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English Speaking and Motivation for Saudi EFL/ESL Students

Ebtesam Alawfi

2013

Table of Contents

Abstract................................................................................................................................................... 3

Introduction........................................................................................................................................... 3

How A Language-learning Task Could Be Useful.......................................................................5

Task Components:................................................................................................................................ 6

Task Types:............................................................................................................................................ 7

Motivation and Learning A Second or A Foreign Language....................................................8

Language Learning Anxiety............................................................................................................ 11

Methodology........................................................................................................................................ 14

Participants......................................................................................................................................... 15

Research Trustworthiness............................................................................................................. 15

Findings:............................................................................................................................................... 16

Question 1........................................................................................................................................................ 16

Question 2........................................................................................................................................................ 18

Question 3........................................................................................................................................................ 19

Discussion and Implications.......................................................................................................... 20

Limitations and Recommendations for Future Study............................................................23

Conclusion:.......................................................................................................................................... 24

References............................................................................................................................................ 25

Alawfi, Hunter, 2013 2

English Speaking and Motivation for Saudi EFL/ESL Students

Abstract

This study investigates Saudi students’ feelings and attitudes towards speaking English in

front of their classmates and teachers and explores their motivation towards certain speaking

tasks. A group of forty-two ESL/EFL students who are/ were enrolled in English language

courses responded to a voluntary survey that was sent by email. The analysis of the survey

results showed generally that almost one third of these students experience medium to high

language anxiety when they speak English in their classes. Problem solving activities are

determined to be the most motivating ones while role-playing activities are determined to be the

less motivating. Three fourths of the students decided that picking interesting speaking topics is

the most important factor influences their motivation towards speaking tasks positively.

Key words: speaking, tasks, motivation, language anxiety, EFL, ESL

Introduction

I am Ebtesam Alawfi a MA/TESL student at Gonzaga University. I am (one of those

people who is) interested in any topics related to promoting and developing speaking skills more

than any other skills. Developing this speaking skill was one of my challenges when I started

learning a second language, and it still is. I am interested in reading and learning more about the

strategies that can be applied in EFL/ESL classrooms to motivate students practicing the target

language as much as possible and to help them getting over their speaking challenges (e.g. lack

of fluency or accuracy); adopting a variety of speaking tasks is one of these strategies.


The study of “English Speaking and Motivation for Saudi EFL/ESL Students” is

important because it assists teachers in getting better understanding of their students’ attitudes

and feelings towards speaking English in front of their teachers and classmates and assisting

them in exploring students’ motivation towards certain speaking tasks. The intent of this study is

to investigate the attitudes and the feelings of one group of students (Saudis) towards speaking

English and participating in different speaking tasks within their classmates. I will be also

investigating the kinds of speaking tasks and activities that motivate this group most. I analyzed

current data and used previous research in promoting students’ motivation and improving

students’ feelings and attitudes towards speaking English in class. The following research

questions have been investigated through this study: 1. How do EFL/ESL Saudi students feel

towards speaking English in their classrooms? 2. What speaking tasks and communicative

activities motivate them most? 3.What are some potential factors that might affect students’

motivation towards speaking tasks?

The participants in this research were Saudi students who are 18 years and older. The

research highlighted this group of students’ feelings towards speaking in class and what kinds of

activities motivate them most. They were asked to go online and to voluntarily and anonymously

complete a twelve-item survey via SurveyMonkey. I took advantage of the tools provided by

SurveyMonkey to help me organizing the survey results. I also read through the responses of

these participants and looked for the similarities to find general themes. The conclusion was

drawn from the responses of these students.

Before moving to the literature review, I would like to identify the term task. A ‘task’

could be identified in many different ways and from many different perspectives. From the

pedagogical perspective, Nunan (1991a & 1991b) identifies a task as "a piece of classroom work


which involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target

language while their attention is principally focused on meaning rather than form” (as cited in

Irmawati, 2012, p.10). In communicative and task-based methods, students give more priority to

delivering the meaning rather than to making use of accurate forms. However, recent research in

SLA field encourages instructors to design activities that focus on both meaning and form and

balance between them.

Another definition is given by Ellis (2000) who identifies a task from the

psycholinguistic perspective as “a device that guides learners to engage in certain types of

information-processing that are believed to be important for effective language use and/or for

language acquisition from some theoretical standpoint” (p.197). This definition assumes that a

task has some features encouraging learners to get engaged in processing and producing

language, which in turn is beneficial to second and foreign language learning and acquisition.

