Abstract:

English has increasingly become the medium of communication around the world both in local and global contexts. It is also considered the most important and popular foreign language taught in school in every country, including Thailand. As a result, effective teaching and learning English is vital. However, amongst the four macro language skills, speaking skills seem to be difficult for Thai learners because of the lack of opportunities to be exposed to authentic English and thus failed to achieve the standard required. To be successful in improving English speaking skills, this study has the principle objective of investigating factors affecting Thai learners’ development of oral proficiency. To achieve this goal, 178 Thai learners from four English classrooms participated in this study. A questionnaire particularly designed systematically by the researcher based on an extensive review of literature, and semi-structure interviews were used. The findings of the study indicated that most of Thai learners had high extrinsic motivation in learning English. They also had positive attitudes towards the English language which helped them in learning English. However, many of them had inhibitions, hindering their success in mastering their English speaking competence. The implications of the findings are useful in providing a basis for improving instruction for English speaking skills in general, and classroom activities and environment, and textbook development in particular.

Keywords:

Thai learners, oral proficiency, factors, speaking skills.