Abstract:

The process of learning Romanian as a foreign language to international students, particularly those hailing from Ukraine, Italy, and Arabic countries, presents a multitude of challenges, necessitating a comprehensive understanding and strategic approach by teachers. This article tries to evaluate the primary obstacles encountered in the learning of Romanian language as a foreign language, focusing on language barriers and cultural disparities. Drawing from existing literature and empirical insights, the discussion underscores the complexities inherent in fostering effective language acquisition and cultural integration within this context. Language barriers further exacerbate the learning process, characterized by the intricacies of Romanian vocabulary and phonetics, which may pose obstacles to non-native speakers. Moreover, cultural disparities between international students and Romanian society engender some challenges, necessitating heightened cultural sensitivity and pedagogical adaptation to facilitate effective communication and social integration. This study is based on a mixed research method, which includes both the quantitative analysis of a questionnaire administered to a sample of 50 international students and the qualitative analysis of interviews or discussions with them. The main purpose of this study is to identify and highlight the specific difficulties encountered by foreign students in learning Romanian so that optimal solutions can be proposed to facilitate this process. The quantitative analysis of the data collected through the questionnaire will allow identifying and quantifying the main problems and difficulties encountered by foreign students in the process of learning Romanian language. It will provide statistical information relevant to the deep understanding of the situation and to highlight priority issues that require intervention. On the other hand, the qualitative analysis, conducted through interviews or open discussions with the participants, will provide a more detailed and contextualized perspective on their experiences and perceptions in terms of learning Romanian. This approach allows the identification of subtle and complex issues that may not be effectively captured by quantitative analysis. The conclusions of this study will highlight not only the main difficulties encountered by foreign students in learning Romanian, but also the possible solutions or strategies to overcome these difficulties. Also, there will be highlighted the aspects that require increased attention in the development of Romanian language learning programs for international students.

Keywords:

Romanian Language, challenges, foreign language teaching, cultural disparities