Exploring Challenges of Major English Students Towards Learning English Speaking Skills Online During Covid 19 Pandemic and Some Suggested Solutions

Abstract

Due to Coronavirus outbreaks, almost all universities carried out teaching online by using a variety of learning platforms such as web-based learning, LMS combined with conducting video conferences through Zoom Meeting or Google Meet and the like. Although Ho Chi Minh City Open University (HCMCOU) made great efforts to invest state-of-the-art facilities and well-trained teaching team in the online educational process, students seemed not to be satisfied with this training system. Particularly, in English-speaking classes, students seemed to be in stock. Thus, this paper aims to explore the challenges encountered by major English learners towards learning English speaking skills online and then suggest some possible solutions for such problems that existed. To conduct this study, 35 major English freshmen joining in a speaking class of Schools of Advanced studies at HCMCOU were asked to respond questionnaire survey, and then five hard-working students were selected to participate in in-depth interviews relevant to barriers of online learning and their expectation during Covid 19 period. The findings illustrated that majority of students expressed their neglected attitude towards learning speaking skills online in the Covid 19 pandemic when they had to cope with various problems of technological advances, Wi-Fi connection, significant characteristics of speaking skills, and sociolinguistic competence. With such challenges exposed, more project-based learning and more video conferences were expected to apply.

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