Abstract:
The speaking skill is always considered among the teachers as a difficult skill to practise
in the classroom. This study was conducted on tertiary level students at the University of
Dhaka. Here, the English language course is a part of the BA Honours curriculum in most
of the Faculties and Institutes. The course was introduced in 1998 to make the students
more proficient in English and develop their skill for their academic life and future
career. However, the teachers are confronted with a number of problems that hinder
successful speaking practice in the classroom. This qualitative research is an attempt to
find out the classroom situation. It accumulates both the students’ and the teachers’ points
of view. The study also explores the classrooms where the teaching and learning is taking
place. Data have been collected from four departments from four different Faculties and
Institutes. The findings show that lack of logistic support, large classes, students’ own
anxiety, mixed proficiency level of students and lack of training of the teachers make it a
real challenge for successfully practising this skill in the classroom. Finally, the study
provides suggestions for the successful teaching-learning of this skill in the English
language classes at the University of Dhaka.
