A nationwide investigation of how Chinese undergraduates cope with obstacles in EFL study

This study investigates how Chinese undergraduates cope with obstacles in learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Drawing on coping theory and self-regulated learning theory, the study analyzed survey and open-ended response data from 1528 freshmen and sophomore students at seven universities across eastern, southern, western, northern, and central China. The analysis focused on students' reported coping strategies across eight EFL learning areas: listening, speaking, reading, writing, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and cultural knowledge. The findings identified 24 recurring strategy types. Listening and speaking were the most frequently reported challenge areas, with students commonly reporting strategies such as using English audio-visual media, creating speaking opportunities, thinking directly in English, comparing English and Chinese language forms, reading extensively, and building self-created English cultural environments. The findings show that Chinese undergraduates' coping behaviors combine cognitive, metacognitive, social, affective, and self-regulated learning strategies. The study contributes large-scale, multi-site evidence to a research area often dominated by single-skill or small-scale studies. Pedagogically, the results suggest that Chinese university English instruction should include explicit, skill-specific strategy training and provide more opportunities for authentic language use.