ESL UNDERGRADUATES’ PERCEPTIONS OF CHALLENGES IN TRANSITIONING FROM GENERAL ENGLISH TO ACADEMIC ENGLISH WITHIN THE FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT, SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES AT A DEFENCE UNIVERSITY IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

Students who enter university with limited English language proficiency often continue to face difficulties when transitioning from General English to the demands of Academic English (Navaz, 2012). This study investigates the challenges faced by ESL undergraduates in the Faculty of Management, Social Sciences, and Humanities at a defence university in Sri Lanka, with particular attention to writing, listening, and speaking skills. Moreover, this study discusses the coping strategies used to overcome the challenges they face. A qualitative approach was adopted, and data were collected from 50 undergraduates representing different study years, with gender distribution (54% male, 46% female). The age distribution revealed that the majority of participants (70%) were between 23 and 26 years old, while 30% were within the 19–22 range, placing most of them in the midst of their undergraduate education, and most of them (54%) have followed General English courses before entering the university. The findings reveal that 52% of students lacked confidence in academic writing, while 66% reported difficulties with academic vocabulary. More than half (65%) indicated challenges in organizing ideas into paragraphs, and nearly half (46%) admitted limited understanding of citation and referencing practices. Furthermore, a strong majority (76%) perceived Academic writing as more difficult than General English writing. These results highlight that vocabulary development, writing organization, and referencing are key problem areas in the transition from General English to Academic English. Listening results show that half of the students found lectures harder to follow than General English conversations, with many citing the speed of lecturers’ speech (50%) and the heavy listening demands of Academic English (64%) as key challenges. Moreover, 60% reported struggling with technical vocabulary, confirming that academic listening is a significant barrier in their transition from General English to Academic English. Over half of the students (56.0%,) reported feeling nervous during academic presentations and experiencing difficulty speaking spontaneously in class discussions. The results suggest that more structured opportunities for practice, feedback, and guidance are necessary. Therefore, targeted support and an updated Academic English program within the faculty are essential for helping ESL learners successfully navigate the transition from General English to Academic English.