I did a study for my master thesis with a supervisor, an associate professor, Dr Alan Chamberlain. It was very hard to complete the writing of the thesis, however, in 2005 I graduated at last.
The study was designed to investigate the oral production of students in Secondary English classes in the Tutong district of Negara Brunei Darussalam. In particular, it sought to determine what differences exist between the oral production of students in Form One and those in Form Four. It also sought to determine what motivates students to speak in secondary English classes and what prevents them from speaking. The sample consisted of 12 classes selected from 3 of the 4 secondary schools in the Tutong district; from each school, two Form One classes, one low ability, one high ability and two Form Four classes, one low ability, one high ability. Four instruments were used in the study; a questionnaire given to all students in the 12 classes; observations of 12 lessons in hte 12 classes; interviews with the 9 teachers involved; interviews with 3 students from each of the 12 classes. The results indicate firstly that little could be determined from the classroom observations because students were on no occasion given the opportunity to produce extended utterances. Teachers' questioning strategies compelled them to give short or single word answers to questions. Not a single student initiated discourse in the 12 lessons. Although the interviews indicated that the Form Four students did have better communicative skills than the Form One students, many of them had difficulty with the simple questions asked in the interview and they produced many errors. Student utterances in the English lesson were limited not only by the discourse pattern but also by the students' lack of self-confidence. In spite of the fact that they had been studying English for from 6 to 9 years, most of the students in hte sample were reluctant to speak English in front of their peers because of the peer of making mistakes.
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