In the following sections, I am going to examine how a language-learning task could be

useful, the relation between motivation and learning a second language, and language anxiety in

ESL/ EFL classrooms. Next, I am going to present the methodology of my study, and explain the

data collected from the survey of this study. Finally, some discussion, implications, and

recommendations for future studies will be presented.

How A Language-learning Task Could Be Useful

In the last forty years, there has been a growth in interest about task-based teaching

and learning. Many studies indicate that second and foreign language learners highly benefit

from being exposed to a variety of communicative activities that promote both fluency and

accuracy (Van Patten, 2003). Pica et al. (1996) assume that "participation in verbal interaction


offers language learners the opportunity to follow up on new words and structures to which they

have been exposed during language lessons and to practice them in context" (p. 59-60).

Lightbown and Spada (2006) point out that “in communicative and task based approaches

there are more opportunities not only for a great variety of input but also for learners to engage in

different roles and participant organization structures” such as pair and group work (p.103).

Encouraging students to do speaking tasks in pairs or groups provides them with more

opportunities to speak productively and to practice actively in the target language. Gutiérrez

(2005) states that collaborative group work assists students to interact comfortably, to neglect or

forget their fear of making mistakes, and to perceive speaking activities as continuous practice.

In addition, Tsou (2005) demonstrates that doing more practice helps students to be more

comfortable in speaking tasks which in turn improves their speaking proficiency. He also argues

that passive and non-participative language learners restrict the improvement of their speaking.

Gu (1998) indicates that communicative tasks provide learners with the functional

language needed in different social and situational contexts. To achieve a successful

communication, a language speaker needs to make use of both linguistic and communicative

competence. For instance, in dialogues and role-play activities students are required to perform a

scenario (e.g. a potential conflict between a bank teller and a student who newly opened an

account) and to formulate their own sentences regarding that scenario (Lynch, 2007). In such

activities, students become more motivated when they create their own scenarios and dialogues

rather than repeat a given one (Nunan, 1989).

Task Components:

There are many different components of speaking tasks. Nunan (1989) identifies four

essential components for a language learning task: The goals, the input, the activities derived


from this input, and finally the roles implied for teachers and learners” (p.47). ‘Goals’ are

identified by Nunan as “a range of general outcomes (communicative, effective, or cognitive) or

may directly describe teacher or learner behavior.” It could be either explicit or implicit though

they often “can be inferred from an examination of a task”(p.49). ‘Input’ refers to “the data that

form the point of departure for the task” (Nunan, 1989, p.53). Sources of data exist everywhere

around us; it could be picture stories, magazines, newspapers, letters, etc. So, teachers can

benefit from daily input materials that are offered all over around us and use them as the basis for

their different forms of communicative tasks. Activities are identified by Nunan, as “what

learners will actually do with the input which forms the point of departure for the learning task”

(p.59). In communicative tasks, different activities serve different learning purposes. Activities

could be designed to promote students’ fluency, to promote students’ accuracy, to enable

students to practice the kind of language they might encounter outside their classes, and to

increase students’ mastery of some skills.

Task Types:

Pattison (1987) sets out seven activity types as the following: “questions and answers,

Dialogues and role-plays, matching activities, communication strategies, pictures and picture

stories, puzzles and problems, discussions and decisions” (as cited in Nunan, 1989, p.68).

‘Questions and answer activities’ rely on the idea of designing an information gap and ask

students to use a language item list to make secret choices, “which all fit into a given frame”

(Nunan, 1989, p.68). These could be used to provide students with plenty of chances to rehearse

any function or structure. Dialogues and role-play activities require students to perform a

scenario (e.g. a potential conflict between a bank teller and a student who newly opened an

account) and to formulate their own sentences regarding that scenario. Nunan indicates that


students become more motivated when they create their own scenarios and dialogues rather than

repeating a given one. Matching activities are identified by Nunan as, the activities in which

learners match items to complete pairs or sets. ‘Bingo’ and ‘matching given phrases’ are two

examples of this type. Communication strategies could be identified as the communication

activities in which students are encouraged to practice some strategies of communication, as

paraphrasing and simplifying (Nunan, 1989).‘Pictures and picture stories’ are the activities that

require students to describe a picture, to find the differences, or to reorganize a group of pictures

to create a logical story. These activities are widely used by teachers and students in ESL/ EFL

classrooms to foster students’ communication. Puzzles and problems activities require students

to reason, imagine, guess, and draw on their personal experience and knowledge. These kinds of

activities are very beneficial for students, and they encourage them to get involved in long

conversational interaction because they can relate them to their experiences and prior knowledge.

