A thesis submetted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree "Licencié en Pédagogie Appliquée, Agrégé de l'Enseignement Secondaire en Anglais"

RESUME,
This study sets to find out the main problems encountered in the teaching and learning of the English language for Basic schools in Burundi. It was carried out in order to find out solutions for improving the learning of the English language in Burundi Basic schools. It was conducted in Rutovu Commune where five schools were selected. Data from pupils and English teachers in 9th Form classes were collected by the use of questionnaires designed for both teachers and learners to seek for information about the main problems the pupils and English teachers are facing in Burundi Basic schools. We also used classroom observation to see the really in 9th Form classes of Rutovu commune concerned by this research. At the end of this research, it was found out that the performance of English at any level of the Basic School cannot be achieved because of the problems that English teachers and learners encounter in the teaching and learning process in Burundi Basic schools. The main problems are hopelessness due to an alarming un employment of young people, lack of teaching materials, large classes for some Basic schools, French interference, the lack of a sociolinguistic environment to practice English. A general conclusion and some recommendations were drawn and formulated by the researcher.