I think #8 has answered your question the most accurately. It is almost impossible to teach formal English to students who have had no exposure to proper English, either in in spoken or written form. Everything taught in a classroom is undone by the way English is spoken at home and the way it is written by friends and peers. If students are not exposed to proper English while learning to speak, read and write they are unlikely to ever adopt proper grammar as a habit. While there are certainly appropriate times and places for slang and colloquial English, if this is the only type you are regularly exposed to, you see no reason or purpose or use to formal English.
Science shows that very young (preschool age) children have an easier time learning language than as we grow older. The centers of the brain used in language learning are more active and receptive in small children. If children are not exposed to proper English during this time, learning it later is much more difficult, like learning a second language.
If we want to address this issue, it has to be addressed by families and the community working with educators, not by educators alone.
Another major problem facing learning English rules and grammar by native English speakers, is that proper grammar is not necessarily spoken in most homes. Teachers are often undoing a lifetime of bad English habits. Add to this a general attitude against speaking properly and the battle increases.
Technology has driven many students away from reading for pleasure, which was always a reliable source for teaching proper English with respect to writing. Now, teachers have far fewer building blocks already in place upon which to increase knowledge.
If we're talking about teaching and learning proper English by native English speakers, I think the problems are often generated by the recent changes in technology. Many students have not learned how to spell words correctly nor how to proof read because they are so accustomed to spell check. Students are also exposed to many different colloquialisms and simplified words for things like texting. I can't tell you how many times I had to explain to my students that you cannot use the symbol @ or things like lol in a formal paper. I even had students that didn't understand why they could just write "u" instead of "you." As a teacher, it was frustrating that the students didn't hear and see the simple mistakes. I often felt like I was forced to go back to ground level basics before we could move forward. Teachers have to change their teaching style and students have to stop trying to take short cuts.
Problems facing the teaching and learning of EnglishProblems facing the teaching and learning of English in America and canada and how to overcome them...at this time
One problem is that the student populations in schools have radically changed, but many teachers have not adapted their teaching methods to accomodate...
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those changes. English Language Learners are still being made to sit in desks and listen to lecture-style lessons when they really need to be able to access and practice using English regularly in the classroom. They need opportunities to work within the classroom, practicing the academic and social vocabulary with their peers in low-stress settings.
Are you asking about problems learning the English language as faced by native English speakers or ESL (English as a Second Language) learners? There is a hugh difference between the kinds of challenges faced, depending on which group you are considering.
Native speakers of English, depending on their grade level, need to consider the huge vocabulary that is available in the English language and learn how to correctly use all those words to accurately convey the meaning of their message. It's a wonderful challenge for those of us who love using specific, colorful terminology!
ESL students need to focus more narrowly on learning basic vocabulary and understanding how to handle verb tense changes, pronoun usage, and all the spelling oddities of the language.
One of the problems that ESL students face in learning English comes from the geographical area in which they come to reside. For instance, if they live in an area where the accent of the residents is heavy and the speakers do not pronounce words phonetically and they use many colloquialisms, there is a tremendous difference, then, between what students here and what they learn in English textbooks.
As an example, people with the Southeastern dialect say the word error in a way that sounds to anyone who has learned the Great American dialect like the word arrow.