4 Difficulties English Poses for EFL Learners, and How

to Overcome Them
Of course, the difficulty students have with it will depend on what language or languages
they already know; English is naturally going to be easier to learn if one already has
knowledge of a language that has the same roots, and is therefore more closely related to it.
But while the same may be said to be true of learning any language, there seems to be
something about English in particular that makes it especially tricky. In this article, we look
at some of the specific difficulties English poses to those learning it as a foreign language,
and what you can do to overcome these problems if youre in the throes of learning this
complicated language yourself.

1. English has one of the biggest, trickiest vocabularies

there is
One of the most arduous tasks when learning a language is committing to memory enough
words to allow you to express yourself regardless of the situation or subject. This is no
mean feat in any language, but its fair to say that English is one of the harder languages in
this respect. Here are some of the reasons why people find it so challenging.

The sheer number of words

English has an unusually large and varied number of words.
English has a vast number of words the biggest of any language, according to some
scholars. Its a particularly complex lexicon because it has many different roots and
influences, including Old English and Latin, which means that theres huge variety in how
words are spelled. Whats more, there are numerous instances of words meaning essentially
the same thing, but with subtle differences that are often lost on those who dont speak
English as their mother tongue. For example, the words plump and fat both mean
basically the same thing, but their connotations mean that they cant necessarily be used
interchangeably (plump tends to imply a healthy roundness, as in a plump baby or a
plump roast chicken, while fat has more negative connotations and could imply obesity
or otherwise undesirable weight). There are also plenty of synonyms that make little sense
to non-native speakers, or that appear to mean the opposite of each other; there are lots of
examples in this selection of funny synonyms.

Spelling
English spelling is hard even for native English speakers.
Idiosyncratic spellings mean that its often difficult to guess how to spell an English word
based on how it sounds, which impedes the learning process. Although there are plenty of
recurring patterns (such as words ending in -ing, -tion and so on), theres often no

substitute for learning spellings by rote, because there are plenty of exceptions to rules,
meaning that logical deduction doesnt always work. (Look at the word pronounce or
pronouncing, for example, and watch what happens to it when it becomes
pronunciation. The second O has disappeared, contrary to what one might have
expected.) Whats more, the English language contains numerous homophones words that
are spelled and/or pronounced the same, but that mean different things which makes it
harder to learn the vocabulary and harder to ascertain the meaning from how the word
sounds.

Idioms and slang

To know the ropes, meaning to know your way around, is an idiom that comes from
sailing.
As with most languages, spoken English tends to be more informal than written English,
presenting further complexity for the student with the unenviable task of learning the
language. Slang is yet another aspect of the language for learners to get to grips with,
knowledge of which is necessary in order to understand informal conversation (a very basic
example is yeah, which is slang for yes). English is also littered with idioms, which
dont always make sense to those learning English, but in order to speak English like a
native speaker, a knowledge of idioms is essential. Youll hear phrases such as fat chance,
turn a blind eye and call it a day adding colour to everyday language, and its not just
the phrases you need to learn, but their meanings and when its appropriate for you to use
them. You can learn more about English idioms in our article on 20 English idioms and
their meanings and origins.

2. English grammar is full of subtlety

Can I have a slice of cake?, Could I have a slice of cake? and May I have a slice of
cake? all express the same idea in differing levels of formality.
English grammar is notoriously problematic for EFL learners; its difficulty leads to a great
many common mistakes, which even native speakers frequently fall foul of. But its not just
these basic errors that EFL learners must conquer. English grammar is full of subtlety, and
its only with experience that non-native speakers will learn to appreciate its nuances.
Consider, for example, the difference between I write (the simple past) and I have
written (the perfect present), to which other forms such as I am writing or I had
written add even more complexity with subtly different meanings. Then theres the tricky
auxiliary verbs that many EFL learners struggle with such as Do you want a slice of
cake? and She has given me a slice of cake and modal auxiliary verbs, which express
things like likelihood or obligation (I might join you, for example).
Add to all this the idiomatic variations and their subtleties (its make a promise, not do a
promise, for example), to say nothing of the complexities of punctuation, and you have a
tremendously demanding task to master the finer points of English grammar. While the
basic aspects of English grammar must be learned by rote from the moment you start

learning the language, some of the more advanced aspects wont be picked up until youre
speaking English more confidently and are able to start fine-tuning your existing English
skills by listening closely to how native speakers speak the language, and by learning from
your mistakes. Nobody would expect you to be able to master all this from the word go
its something you pick up over many years of speaking English.

3. Pronunciation is difficult and inconsistent

Getting to grips with pronunciation can be a tall order whatever language youre learning;
even within northern European languages, the prevalent sounds can differ quite
dramatically. The following issues are some of the main aspects of English pronunciation
that make it even harder for those learning it as a foreign language.