Lastly, discussion and decisions activities ask students to “collect and share information”

to make a decision “(e.g. decide which items from a list are essential to have on a desert island”

(Nunan, 1989, p.68). Thinking of how to encourage EFL/ESL students to get engaged in these

speaking tasks lead us to think of the influence of two factors: motivation and language anxiety

in learning a target language. Both of them play a necessary role in increasing or decreasing

students’ level of engagement, and that what I am going to cover in the next section.

Motivation and Learning A Second or A Foreign Language

Motivation plays a crucial role in learning and acquiring a second or a foreign language,

and it could be identified as “why people decide to do something, how long they are willing to

sustain the activity, [and] how hard they are going to pursue it” (Dörnyei, 2002, p. 8).

“Many researches in the motivation field proved that there was an inseparable


relationship between motivational strength and oral English proficiency” (Xu Liu, 2010, p.138).

Mayer goes further, to claim that students’ motivation should be “When students are motivated

to learn, they try harder to understand the material and thereby learn more deeply, resulting in

better ability to transfer what they have learned to new situations” (Mayer, 2003, p.459).

Therefore, students’ motivation should be enhanced as the first step towards achieving success in

learning a second or a foreign language.

Many researchers indicate that motivation and language proficiency are found to be

positively correlated (Liu, 2010). Researchers are interested in identifying the relation between

motivation and language proficiency. They usually select groups of learners and ask them to take

a questionnaire to measure their degree and type of motivation (instrumental or integrative) and

then to take a test to assess their proficiency in second language. Scoring both the questionnaire

and the test showed that “learners with high scores on the motivation questionnaire will also

have high scores on the language test” (Lightbown & Spada, 2006, p.65-45).

ESL/ EFL “teachers have the unique opportunity to improve student motivation through

fostering desirable student goals, stimulating active learning, and leading dialog about the

purposes of learning” (Wu, Yen, & et al., 2011, p.119). Active learning in particular motivates

students to interact and to communicate more in the target language inside and or even outside

classrooms. Pleasant and joyful experiences increase “self-confidence of the students”, which in

turn affect “their motivation in a positive way” (Wu et al., p.120) Students might be affected by

the negative self-image that they draw of/for themselves when they went through unpleasant

experience. Wu (2011) indicate that teachers should provide their students with chances of

“successful interactions with native speakers, or excellent speakers of English from any other

culture, on topics of particular interest to the students” as they help them building their


motivation and improving their ability and speaking skill (Wu et al., p.127)

Dörnyei (2002) demonstrates that self- efficacy is considered to be another factor that

impacts students’ motivation either negatively or positively. Students’ self-efficacy is influenced

by many factors such as: observing other peers, “persuasion, reinforcement,” in addition to

teachers and parents’ feedback (p.277). Littlejohn (2001) suggests that teachers should be careful

about their evaluative feedback and support students’ sense of optimism that assist students to

build up positive attitudes. He also suggests some strategies that help teachers maintaining their

students’ motivation such as trying on a variety of classrooms activities and to observe what

works best with students, and then to adopt the kinds of tasks that allow students to make more

decisions and to have wide range of responses.

Liu (2010) conducted a study with Beijng City University’s students who take English

classes there. He points out that the students in his study were not interested in ‘the traditional

methods of learning English,’ and that is why they have low motivation to speak English. So, he

changed his class teaching methods into a more communicative ones, “which requires learners to

practice in real situations” such as role-play (p.138) His study shows that students who used

“role-play activity became more interested in speaking English than the students” who used “oral

English tests”. He reports that “there were great changes of using role-play activity method on

the aspect of arousing the students’ motivation of English speaking” (Liu, 2010, p.142).

Similarly, Littlewood (1981) mentions that communicative activities such as role-play have

many benefits for ESL and EFL learners as they encourage language learning naturally and in a

context in addition to enhance both practice of the whole-task, and students’ motivation.

Gardner (1985) & Oxford and Shearin (1994) identify two types of motivation:

integrative and instrumental motivation. “Integrative motivation (willingness to learn a new


language in order to become part of a particular speaking community)” and “instrumental

motivation (willingness to learn a new language to accomplish immediate goals and needs) are

both important aspects of why adults try to learn languages” (as cited in Schwarzer, 2009, p.27).

