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There are an estimated 6,000 languages spoken throughout the world. With so many languages, it may surprise many of us that learning the English language can be one of the most difficult, more so than nearly any other language. There are many reasons why students encounter obstacles when they are learning English.
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There are an estimated 6,000 languages spoken throughout the world. With so many languages, it may surprise many of us that learning the English language can be one of the most difficult, more so than nearly any other language. There are many reasons why students encounter obstacles when they are learning English.
Pronunciation: The English language does not have any particular pronunciation. Different people pronounce words differently. Some words contain ‘silent’ letters; there are some consonants that when put together will project an entirely different sound, while some letters may be pronounced differently such as ‘ah’ for ‘A’. This problem does not occur in other foreign languages – for example the German language vocalizes every letter and has only one pronunciation. The stress placed on certain consonants or vowels can make English such a difficult language to learn. The odd combinations and changing rules in the pronunciation of words makes learning English a real uphill struggle for many. Grammar: The combinations of nouns, adjectives and adverbs have their own particular order for the many different languages in the world. But with the English language, the order can vary. English learners have to learn a new and different way of using grammar. The reason behind English learners’ facing difficulty in English communication is that they have to use different sentence structures than those used in their native language.
Verb Tense: Some foreign languages have very narrow connotations of verb tenses. Often the use of present, past, future and all the perfect verb tenses can make learning English a complicated process. For instance, in certain situations, it may be appropriate to use any of the following tenses: present simple, present continuous, past simple, past continuous, future simple, future continuous , present perfect simple, present perfect continuous, past perfect simple, past perfect continuous, future perfect simple, future perfect continuous. Also, each verb tense has both and active and a passive voice and may be modified in meaning by using any one of a number of English modals, such as Must, Can, Should, Could and so on. Learning Tools: At the present time, students are taught many things from books so they don’t have the chance to learn the things practically, such as getting practice in speaking the language. So, they tend to lack confidence when they try to speak the English language in public. Reading aloud can help them improve their English speaking skills.
Slang: The use of slang is common in the English language. Words, terms, and phrases don’t have the same meaning as they would normally have in the dictionary definition. Learning the English language requires learning the use of slang, which means learning the different slang terms makes informal, conversational English an entirely different language that has to be learned from the more international ‘formal’ English. Gender and Culture: A person’s cultural practices can affect their ability or opportunity to learn English. For example, in some cultures a woman tends to be the one to stay home and raise the children. They are less likely to be interacting with English speakers, unlike a man who would be out in the workforce interacting with English speakers. They may also find it harder to study the language because they do not have much previous experience of education, so learning study is a process they need to master.
The English language is one of the most widely spoken languages. The inability to speak or understand the English language can be frustrating. Although the complexities of learning the language may seem overwhelming, the benefits are well worth the effort. Reading, speaking and listening to others speak English are an important part of learning the language. DailyStep offers English lessons and great tools to help you to learn to speak fluent English, such as online English learning courses for different levels of learners.