Lexical Challenges In English Speaking Skills Among Armenian Students

Abstract

In the study we investigated the possible lexical errors that Armenian students encounter while trying to speak English. This is a mixed method research and the sample of the study includes 38 undergraduate students from the Faculty of International Relations. The data was collected from the students via debates. The debates were audiorecorded and after transcribed, the lexical errors were identified and classified according to error taxonomy. Their knowledge of vocabulary was measured through a vocabulary size test in order to find the relationship between the vocabulary size and error rate.According to anecdotal evidence, Armenian schools put the main focus on English grammar and reading and not on vocabulary and speaking. Moreover, as Nation and Meara [24] state, English vocabulary is complicated, with its three general aspects related to meaning use and form as well as with its many layers of meaning connected to the roots of individual words. At the same time, it has been suggested that there are a number of factors that influence the learning of a lexical item and make the acquisition of vocabulary difficult. Potentially, these factors are classified as intra-lexical traits, i.e., internal features related to the word's form and meaning. That is, vocabulary may be difficult due to various factors, such as pronunciation, grammatical class, similarity to known words, and concreteness or image ability of meaning [23]. Therefore, if the student fails to learn more words, it leads to errors in oral production. As mentioned above, for students to develop greater fluency and expression in English, it is essential for them to acquire more productive vocabulary knowledge [3]. However, in Armenia, after entering university, students take ESP courses without having the command of the basics of vocabulary. In spite of the fact that students learn specific vocabulary related to their professions, they still have difficulties using that vocabulary in argumentative speech, that is to say expressing their arguments during debates or discussions.