Abstract

This paper presents findings from a small-scale qualitative study examining the learning experiences of non-English speaking background (NESB) students in the mainstream English classroom. Data collected from in-class observations, survey questionnaires and semi-structured teacher interviews was used to examine the phenomenon that many NESB students appear to struggle in transitioning from the language classroom to the mainstream English classroom. Research objectives were to identify and examine academic difficulties faced by these students and inform teaching practice and pedagogy at a secondary school in Queensland. The results highlight the fact that some NESB students face challenges in the ‘mainstream’ classroom in terms of dealing with the complexity of the current English syllabus. Findings revealed delivery of content, language barriers and performance anxiety were also issues that affected NESB students in the mainstream English classroom.