Abstract:
The study investigated the challenges, strength and approaches faced by Grade eight students in public speaking in four secondary schools of Kapirimposhi District, Zambia. The study employed quantitative approach to investigate the problem. The population consisted of 272 people of which 240 were Grade eight students and 32 were teachers of languages. The total sample of respondents was 44 selected from four secondary schools which were purposively selected. The 40 students were purposively and simple randomly selected and the 4 teachers were also purposively selected. The study used questionnaires on a five point five Likert scale for students and questionnaires for teachers using closed ended questions for the documents to be analyzed. The reliability of the instrument was determined by experts at Solusi University using the Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability method. A reliability coefficient of 0.593 was obtained. The factor analysis ranged from 0.588 to 0.857 which meant that the instrument was reliable for the study. The information collected was used to improve the reliability of the questionnaires and interview guide. The questionnaire was administered by the researcher and the data was coded and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The coded data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 22.0. The findings from the open ended questions were analyzed thematically. The study indicated that students lacked confidence and practice which affected their debating skills.