This study attempts to discover what speaking difficulties are encountered by pupils in primary school of Guizhou province in China. It also intends to find out the potential factors that contribute to the existence of these difficulties. The results have been obtained in detail via the first-hand sources derived from the in-depth classroom observation and the analysis of curriculum/assessment materials. The findings revealed that the main speaking difficulties encountered by young learners in China are pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, unwillingness to participate, etc. Additionally, There are following several aspects that contribute to the existence of these speaking obstacles and dilemmas, such as, reticence, mother tongue use, linguistic competence, teachers’ intolerance of silence, conversational context, curriculum, syllabus and assessment materials, etc. The findings of this study can help us to reflect our own teaching approaches, the design of curriculum and assessment materials/tools to realize the reasons why young learners in primary school find it difficult to speak English in real life.
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