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Maninder Kaur

Professor Nate Hellmers

English 1201

18 April 2019

Learning English as a Second Language------------ Challenges and Possible Strategies

After completing my Bachelor’s of Education in India, I applied in different schools and

colleges for getting teaching job. Although my native language was Punjabi and national

language was Hindi I was interviewed in English language. Honestly, to appear for interview in

English language was not an easy task for me, so I did a lot of struggle in improving my

communication skills in English language to get a good teaching job. For this purpose, I took

English speaking and personality development courses to bring out English Communication

Skills because having proficiency in English is so important in this world to be successful and

stay interconnected at universal level. Now, I am about to graduate in Masters, but still I am a

Learner of English as Second Language because as being a nationalist of a non-English speaking

country I will face a new form of English at various levels of education, environment of learning

and working conditions. I know very well that I can’t be as proficient in using English language

as native people do and every time I will be introduced with a new term of English language.

There are so many people like me who face lots of challenges in getting a job only because they

are not much proficient in English language. I always feel curious to know about different point

of view, experience, and suggestions about the importance of learning English as a second

language. Therefore the basic goal of this paper is to discuss the importance, challenges, and
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possible strategies of learning English as a Second language which could be a part of discussion

in the field of Learning/Teaching English as a Second Language.

Initially, English was the language of United Kingdom by giving complete influence on

England and Scotland. After that, since 17th to 20th century English has been promoted widely all

around the world. According to Crystal (1997):

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries English was the language of the leading

colonial nation-Britain. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was the language of

the leader of the industrial revolution- also Britain. In the late nineteenth century and the

early twentieth it was the language of the leading economic power-the USA. As a result,

when new technologies brought new linguistic opportunities, English emerged as a first-

rank language in industries which affected all aspects of the society-the press,

advertising, broadcasting, motion pictures, sound recording, transport and

communications. (110-111)

Today, English has become the single most important medium of conversation at

international level, and growing well day to day even in non-English speaking countries. The

efforts of British Council and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

programs made the English language much accessible for English language learners. English had

included as compulsory subject of curriculum from first class of the school to higher education in

most of the Non-English speaking countries. In Asian countries, English is in the high demand

for getting admission in well known school, advance/professional degree courses, and in getting

top class job positions. But learning English with complete proficiency is not as easy as it looks

like. It takes long time and determination to learn English accurately. This paper focused on the
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importance of English language, challenges, and some strategies to learn English in more

effective way.

IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING ENGLISH LANGUAGE

After getting accepted at world level, English language has become the most usable language for

internet & computer language, advanced and professional education, and network medium to

connect with world. According to Nishanthi (2018) following are the important reasons to learn

English in today’s world:

 English is the International common tongue which means people from different countries

can communicate in English

 Education means most of the subject at university level and programs of science and

technology are being taught in English language only

 The primary language of internet at world level is English

 Available resources make the English easy to learn

 English is the primary language for world travel and business

 Learning English give more access to world level’s entertainment

 Easy to learn in comparison to other languages

 Flexible nature of English helps learners to say a thing in different ways. (872-873)

These points explain that English is the most used and influencing language at present

time and it helps people to connect with world. English is the most dominant language for

education, work, profession, online sources, and business than any other language.

Approximately 1bilion people at universal level use English as their primary language, and more

than 27 countries use it as Secondary language. In the present world a number of students from
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Non-English speaking countries do struggle to get education from English dominant countries

where English is primary language, so to be successful in education and career, students spend

plenty of time and money to be proficient in English uses. Therefore, the importance of English

language could not be denied at any cost because English is playing a vital role in different fields

of life.

CHALLENGES IN LEARNING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

Learning a second language is a very complex and challenging process because it covers various

variables and aspects related to learner. The most common challenges for learning English as a

Second language are:

Lack of trained English Teachers and Resources. This is the very common problem in rural areas

of Non-English speaking countries where English teachers are rare to find with appropriate

training and knowledge to teach students. If teachers have a degree in English language then

inappropriate training and lack of required resources like new teaching aids, technology, study

material etc. bring teachers to the end in imparting complete information. As Copeland et al.

