The challenges to learn english in a public school context by the eyes of the students – a case study

Abstract

The discussion about foreign language learning in public schools has been frequent in several studies. Researchers have already pointed that, frequently, students, teachers and even the school staff believe that learners are not able to learn a foreign language at public school. This study aims to find out the challenges 6th grade students face in learning English in public schools. In order to collect the data for the research, a sample of five students with poor performance in English were interviewed. Their answers were audio recorded and transcribed. Their lessons were observed and field notes were taken. The data was decoded and themes emerged. These themes were categorized between challenges and positive aspects. The results presented that different students manifested different layers to similar challenges to learn English. Bullying and lack of interaction, boredom, varied factors hindering language comprehension, and the embarrassment at speaking in public were the challenges that rose in their speeches. The participants, however, understand they need to engage more in the lesson in order to enhance their learning.