“Teachers need to discover what motivates the learners to come to their classes and take on the

very challenging task of learning another language” (Schwarzer, 2009, p.27). Dörnyei (1994)

points out that “Individuals with a high need for achievement are interested in excellence for its

own sake, tend to initiate achievement activities, work with heightened intensity at these tasks,

and persist in the face of failure” (p.277).

Dörnyei indicates that “one of the most general and well-known distinctions in

motivation theories is that between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Extrinsically motivated

behaviors are the ones that the individual performs to receive some extrinsic reward (e.g., good

grades) or to avoid punishment. With intrinsically motivated behaviors the rewards are internal

(e.g., the joy of doing a particular activity or satisfying one's curiosity).” Many studies prove that

traditionally, extrinsic motivation can “undermine” the intrinsic one so students might “lose their

natural intrinsic motivation” in tasks when they are only required to fulfill the extrinsic one’s

requirements (p.275-76).

Language Learning Anxiety

Language Learning Anxiety could be referred to as “an experience of a foreign language

that can pose potential problems for a learner with their acquisition, retention, and production of

the new language” (MacIntyre & Gardner, 1991a, as cited in Sparks & Ganschow, 2007). It is “a

complex, multidimensional phenomenon. It manifests itself in students quite differently

depending on ethnic background, prior language experience, learner personality, and classroom


circumstances” (Young, 1991, p.434). Young (1991) states that language anxiety could be

attributed to many factors; however, many studies suggested that there is a strong correlation

between language anxiety and the performance of second or foreign language. In addition, he

indicates that this relation could not be showed without considering a variety of factors such as

the definition of the term ‘anxiety,’ the age of learners, the sitting and the proficiency of the

target language, etc.

Siew & Wong (2009) investigated how psychological aspects (high language anxiety

(HLA), moderate language anxiety (MLA), and low language anxiety (LLA) influence students’

acquisition and learning of English language. [“One hundred and seventy-seven students from a

government secondary school” in Malaysia participated in this study (p.2).] Siew & Wong found

out that (LLA) students pay more efforts to develop their own four skills while HLA students-

the ones who indicated that they feel anxious in English classes did not put in efforts to improve

their basic skills. Most of these HLA students attributed their stress to: their inability to

understand, to speak, or to answer teacher’s questions and speaking in general. Interestingly,

results also indicated that girls were slightly more anxious than boys. For many reasons, girls

were more afraid of “volunteering answers”, “being laughed at,” and “speaking English” (p.11).

Horwitz et al. (1986) claim that language anxiety plays a crucial role in the failure or the

success of ESL/EFL learners. Many students have perfect English, but this proficiency is

affected by their passiveness and unwillingness to speak or participate in their classes as a result

of their anxiousness. Qian (2012) pointes out that “mentality is an important factor affecting

one’s oral English, if one has a strong and brave heart to learn English, when meeting

difficulties, he or she will resist it and continue to do what they have done before” (p.2205).

“Making the classroom experience more difficult for students and instructors alike, EFL


anxiety can deter students from pursuing academic or professional careers in which FLs are

essential for success”. Learning a language in a relaxed classroom assists students to achieve

better results in a healthy environment where they do not “feel nervous or get pressure by being

laughed at or making mistakes” (Qian, p.2205). Making classrooms a comfortable and successful

environment for learning a new language is mostly in the hand of language teachers. Siew

&Wong (2009) report:

“Teachers’ supportive attitude towards students and efforts to understand the affective needs of students can make a significant contribution towards making students, especially anxious ones feel more comfortable and motivated to learn in English classes” (p13).

Achieving such goals is not easy, it needs teachers to be patient and hard-working in order to

crearte an ideal environment for their students to learn in without any kind of anxiety.

Leichsenring (2010) examined “the effects of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety

(FLCA) on learning outcomes and oral performance of participants.” The findings have showed

that “sociocultural factors; learner motivation; Self-efficacy; and the perceptions that learners

have of their classroom learning environments influence learning outcomes and oral performance

in the classroom” (p.2). Another study conducted by Katalin (2006) studied FLCA of 5

Hungarian secondary school students who were studying two foreign languages. Regarding

FLCA, some participants reported that they feel anxious when there is a level of perceived

competence, which indicate that self-efficacy and self-confidence seem to be necessary factor

impacting foreign language classroom anxiety.

