Challanges In Acquiring English Language

I used to envy those people who can speak fluently in English. Well, of course! I do love to hear how they pronounce each word correctly in either American or British accents but at the same time, I hardly understand the reasons why I cannot be one of them? Why can’t I be the one who speak as good as Hermione Granger from Harry Potter or as fluent as Jack from Titanic?

Instead, I was more like Ha Dong Hoon (Haha) from Running Man – remained silent whenever people asked me in English even if I have got this urge to answer. It was awful that I could not even bear to look at the person straight in the eyes. I was shaking and nervous. Yes! I was a coward.

But then I realized. I need to change myself. I can’t just sit still watching the same incidents kept on occurring. I need to do something. And that was how I finally attracted to learn English as my second language, not as a medium to gain popularities! (if only you understand what I mean)

By the way, the process of learning English is not easy. I swear. There are many spellings to remember, plenty of words to memorize and billions of grammar, verbs, and nouns to understand – however, it does not mean that I would simply giving up and continue to act like an ignorant student.

So here I would like to share 10 challenges that I/everyone faced in acquiring English Language;

1) Limited learning environment.

English is used widely in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and even Sarawak but not here in Terengganu. Of course, I feel pretty disappointed and I really can’t take it when people stare at me as if I am a criminal who had just been released after years in jail whenever I speak in English. Don’t they ever realize how their reactions might affect and kill my dreams? Don’t they realize just how much English is important to us and why can’t they stop being the limiting factors? Come on.

2) Friends are not supportive.

I have this kind of friends who will sulk if I scored higher than him/her in English language – childish, I know! I tried to fix our friendship by offering myself to help them with the language but they refused. So what am I supposed to do? Do I have to purposely make mistakes during examinations? Do I have to act like I don’t even know how to spell ‘good morning’ so that our friendship will remain forever? 

3) Not all English songs are suitable for learning.

I know that by listening to English songs, it actually can help to improve my pronunciations. But sadly, not all English songs are suitable for learning especially those with rock or pop rock genres and those which bring inappropriate meaning.

4) Lack of confidence.

I used to lose my confidence whenever I had to deal with something related to English language. From writing an essay to delivering a speech, it was hard. I could not even handle myself as I am afraid of what people might think of me.

5) Limited English reading materials.

I read English novels as references for me to improve my writing skills and enriched my vocabulary. But, I had to choose carefully as not all novels are suitable for me to read. Some might contain inappropriate words and some might cost a lot of money.

6) I get bored easily.

As for me, I don’t really like to learn English by only listening to the teachers as I will get bored easily. Therefore, I think it would be better if the teachers prepared some games for us during the classes.

7) The pros will mock at the beginner.

This actually happened and it was kinda pathetic that I had nearly lost my self-confidence when I was a beginner. However, as for today I really don’t understand what makes the pro’s were acting that way because as I remember, we were all in the process of learning. 

8) I hardly understand the uses of grammar.

This is common among us, as students. For example, I tend to confuse when should I use past participle and present participle?  What are the differences between ‘reach’, ‘reaches’ and ‘reached’? Then, what is verbal?

9) Vocabulary.

Is often a challenge, particularly when it comes to verb variations and understanding which tense should be used in various situations? English has one of the biggest vocabularies of all languages, and it can be very confusing for non-English speakers like me to master. By using vocabulary inaccurately is incredibly noticeable to anyone who’s first language is English, though it does not often change the meaning of your text, it does weaken it.

10) Pronunciations.

Knowing how to pronounce words in English can be very difficult as it isn’t always obvious. English speakers have been taught these from an early age, which is how they know not to pronounce the ‘k’ on ’knight’ but not me! Plus, they are taught the subtleties in how to pronounce something to communicate the right message.

So yes! There are many challenges which I had encounter when learning English. But, trust me, I don't give up easily as I often reminded myself on how hard Kim Jong Kook was struggling to learn English at the age of 36 (and he did it!) 

Kim Jong Kook was trying to differentiate between 'whether' and 'weather'. 
(Instagram for desktop version)