Difficulties in Learning English As a Second Or Foreign Language

SLA and the Adult ESL Learner 
Learning a second language can be influenced by a variety of individual 
differences including: (a) personality, attitudes, and motivation (Ellis, 1997; Lalonde 
& Gardner, 1984, as cited in Downey & Snyder, 2000); (b) language aptitude (Ellis, 
1997; Carroll, 1985, as cited in Downey & Snyder); (c) anxiety (von Worde, 1998; 
Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986, as cited in Downey & Snyder); and (d) social and 
psychological issues (Burling, 1981, as cited in Downey & Snyder). Since it is 
known that adult learners bring a reservoir of life and educational experience to the 
classroom (Knowles, 1980, as cited in Merriam & Caffarella, 1999), even though this 
may be an assumption, it follows that these learners might also bring complex 
psychology and multi-layered personalities to the learning of the new language, both 
in the classroom and in the natural environment.
Personality can influence the extent to which the learner participates in 
learning and practicing the target language (Ellis, 1997) and can profoundly affect the 

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social aspects of learning and practice. For example, since language is a social 
phenomenon, anxiety and the fear of risk can severely inhibit a learner from very 
important social elements of language learning and practice (Crookall & Oxford, 
1991, as cited in von Worde, 1998). The combined frustration, that is, the 
expectation to be able to make progress combined with the lack of expected progress, 
can have a negative effect on the quality of life of the immigrant ESL learner. The 
result can be a barrier to success for the learner, and the learner can easily feel 
increasingly marginalized from the culture she seeks to join.
Such social marginalization and associated lack of access to natural language 
practice opportunities might be particularly frustrating for a woman (Burton, 1993; 
Nyikos, 1990; Hart & Cumming, 1997; all cited in Wang, 1999) and that frustration 
can compound the effects and causes of the perceived failure to progress. That sense 
of failure can lead to shame and embarrassment and further inhibit the practical and 
natural acquisition of the new language. The successful learner needs more than what 
is inside her; she needs the willing participation of another person (Peirce, 1995, as 
cited in Wang). 
Interaction 
Interaction is critical to the process of learning a second language. According to 
Ellis (1999, as cited in Moss & Ross-Feldman, 2003), interaction contributes to second 
language acquisition when individuals communicate, especially when they negotiate 
meaning in order to prevent communication breakdown.
Moss and Ross-Feldman (2003) pointed out that research on interaction is 
conducted within the framework of the Interactive Hypothesis, in which it is stated that 

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conversational interaction “facilitates acquisition because it connects input; internal 
learner capacities, particularly selective attention; and output in productive ways” (Long, 
1996, as quoted in Moss & Ross-Feldman, p. 2). It is this dynamic process of interaction 
that provides learners the opportunity to grasp the difference between their own use of 
the language and correct use (Schmidt & Frota, 1986, as cited in Moss & Ross-
Feldman). It is the real-world practice that provides learners with the opportunity to 
receive understandable input and feedback (Gass, 1997; Long, 1996; Pica, 1994; all cited 
in Moss & Ross-Feldman) and to make changes in their own linguistic output (Swain, 
1995, as cited in Moss & Ross-Feldman).
Motivation 
Learning a second language is clearly a challenge that requires much motivation, 
and for an adult immigrant, the challenges of learning the target language take on crucial 
meaning. For example, failure, weaknesses, and difficulties in learning the new 
language can have negative effects on: (a) employment and academic pursuits; (b) 
social interactions and personal relationships; and (c) self-esteem (Comstock & Kamara, 
2003; Schwarz, 2003). According to Moss and Ross-Feldman (2003), research on 
improving learner motivation suggests that social factors such as learning environment, 
group dynamics, and even a partner’s motivation, affect a learner’s attitude, effort, 
classroom behavior and successful language acquisition (Dsrnyei, 2002b, as cited in 
Moss & Ross-Feldman).
Clearly, motivation is a critical factor in adult ESL learning. Dsrnyei (2002a, as 
cited in Moss & Ross-Feldman, 2003) identified motivation as “why people decide to do 
something, how long they are willing to sustain the activity [and] how hard they are 

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going to pursue it,” (p. 75). Ellis (1997) observed that motivation involves the attitudes 
and affective states that influence the degree of effort that learners make to learn a 
second language, and that it may vary dynamically depending on the context or task of 
the language activity. While Ellis recognized four complementary types of motivation, 
studies by Gardner (1985) and Masgoret and Gardner (2003, both cited in Moss & Ross-
Feldman) supported the theory that one particular type of motivation promotes 
successful acquisition of the second language regardless of age. That is, integrative 
motivation, learning the language in order to identify with and become a part of the 
community that speaks the language. Ellis contrasted the integrative motivations of 
those who are interested in the people and culture of the target language with those who 
might be even more successful in learning ESL despite being less integratively 
motivated or are motivated by a desire to stand up to and overcome the people of the 
target language.
Another type of motivation is resultative, an energy that comes from the 
experience of success in the language learning process that creates the drive to continue 
(Ellis, 1997). Perhaps the primary type of motivation for most successful ESL learners,