Syntactic Challenges and Pedagogical Remedies in Libyan EFL Higher Education: A Mixed-Methods Study at Sebha University
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65405/sjh.2.3.129Keywords:
Applied Linguistics, EFL Learners, Error Analysis, L1 Interference, Pedagogical Strategies, Syntactic Structures.Abstract
Mastering English syntactic structures remains a persistent hurdle for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) undergraduates in Arab academic contexts. This study investigates the primary syntactic difficulties encountered by Libyan EFL university students, explores the underlying linguistic and pedagogical causes of these obstacles, and proposes practical instructional remedies. Employing a convergent mixed-methods design, data were gathered at the Faculty of Education (Al-Ghurifa), University of Sebha, from a randomly selected sample of 30 undergraduate EFL students and 5 experienced faculty members. Quantitative data were collected via a 20-item five-point Likert scale questionnaire and analyzed using IBM SPSS to compute means and standard deviations, whereas qualitative insights were obtained through semi-structured interviews with instructors and examined using thematic analysis. Quantitative findings revealed high levels of student agreement across four core dimensions: sentence structure comprehension (M = 3.81, SD = 0.12), grammatical application (M = 3.82, SD = 0.13), confusion regarding sentence types and constituent elements (M = 3.91, SD = 0.13), and causal factors (M = 4.03, SD = 0.15). Specifically, learners exhibited pronounced struggles in differentiating between complex and compound structures (M = 4.20), mastering preposition placement (M = 4.20), maintaining subject-verb agreement (M = 4.20), and distinguishing noun phrases from prepositional phrases (M = 4.10). These difficulties were primarily attributed to insufficient practice with complex constructions (M = 4.20), low self-confidence (M = 4.20), first-language (Arabic VSO vs. English SVO) structural interference (M = 3.90), and limited authentic exposure (M = 3.90). Qualitative findings indicated that combining explicit rule instruction, contextualized authentic texts, interactive multimedia, collaborative peer editing, and explanatory error analysis effectively mitigates syntactic deficits. The study concludes with targeted pedagogical recommendations for curriculum designers and EFL instructors.
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