Abstract:
In a global and digital world, learning a language, especially English is
essential for people to keep up with the developments in science, business,
technology, etc. Despite starting to learn English early, students might not
always reach desired proficiency levels. Therefore, the present study aims
to find out some of the reasons why people fail to learn English. Employing
a netnographic approach, the researchers examined asynchronous
comments posted in online communities on a social media platform.
Within the scope of this study, 198 comments answering the question of
why people fail to learn English were obtained from three online groups of
English language teachers on Facebook. The findings show that 154 out of
198 comments aimed to answer the question. They were analyzed through
content analysis, which revealed that there are educational, social,
personal, and linguistic reasons why people fail to learn English.
Educational reasons were among the most mentioned reasons by the
members of the communities. In addition, the analysis indicates a balanced
representation of linguistic and personal factors, with social factors slightly
less prominent in comparison. Considering the existing literature review,
several implications are highlighted to overcome the difficulties and
challenges of learning English. Finally, this study is limited by its reliance
on Facebook posts collected within a specific timeframe; future research
could enhance depth and scope by incorporating longitudinal methods,
diverse social media platforms, and in-depth interviews.
