Barriers to English Language Acquisition Among University Faculty in Non-English Contexts: Structural Challenges and the Algerian Case
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Abstract
This article discusses the different, system-based obstacles faced by non-English-speaking university instructors in Algeria in acquiring English for Academic Purposes (EAP). Rather than attributing problems to individual deficits, the research portrays these problems as institutional and structural. The primary issues identified are poorly designed generic language programs, unrealistic language learning time scales, entrenched institutional English resistance, insufficient specific pedagogical assistance, and pervasive effects of time poverty and psychological pressure. Utilizing a critical case study of the Algerian higher education sector, the paper demonstrates how inadequate specific support, ineffective training procedures, and gaps in policy implementation severely hinder English faculty development. These issues have negative impacts on the quality of teaching, research productivity, and professional growth. Based on Sociocultural Theory and the Ecological Approach to Second Language Acquisition, the analysis suggests a paradigm shift-reimagining English language learning no longer as an elective personal endeavour but as an institutional civic responsibility. The paper ends with practical suggestions to enable sustainable, discipline-sensitive EAP development plans for Algerian teachers and other similar non-Anglophone academic environments.
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