A Study on the Factors Affecting the Teaching and Learning Process of English as a Foreign Language: Possible Remedies

   This paper examined some of the factors that adversely affect the acquisition of English as a foreign language in the Department of English at Guelma University. The work was elaborated through the following variables: 1) the students’ motivation and attitudes toward the target language, (2) the availability and frequency of the use of adequate teaching materials, (3) quality of the teaching staff and their ability to use modern instructional methods, and (4) the learning environment and the amount of exposure to the target language. The main intention, however, was to identify the various factors that negatively influence the teaching/learning environment, and to suggest possible solutions in order to promote the teaching and learning of EFL in our department. The findings revealed that students lacked the necessary materials, and appropriate environments in and out of the classrooms to practise the target language. Moreover, students’ psychological obstacles, cultural background, teachers’ problems of teaching methodology, lack of motivation and proficiency, all proved to be additional factors of poor performance. 

Keywords: Motivation, Attitudes, EFL, Teaching materials, Learning environment, Instructional methods, Teachers’ proficiency.