Hello

The major challenge is the medium of instruction which is usually uses native language. This decreases students' ability to communicate with others outside classroom.

Liqaa

Hello

The major challenge is the medium of instruction which is usually uses native language. This decreases students' ability to communicate with others outside classroom.

Liqaa

The main trouble is that the students are not immersed in the environment that forces them to learn the language or starve. You cannot dump your Turkish students in England to learn what the English word for "food" is.

My cousin's daughter went on a school tour to France at great expense, but the school children all spoke English to each other, tuned into BBC at night and learned no French!

I am an Indian and English was my second language in school.

Still today, I am very week in use of proper preposition in the sentences.

HI dear,

Thanks for the question.

I agree with Dr. Liqaa Habeb and Dr. Ian Kennedy. They said that the use of native language is tah major challenge against English use. This fact is cofirmed by Dr . Shibabrata Pattanayak .

With my best regards!

Dr. Adel OUESLATI

Belongs to addressed students. I am grappling the fundamentals of English writing and communication skills.

Regards,

Jahangir

@Liqaa Habeb: You are right; many non-NESTs have a tendency to use their mother tongue in the classroom. On the other hand, although the school I have been teaching at is based on English-medium instruction, most students have trouble in speaking English. Apparently, this issue has a lot of variables...

@Ian Kennedy: Totally agree with you. On the whole, what we usually try to do is teach English in an environment which seems to learners very artificial, though supplemented with authentic materials.

The level at which English is introduced in schools esp. Govt schools is a issue.

1.The vocabulary,

2.Practicing of English in many places, many ways

3.Very formal and strongly grammar rules

4.Developing of Communication English basing on colloquialism and slangs

5. Spelling variabilities, etc.

Motivation and need. In a 2nd language situation, it is hard to convince and maintain conviction towards the need to learn and use English.

Speaking and writing needs to be emphasized.

Native language affect max use of english. Everybody knows english very well but locally native language replaces english as media of communication.

thanks for the question. there are many challenges that English language teachers face such as students' low motivation, mixed abilities and low level. also the first language interference plays an important role.

Although there are some commonalities, I suspect the answer to this question could vary greatly depending on the environment. The major challenges may be at least somewhat different in the urban Netherlands than in rural Peru, etc. But I would agree with those who suggest one of the major challenges to learning anything is probably motivation: if you don't want to learn, you won't. But if you are growing up where there are many general problems with education and society, uncertain employment prospects, no one else uses the L2 (nor much mass media in that language), etc., it may be harder to summon up the appropriate motivation than if you are growing up where there is generally good education, stability, reasonable employment prospects, many other users of the L2, etc. In other words, if you just kind of expect to learn something as a normal part of your worldview, and those responsible around you try to create and maintain an environment that favors that learning, you will almost certainly learn it.

@Carl Edlund Anderson: Absolutely! You detailed the focal points of the issue very well. Thank you for your contribution.

In my opinion the most important element that affects learning a language is the lack of motivation. Learning a language demands a great effort. Students must have goals, they need to devote time and effort to succed.

Nowadays there are a lot of devices which help a lot, but if students do not see or if they do not feel an inmediate need to learn, they won´t learn as fast as we teachers want.

Our problems are similar to the problems non native speakers have all over the world. Anyway, we have some advantages concerning the great influence English has in our lives. We are exposed to a large amount of cultural influences including films and songs.

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1076004.pdf

The other researchers have shared it all. One of the major barrier to the learning of the English language if the language is not a first language of the particular community or country, it becomes difficult for the learners to grasp the English language fast.

Teacher's proficiency in that language, and teaching method.

One of the challenges is overcoming fear. Having the courage to maintain momentum for learning and experiencing a new place is not easy. Students have different reactions--not always constant. Some students test the waters, but are reluctant to embark upon a pronounced cultural journey if disappointment occurs often. When I teach culture, I speak about learning and experience as being like the waves of the ocean--going in and out--there are times of desire to immerse, and times where one wants "refueling" in the presence of those who may be similar. Learning is not limited to a classroom.

