English Speaking Problems of Engineering Students: A Case Study of Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi

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Thitapa Sinturat
Krishna Kosashunhanan
Aram Iamlaor
Kongkiat Khunasathitchai
Nikorn Teptong

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          This study aimed to investigate the problems of English speaking of the first-year engineering students at Rajamangala Univerisity of Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT). The sample group consisted of 250 first-year students studying in the faculty of Engineering in the first semester of 2020 academic year. They studied in different majors: electrical, electronics and telecommunication, industrial, materials, and mechanical engineering. Regarding sampling, they were selected through a simple randaom sampling method. The instrument used in the research was online questionnaire containing 5 parts and 22 items. The statistics used for data analysis were percentage (%), mean (X̅) and standard deviation (S.D.). The reliability measured using Cronbach’s Alpha was .93. The questionnaire showed a high level (X̅ = 2.76, S.D.= 0.33) of students’ attitude towards speaking problems. The findings indicated that the overall problems occuring with the engineering students at RMUTT were at the high level. The most speaking problems the students faced were both concerned with knowledge like vocabulary limitation and applying grammar when forming utterances, and perception like being nervous or anxious and shy when speaking English.


 

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