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Abstract The paper aims to explore the challenges teachers and learners face in developing learners’ English-speaking skills at the tertiary level in the EFL context. The study has been conducted by following a mixed-method approach. A survey has been conducted on 44 tertiary-level students to collect quantitative data and three in-person interviews have been conducted with three tertiary-level educators to collect qualitative data. The findings of the study reveal that learners’ anxiety, lack of confidence, practice, motivation, and supportive environment, fear of criticism and negative judgment, and lack of language lab are some of the vital challenges learners and teachers encounter in developing their speaking skills. In addition, the practice of only reading and writing skills-oriented exams at the secondary and higher secondary levels and giving less importance to speaking skills are also vital challenges in developing learners’ speaking skills. To develop learners' speaking skills, teachers should provide proper guidance and a supportive environment, and learners should practice speaking skills as much as possible.
Islam et al. (Wed,) studied this question.