Exploring the Strengths and Challenges of Teaching English as Foreign Language in Elementary Classrooms Level

Abstract

Pakistan's Single National Curriculum (2020) specifies clear learning outcomes for English at the elementary level, yet national assessments continue to report weak foundational English attainment among primary-grade learners. Large-scale surveys can establish that such a gap exists, but they cannot explain, in teachers' own terms, why some classrooms manage to translate prescribed outcomes into practice while others do not. This qualitative study addressed that gap by examining how elementary-level teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Tehsil Gujrat, Punjab, described the strengths that supported, and the challenges that hindered, this alignment. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight Grade-V English teachers purposively drawn from public elementary schools: four discussed the strengths underlying successful alignment, and four discussed the challenges underlying its absence. Transcripts were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's (2006) six-phase thematic analysis. Three themes captured enabling strengths: teachers' personal attributes (motivation, subject knowledge, planning, rapport), professional support structures (training, subject specialists, instructional leadership, technology), and a classroom environment that was largely, though not uniformly, described as conducive. Three parallel themes captured challenges: personal constraints (low motivation, limited confidence in spoken English, competing workload), gaps in professional support (infrequent or poorly designed training, weak supervision, absent mentoring), and structural barriers (overcrowded classrooms, scarce resources, time pressure, limited parental involvement). The personal and professional themes mirrored one another closely across the two groups, while the environmental theme was more a symmetrical: even some teachers whose practice showed stronger alignment described crowded, under-resourced classrooms, suggesting that personal motivation and professional preparation carried more of the weight in sustaining alignment than favorable surroundings did. Overall, the findings suggest that alignment between outcomes and practice in these classrooms depends less on whether teachers believe in outcome-based instruction than on whether the personal, professional, and environmental conditions around them allow that belief to be acted upon. Implications for teacher development, instructional supervision, and curriculum support are discussed.

Keywords: EFL Teaching, Elementary Education, Thematic Analysis, Teacher Perceptions, Learning Outcomes, Pakistan