UNDERSTANDING CHALLENGES OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS: UKRAINIAN PERSPECTIVE

Challenges encountered by foreign language teachers remain an understudied issue in the context of Ukraine, awaiting a more systematic empirical response. The given paper aimed to probe for the challenges of Ukrainian language teachers and consider their possible causes. To this end, an exploratory study was carried out with the participation of 44 foreign language teachers. The qualitative data collected through an open interview were subjected to content analysis. A range of potentially challenging aspects of language teaching and their causes were derived from the data analyzed. The findings indicated that the respondents were inclined to identify the challenges of language teaching with the aspects inherent to the profession. In other words, they commonly referred to difficulties deriving from the characteristics of their competence and the nature of their professional activity. The interviewees repeatedly referred to the challenges of personalizing instruction, its planning and management, establishing rapport with learners, attending to discipline issues, motivating learners, and teaching mixed-ability classes. The teachers also reflected on the challenges of developing various language competencies, like explaining grammar in clear terms and teaching speaking. Meanwhile, the respondents rarely mentioned causes of difficulties external to them, for instance, language policy. However, they frequently commented on the problems caused by the lack of resources, in particular, indispensable in distance learning. Thus, the teachers’ overriding concern stemmed from having to deal with learners, which outweighed the significance of developing their language skills. Overall, the qualitative snapshots of the foreign language teaching challenges help discern areas deserving more specific attention in teacher education. One of the study’s implications is the need to embrace the views of practitioners in organizing effective teacher education. Otherwise, risks are high of furnishing them with preparation experiences divorced from their actual needs.