Oral communication skills are of paramount importance both within the classroom and society (Henderson, n.d). Listening and speaking skills are therefore essential in the educational sector. Students need to listen to their educators, as well as peers in order to create meaning of texts. In this way they can give intelligent answers and demonstrate critical thought. Speaking is also essential because students need to be able to associate with others and develop effective strategies for communication. There are certain issues that educators face when it comes to listening and speaking skills. In this essay I would critically discuss factors that often hinder learners’ acquisition of proper listening and speaking skills as well as strategies that teachers can employ that could assist them in addressing/ preventing the existence of such factors. Boredom can serve as major factor that can often hinder a student’s acquisition of proper listening skills (Bester, Evans, Joubert & Meyer, 2013). Some students already have extensive knowledge of subject content and as a result become bored very quickly. This causes them to disturb other students or they choose to day-dream and not listen to the educator. When an educator continuously reads from the textbook and does not do practical activities to make the lesson interesting, this makes students bored and they choose not to listen. Emotional barriers differ amongst learners and often are seen as a detriment to successful listening.