Dear Avci,

It depends on the level of teaching. Here you may get more inf.

http://www2.uwstout.edu/content/lib/thesis/2003/2003wux.pdf

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1076004.pdf

https://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/cls/CLaSIC/clasic2016/PROCEEDINGS/srikrai_suphawat_phiphawin.pdf

1- Students' Motivation: In teaching English teachers need to continuously motivate their students of (Why do they study English? Why English Language is important in their lives?)

2- Lack of visual aids and language labs.

Some of the major challenges would be the limited use of the target language to the inside of a classroom; real-life immersion and practice is essential in helping learners acquire a foreign language.

Additionally, If the teachers are locals and are not speakers of the target language, sometimes they are unable to identify students' errors- thus making it difficult for a student to really progress and learn the true intricacies of the language being taught. Further, if teachers have problems in pronunciation, grammar, use of vocabulary or more, their students tend to inherit these problems from their teachers who might be their sole models.

I would say that the following elements are key:

1. The learners must understand that the objective is communication in another language.

2. The perception that native speakers (of all languages) NEVER make mistakes: However, is changing what you are saying on the basis of the other person's non-verbal communication a mistake or an approprite response?

3. The insistence that everything is spoken perfectly: Structure, tense, paralinguistics, etc. If people want to understand you, they will. If they don't, it doesn't matter how well you speak.

4. The student's worries about being "tested & graded" on their language instead of their communicative competence.

There are many other areas that are problematic (see above) and probably more will follow this post.

I would say:

1. English Teachers are not strict enough and condone learners to laugh at other learners who would speak "Broken English".

2. Classes are overcrowded and a teacher is unable to adequately attend to the learning needs of each learner.

3. The marking of long pieces of writing is complicated. The marking criteria is usualy vague...

4. The Profeciency Level of learners in a class differs greately. There are those who need to be taught the very basics because of their previous poor rural schools...and those that are above the basic English line...( I mean, they are ready for advanced English).

Those are some of the challenges.

I think one of the challenges is the cultural sensitivity needed by those in the immediate learning environment. Sometimes, when ESL students do not pronounce their words clearly, the native speakers would actually repeat out aloud what the word should sound like, which is somewhat embarrassing. Even the lecturers need to take the time to say the meaning of English words that might be difficult for ESL students.

I remember one embarrassing situation, when our English speaking lecturer said that we must use refereed journal articles in our research papers for the class. An ESL student asked if he was to look up Sports journals and identify the referees. You could hear a pin drop in the classroom. But had the lecturer been more sensitive and aware of the students' background, that should not have happened.

Many thanks,

Debra

I agree that cultural sensitivit is a huge issue but also studens tend to translate literally. One example was when we took some American students to France and the student was trying to say 'I am hot" which in French we use avoir to have and it is j'ai chaud. however the student used the verb être (to be) and said je suis chaud, which mans I am horny. This was a bit embarassng but it shows that direct translation is not the best. Neeless ti say ths studett gave a member of the opposite sex a wrong impression. it is so important that as educators we teach these blunders to students so they can avoid them.. Also sometimes students will use a word in their language in the target language. For example, an American asked a french family if they had any pets and said avez-vous des pets? the workd pets means flatulations in French. The proper word is bêtes.

Now I know when I tell someone my level of Russian, I say, I know enough to get myself in trouble:)

Dr Réagan

#IStandWithEli

Interesting perspectives.

for me: listening

One of the major challenge in my country Ghana is the translation of certain English words into the native language. For instance, words such as examination, trial, temptation, text etc all have one word representing their translation in the "Akan" language which is "nsohwe". However, each of these English words have different meanings when explained in the English language thereby making it very difficult for most Ghanaian's to be able to properly get the actual meanings of those words when being translated.

What are the major challenges affecting English language teaching/learning in non-native countries?

Agreed with the points shared by previous researchers / scholars. Think 1 of the challenges also include the avenue / availability to continuous practice e.g. speaking, reading & writing after formal sessions.

I must admit that the challenges that I am going to refer to have some commonalities with what my colleagues raised. As far as the Arab context is concerned,these challenges, which have become problematic for Arab EFL learners, can be attributed:

1. Though there is a move towards applying the communicative approach in the EFL curriculum of some countries, yet, the traditional pedagogy is still the dominant whose exclusive focus is on manipulating and mastery of decontextualised grammatical features that may not even be the best components of of measuring students' competence in English.