(2014) state:

English is often introduced as a compulsory subject at primary school without due

consideration of who will teach it ……. Teachers may therefore find themselves teaching

English either without adequate training in teaching young learners in general or in

teaching English to young learners in particular. The situation is especially acute in poor

or rural areas. (739-740)

In countries like India or China, English has included in curriculum at all levels of

education, but there is not proper availability of special trained English teacher. For example, in
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most of the rural areas of Indian schools a single teacher is teaching all the subjects for a single

class from pre-nursery to first standard. Therefore, lack of trained English teachers is one of the

challenges in learning English as second language.

Overcrowded Classrooms.

Fig. 1. English Classroom picture of one of the Indian Govt. School from: Ians 2013

This is also a potential challenge for learners as well as for teachers in learning English. Teachers

and learners can’t make constant and complete interaction throughout

the class timing. According to Kucukler & Kodal (2019):

In big classes, it is difficult to establish an interaction that is sufficient for all

students due to the overwhelming amount of pupils in a course. Challenges such as

monitoring attendance, checking assignments, maintaining control, checking

comprehension and many more are typical issues worrying language instructors involved

with big class teaching. (170)

It means large/overcrowded classes create obstacles for students to get enough time

individually. Teachers can’t approach each learner within adequate time. Moreover,

overcrowded classes could be noisier and will create the problem of indiscipline, so learning

English in big classes is a great challenge for learners and teachers.

Anxiety and Self-deprecation. In some situations learners have anxiety and self-deprecation in

learning English. Learners with anxiety and self-deprecation perform less actively in learning

English. Moreover, learners underestimate the learning ability by self-judgment, and feel a

threatening situation when asked by teachers to perform any task in English language. According

to Gib- bons, 1991; Hass & Eisenstadt, 1991; Sarason, 1972):

Learners sometimes engage in self-deprecating ("I'm stu- pid,""! can't do this") and self-

focused thoughts that interfere with feelings self-efficacy. These negative thoughts

adversely affect a student's ability to take advantage of learning opportuni- ties, affecting

students' ability to see themselves as successful learners (qtd in Pappamihiel 329-30).

It is very common in learners when classroom environment is more diverse and slow

learners face difficulty to pace with moderate or fast learning students. This type of negative

ability makes the learners less confident and anxious all the time in learning environment. These

above mentioned challenges are critical and need to fix these problems with some relevant

strategies and solutions. The following part of this paper is about some possible strategies to

learn English as a second language.

STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME THE CHALLENGES

Although, learning English as a second language is a challenging task, but if appropriate

strategies would be applied then these challenges could be fixed in some way. Following are

some possible strategies in regard to above mentioned challenges.

Proper Training for English Teachers and School Counselors. For making English as an easy

learning process, it is needed to train English teachers and school counselors in appropriate way

so that they can implement learned methodologies and techniques to impart information in so

convenient way that learners feel easy to grasp new language terms in complete sense. For

example, teachers should have training under certificate courses like TESOL or constant

workshops for Second Language Teaching programs which will direct school counselors and

teachers to stay on the right track in providing required language learning to English language

learners. According to some researchers school counselors should have proper training as they

play vital role in planning curriculum, teaching strategies, and method of teaching. For example,

according to Johnson & Cain (2019):

School counselors provide academic, social-emotional, and college and career access

information to all students via core curriculum classroom lessons……. a first step in this

specific situation would be to introduce school counselors in training to ESL strategies

with the hope that observing and experiencing the strategies would result in

implementation of them. (1)

This idea is useful because well trained school counselors could help class teachers to

implement adequate teaching strategies so that learners can feel comfortable and more confident

in learning a second language.

Manageable Classroom size or Numbers of Students. For better learning and achievements in

learning English, the number of students in classroom should be according to the number of

students who can manage the class properly. It is not possible to give proper time and attention to

each learner in large classes, so class size should be small. Moreover, teachers also should be

trained to manage large classrooms in some situations. For example, if some schools have large

classrooms with more number of students then teachers should have pre-service teaching training

in making some special class room strategies and rules for students and instructors. As Kucukler

& Kodal (2019) suggested that “establishing ground rules, instructors find it advantageous to set

rules on the first day of lecture. Abiding by these rules both instructors and pupils will encourage

students to be engaged large classes are always a big concern” (170).

