A study of students’ language strategies use and difficulties during group discussions

Abstract

Even after years of learning English in both primary and secondary levels, many university students are still rather weak when it comes to speaking in English, including performing discussions in the language. Many are not confident and afraid to use English in public. Thus this study attempts to investigate whether students are using appropriate language strategies as they take part in a group discussion. Data was gathered through group observations of part three Civil Engineering diploma students of University Teknologi MARA Perlis. The findings reveal that the students were able to employ varying language forms that were introduced to them, in assisting them to communicate their ideas effectively while performing a group discussion.