A study of English learning problems was...

    A study of English learning problems was carried out among a total of 106 foreign students. It shows that nearly all these students considered 1. (understand) spoken English, especially in the first few weeks, to be their biggest problem on arrival. This was followed by speaking or communicating. Writing then increased as a big problem 2. students discovered difficulties in writing papers that they 3. (expect) to hand in. And at the same time, reading remained as a significant problem.

The information 4. (gain) helped us in determining where special attention should be paid in our course. Although many students have chosen to join the course with a reasonable motivation, we considered it important to note 5. seemed to encourage interest. Nearly all the students have experienced some kind of grammar-based English teaching or 6. (use) the same method, especially if it has failed in the past or it is too complicated to follow or imitate, 7. it might reduce motivation and interest. Therefore a different method may help because it is different.

8. variety of activities was also regarded as a way of maintaining or increasing motivation and interest. Several years ago we had the first timetable 9. operated throughout the course of English learning, but we soon found that both the students and the teachers lost interest by about half-way through the ten weeks. This led us to a major re-think, and we had to explore a much 10. (effective) way of English learning, so finally we brought it into line with the expressed language needs of the students.