Challenges Faced by Teachers In Teaching English As A Foreign Language In Elementary Schools: A Literature Review
Abstract
Teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to elementary school learners presents distinctive pedagogical challenges that differ from those found in secondary or tertiary education. This study aims to identify and synthesize the challenges faced by teachers in teaching English as a foreign language in elementary schools through a literature review method. The research questions addressed are: (1) what challenges are commonly reported by teachers, (2) what factors underlie these challenges, and (3) what strategies have been proposed to address them. Data were collected from eleven national and international journal articles published between 2001 and 2025, obtained through Google Scholar, Scopus-indexed sources, and SINTA-indexed databases, and analyzed using thematic content analysis. The findings reveal six recurring categories of challenges: teachers' limited English proficiency and pedagogical competence, insufficient facilities and instructional media, low learner motivation and engagement, difficulties in classroom management within mixed-ability classes, the unstable curricular status of English with limited instructional time, and weak collaboration with parents and the school environment. These challenges are largely rooted in the fact that many elementary English teachers are non-specialists who receive limited pre-service and in-service training in young learner pedagogy. The study concludes that sustained teacher professional development, contextualized teaching materials, and stronger institutional support are essential to improving the quality of EFL instruction at the elementary level.
Downloads
References
Albustomi, Y., Amin, M., Thohir, L., Waluyo, U., & Soepriyanti, H. (2024). The teachers' perceptions and challenges in TEYL elementary schools in East Lombok Indonesia. International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 11(6), 409–416. https://doi.org/10.18415/ijmmu.v11i6.5946
Alvarez, C., Ruiz, L., Bonilla, J., & Fajardo, Y. (2025). English language teaching in Ecuadorian primary schools: Teacher beliefs in the context of the curriculum reform versus actual practices. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 17(4), 479–490. https://doi.org/10.26822/iejee.2025.393
Bui, T. L. D., Nguyen, D. T. T., Ly, T. T. T., & Nguyen, K. D. (2025). Challenges in engaging EFL learners: Insights from rural and urban primary schools in Vietnam. Language Teaching for Young Learners, 7(2), 222–247. https://doi.org/10.1075/ltyl.24026.bui
Butler, Y. G. (2004). What level of English proficiency do elementary school teachers need to attain to teach EFL? Case studies from Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. TESOL Quarterly, 38(2), 245–278. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588380
Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching languages to young learners. Cambridge University Press.
Dao, P., Le Diem Bui, T., & Nguyen, M. X. N. C. (2024). Public primary school teachers' perceptions and assessment of young learners' engagement. Language Teaching Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241253546
Harahap, A. N. (2024). Tantangan guru dalam mengajar vocabulary bahasa Inggris di SD Negeri 060813 Medan. Gudang Jurnal Multidisiplin Ilmu, 2(2), 131–137. https://doi.org/10.59435/gjmi.v2i2.303
Harmer, J. (2007). How to teach English (2nd ed.). Pearson Education.
Hulu, N. A. (2024). Teachers' difficulties in teaching English to young learners in 5 schools at Nias. The Journal of English Teaching for Young and Adult Learners, 3(1), 21–27. https://doi.org/10.21137/jeeyal.2024.3.1.4
Imran, M., Almusharraf, N., Sayed Abdellatif, M., & Ghaffar, A. (2024). Teachers' perspectives on effective English language teaching practices at the elementary level: A phenomenological study. Heliyon, 10(8). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29175
Khoirotunnisa, U., & Retnawati, H. (2025). Kesulitan guru bahasa Inggris dalam mengajar siswa sekolah dasar. Diglosia: Jurnal Kajian Bahasa, Sastra, dan Pengajarannya, 8(2), 559–572. https://doi.org/10.30872/diglosia.v8i2.1253
Nguyen, L. Q., & Le, H. V. (2024). Challenges in EFL constructivist classrooms from teachers' perspectives: A case study in Vietnam. SAGE Open, 14. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241245187
Ramadhayanti, N., Harsono, A. M. B., & Suriansyah, A. (2025). Transformasi peran guru kelas: Tantangan dan strategi dalam pembelajaran bahasa Inggris di sekolah dasar. MARAS: Jurnal Penelitian Multidisiplin, 3(4), 1468–1482. https://doi.org/10.60126/maras.v3i4.1328
Sya, M. F., & Helmanto, F. (2020). Pemerataan pembelajaran muatan lokal bahasa Inggris sekolah dasar Indonesia. Didaktika Tauhidi: Jurnal Pendidikan Guru Sekolah Dasar, 7(1), 71–80. https://doi.org/10.30997/dt.v7i1.2348
Wardana, B. K., & Muamaroh, M. (2026). Challenges and solutions in teaching English at the elementary school level: A case study at SDN Pabelan 03. English Teaching and Linguistics Journal (ETLiJ), 7(2), 94–104. https://doi.org/10.30596/etlij.v7i2.30966
Widodo, A., & Dewi, S. R. (2019). Revealing problems on teaching English for young learners at Al-Azhar 55 Islamic Primary School Yogyakarta and how to solve them. Journal Varidika, 30(2), 21–29.
Padallingan, Y., Trivena, Lolotandung, R., Susanti, S., & Rara, N. (2023, September). Teaching variations of a second-grade primary school teacher. In AIP Conference Proceedings (Vol. 2736, No. 1, p. 090005). AIP Publishing LLC.
Yıldız, G. R., & Savaşçı, M. (2024). Navigating Turkish EFL teachers' perceived challenges with very young learners. Language Teaching and Educational Research, 7(1), 37–50.
Zein, S. (2017). The pedagogy of teaching English to young learners: Implications for teacher education. Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching, 12(1), 61–77.
Copyright (c) 2026 Trivena Trivena
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
By submitting the article/manuscript of the article, the author(s) agree with this policy. No specific document sign-off is required.
License
The use of the article will be governed by the Creative Commons Attribution license as currently displayed on Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Author(s)' Warranties
The author warrants that the article is original, written by the stated author(s), has not been published before, contains no unlawful statements, does not infringe the rights of others, is subject to copyright that is vested exclusively in the author and free of any third party rights, and that any necessary written permissions to quote from other sources have been obtained by the author(s).
User/Public Rights
Under the Creative Commons license, users are allowed to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work. Users will also need to attribute authors on distributing works in the journal and other media of publications. Unless otherwise stated, the authors are public entities as soon as their articles got published.
Rights of Authors
Authors retain all their rights to the published works, such as (but not limited to) the following rights;
- Copyright and other proprietary rights relating to the article, such as patent rights,
- The right to use the substance of the article in own future works, including lectures and books,
- The right to reproduce the article for own purposes,
- The right to self-archive the article,
- The right to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the article's published version (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
Co-Authorship
If the article was jointly prepared by more than one author, any authors submitting the manuscript warrants that he/she has been authorized by all co-authors to be agreed on this copyright and license notice (agreement) on their behalf, and agrees to inform his/her co-authors of the terms of this policy. The journal will not be held liable for anything that may arise due to the author(s) internal dispute. The journal will only communicate with the corresponding author.
Royalties
Being an open accessed journal and disseminating articles for free under the Creative Commons license term mentioned, author(s) aware that the journal entitles the author(s) to no royalties or other fees.
Miscellaneous
The article will be published in the journal if the article’s editorial process is successfully completed. The editors may modify the article to a style of punctuation, spelling, capitalization, referencing, and usage that deems appropriate. The author acknowledges that the article may be published so that it will be publicly accessible and such access will be free of charge for the readers.
