Linguistic Barriers for Romanian Adults - An Investigation of Factors

LINGUISTIC BARRIERS FOR ROMANIAN ADULTS
– AN INVESTIGATION OF FACTORS

Research aims and objectives
The aim of this research is to investigate and provide an understanding of those
factors that can affect the learning process of English as a Second language in the
Romanian adult migrant community from Bedfordshire.
The current study, the aim of this research is generated as what it is in order to
achieve two primary goals, firstly, to explore the general factors that affect the English
learning process both positively and negatively in adult migrants, and secondly, to
highlight which are the specific factors that are currently hindering the development of
English as a second language learning process in the limited adult Romanian community
in Bedfordshire. In addition, the research also aims to propose teaching of ESL / EFL to
the Romanian learners of English in Bedfordshire. It would involve a preliminary
assessment of the learners’ English levels and depending on that they would be provided
with specific ESL learning options.
A research objective defines the specific and measureable outcomes that are
associated with a particular research. An efficient research objective is defined by the
S.M.A.R.T. policy that is how Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and Time
constrained the objective is (Werle Lee 2010). In that context, the current research
objective falls under those specific parameters because of the following factors:
1. It identifies the barriers to ESL learning in adult Romanian migrants in Bedfordshire as
the specific research topic.
2. It is directed towards gathering collectable and measureable data from Romanian
participants living in Bedfordshire, in order to analyse.
3. The objective is achievable, as in its attempts to identify potential barriers in ESL
learning for the Romanian immigrant learners in Bedfordshire, which is identifiable.
4. The research is also realistic in nature given that it focuses upon the Romanian Migrants
from in Bedfordshire as the specific identified group of individuals and does not require complex
and financially taxing data collection methods.
5. Each stage of the research is also constrained by time. That means, there is a specific
approximate timeline set for each element of the task starting from gathering the data to
analysing the data and compiling all necessary information together.

Research Question
In order to address the aim of the research, which is to identify why for some
adults is more difficult to learn English than for others, with a focus on the Romanian
immigrants in the Bedfordshire region, the following two research questions have been
identified
1. What are the factors that create a barrier in the process of learning the second
language among the adult Romanian migrants in the United Kingdom, and how do
these factors manifest?
2. What teaching practices can be proposed that can reduce the linguistic barriers for
Romanian adults in the UK.
The first question is directed towards identifying the correlation with the factors
identified above which would supposedly provide significant information regarding the
condition and the needs of the target population. This would lead us to the second
question which is more directed towards a future implementation of the research results
in an environment that is inclusive, supportive as well as appreciative of the needs of the
target community.
Methodology
In order to address the mentioned research questions, this research implemented a
qualitative study analysis with the goal of reaching out to the population to assess their
conditions (Gibbs 2018). The method involved a questionnaire survey.
Questionnaire Survey
In order to collect the relevant linguistic data, a questionnaire survey was done
with the target individuals. The questionnaire involved primarily generic demographic
and background questions in order to identify the target individuals’ habits, attitudes,
background, age group, sex etc. The questionnaire consists of a set of 31 questions that
attempts to gather certain specific details about the Romanian migrants in the UK, their
experiences, tenure of stay, their cultural and linguistic preferences, current living
conditions etc.