Nurdayani
181102010962
Speaking English is often considered difficult by many students in English education
programs, not only in general contexts but also in specific contexts such as in academic
speaking courses. This study aimed to find information about internal and external
problems faced by students in academic speaking subjects as well as students' efforts to
overcome the problems. The participants in this study were students who had passed the
academic speaking course in the 2018 academic year in a university in Bogor. This
study was qualitative research by using questionnaires and interviews as research
instruments. This study found four kinds of internal and external problems. Four kinds
of the internal problems that arise from within students were problems in expressing
ideas, applying correct grammar patterns, anxiety, and motivation. Other results also
showed four external problems that arise from outside of the students, namely: the use
of the mother tongue during English learning, classroom situation, competitive
environment and low participation. Besides, this study found some students’ efforts to
overcome the internal and external problems such as learning English material
repeatedly including learning grammar and vocabulary, keep speaking practice, and
using an online dictionary to support the vocabulary building. The findings of this study
are expected to be useful, not only for students to keep doing the efforts in improving
their speaking skills, but also for teachers to support students’ efforts in overcoming the
intrinsic and extrinsic problems in the Academic Speaking classes.
Keywords: academic speaking class, internal problems, external problems and efforts.