English Oral Communication Needs of Bhutanese Students: As Perceived by the Teachers and Students

The main aim of this study was to investigate the oral communication needs in English from the perspective of students and teachers to improve students' oral communication ability. A questionnaire was administered to 45 participants consisted of 36 students and 9 teachers. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics like mean and standard deviation. Results revealed that students and teachers had different standpoints of oral communication needs in English in the classroom, especially with regard to general listening and speaking skills. In addition, findings from the questionnaire suggested that teachers and students perceive speaking and listening informally in situations, for instance working in pair, discussion in small groups, role plays, interviews, classroom debates, storytelling, and being able to communicate orally with teachers as most important oral communication abilities to be practice in the classroom. Lastly, the most important oral communication abilities such as the use of academic language in the classroom and daily conversation in English should also be taken into account to ensure effective oral communication in the classroom.