Learning Difficulties In Junior High School English: Causes And Solutions

The New Curriculum Standards stresses that all education reforms must aim at the all-round development of all students. At the high school level, it means that our schools should provide the students with an educational experience that interests them all. The truth, however, is that each year a significant number of students at different levels of high school do not get it. They begin by developing learning difficulties and many eventually end up becoming the low achieving students of their schools.This study looks into some students with various levels of learning difficulties at a number of junior high schools in Taicang of Jiangsu Province. The results of the investigations indicate that a number of factors have been at work in influencing the low achieving students. I contend, first of all, that most primary school English teachers are under-qualified and that incompetent teaching has often robbed students of their interest in English. Secondly, primary schools in different places have not had access to the same resources that would enable them to provide similar amounts of English language teaching. Students from some schools are often disadvantaged, say, as a result of not having been taught English until several years after others had started. Thirdly, students moving from primary school onto middle school often have problems adjusting to new styles of teaching as well as new knowledge that do not seem to stand in any relation to what had been learnt. Last but not least, such factors as motivation, attitude, interest and learning strategies are also causes of underachievement in students. Based on these research findings, some suggestions are proffered on how the problem could be addressed.