Limitations of Teaching English in Rural High Schools in Cuenca, Ecuador

Abstract

This quantitative descriptive study aimed to determine the English language teaching challenges of teachers working in rural schools in Cuenca, Ecuador. The data for this study were collected based on a survey of ten English teachers working in rural schools in the city. For the elaboration of the survey, a literature review of various empirical studies was conducted and synthesized to the context established for the study. Finally, the analysis of the data allowed concluding that the greatest challenges that the surveyed teachers found in teaching English in rural schools are related to (1) resources and equipment, (2) infrastructure, (3) knowledge of teaching techniques and methods, (4) students' exposure to the language, and (5) students' grammatical knowledge. At the end, relationships were also established between the demographic characteristics of rural teachers and the major challenges they face.