Abstract
The aim of this study is to analyse 8th grade students' English speaking levels in the academic year 2020–2021 according to the speaking criteria of the Common European Language Framework of Reference for Languages. This study also aims to identify the speaking difficulties which are experienced by the students and find out the possible problems related to being able to carry out tasks which necessitate share data on known themes and exercises such as describing experiences, events, hopes and ambitions, understanding what the discussion is about and having the option to keep the discussion going successfully. Being able to speak in English or any target language is a vital skill and can be difficult at times. For the speaking analysis, a questionnaire was administered to 32 8th grade students of N20 R. Isetov school in Turkistan, Kazakhstan in the academic year 2020–2021. The results of the questionnaires were assessed statistically. The findings in the research indicate that students think they are competent with the A1 speaking criteria the most according to the CEFR. In other words, as the students reach higher levels of competencies in their current levels (A1, A2, B1), the means that show their speaking performance levels tend to go down.