Cantonese English as a second language (ESL) learners' and local English teachers' perceived difficulties of English article use and pedagogical implications

This study involved in total 247 participants, 109 of whom were Cantonese English as a Second Language (ESL) learners covering primary, secondary and college students, and 138 teachers of primary (1st–5th grades) and secondary schools (6th–12th grades) in Hong Kong. They were asked to take part in an opinion survey about their understanding of English article use, difficulties (students) encountered and possible solutions to the problems. Results reveal that Cantonese ESL learners understand the important roles played by English articles, though advanced/very advanced learners seem to be more able to articulate the specific roles, functions and usages of English articles. There are difficulties which are common to all learners of different proficiency levels, which may be related to their lack of a clear understanding of the major uses of English articles involving linguistic concepts such as generality, referentiality, specificity, and noun countability. The role of teachers’ own understanding of English article use is also found to be significant. The pertinent concepts central to one’s understanding of English articles should be introduced, and this should also be done collaboratively among junior and senior form teachers.