The purpose of this study is to identify the English language learning difficulties. 2317 secondary and high school students from the state schools of the Ministry of Education in Ankara were included in this study. The data was gathered through the Foreign Language Learning Difficulties Scale (LLDS) developed (2017) by researchers and semi structured interviews. Mixed-method research was used which utilizes both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative data was analyzed through SPSS, a statistical program for social sciences research, and the qualitative data was analyzed through MaxQda 12, software for qualitative and mixed methods research with 70 students in total. It was found that 7 th and 11 th grade students had high levels of difficulties in learning English. When the difficulties between the two grades were compared, it was found that 7 th grade students had lower levels of language learning difficulties than 11 th grade students. According to the semi structured interview results, the most common difficulties experienced by students were insufficient communicative practice in textbooks, insufficient use of visual and audio instruments in the classrooms, insufficient practices of listening and speaking abilities, lack of language learning teaching strategies, low self-confidence, crowded classrooms and disciplinary problems.

The purpose of this study is to determine the factors that make teaching and learning English language difficult according to teachers' opinions. It is aimed to present the common difficulties, their reasons and suggestions for them. The study group of this qualitative research included 52 high school English teachers from the Anatolian High Schools in Ankara province in Turkey. Data was derived through semi-structured interviews and analyzed through MaxQda 12, software for qualitative and mixed methods research. Miles and Huberman's (1994) intercoder reliability formula was used to measure consistency among coders and resulted in an intercoder reliability measure of .84. Data was analyzed by articulating the themes and codes. Frequency and percentages were determined and presented with the direct quotations. Four categories of difficulties emerged from the data and they were presented. The findings of the research showed that the most common difficulties experienced by teachers were insufficient communicative practice in textbooks, inefficient use of visual and audio instruments in the classrooms, grammar based teaching, lack of motivation of students, lack of interest in learning English, crowded classrooms, disciplinary problems and lack of adequate technology support in English lessons. Suggestions to minimize the difficulties were also presented in the study.

Bu araştırmanın amacı, hazırlık sınıfı öğrencilerinin dil öğrenme stratejilerini kullanma düzeyini ve öğretmenlerin derslerde bu stratejileri ne derece öğrettiklerine ilişkin görüşlerini belirlemektir. Betimsel yöntemin benimsendiği araştırmada, dil öğrenme stratejileri kullanım ve öğretim düzeyi araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen Dil Öğrenme Stratejileri Ölçeği (2011) ile ölçülmüştür. Araştırma, Ankara ilindeki 769 üniversite hazırlık sınıfı öğrencisi ve 120 İngilizce öğretim görevlisi ile yürütülmüştür. Hazırlık sınıfı öğrencileri dil öğrenirken en çok duyuşsal, en az bellek destekleyici stratejileri kullanmaktadır. Öğretim görevlileri ise derslerde en az bellek destekleyici; en çok ise duyuşsal ve örgütleme stratejilerine yer vermektedir. Öğrencilerin dil öğrenme stratejilerini kullanma düzeyleri ile öğretim görevlilerinin derslerde stratejilere yer verme düzeyleri arasında anlamlı ilişki görülmüştür.

The aim of this study is to determine the difficulties that students of English as a foreign language experience in the language learning process. The study also reveals the relationship between language learning difficulties students experience and their achievements, gender and academic levels. The study group of this descriptive study consists of 340 preparatory unit students. “Foreign Language Learning Difficulties Scale” developed by Özmat (2017) is used for quantitative data and a semi-structured interview form developed by the researchers was used as a qualitative data source. According to the results of the study, it was determined that the difficulties that preparatory students have at the highest level in the language learning process are related to the learning resources, and the difficulties they experience at the minimum level are related to the learning environment (physical and psychological). It was determined that the students had moderate difficulty stemming from teaching learning process and from themselves. The qualitative results of the research also support the results obtained from the scale. It was observed that students did not experience much difficulty related to disciplinary or classroom management issues. In addition, students stated that they needed more student-centered practices in class. There was no significant relationship between students' difficulty level, achievement test and gender. It was determined that the difficulties experienced by the students studying at lower levels are higher than the students studying at the higher levels. According to the results of the research, suggestions were made for language learning process and foreign language teaching in preparatory schools.