Questionnaire of English Listening and Speaking and Causes of these Problems

of Students Studying at a Private Vocational school in Bangkok, Thailand

This questionnaire is designed to survey the problems experienced by third-year

vocational students in Bangkok related to English listening and speaking skills. The

answers will be analyzed in order to improve the methods used to teach English listening

and speaking skills. This questionnaire is a part of a research study in partial fulfillment

of the requirement for a Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Foreign Language at

Srinakharinwirot University.

All of the information provided will be kept in the strictest confidence and will

only be used for the purposes of this research. I would like to thank you for your

cooperation in answering this questionnaire.

This questionnaire is divided in to 4 parts.

Part I: The Students’ General Background Information

Part II The Students’ Problems with English Listening

Part III The Students’ Problems with English Speaking

Part IV The Causes of Problems with English Listening and Speaking

Part I: The students’ general background information

Directions: Please fill your personal information in blank provided.

1. Your major: …………………

2. You have been studying English for.................years.

3. Your GPA: ………………

Part II: Students’ problems with English listening

Directions: Please put (√) to show how much you agree with each of the

following items.

Note: 5– Strongly agree

4– Agree

3– Uncertain

2– Disagree

1– Strongly disagree

Level of Agreement

Description 5 4 3 2 1

Problems with English Listening

1. I am nervous when I listen to English.

2. I find it difficult to listen to speakers who do not open

their mouths widely.

3. I find it difficult to understand some idioms when I

listen to English.

4. I find it difficult to understand joking because of the

different of culture.

5. I find it difficult to understand speakers with dialect

language.

6. I find it difficult to understand English because of my

limited pronunciation.

( continued )
Part II: Students’ problems with English listening ( continued )

Level of Agreement

Description 5 4 3 2 1

Problems with English Listening

7. I find it difficult to understand spoken English because

of my limited vocabulary.

8. I find it difficult to understand spoken English because

of my limited understanding of grammar.

9. It is difficult for me to understand every word when

listening to English speech.

10. If I cannot catch every word, it is difficult for me to

guess the meaning from the context.

11. If I do not understand what speaker is saying, I find it

difficult to concentrate.

12. I find it difficult to understand a native speaker

speaking at a normal pace (i.e. on the radio or TV)

13. I find it difficult to understand when a speaker speaks

too quickly.

14. I find it difficult to understand a speaker with a

regional accent, such as an American, British or

Australian accent.

15. I find it difficult to understand a speaker with bad

pronunciation.

( continued )
 Students’ problems with English listening ( continued )

Level of Agreement

Description 5 4 3 2 1

Problems with English Listening

16. I find it difficult to catch words with linking sounds.

17. I find it difficult to understand without seeing the

speaker’s body language.

18. I find it difficult to understand after listening only

once.

19. I get nervous and worried when I do not understand

what a speaker is saying.

20. I stop listening when I do not understand what a

speaker is saying.

Part III: Students’ Problems with English Speaking

Directions: Please put a (√) in the box to show how much you agree with each of

following item.

Note: 5– Strongly agree

4– Agree

3– Uncertain

2– Disagree

1– Strongly disagree
 Level of Agreement

Description 5 4 3 2 1

Problems with English Speaking

1. I find speaking English very difficult.

2. I am too shy to speak English.

3. I find speaking English is difficult because of my limited

pronunciation.

4. I always forget to say a final sound of each word.

5. I find it difficult to pronounce some words correctly for

example sh, ch, and thr.

6. If someone laughs at me while I am speaking English, I do

not want to continue my speech.

7. I find it difficult to speak English because of my limited

vocabulary.

8. I find it difficult to speak English because of my limited

understanding of grammar.

9. It is difficult for me to speak in complete sentences.

10. I speak slowly because I always translate from Thai to

English before I speak English.

11. If I do not know how to say something in English, I find it

difficult to concentrate.

( continued )
 Students’ Problems with English Speaking ( continued )

Level of Agreement

Description 5 4 3 2 1

Problems with English Speaking

12. I am afraid to speak to foreigners because I think they will

not understand my pronunciation.

13. I want to speak as fluently as a native speaker but I find it

difficult.

14. I find it difficult to speak English with the correct

intonation.

15. I do not want to make mistakes while speaking English in

front of my friends.

16. I am afraid that people will laugh at me if I make mistakes

while speaking English.

17. I lose my self confidence when I make mistakes and

someone corrects my English.

18. I find it too frustrating to practice speaking English with

friends whose English ability is below mine.

19 I get nervous and worried when I speak to foreigners.

20. I stop speaking when I cannot clearly express my ideas.

Part IV: Causes of Problems with English Listening and Speaking

Directions: Please put a (√ ) in the box to show how much you agree with each

of following item.

Note: 5– Strongly

agree 4 – Agree

3– Uncertain

2– Disagree

1– Strongly disagree

Level of Agreement

Description 5 4 3 2 1

English teacher

1. My English teachers do not speak English in the classroom.

2. My English teachers do not speak English clearly or with

good pronunciation.

3. My English teachers do not encourage me to speak English.

4 My teachers always ask student whose English is good.

5. My teachers treat students not equally in the class.

6. My English teachers do not listen to me or answer my

questions.

7. My teachers do not have patient to wait for my answer.

8. My English teachers do not use games and songs to

motivate listening and speaking practice.

( continued )
 Causes of Problems with English Listening and Speaking ( continued )

Level of Agreement

Description 5 4 3 2 1

English teacher

9. My teachers do not use multimedia to support activities in

teaching listening and speaking.

10. My English teachers do not give clear instructions before

starting an activity.

Student’s attitude

1. English is not important for communication in my daily

life.

2. English does not give me opportunities to gain more

knowledge.

3. I do not need to use English to make friends from other

countries.

4. I still can find a good job even though my English is not

that good.

5. I have not enjoyed learning English since I first started.

6. Learning English with a teacher is better than independent

study.

( continued )
 Causes of Problems with English Listening and Speaking ( continued )

Level of Agreement

Description 5 4 3 2 1

Students’ motivation

1. I do not enjoy speaking English with my classmates

because we cannot speak English very well.

2. I am not certain that I can get a good grade even if I listen

and speak effectively in the classroom.

3. I like English, but I lack confidence when I speak.

4. I am too shy to practice listening and speaking with my

foreign friends because I am afraid that they will laugh at me.

5. I am not sure if speaking English will ensure a good career

in the future.

Classroom environment

1. I am too shy to speak English in front of my classmates.

2. I am too shy to answer any question in my classroom.

3. If my classmates do not pay attention to the activities in the

class, I do not pay attention either.

4. If the class is noisy during a listening activity, I do not pay

much attention.
5. If the classroom is too large, I find it difficult to participate
in listening and speaking activities.
6. It is too hot in the classroom to concentrate properly.

7. The teaching aids in the classroom, such as the microphone,

computer, and projector, are ineffective.
( continued )
 Causes of Problems with English Listening and Speaking ( continued )

Level of Agreement

Description 5 4 3 2 1

English exposure

1. I hardly ever speak English with my teachers or classmates.

2. I do not have foreign friends to practice speaking English

with.

3. I do not like watching English language movies.

4. I do not like listening to English language songs.

6. I do not like to watch English language TV programs.

7 There no one in my family I can practice speaking English

with.