In conclusion, this literature review increased my knowledge and understanding of this

topic and showed me how applying language learning tasks generally and the speaking ones

particularly in EFL/ ESL classrooms are very beneficial for improving students’ speaking skill.

Furthermore, it demonstrates the relation among these following items: motivation, anxiety, and


foreign/second language proficiency.

Reading through these different past and current works on this topic led me to form my

ideas and to be more specific about what I would like to investigate. It also increased my

curiosity towards exploring such items with ESL/EFL Saudi students in particular and to

reformulate my research questions many times to address Saudi students feelings towards

speaking in classrooms, to explore the speaking tasks that motivate them most, and to investigate

the factors that affect their motivation towards these tasks.

Methodology

This research is a quantitative one, which “involves data collection procedures that result

primarily in numerical data which is then analyzed primarily by statistical methods” (Dörnyei,

2007, p.24). Dörnyei points out that “the quantitative inquiry is systematic, rigorous, focused,

and tightly controlled, involving precise measurement and producing reliable and replicable data

that is generalizable to other contexts” (p.34). Quantitative research enables conducting large-

scale studies in short time and less effort. It is also interested in “the common features of groups

of people” and “identifying the relationship between variables by measuring them and often also

manipulating them” (p.33). Quantitative research eliminates “any individual based subjectivity

from the various phases of research process by developing systematic canons and rules for every

facet of data collection and analysis” which gives it more credibility (Dörnyei, 2007, p.34).

This quantitative research is a survey research that collected data by sending a survey to

selected individuals and groups of students who are Saudis and study/have studied English as a

foreign/ second language. I chose to use a survey rather than other instruments of collecting data

because it helps me as a researcher to get responses from many people in short time. Also, as

Dörnyei (2003) mentions questionnaires assist researchers to get “three types of information:


factual or demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal” (as cited in Burns, 2009, p.81). My survey

focuses on both the first and the third types. In my survey, students were asked to indicate to

their English language experience and to express their interests in speaking activities in addition

to their feelings towards speaking in front of their classmates and teachers. Some questions are

provided with comments’ box so students can add further information or it can be used to “give

examples of quotes from participants” as I did in this study (Burns, 2009, p.85).

Participants

Because my research questions are based on Saudi students, all participants in my study

are Saudis who were selected according to their background of studying English in the U.S or

Saudi Arabia. These Saudi students are eighteen years and older, and they were asked to

complete a voluntary survey that was sent via email. In the first item of my survey, students were

asked to give their consent to their responses to be used as data in this research. Only forty-two

students responded to the survey, and about forty students (have not skipped any question and)

answered all the twelve items in the survey. Some of these items have a comment box where

students can explain their choices, provide more details, or specify other reasons.

Research Trustworthiness

“The credibility of quantitative designs is based on examining effects in controlled

situations, looking at variables uniquely, one at a time” (Newman & Benz, 1998, p.79). So, in

this study I surveyed a group of Saudi students, and I attempted to look at what elements they

have in common so I can then generalize the results. As I mentioned before, the data of this study

is collecting from a survey that was sent to EFL/ESL Saudi students who are/were enrolled in

English courses, and they are in different ages and levels of proficiency of English. I intended to


design the items of my questionnaire in various ways to get different responses. There are the

rating scale, Yes/No, multiple choice, and open-ended items that are represented in the

comments’ boxes. These comments’ boxes provide students with chances to rationale their

responses or to specify much information. I also thought that it would be a good idea if I

combined the survey’s results with some examples of quotes from students, which might be

partially similar to the notion of interviewing students after they completed a survey.

Findings:

Question 1

How do EFL/ESL Saudi students feel towards speaking English in their classrooms?

This first question boils down to two things, speaking English in class with classmates in

pairs or small groups and speaking English to the whole class or the teacher. Regarding the first

issue, 38.1% answered that they ‘always’ feel comfortable to speak in pairs or small groups,

33.3% answered with ‘usually’, 26.2% answered with ‘sometimes’, and only 2.4% answered

with ‘never.’


