Journal of ELT and Applied Linguistics (JELTAL) Volume 1-Issue 1, October, 2013 ISSN: 2347-6575 www.jeltal.com 12 | Page Exploring the Challenges Facing Arabic-Speaking ESL Students & Teachers in Middle School Omran Akasha Washington State University Pullman (WA), USA ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to uncover challenges facing Arabic-speaking ESL students as well as teachers in the middle school classroom. Two Arabic-speaking ESL students and eight teachers in a public middle school located in Washington State participated in this exploratory study. Research questions focused on the needs of the Arabic-speaking ESL students, the factors that influence their learning, and the problems the teachers face in supporting these students. Data sources included teacher and student interviews, classroom observations, and a parent survey. Data showed that the students face challenges to learn the English language, the culture, and curricular content using their limited English. The study concluded that several important challenges for teachers and students exist, including time, language support, and knowledge. Key words: linguistic barriers, social factors, cultural awareness, teacher education 1. INTRODUCTION The population of ESL students in U.S. schools needs urgent attention because it continues to grow and is expected to exceed 10 million by 2015 (NEA, 2008). Furthermore, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, 2011), the number of eighth grade English language learners below the basic level in reading achievement is very high (71%) compared to their native counterparts (22%). The same report stated that only 3% of English language learners are at or above the proficient level in reading, compared to 35% of their native counterparts who are at or above this level. This achievement gap for English language learners in U.S. public schools has been almost the same since 1998. This could mean that teachers are not considering the needs of their students or that there are other challenges students face that are not being effectively addressed. These challenges can be different from one group to another due to cultural and linguistic differences (Al-Khresheh, 2010; Abdo & Breen, 2010; Ahmad, 2011; Aubrey, 2009; Barros, 2003; Burt & Peyton, 2003; Miller & Endo, 2004; Palmer, El-Ashry, Leclere & Chang, 2007). According to Batalove & McHugh (2010), Arabic was among the top five native languages spoken in 29 states in the 2009-10 school year. Since few research studies have been done on the difficulties that face Arabic-speaking ESL students in U.S. public schools, there is a real need to understand the challenges they face in the classroom. The purpose of this exploratory study is to uncover the challenges facing Arabic-speaking ESL students as well as teachers in the middle school