Abstract
English language is the official language in Nigeria. The teaching and learning of English is important for Nigerian students especially at the secondary school level. However, several factors have led to mass failure of the subject by students at this level. This study sought to examine the challenges to effective teaching and learning of English language in secondary schools in Enugu state. The specific objectives included identifying the government factors; student based factors; teachers’ related factors and school administration/management based factors that contribute to the challenges. The study adopted survey research method and hundred questionnaires were used. Data were analysed with the use of descriptive statistics (percentages and mean). Respondents agreed that government based challenges included heavy workload and curriculum (=2.9) and do not provide sufficient learning materials (=2.6). The students based challenges included anxiety and fear for the subject (=2.7) and scarce English practice (=2.7). Teachers based challenges were not good qualification (=2.9) and lack of adequate teaching methods and instructional materials (=2.8). The school administration based factors included poor planning of learning structures (=2.9) and provision of malfunctioning or inappropriate curriculum (=2.9). Government is recommended to provide less workload, relevant curriculum, sufficient learning materials and adequate training for the teachers among others.