Bosnian and Japanese Students' Perceptions of Learning English as a Foreign Language

Abstract

The present study focuses on differences in teaching and learning EFL between Japanese and Bosnian students. Language learners struggle to learn a foreign language. The paper reports which part of the learning process students find the most difficult. The purpose of this study is to find out the main differences between Bosnian and Japanese students when acquiring the English language. To achieve this, a survey was conducted among 120 students from both countries using the questionnaire employed in Tragant, Thompson, and Victori (2013), Understanding Foreign Learning Strategies: A validation study, System 41,95-108, and the data were collected and analyzed. All students adopt the language individually, but there are many factors that may differentiate them from each other. Besides motivation, the education system and culture may affect the learning process. The paper discusses the basic learning elements such as grammar, reading, vocabulary, writing and speaking. Therefore, this study attempts to highlight the problems of students' language incompetence. The results indicate that Japanese students are devoted to grammar, more than Bosnian students. Bosnian students pay more attention to pronunciation while Japanese students speak slowly and are dedicated to memorizing new words.