Students who have no problem speaking in pairs or small groups attributed their comfort

to the following reasons: “I am in university and I have to speak English all the time,” “that

helps me a lot to develop my English language and to have confidence as well,” “we all are in

the same level,” “because I don't care about mistake,” “because we all like to help each other

and motivate each other,” and “its easy and I like to speak English in my home to improve my

ability and to learn more.” On the other hand, students who do not feel comfortable speaking in

pairs or groups activities rationale as the following: “I can't understand when I talk with

classmates who are from” other nationalities, “Maybe I do not want to make a mistake,”

“because they do not like international students,” and “I'm so shy”

Regarding the second issue, 24.4% determined that they ‘always’ feel comfortable

speaking to the whole class or the teacher, 34.1% chose ‘usually’, 36.6% chose ‘sometimes’,

and finally 4.9% chose never.


Comfortable students commented as the following: “because I don't care about mistakes

and I came here to learn,” “they understand my ability,” “Maybe this depends on the personality.

I like to talk A LOT,” and “it is the chance for me to learn correct English.” In contrast,

uncomfortable students commented as: “because I'm afraid that not the whole class will

understand my pronunciation,” “I do not have enough confidence because of my thick accent,” “I

don't like making mistakes in front of every one,” “I have a fear of speaking in public places,”

“because I get a little nervous,” and “I forget many words when I am talking.”

Further, students were asked do they “feel afraid of making mistakes”? More than the

half of these students (68.3%) decided that they have negative feelings towards making mistakes

generally. Almost all of (85.4%) decided that they like to be helped with some words when they

get stuck.

Question 2

What speaking tasks and communicative activities motivate them most?


Students were asked to choose from a list the kinds of activities that motivate them most

(information gap activities, activities using pictures, role playing activities, problem solving

activities, and presentations). The Results showed that problem-solving activities received the

most votes with a percentage of 53.8% followed by activities using pictures (51.3%), information

gap activities (43.6%), presentations (33.3%), and roleplaying activities (25.6%) respectively.

Surprisingly, 55% of the students decided that they have no problem with speaking activities and

they do not consider them difficult, which totally contradicts my assumptions. I personally

expected that more than half of these Saudi participants would decide that they feel anxious and

uncomfortable towards these tasks, but they did not.

Question 3

What are some potential factors that might affect students’ motivation towards speaking

tasks?


Almost three fourths (74.4%) of the participants decided that they get motivated when the

speaking topics are interesting, 51.3% when the level of activities is suitable (not too hard or too

easy), 46.2% when it is fun, 43.6% when they feel that others can understand them, 30.8% when

activities’ objectives are clear and they get enough chance to deliver their voices, and lastly

25.6% determined that they get motivated when they try a variety of speaking activities. Students

were also asked whether they prefer to do speaking activities individually (presentations), in

pairs, or in groups. More than half of the students decided that they prefer to do them in groups

and interestingly, the percentage of students who prefer doing speaking tasks individually

(25.6%) is slightly higher than the percentage of students who prefer doing them in pairs

(20.5%). Earlier, in the survey, I indicated that the word ‘individually’ means individual

presentations. In other words, students are interested most with group-work activities followed

by individual presentations and lastly by pair-work ones. Interestingly, I was wrong in my

assumptions for the second time as I did not think that anybody would like to stand in front of

the whole class and to speak alone!

Discussion and Implications

The findings of this study ‘Motivation and English Speaking’ surprisingly contradict my

previous assumptions of Saudi students’ anxiety towards speaking English in their classes. As a

matter of fact, fewer Saudis have speaking anxiety than what I originally thought and most of

these participants feel quite comfortable speaking English whether it is within their groups only

or to the whole class.

As results have shown, students have different preferences in learning generally and in

speaking activities particularly. It is important for teachers to be aware of at least some of these

varied preferences and learning styles and to adopt a variety of activities and materials that go


along with their interests. For instance, some learners are more kinesthetic, so tasks that require

“physical action such as miming or role-play seems to help the learning process” (Lightbown &

Spada, 2006, p.59). To achieve that, teachers could observe students’ acts and reactions during

speaking activities, evaluate their performances, or to talk with them openly about what they like

and do not like regarding these tasks.

Because getting advantage from speaking tasks in language classes improves students’

quality of learning, self-confidence, and motivation, teachers should give designing language

learning activities the priority in their instruction. Furthermore, Lightbown & Spada (2006)

demonstrate “lessons that always consist of the same routines, patterns, and formats have been

shown to lead to a decrease in attention and an increase in boredom.” “Varying the activities,

tasks, and materials can help to avoid this and increase students’ interest level.” (p.65-45). Bored

students will not be able to apply themselves in their classes.

By taking a look at students’ responses, you can notice that there are many issues had

been decided as the most important items that keep students motivated towards speaking tasks.

