English Language Learning Challenges Faced by Secondary School Students in Saudi Arabia: A Case of Independent Schools in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The present study aimed to identify the difficulties that ESL/EFL students at independent private schools in Jeddah City face in their journey to learn English. The study also intended to fill the gaps that exist in the difficulties that Saudi students experience in the classrooms of the English language. The study followed a qualitative approach and conducted a case study to examine the learning process at private independent schools in Jeddah, with a sample of (20) teachers. The researcher conducted In- depth interviews and followed classroom observations as a method for data collection. The findings showed that students' pedagogical issues and challenges were common in the study's context; as students faced reading, grammar, oral and comprehension challenges related the English language use. Other challenges were the inappropriate and inadequate language texts, inadequate application of the three main teaching approaches (structural, direct, and grammar- translation), and classroom congestion. It was also concluded that students faced immense challenges that were normalized on the basis that these challenges were among the standard curriculum structure and changing the approaches of learning and teaching might impair the education culture in Saudi Arabia. The researcher recommended schools to allocate more learning resources and employ more experienced language teachers. The schools must also engage their students in educational activities to improve their proficiency in language dialogue, acting, and oral presentation.