Difficulties in Learning the Oral Expression Course among Female Students of the Language Preparation Department at Institut Muslim Cendekia Sukabumi

Abstract

Oral expression skill is considered one of the fundamental skills in language learning. However, female students face difficulties that affect their performance. Therefore, studying these difficulties is important in order to identify their nature and the factors influencing them. This study aims to identify the difficulties faced by preparatory language students at Institut Muslim Cendekia Sukabumi in learning oral expression (ta‘bir syafahi) and to determine the factors contributing to these difficulties during the learning process. This study employed a descriptive-analytical method to systematically describe and analyze the phenomenon of learning difficulties in oral expression. The data were collected through observation, interviews, and documentation. The findings revealed that the students experienced various linguistic difficulties, including limited vocabulary mastery, weak sentence construction, and low speaking fluency. In addition, the students encountered non-linguistic difficulties such as varying levels of task difficulty and limited opportunities to practice inside and outside the classroom. The study also found several contributing factors, namely psychological factors, linguistic and pedagogical factors, environmental factors, and teaching-related factors. These findings indicate that the difficulties in learning oral expression result from the interaction of multiple internal and external factors, which affect students’ speaking performance and language development.