One of the main goals of language learners is to be able to exchange opinions, ideas,
interests etc. and to be understood by other speakers. That is, being able to
communicate with friends, classmates, professors, family members or total strangers, in
a language that both speakers can comprehend, may be without doubt the goal of many
learners. As Krashen (2000:57) confirms, “speaking is of course a primary goal of most
language students”. Therefore, as English BA students, it is of extreme importance to
be able to communicate in the target language.
Additionally, when communicating in everyday life, most people prefer to speak rather
than to write as it may be easy to exchange information. That is the reason why
speaking is an essential part of communication. It is no surprise that speaking a foreign
language puts you at advantage and may lead to better opportunities work-wise, given
that as Nunan (1991:39) suggests, “success is measured in terms of the ability to carry
out a conversation in the target language”. At the same time it allows you to meet
people from other countries, share ideas as well as to discover other cultures. As
previously mentioned, the main goal of many language learners is to be able to
communicate in the target language and be understood by others, yet, this
communicating process may be impeded by numerous factors.