Difficulties in Learning

English Language as a
Second Language

Bea Joy G. Locsin

Presenter no. 6
Ed. Eng. 20 La Carlota City College
“
"We are what we repeatedly
do. Excellence, then, is not an
act, but a habit."
~ Aristotle..

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1
Why English is very
important?
 Learners of English as a second
language

familiar
language
non –familiar one

Phonetical
Syntactic Morphological Semantic
Error

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Second language refers
to the language person
learns on top of his first
or natural language.
Problems of
immediate need
Students only read to pass English
language but are not totally committed
to its mastery.

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Problem of mother tongue
(L1) interference in English
language learning.

Phonetically, learners of English as a

second language find it difficult to
pronounce certain English words because
the sounds are absent from their native
languages.

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Phonetically
Dental sounds -
thing, myth
voiceless 
/θ/
dental fricative

them
voiced 
/ð/ dental fricative

Syntactically

Students sometimes employ plurality to honor elders.

My elder sister is on her way.

They are on their way.

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Problem of shortage of specialist
teachers in English

Most of the lecture halls in schools where

General courses are taught are usually
overpopulated and since listening which is the
first foundational skill cannot be done in a noisy
and rowdy environment, learning is hampered.

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 Students’ Psychological
Problem

Students‘ fearful attitude towards the use

and usage of English especially in the
presence of a competent user.

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Lack of basic and necessary
equipment

Most schools and colleges lack essential

equipment which could have strengthen learners‘
skills. Most schools do not have language
laboratory and well equipped libraries.

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 11
La
ng
ua
ge
Tr
an
sf
er
(In
te
rli
ng
ua
l)

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In
tra
lin
gu
al
Er
ro
rs
33

Th
or e in
th
Other challenges confronting the

og con
ra sis
teaching and learning of grammar

ph te
y n
of cy
E n in
g l th e
ish
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What are the solutions to
challenges facing the learners
of English language?

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Thank
you!
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