This study aims to identify the problems/difficulties that academics in a Turkish university encounter while using English as a lingua franca. The data were garnered through survey questionnaires filled out by 27 academics based in a Turkish university in the southwest of Turkey. The findings demonstrated that academics dramatically needed and used English in non-native contexts and mainly with non-native speakers of English for various reasons and purposes. Moreover, it was found that participants experienced a large number of misunderstandings and difficulties in the use of English for work-related purposes, and they resented the fact that they had to take English proficiency exams for academic promotion. The results are discussed in relation to those of previous studies of similar scope. The study concludes with suggestions posed for the improvement of academics’ verbal and academic writing skills and the issue of language proficiency examination policies.

This study aims to identify the problems/difficulties that academics in a Turkish university encounter while using English as a lingua franca. The data were garnered through survey questionnaires filled out by 27 academics based in a Turkish university in the southwest of Turkey. The findings demonstrated that academics dramatically needed and used English in non-native contexts and mainly with non-native speakers of English for various reasons and purposes. Moreover, it was found that participants experienced a large number of misunderstandings and difficulties in the use of English for work-related purposes, and they resented the fact that they had to take English proficiency exams for academic promotion. The results are discussed in relation to those of previous studies of similar scope. The study concludes with suggestions posed for the improvement of academics’ verbal and academic writing skills and the issue of language proficiency examination policies.