INVESTIGATING EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF CHALLENGES IN TEACHING FOR YOUNG LEARNERS
Keywords:
EFL, Teachers’ Perceptions, Challenges, Young Learners, TeachingAbstract
This research focuses on teachers’ perception of the challenges when teaching English to young learners. The study utilizes qualitative methods, the instrumentation is semi- structured interviews (George, 2020), to gather data from participants. The research participants in this case are English teachers with at least three years of experience teaching young learners. Purposive sampling is used to select four teachers who will participate in the study (Jupp, 2006). The recruitment process involves using a messaging application to invite teachers, ensuring confidentiality and obtaining their consent. Four participants have volunteered to take part in the study, each with pseudo-name to protect their identity. By using this approach, the research aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by EFL teachers in teaching English to young learners based on their teaching experiences. The results show that teachers consider classroom management to be the most challenging aspect of teaching English to young learners.
Downloads
References
Boyatzis, R. (1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. Sage.
Braun & Clarke, V. B. & V. (2006). Qualitative Research in Psychology Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.
Copland, F., & Yonetsugi, E. (2016). Teaching English to Young Learners: Supporting the Case for the Bilingual Native English Speaker Teacher. Classroom Discourse, 7(3), 221–238.
Copland, F., Garton, S., & Burns, A. (2014). Challenges in teaching English to young learners: Global perspectives and local realities. Tesol quarterly, 48(4), 738-762.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.
Ellis, G. (2014). ‘Young learners’: clarifying our terms. ELT Journal, 68(1), 75-78.
Garton, S. (2014). Unresolved issues and new challenges in teaching English to young learners: The case of South Korea. Current issues in language planning, 15(2), 201-219.
George, M. L. (2020). Effective Teaching and Examination Strategies for Undergraduate Learning During COVID-19 School Restrictions. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 1–26.
Goriot, C., & Van Hout, R. (2023). Primary-school teachers’ beliefs about the effects of early-English education in the Dutch context: communicative scope, disadvantaged learning, and their skills in teaching English. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 26(4), 498- 513.
Hedge, T. (2003). The Practice of English Language Teaching. ELT Journal, 57(4), 401–405. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/57.4.401
Hulu, N. A. (2024). Teachers' Difficulties in Teaching English to Young Learners in 5 Schools at Nias. The Journal Of English Teaching For Young And Adult Learners, 3(1), 21-27.
Jupp, V. (2006). The sage dictionary of social research methods. In SAGE Publication Ltd. SAGE Publications, Ltd.
Krashen, S. D. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning.
Kusmaryati, S. E. (2020). Teachers’ perspectives of teaching English to young learners (A descriptive study at primary schools in Kudus). ELT
Worldwide: Journal of English Language Teaching, 7(2), 94-103.
Kvale, S. (2007). Kvale, Steinar (1996) - Interviews.pdf. In Interviews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing (pp. 124–135).
Librado, T.M., & Santos, N.M. (2020). Teaching English to Young Learners in Mexico: Teachers’ Perceptions About Their Teaching Contexts. Profile Issues in Teachers' Professional Development, 22, 125-139.
Listyariyani, N. P. R. (2018). Teachers' Perception of Teaching English for Young Learners and the Implementation in Public Primary Schools in Jembrana Sub-District. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Indonesia, 6(2).
Mackiewicz, J. (2018). Writing center talk over time: A mixed-method study. Routledge.
Moon, J. (2005). Teaching English to young learners: the challenges and the benefits. British Council, 30-34.
Nguyen, C. D. (2016). Metaphors as a window into identity: A study of teachers of English to young learners in Vietnam. System, 60, 66-78.
Nunan, D. (2010). Teaching English to young learners. Anaheim, CA: Anaheim University Press.
Oktavia, D., Mukminin, A., Marzulina, L., Harto, K., Erlina, D., & Holandyah, M. (2022). Challenges and strategies used by English teachers in teaching English language skills to young learners. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 12(2), 382-387.
Pertiwi, R. S., Salabiyati, I., Damara, D., & Pratolo, B. W. (2020, February). The teacher’s perspectives about challenges of teaching English for young learners: A case study at English course for young learners. In 3rd International Conference on Learning Innovation and Quality Education (ICLIQE 2019) (pp. 65-74). Atlantis Press.
Shu Dingfang. Foreign Language, Second Language, Mother tongue and another language [J]. Foreign Language Education,1994:15-19.
Widodo, A., & Dewi, S. R. (2019). Revealing problems on teaching English for young learners at Al–Azhar 55 Islamic Primary School Yogyakarta and how to solve them. Journal Varidika, 30(2), 21-29.
Yıldız, G. R., & Savaşçı, M. (2024). Navigating Turkish EFL Teachers’ Perceived Challenges with Very Young Learners. Language Teaching and Educational Research, 7(1), 37-50.
Zein, S. (2017). The pedagogy of teaching English to young learners: Implications for teacher education. Indonesian JELT: Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching, 12(1), 61-77
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ela Nur Lailiyah, Ribut Sabartono, Fatih Al Fauzi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