This suggestion by Kucukler & Kodal is really useful for classroom sizes in a country like India

where a single teacher is supposed to teach students numbers 40-45 in schools from 1st to 12th

grade for the time period of 45-50 minutes.

Motivation for Anxious and Self-deprecated learners. Learners become anxious when study

material seems too difficult to understand or learners do not have proper learning abilities to pace

with study material and then learners feel worry about the failure in learning target language.

When learners have low self confidence and more self criticism feelings then self-deprecation

creates hurdles in learning process. If learners feel anxiety and self-deprecation in learning

English then teachers should motivate the learners to build up confidence and self-support in

learning English language. According to Becirovic & Akbarov (2016) “the teacher is the one

who creates the classroom climate which can significantly influence students’ motivation

through the application of different methods of teaching and learning”(qtd. in Becirovic 211).
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This is true that teacher is the main influential factor in learning process and positive support of

teacher helps learners to get complete information to perceive it.

No doubt above mentioned strategies are so helpful to deal with challenges in learning

English as a second language, but these are only valuable if would be used in practical way by

knowing the learning needs and abilities of students. As Johnstone (2009) states “Most children

can learn a second language to some level, but there are many reasons why children will resist

doing so. Teachers should be given the opportunity to discuss the sociocultural aspects of

language learning as well as appropriate strategies for teaching languages effectively to young

learners with different needs”(qtd. in Copeland 757). Therefore, the role of a teacher in learning

English language is very important because learner spend more of the time with teachers in the

classroom and follow the given instruction even in out of class environment too.

Learning English is so important in this era. Although, there are many difficulties in

learning English as a second language, but proper implantation of solution and techniques will

help to make the learning an easy task Different studies focused on the most common challenges

in learning English and explain the way it affect the learning abilities of English language

learners. On the other side, a number of studies presented possible solution in regard to these

challenges, and recommend the teachers and school counselors to implement those strategies. It

is also true that challenges could not be omitted permanently because challenges take place

according the learning situations, but possible solution can help learners to manage with these

challenges.
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Works Cited

Becirovic, Senad. “The Relationship between Gender, Motivation and Achievement in Learning

English as a Foreign Language.” European Journal of Contemporary Education, vol. 6,

no. 2, Jan. 2017, pp. 210–220. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1146130&login.asp&site

=ehost-live.
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Copland, Fiona, et al. “Challenges in Teaching English to Young Learners: Global Perspectives

and Local Realities.” TESOL Quarterly, vol. 48, no. 4, 2014, pp. 738–762. JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/43268015

Crystal, David. English as a Global Language. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,

2003. Print.

Johnson, Leonissa, and Amy Cain. “Preparing School Counselors in Training to Implement

English as a Second Language (ESL) Strategies during Classroom

Lessons.” International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning, vol. 13, no.

1, Jan. 2019, pp. 1–10. EBSCOhost, doi:10.20429/ijsotl.2019.130109

Ians. “India Need to Improve the Standard of Their English

:NGO.” Https://Www.careerindia.com, Careerindia, 21 Nov. 2013,

www.careerindia.com/news/2013/11/21/india-need-improve-the-standard-their-english-

ngo-007644.html.

Küçükler, Halil, and Kodal Abdullah. “Foreign Language Teaching in Over-Crowded

Classes.” English Language Teaching, vol. 12, no. 1, Jan. 2019, pp. 169–

175. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1200993&login.asp&site

=ehost-live.

Nishanthi, R. “The Importance of Learning English in Today World.” International Journal O

Trend in Scientific Research & Development, vol. 3, no. 2456-6470, Nov-Dec. 2018.

871-874.
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Pappamihiel, N. Eleni. “English as a Second Language Students and English Language Anxiety:

Issues in the Mainstream Classroom.” Research in the Teaching of English, vol. 36, no. 3,

2002, pp. 327–355. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40171530