Difficulties in Learning English As a Second Or Foreign Language

noisy
atmosphere, the Chinese description of a lively environment. Regardless of the 
noise level, these students did not speak English. One reminder to speak the local 
language would be immediately followed by silence, which was then followed by a 
chorus of laughter, followed by a happy return to the language of choice. In contrast, 
these animated conversationalists were typically struck mute at the start of any 
English class. 
While cheerful socializing was not difficult for someone as cheery as she, who 
could make a dreary day on the job fun for everyone, it was limited in its power to build 
good English skills entirely on its own. Ching craved effective study and, on occasion, 
would reach for one of several English conversation guides, but they were written in 
Chinese and were ineffective. Ching would probably have enjoyed English language 
activities specifically generated for her level of ability, but rarely encountered such 
activities, in or outside of class. 
Researcher: What’s the easiest thing about learning English? What’s easiest 
to learn? 
Learner: Easy to learn? Watch movie. . . . 

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Researcher: Do you like to watch English movies? 
Learner: Yeah. 
Researcher: Are you able to learn something from them? 
Learner: Because sometimes I heard the word and I just check my dictionary. 
And I, oh, what do you mean? 
Researcher: Can you remember a favorite English language movie? 
Learner: Pretty Woman. . . James Bond, yeah. 
Researcher: What’s the hardest to learn? 
Learner: News. Yeah, because every day’s different news so different words, 
not the movie, same. And singing. I like it but I don’t know how. 
Researcher: Do you have English language music that you can sing with? 
Learner: Yeah, before. . . not now.
Researcher: Do you have any friends who only speak English.
Learner: No.
The absence of friends at a similar level and practice of English might have been a 
factor in the learner’s weak interest level. A more significant presence and 
availability of friends at a similar level and ability of English language skill as the 
learner, who did not primarily speak the learner’s native language, might have 
provided a regular practice opportunity and a social outlet at the same time. 
Social Interaction 
For all second language learners, target language interaction is critical to the 
process of learning a second language. The world of work was a very important vehicle 
for Ching’s English language improvement. It was clear to her that she experienced her 
most steady and significant stretch of improvement in English in the 3 years she worked 
at an import and export wholesale outlet store. There she interacted with coworkers and 
customers in English and enjoyed doing so. The stakes were not so high that she feared 

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making mistakes, and the majority of coworkers and clientele were also immigrants, 
which helped to alleviate the anxiety of speaking in English. She again became a 
customer favorite and highly valued coworker, and marked only one bad experience due 
to language. 
Researcher: Do you work?
Learner: Yes, I do.
Researcher: What kind of job do you have? Do you talk with people in 
English at work? 
Learner: Yes, I do. Ok, my company’s from California and I work in the 
Colorado, some supermarket. . . in the some supermarket. 
Researcher: Do you speak to people in English at work every day? 
Learner: Yes. 
Researcher: All day or part of the day? How much?
Learner: Part of the day.
Researcher: How did your English improve the most? 
Learner: For me, I just from the work. Because, I, at home, I speak Chinese 
often, every day. 
Researcher: Why does the work environment help your English? 
Learner: I don’t know. You just learning, you just, somebody say something 
different in English, just ok, listen, because you are work, you need learning 
some from your job, English, that’s very important. I think my English from 
my job. I don’t know. . . . 
Researcher: Have you ever had any difficulties with people because your 
English was not good enough? 
Learner: Oh. . . I think, no, but, I can say, once. I work in the market store, 
the manager I think he don’t like the Asian people. 
Researcher: What happened? 
Learner: I don’t know, he is big manager, but, I think normal people, if we 
say good morning, we need to say good morning, everybody good morning. 
But he don’t want to talk to the Asian people, he never talk to me, say good 
morning. Never, ever. So I don’t know whatr happened to him. I don’t 
know. 

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Researcher: Have you had any other bad experiences because of English? 
Learner: No. Never. 
Researcher: Are you talking to people all day long in English? 
Learner: Because my work is different. We’res is personal work, so have 
some problem, or they have some question, they ask you something, so we’re 
not talking a lot, no. I just do my job. Just like that. 
Unlike her previous job, this one provided a diminished opportunity to build interactions 
and relationships, and the learner suffered as a result. Not only did she miss out on 
relationship building but also on crucial language practice opportunities.
Comfort Zone 
The tendency to reach for the familiar and fall back on Chinese or Taiwanese 
at every possible chance was at least a hindrance but might also have reflected the 
desire to operate on a level of expertise. Ching had always been able to swiftly and 
aggressively tackle work, business, and financial tasks with decisiveness and 
expertise but in her new life in the U.S., her lack of skill in English undermined that 
expertise in many ways while any opportunity to converse in Chinese or Taiwanese 
served to reaffirm that decisive and highly competent level of performance. In these 
situations she sought to operate as an expert rather than as a novice. In the world of 
work, it had always been her practice to race to a high level of capability, even to 
decision maker status as fast as possible, so when English proficiency, or lack of it, 
became an issue, she sought to work as much as possible with Chinese speaking 
colleagues and superiors. That way, the most critical, business related decisions 
could still be handled with expertise even as she enjoyed in her customer encounters a 
much more casual, if amateur level of communication. Although superficial, these 

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relationships and exchanges satisfied a social need in her, the ability to quickly show 
her personality and willingness to smile, and enjoy the smile in return, as well as the 
opportunity to function in her own language and display her competence satisfied 
several needs. She stayed at that job for 3 years and kept in touch with those 
coworkers afterward. 
At a later job that provided plenty of responsibility, but little interaction in any 
language, Ching’s private embarrassment for her relatively slow improvement in 
English came to a head one day after a manager, mistakenly, chastised her for using 
the company telephone. As a supervisor for an independent vendor that made fresh 
food products inside a small number of local supermarkets, sometimes, she worked 
the counter and, other times, roamed between stores, training chefs and assessing 
local trends and needs. 
One day, the local supermarket manager assumed she was on a personal call 
and scolded her for using the telephone. Had he known her identity or even her role, 
he would have known that it was quite normal and acceptable, as well as contractual, 
for her to order supplies via the store telephone. If he had known her caring, giving, 
and responsible personality, he would have prayed for a dozen more colleagues just 
like her. Ching was dumbfounded, first by the misunderstanding and then by her own 
lack of confidence in English and resultant inability to respond. She wanted to speak 
up and tell him just what she was doing and why he should be more specific if he had 
complaints about her work or her crew. Unfortunately, all she could do was stand 
there, silent, humiliated, and frustrated. 

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Stops and Starts 
Ching decided it was time to return to the classroom for further English 
training and very quickly learned of a seemingly perfect opportunity. She had already 
successfully prepared and passed the citizenship test in English and liked the structure 
of a purposeful study objective. Ching asked a friend about an ESL/GED program 
she had heard about and enrolled with her friend the following week. When the class 
was being divided into upper and lower levels, she panicked at hearing the word,