Most Common Challenges for ESL Students

Learning any language is challenging in its own way. Having overcome their initial language barriers, eliminating language anxiety, and trying to acquire as much knowledge as possible, students must overcome them.

Five Challenges for ESL Students

Here are some of the most common challenges ESL learners face and how to overcome them:

1. Having No Objective When Learning a Language

The biggest challenge lies here. A goal for learning English (or any language) must be intimate to you.

Reasons that are emotional are better. Learning English “to speak with new people” is not a good enough reason. Whereas, if you want to learn English because you want more opportunities — academic or professional —you will be more ambitious to learn it.

You will stay committed to learning this language if you are passionate about it. Writing out all of the reasons why learning English is important to you is a good idea.

Choose the one that will guide you through this journey. Doing this will make a huge difference.

2. Having Unfit Teachers

This is a common challenge faced by many students. Because many communities are English language learners, it is hard to understand who is a good English teacher and who isn’t.

As a learning experience, whatever the teacher says, whether correct or incorrect, will be taken as correct.

The fact that different teachers make different statements has led to confusion among learners. One of the main causes of this problem is teachers’ difficulty translating from their native languages.

3. Not Having Enough Confidence

ESL students struggle with this problem every single day. Students, especially those who already have a shy personality, often lack the confidence to practice their speaking skills. 

It may seem self-conscious to students who are extroverted, but they will also experience embarrassment and lack the confidence when learning a new language. Student achievement can be severely limited without the education necessary to take risks and make mistakes.

4. Time Limitations

Many people who are considering learning a second language feel that they do not have enough time to do so. As a result, they never do it at all. The best way to learn English is to set aside 10-15 minutes per day to practice.

5. Not Having the Opportunity to Practice With Natives

If you want to learn English but only interact with people speaking your native language, it can be challenging to practice your English. Luckily, you can find people who will help you practice using the Internet.

Learning English can vary greatly depending on many factors, but what happens outside of class matters most.

Student behavior is typically limited to being under supervision when speaking appropriate English in a classroom. Additionally, students aren’t always hearing people use English properly. As a result, learning correct English becomes more difficult.