the rush of these studies surrounding the literacy skills have been very helpful to teachers, few have looked beyond the reading and writing skills to the issues of concern to academic speaking and listening skills and their possible difficulties for students and teachers. In addition, there has been few if any research to look at both ESP and general English (GE) language teacher’s thoughts about the speaking difficulties and course requirements. In the present study, there was also an attempt to compare the difficulty perceptions of teachers and learners with regard to the speaking skill in the classroom. The study also aimed at providing suggestions for equipping learners to better cope with the communication problems. Differences between ESP and GE teacher’s perceptions of speaking difficulties and those between teachers and learners were investigated using independent samples T-test. Differences were found only between the teachers and learners’ perceptions; there were no differences between ESP and GE teachers’ positions regarding the speaking skill. Pedagogical implications of the study are further discussed.