Barriers Experienced by Middle School Students in the Process of Learning English

Abstract

English has gained a significant role in technological, business, economic or political areas and has been a part of educational policies in different countries. However, many learners of English have difficulties in learning and using the language effectively due to a number of reasons. Accordingly, a descriptive study was conducted in order to investigate what kind of foreign language (English) learning problems the middle school students experience in Turkey. A total of 164 (92 female and 72 male) middle school students (5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grade) in 4 public schools in Sakarya, Turkey participated in the study. The data were collected through an open-ended question and semi-structured interviews. The collected data were analyzed and coded thematically. The results have indicated that middle school students mostly face linguistic, instructional, affective barriers as well as lack of assistance and useful resource. Considering the findings, some possible reasons and suggestions were also provided to help teachers and learners overcome the relevant barriers in learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in Turkey