An immediate consequence of such pedagogy is that the mechanics of writing, handwriting, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation; and grammatical mistakes are the concerns that dominate the ELF teacher's thinking in both teaching and marking.

2. The traditional teaching/learning EFL does not create a collaborative learning environment that allows them to practise their English inside the classroom that they do not have the opportunity through sharing their ideas and thoughts, and reflecting on them.The teacher is the sole dispenser of knowledge.Under these conditions ,such pedagogy undervalues, or even ignores, individual creativity, and thus self-motivation and interest in learning are scarified.

3. Teaching /learning EFL is standardized test-bound to satisfy curricular expectations, and thereby they geared towards preparing students to pass standardized tests and achieve high marks, rather than developing their communicative skills and strategies.

4. English and Arabic are culturally and linguistically distant languages. Arab EFL students may think in Arabic and translate their ideas in English. This may result in a lot of strangeness and hindrance in expressing them in appropriate English.

5. Many students with radical and out-dated religious backgrounds may find themselves in a situation that they have to learn EFL as a requirement to join postgraduate studies in an English speaking country. However , this is problematic for them as they may develop hatred and negative attitudes and perceptions against it, being the language of imperialism.

Best regards.

There are numerous barriers and constraints.Firstly, using the mother tongue inside classrooms rather than English. Secondly, a plethora of English teachers are still unaware of the modern teaching methods as they still use the old conventional of teaching methods.I addition, some students reject to learn English ,however it is the second language for his country.Moreover, parents educational background plays a 're in learning English as langua franca.

I think the main problem is the negative linguistic transfer from mother tongue. We should deal with this very early, in the threshold level. It is better to avoid bad tranfer now than to correct habits later.For doing so, a comparative teaching could be helpful. Therefore, the use of ' Comparative typology of native and foreign language is very useful. If you have a multicultural class, your efforts should be devoted to concentrate your students on the foreign language paysology, and interactive activities that avoid your studentas to think on their vernacular language. Best wishes, George.

The major challenges is unavailability of a suitable environment where students can actually use English with the native speakers. They only learn the rules of grammar and practice forms of conversations in their classrooms. Other than than no opportunities practice English.

hi. there are a lot of challenges non native learners of a language like English confront. in this context, just language teaching classes with their special discourse are the main sources of input. there is not adequate ,quantitatively and qualitatively, comprehensible exposure to linguistic data. regarding socio-cultural and pragmatic competence, the case is worse. accordingly, they are not motivated by intrinsic factors like taking part in natural conversations with native speakers. they need enthusiastic and knowledgeable teachers as extrinsic motivators. best

Professionalism. Are all the teachers really qualified especially in bilingual ed and CLIL?

The language of instruction in South African universities is either English or Afrikaans. This poses a challenge to the majority of students as they are non-native English speakers. My aim is to research the extent of this problem in their academics.

Comments are welcome for more insight. Thanks

In my place, ESL learners seem to hardly develop competence in L1 English; however, they perform/talk and participate in conversations. The old Bilingual Education policy, their MT which is the Lingua Franca in the area and now the MTB-MLE, the sociolinguistic phenomenon of translanguaging/CS, and the limited opportunities to use L1 English seem to hinder their learning of the language. Nevertheless, they acquire L2 English and use it to survive in English speech events.

So, I'm convince that teaching learners the English variety that they need and use in the wider real world outside the classroom will help them and their the teachers lighten the pedagogical tasks.

If I may add, teachers' educational background is also an issue. There are many brilliant/intelligent ESL teachers who are not Applied Linguistics graduates. For instance,

some are intelligent graduates of Educational Management who have knowledge of English but may not have pedagogical skills of transmitting it because they do not have Linguistic background.

I agree with a speaker in a conference I have attended who said that when one has no knowledge of Linguistics, s/he has no business to teach language.

Learning in a foreign language slows the cognitive functioning of learners since they have to make sense of the content's terms before they can understand the meaning. They also have to formulate ideas in a foreign language and get grammar right as far as sentence construction is concerned, that is all too much happening at once.

Hope this research will help you

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