Francophone students challenges in English language: An example of an Anglophone University in Ghana

Abstract

The phenomenon of students studying in countries whose lingua franca is different from theirs is normal and a century old practice. However, studying in an academic institution with different lingua franca has its difficulties. This study therefore sought to unravel the challenges that students from Francophone countries in a university in Ghana encounter specifically on four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). The study also inquires about the participants’ coping mechanisms and the institution’s strategies to help such students have smooth university education. The phenomenological approach adopted to study the issues afforded the participants the opportunity to vent the challenges that the Francophone students had. The accounts provided by both students and lecturers, who constituted the study population and the evidence from documentary sources evince that the Francophone students encounter challenges in all four language skills. It also emanated from the interviews that the students employ various strategies to cope with the challenges. The study proffers some mechanisms which could help improve the students’ capacity to thrive in such academic environments to inure to the benefits of both learners and the institution.