Investigating the Impacts of Peer Conversations on Students' Speaking Ability at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade

Abstract

The facts that teachers asked some questions in English speaking classes, and students knew the answers but didn’t respond because they didn’t know how to express their opinions and experiences in English and students kept discussing some topics together in Vietnamese made the author concerned about major English students’ speaking skills. The purpose of this study is to find out how students perceive about speaking English with peers and their attitudes towards this method. This research employed forty English majors from integrated-skill-2 classes at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade (HUIT). A closed-ended questionnaire and Likert scale were used to gather the data, and a quantitative research method was used to analyze it. Speaking practice daily with peers is a highly useful approach to improving speaking skills, according to the data gathered. The study also indicates that students have positive attitudes toward English conversation practice.  Additionally, peer interaction gives students confidence and meets their need to speak in front of an audience.  Besides, the study demonstrates that through peer conversations, students’ vocabulary increases significantly, and they find it much easier to articulate their thoughts and feelings more effectively.