Most students determined that interesting speaking topics impact their motivation positively.

That in turn means that teachers need to be updated with any new suitable topics that would

attract their students most and improve their enthusiasm. Moreover, they could assign their

students to pick the topics that they are interested in and to prepare related questions as a way of

keeping up the flow of and the motivation in the discussion. On the other hand, half of the

students decided that they get motivated towards speaking activities that have suitable level (not

too hard or too easy). Therefore, teachers should be careful about this point when they designing

or picking their activities because hard activities lead to disappointment and easy ones lead to

boredom.


Results also indicate that more than half of the participants are afraid of making mistakes,

which could be attributed to some issues such as feeling afraid of being laughed at and lack of

self-confidence. Teachers need to ensure that idea that ‘everybody makes a mistake’ and to

“encourage the view that mistakes are a part of learning” (Dornyei, 1991, p.282). Providing

motivating and positive feedback in addition to “pointing out the value of the accomplishment,

focusing on individual improvement and progress, and avoiding any explicit or implicit

comparison of students to each other” are also some strategies that could be used to decrease

students’ negative feelings of making mistakes specifically and to reduce their anxiety generally

(Dörnyei, 1991, p.282)

Encouraging students to engage in peer interaction is a necessary component in reducing

their anxiety of speaking English and making mistakes. As the survey results have shown, most

participants decided that they prefer to work in groups, which might be attributed to the

comfortable, cooperative environment that this instructor create and the supportive evaluation of

“the group's-rather than the individual's-achievement” (Dörnyei, 1991, p.282).

Most of my participants (60%) determined that they do not, which I consider a very

positive thing. However, almost one third of the students experience language anxiety whether

they are in ESL or EFL settings that requires teachers to be very careful about how to deal with

this group of students. For instance, if “students’ anxiety is a consequence of weak language

skills rather than a cause of poor performance in foreign language classes, then classroom

teachers will need to address these language issues as a primary focus of instruction prior to or

simultaneously with efforts to address students’ anxiety” (Sparks & Ganschow, p.279). Finally

and as I mentioned before, teachers could reduce these students’ anxiety by enhancing their self-


confidence, highlighting their achievements and points of strength, praising them, and creating a

positive competitive atmosphere.

Limitations and Recommendations for Future Study

This study aimed to explore how Saudi students feel toward speaking English in their

classes, what speaking tasks and activities motivate them most to speak, and what potential

factors that might influence their motivation. The main limitation in this study is that the number

of participants is small which might weaken the strength and validity of this study. The survey

was sent to a large number of students (more than a thousand), but it did not receive many

responses. Furthermore, I think it would be great if future research employed more than one

method of collecting data (questionnaire, observations, interviews, etc.) In addition, this research

would have been better if the perspectives of speaking teachers were taken into consideration,

through interviews or a survey.

Further research may evolve from this study ‘English Speaking and Motivation for Saudi

EFL/ESL Students.’ Similar studies can be done with more participants, more than one method

of collecting data, and combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches. It would be

interesting to make a comparison between Saudi students’ attitudes towards speaking English in

ESL and in EFL settings and the factors that impact these students in both situations. As this

study indicated, speaking English in ESL/EFL is not a big problem for Saudi students. So, it

might be a good idea to tackle a topic that clearly affects Saudi students like reading anxiety.


Conclusion:

This study explored a group of Saudi students’ feelings and attitudes towards speaking

English in pair or group work and to the whole class, examined their motivation towards certain

types of speaking tasks, and investigated the potential factors that might influence their

motivation towards these tasks. Forty-two ESL/EFL Saudi students participated in this study and

responded to a voluntary anonymous survey sent by email. Generally, findings have shown that

only one third of these students experience medium to high language anxiety when they speak

English in their classes. Students attributed their anxiety to many reasons such as: lack of self-

confidence, shyness, fear of making mistakes or speaking in public, etc. Problem solving

activities are decided to be the most motivating ones while role-playing activities are determined

to be the less motivating. Three fourths of the students decided that picking interesting speaking

topics is the most important factor influences their motivation towards speaking tasks positively

followed by picking appropriate level of activities (not too hard or too easy). Some implications

and suggestions for English language teachers have presented in this paper. Hopefully, this study

can help teachers getting better understanding of their Saudi students’ attitudes, challenges, and

motivational preferences in speaking tasks particularly and speaking classes generally.


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