Investigating the Aspects Contributing to Indonesian Senior High School Students’ Success in Learning to Speak English

Abstract

English becomes a compulsory subject in junior high schools and senior high schools in Indonesia. Indonesian students learn how to listen, read, write, and speak in English. Among those four skills, speaking in English is the most difficult skill to do for students in Indonesia. They faced difficulties in speaking English. However, some students having difficulty in learning to speak English, but other students could speak English proficiently and fluently. Thus, there are some aspects that could influence students' speaking abilities. The current study aimed to know the perceived aspects that contribute to Indonesian senior high school students' success in learning to speak English. The study was conducted in a senior high school in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia, which I address as SMA Gemilang (pseudonym) in this study. I performed an interview to generate the data. The data were analyzed using Thematic Analysis. There were six perceived aspects, namely students' confidence in English speaking, students’ motivation to learn English speaking, family contributions, English teachers’ roles, digital media as learning materials, and how students’ learn to speak English.