A Survey on Difficulties in Giving English Presentations Experienced by Students at Ho Chi Minh City University of Food Industry (HUFI)

Abstract

Nowadays, oral presentation plays an important role in the university environment. Nevertheless, most students still do not have enough experiences and skills in presenting, which leads them to deal with various problems. In an effort to investigate their presenting difficulties, this research aimed to point out: (1) the students’ attitudes towards the importance of oral presenting skills, (2) the difficulties when presenting they would encounter, and (3) the factors causing the challenges and some suggested solutions. Specifically, the investigation has been carried out in the form of survey research, with a hundred and forty students at Ho Chi Minh City University of Food Industry participating as informants. The main data collection instrument was the online survey questionnaire done by those students. The research has indicated that the students’ poor linguistic proficiency, including their pronunciation, nonverbal communication, lack of interaction, all found it hard for them to be comprehended. Furthermore, the data collection has confirmed that the assessments and comments from the institution’s lack of high-quality equipment and facilities also related to these students' poor presenting performances. For those reasons, the investigation recommends that teachers and institutions should make greater efforts in educating oral presenting skills to better their students’ presentation skills. On the students’ part, it is essential to be more aware of the preparations and to have suitable strategies for enhancing presentation abilities to meet the expectations of future work.

Do EFL Students Have Non-Linguistic Problems & Needs in Translation Class?

“…It can be said that those two indicators are correlated to another which is not being alert in class as the cause of not volunteering actively while learning. First, being alert in class is a situation where the students have built their concentration alert system to achieve the materials, have the willingness to listen to the explanation, have a discussion with partners or lecturers, perform assignments given by lecturers, and keep following the process passionately [27]. Second, being active and passionately participating while learning is the core idea of learning itself where students have the willingness to involve him/her in the learning situation.…”

“…Unfortunately, knowing the previous data mentioned that 50% of students were having problems with concentration for more than 20 minutes; directly leads us to the reason for the student's reluctance while learning. In addition, the other reasons for this problem can be caused by losing interest in the subjects of learning that keep the students engaging effectively in the class, unwell-designed of the syllabus (lesson design), the campus or classroom environment, parents or family contribution, and the lecturers' performance during the study [27]. The whole reasons mentioned above can be a reflection session for the institution to not only focus on the competencies only but also seek the students' needs for better qualities in translation class.…”