A Greek perspective of EFL (English as a foreign language) : tracing linguistic difficulties, concerns and issues that Greek native speakers encounter, when they acquire English as a foreign language in the Greek educational system

The main purpose of this research project was to explore linguistic elements that potentially hinder or assist Greek native speakers in their effort to acquire English as a Foreign Language in the Greek educational system. The research also aimed at touching on some characteristics of the Greek educational system and of the way EFL is taught in Greece that affects the acquisition of English as a foreign language. For that purpose, data were collected through a survey and interviews of adult Greek native speakers in the central coast of California. The findings indicated that the acquisition of foreign languages, and in particular of English, is highly valued in Greece. Therefore, and due to the weakness of the Greek public educational system concerning the efficient teaching of foreign languages, a network of parallel education was organized and it is indisputably an established part of the educational landscape. As far as distinct language skills are concerned, it seemed that correct pronunciation and proper accent and to a lesser degree the grammar rules and vocabulary acquisition were the most difficult to acquire skills. An additional factor, which hindered the holistic approach to EFL, was the Greek teachers\u27 prioritization of accurate student language and grammar teaching instead of the development of communication skills. As the body of literature related to this topic was extremely limited, it is hoped that the trends and tendencies, which were shown in the present project, will be further explored in future research