Certain sounds in English are particularly tricky

The distinction between three and tree can be hard to pronounce.
Different nationalities have problems with different aspects of English pronunciation, and
there isnt a great deal they can do about it other than practise repeatedly until they start to
form the ability to create the right sounds. Many EFL learners find the th sound hard to
pronounce, because its comparatively uncommon in other languages. Those who speak
languages such as Japanese and most dialects of Chinese find it hard to differentiate
between r and l sounds, while the distinction between b and v is problematic for
speakers of many other languages, including Spanish and Arabic.
Another difference between English and some other languages is the number of consonants
its possible to group together in a syllable up to three; stranger, for instance, has three
consonants (str) strung together before the vowel a. This is not possible in some other
languages, and it can lead to difficulties in pronouncing it, with some students inadvertently
inserting extra vowels to break up the consonants. With this, as with anything, practice
makes perfect. Those struggling long-term with English pronunciation may benefit from
elocution lessons, which coaches students through how to create different sounds by using
the mouth, teeth and tongue in a different way.

You cant always guess the pronunciation from the spelling

Dough doesnt rhyme with bough, cough, thorough, through or Slough.
Just as its not always possible to guess the spelling of a word based on how it sounds,
pronunciation of already difficult sounds is made harder by the fact that its often hard to
guess how a word is pronounced based on its spelling. Lets look at an example to illustrate
this. Youd be forgiven for thinking that because they all end in the letters -ough, the
words cough, tough, through, thorough, bough and dough would all sound the
same when spoken aloud. Not so. Each of these words is pronounced differently. The ough sound in cough sounds like off; in tough it sounds like uff; in through it
sounds like oo; in bough it sounds like ow; in dough it sounds like oh.

Unfortunately, theres no substitute here for simply learning the individual pronunciations;
with no hard-and-fast rules dictating the pronunciation of words ending in -ough, its a
labour-intensive series of words to learn. Luckily, not all word endings are as difficult to
learn as this one; words ending in -tion, for instance, are all pronounced shun. This
means that for most of the standard endings, you only need to rote-learn the exceptions
where pronunciation is concerned.

There are so many silent letters

A knight at a castle has a remarkable number of silent letters.
English has lots of silent letters that arent pronounced, which gives EFL learners even
more pronunciation issues to contend with. An obvious example is words that begin with a
silent K, such as knife or knock. There are also other silent letters at the beginning of
words, such as the silent H at the beginning of honour, the p at the beginning of
psychology or the G in gnome. Less obvious are words that contain or end in silent
letters rather than beginning with them. Examples include the G in benign, the B in
thumb, the H in character, the N in autumn or the T in castle. Its usually
possible to learn the patterns containing silent letters so that you can hazard a guess as to
whether a letter should be pronounced, but its sometimes a question of trial and error: if
you pronounce a letter that shouldnt be pronounced, the person youre talking to will
almost certainly tell you!

Regional dialects alter pronunciation

English pronunciation is made even more difficult by the plethora of regional dialects that
mean that the same word can be pronounced very differently depending on whos saying it.
A good example is the way the a is pronounced in the word bath; theres a broad northsouth divide between those in southern England, who pronounce it with a long a to sound
like barth, and those in northern England, who pronounce it with a short a as heard in
the word cafe. If youre exposed to a variety of accents when youre learning English, it
will compound the difficulty of learning the correct pronunciation. You can minimise this
potential confusion by ensuring that you do all your learning with someone with a neutral
dialect (or at least with the same dialect if youre studying with more than one person)
throughout your English studies so that you learn to pronounce words consistently.

4. There are many variations of English

Different English-speaking countries have different varieties of English.
Finally, English is a particularly challenging language because there are so many variations
of it. Though fundamentally the same language, its spoken quite differently in the various
countries that have it as a primary language, such as the USA, Australia, New Zealand and
South Africa. As weve already seen its even spoken with variations in the UK, with
regional dialects introducing local vocabulary (including unique words and sayings) and the
whole language sounding very different in Scotland to how it does in England, and different

again in Wales and Ireland. Within England there are distinctive dialects, such as Geordie
up in Northumberland, Brummie in the Midlands, Scouse in Liverpool and West
Country in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset, to say nothing of many other notable English
accents. Getting used to the different sounds you might hear when conversing with a British
person will take time, adding an additional layer of complexity to an already tricky
language.
If you need more help with advancing your English skills, we offer English as a Foreign
Language summer schools of up to four weeks duration, which will allow you to study the
language intensively and make rapid progress within small classes. Theres no substitute for
hard work and determination when youre learning English, but studying with like-minded
fellow learners will make a complex task seem much easier and more enjoyable.