Speaking Proficiency of Grade Ten Students

Abstract

This research, titled "Speaking Proficiency of Grade 10 Students," aims to assess the speaking proficiency of grade 10 students in Urlabari Municipality. The study further examines variations in speaking proficiency based on gender (boys and girls) and the type of educational institutions (community and institutional). Employing a quantitative and comparative research design, 24 students participated, with an equal distribution of boys and girls. These students were selected from six different schools, evenly divided between community and institutional institutions. To measure speaking proficiency, interviews were conducted, recorded on cellphones, transcribed, and analyzed for fluency and coherence, lexical resources, grammar and accuracy, and pronunciation utilizing the IELTS speaking test criteria. Interviews followed the IELTS format, ensuring a standardized evaluation process. A comparative analysis of speaking proficiency levels revealed intriguing patterns among genders and types of educational institutions. ‘t-tests’ were conducted to determine the significance of these patterns. A mean score of overall speaking proficiency of the participants' cohort achieved scores of 5.63, reflecting a solid and moderate level of English language proficiency. These students can proficiently communicate in familiar contexts, though they may face occasional difficulties with more complex language structures. On the other hand, the analysis found no significant gender-based differences in overall speaking proficiency (Table 3), fluency and coherence (Table 4), lexical resources (Table 5), grammar and accuracy (Table 6), or pronunciation (Table 7). However, an interesting observation emerged regarding the nature of the institution: institutional school students displayed higher speaking proficiency compared to their counterparts in community schools (Table 8). The thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter, the introduction, covers the general background, study objectives, research question, significance, and scope. The second chapter is dedicated to the literature review. In the third chapter, we delve into data sources, including primary and secondary sources, the sampling population and procedure, data collection tools, data collection process, and study limitations. The fourth chapter focuses on data analysis and interpretation, utilizing statistical tools like average marks, standard deviation, t-tests, and a descriptive approach.Finally, the fifth chapter presents findings and recommendations drawn from the analysis. The study concludes with a bibliography and appendix.