Attitudes of Grade 12 Senior High School Students Toward Speaking English

Abstract

This research study aimed to explore the attitudes of Grade 12 Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) students at Taysan Senior High School towards speaking English. The researcher employed a descriptive research design to gather information about the students' attitudes, English-speaking competence, and problems they encountered while speaking English. A questionnaire was developed as the data-gathering instrument and was administered to a sample of 120 selected students using a simple random sampling technique. The findings revealed that the majority of Grade 12 HUMSS students at Taysan Senior High School had negative attitudes towards speaking English. This negativity stemmed from factors such as fear of making mistakes, lack of confidence, feeling intimidated by native English speakers, and doubting their own English proficiency. Consequently, students were less likely to engage in English-speaking activities, leading to poorer language learning outcomes. The study also identified challenges in pronunciation, self-expression, and vocabulary comprehension as significant obstacles that hindered effective communication in English. Despite these challenges, students still found a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when they could communicate effectively in English, indicating a willingness to learn the language. Based on these findings, the researcher recommended several strategies to address the identified issues. These included leveraging students' strengths in speaking and listening, creating a supportive classroom environment, incorporating real-world materials and situations, and recognizing students' progress. In line with this, the researcher proposed an action plan that incorporated these strategies and activities for the educational institution to implement a practice of a positive attitude towards English speaking among students.