JOURNAL OF IQRO – ЖУРНАЛ ИҚРО – IQRO JURNALI – volume 15, issue 01, 2025
ISSN: 2181-4341, IMPACT FACTOR ( RESEARCH BIB ) – 7,245, SJIF – 5,431
ILMIY METODIK JURNAL
Ortiqboyeva Rayhona Mansur qizi
A student of Chirchik State Pedagogical University
Scientific Advisor
Khamitov Eldorbek Erkin oʻgʻli
A senior teacher of Chirchik State Pedagogical University
DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING SPEAKING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
(BASED ON A2 LEVEL LEARNERS)
ABSTRACT:
This article is devoted to exploring the challenges teachers face when teaching
speaking skills to secondary school students, particularly those at the A2 level. At this stage,
learners often struggle with limited vocabulary, lack of confidence, and difficulty forming
sentences correctly. These issues make it hard for them to express their thoughts fluently. The
article aims to highlight these difficulties and suggest practical solutions for overcoming them.
Keywords:
accuracy, anxiety, confidence, fluency, motivation, pronunciation, sentence
structure, speaking activities, vocabulary, weak interaction.
INTRODUCTION
Teaching speaking to secondary school students at the A2 level comes with its own set of
challenges. It’s not just about knowing words or grammar rules — it’s about using the language
to express ideas, ask questions, and hold simple conversations. However, many students at this
level struggle to speak fluently. They often hesitate, searching for the right words, or feel anxious
about making mistakes.
Strong speaking skills are becoming more important than ever. In today’s world, students need to
communicate clearly — not only to succeed in their studies but also to build confidence for their
future careers and everyday interactions.
MAIN BODY
Limited Vocabulary and Sentence Structure
Research shows that A2 level learners often struggle with speaking due to their limited
vocabulary and weak sentence structure. According to language learning studies, students at this
level know simple words and phrases but find it hard to create full sentences when speaking.
They focus so much on remembering individual words that they forget how to connect them into
meaningful sentences.
For instance, imagine a teacher asks, “What did you do yesterday?” A student might respond,
“Uh… I… go… market… buy… apple.” Even though they know the words “go,” “market,” and
“apple,” they cannot form a correct sentence like, “I went to the market to buy an apple.” This
happens because they lack practice in combining words smoothly.
Lack of Confidence and Fear of Mistakes
Another key issue is the fear of making mistakes, which directly affects students’ confidence.
Studies show that A2 learners often feel anxious when speaking because they are afraid of being
judged by their classmates or teachers. This fear stops them from speaking, even when they
know the answer. For example, during a classroom activity, a teacher asks students to describe
JOURNAL OF IQRO – ЖУРНАЛ ИҚРО – IQRO JURNALI – volume 15, issue 01, 2025
ISSN: 2181-4341, IMPACT FACTOR ( RESEARCH BIB ) – 7,245, SJIF – 5,431
ILMIY METODIK JURNAL
their favorite hobby. One student knows they want to say, “I like playing football,” but they only
manage to mumble, “I… like… play… ball,” and then fall silent, embarrassed by their mistakes.
When students lack confidence, they speak less — and the less they speak, the harder it becomes
for them to improve. This creates a cycle where their speaking skills develop slowly compared to
their reading and writing.
Lack of Real-life Speaking Practice
Research also highlights that many A2 learners don’t get enough real-life speaking practice.
Most classroom activities focus on repeating textbook sentences or answering simple yes/no
questions. While these exercises build basic language skills, they don’t prepare students for real
conversations where they need to think quickly and respond naturally. Imagine, a student might
complete a grammar worksheet perfectly, choosing the correct verb forms in sentences like “He
(go/goes) to school every day.” But when someone asks them, “What time do you go to school?”
in a real conversation, they freeze because they are not used to answering spontaneous questions.
Without practical speaking activities like role-plays, group discussions, and real-world tasks,
students struggle to apply their language skills in everyday situations.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results reveal that A2 level students face three closely connected difficulties when it comes
to speaking: limited vocabulary and sentence structure, fear of making mistakes, and lack of real-
life speaking practice. These challenges don’t exist on their own — they feed into each other,
creating a cycle that makes it even harder for students to improve.
When students have a limited vocabulary, they struggle to form proper sentences. For example, a
student might know words like "go," "yesterday," and "school," but when asked what they did
the day before, they may only manage to say, "I… go… school… yesterday." This gap in
vocabulary makes them pause and hesitate, breaking their flow of speech. The more they
struggle to form sentences, the more self-conscious they become.
This leads to the second problem: fear of making mistakes. Many students worry about
using the wrong words, mispronouncing something, or being laughed at by their classmates. As a
result, they often choose to stay quiet rather than risk getting it wrong. Even when they know the
answer, their fear holds them back. For example, a student who understands the question
"What’s your favorite hobby?" may still freeze, whispering "I… like… uh… football," afraid
that their broken sentence will sound silly.
The final issue is the lack of real-life speaking practice. In many classrooms, speaking
activities are limited to repeating sentences from textbooks or answering yes/no questions. While
these exercises help with grammar, they don’t prepare students for real conversations where they
need to think quickly and respond naturally. So, when a student who’s used to controlled
exercises suddenly faces a casual question like "How are you feeling today?" they struggle to
respond, not because they don’t know the words, but because they’ve never practiced using them
in a real setting.
Also, the uniqueness of this article lies in showing how A2 learners' speaking difficulties —
limited vocabulary, fear of mistakes, and lack of practice — are not separate issues but closely
connected. It highlights that confidence doesn’t come after fluency; it grows with it. Instead of
waiting for students to speak perfectly, this article emphasizes the importance of encouraging
them to speak while making mistakes, helping them build both their language skills and self-
assurance at the same time.
CONCLUSION
JOURNAL OF IQRO – ЖУРНАЛ ИҚРО – IQRO JURNALI – volume 15, issue 01, 2025
ISSN: 2181-4341, IMPACT FACTOR ( RESEARCH BIB ) – 7,245, SJIF – 5,431
ILMIY METODIK JURNAL
Teaching speaking to secondary school students at the A2 level presents a range of
interconnected difficulties, including limited vocabulary, poor sentence construction, fear of
making mistakes, and a lack of real-life speaking practice. These challenges often reinforce one
another, slowing students’ progress and lowering their confidence. To break this cycle, teachers
must create a supportive environment where students are encouraged to practice speaking freely,
even if they make errors. Integrating engaging, communicative activities and promoting regular
use of English in meaningful contexts can significantly enhance students’ speaking abilities.
Building confidence and fluency should go hand-in-hand, allowing students to grow into more
competent and motivated speakers over time.
REFERENCES:
1. Brown, H. D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language
pedagogy (2
nd
ed.). Longman.
2. Harmer, J. (2007). The practice of English language teaching (4
th
ed.). Pearson Longman.
3. Richards, J. C. (2008). Teaching listening and speaking: From theory to practice. Cambridge
University Press.
4. Ur, P. (1996). A course in language teaching: Practice and theory. Cambridge University
Press.
5. Wood, D. (2009). Teaching English language learners: Strategies that work. Pearson
Education.
