scholarly journals Pragma-linguistic Difficulties in the Recognition of Phrasal Verbs by Iraqi EFL University Learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 148
Author(s):  
Mohanad A. Amret ◽  
Sinan A. Yousif
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Phrasal Verbs ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
First Language Transfer ◽  
Culture Gap

The purpose of this paper is to recognize the level of pragma-linguistic difficulties Iraqi EFL university learners face when handling phrasal verbs. Despite the fact that phrasal verbs are easy to understand by native speakers of English, non-native speakers usually encounter some difficulties in understanding the meaning of a phrasal verb depending on the meaning of the root verb, or different phrasal verbs of the same root. The problem might be attributed to pragma-linguistic knowledge. However, culture gap could be the reason behind such difficulties. The aim of the study is (1) to evaluate the pragma-linguistic level of interpreting phrasal verbs as understood and used by Iraqi EFL university learners, (2) to check the level of difficulty they experience while recognizing phrasal verbs, and (3) to find out reasons behind such misinterpretations. It is hypothesized that (1) the pragma-linguistic interpretation of phrasal verbs tends to play an important role in understanding the message conveyed by the speaker; (2) cultural gap could be the reason that EFL learners recognize phrasal verbs incorrectly, and (3) mother tongue language might make it difficult for EFL learners to understand phrasal verbs. To verify the aforementioned hypothesis, a test has been constructed and administered to a sample of 100 fourth-year Iraqi EFL university learners, morning classes at the department of English Language and Literature, College of Arts, in Mustansiriyah University, during the academic year 2017 – 2018. The responses of the students have been collected and linguistically analyzed according to a model given by Richards and Schmidt (2010). It has been found that Iraqi students’ lack of cultural norms of the target language makes it difficult for them to understand phrasal verbs. The lack of this knowledge is considered as a factor of confusion and then failure. The influence of the first language culture on the recognition of phrasal verbs may be seen as a negative first language transfer. The reason behind this negative transfer is that the norms and principles of first language are different from the norms and principles of the target language. It has been concluded that Iraqi EFL university learners have difficulties in pragma-linguistic knowledge as far as phrasal verbs are concerned. Iraqi EFL university learners face great difficulties in using phrasal verbs while communicating with other people. While using phrasal verbs, Iraqi EFL university learners have been highly influenced by their mother tongue language.

scholarly journals “How the Furby Coming is…”: Interference of First Language and Culture in Thai EFL Learners’ Paragraph Writing

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Sakulrat Worathumrong
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Target Language ◽  
High Exposure ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
English Writing ◽  
Low Exposure ◽  
Analysis Models

This study investigated features of first language and cultural interference in Thai EFL learners’ English paragraph writing on popular culture. Drawing from theoretical grounds of interlanguage, language interference, and rhetorical interference, the sample of 30 English paragraphs of Thai EFL undergraduate learners was examined quantitatively and qualitatively. The English writing included 15 paragraphs from the Thai learners with high exposure to English language (TEH) group, and 15 paragraphs from those with the low exposure to English language (TEL) group. Using analysis models of metadiscourse markers and topical progressions, the findings revealed the preference of both groups in the use of interactive and interactional devices as well as SP, PP, and EPP types of topical progressions. The preference highlights the feature of oral-based, inductive, or reader-responsible writing orientation with a possibility of writing development, especially among the TEHs to reach expectation of the target language readers. The findings encourage assessing the Thai EFL learners’ writing as a process and raising frequent awareness of both language and rhetorical interferences when writing English texts. As the introductory stage during COVID-19 remote learning, writing to express learners’ interests could be used as an effective communication strategy for a positive instructor-learner relationship which assists the learners to further engage in the class in a more meaningful way. 

scholarly journals A Survey on the Effectiveness of Mother Tongue on Learning L2 Vocabulary by Iranian Pre-intermediate EFL Learners

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Mohammadreza Khodareza ◽  
Maryam Kaviani
Keyword(s):  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proposal A ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Objective Structures ◽  
L2 Vocabulary ◽  
Learning English

<p>This study investigated the role of mother tongue on learning English vocabulary by Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners. For this purpose, 30 female pre-intermediate learners were chosen. After administering a Nelson test participants were selected from the intact classes at Foreign Language Institute in Babol. These 30 partners were randomly allocated to 2 gatherings (one laboratory and the other control) each comprising of 15 partners. The participants received a pre-test comprising 70 English words to ensure that they did not have previous information of objective structures. Experimental group received their instruction, meaning of each target word, and translation of target words with their mother tongue (Persian). But control group just received target language (English) for all activities or instructions. Both teacher and students in this group didn’t allow using Persian. After the treatment, the same pre-test was given to the participants as a post-test to measure the effectiveness of therapy gained. After collecting the data, to respond the research proposal, a t-test was conducted. The results indicated that first language had significant effect on learning English words. The findings of this study are considered to be useful in methodology issue.</p>

scholarly journals An Overview of the Persian EFL learners’ Spelling Difficulties

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
Maryam Alipour ◽  
Khazriyati Salehuddin ◽  
Siti Hamin Stapa
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Comprehensive Literature Review ◽  
Conceptual Paper ◽  
English Spelling

Spelling is considered a difficult skill for foreign and second language learners of English as the ability to spell in English language comes with a lot of effort, particularly when the English spelling system is known to be a complex system, even among native speakers. The difficulties could be linguistic and extra-linguistic. This conceptual paper reviews the differences and similarities between English and Persian spelling system, the sages of spelling difficulties among children, particularly the approach suggested by Tabrizi, Tabrizi, and Tabrizi (2013)in which the stages of learning spelling among Iranian learners are analyzed. The types of morphological, phonological, and orthographical spelling difficulties, factors contributing to the spelling difficulty, as well as a comprehensive literature review of EFL studies conducted on English spelling are provided in this paper. Finally, the mental processing and the role of memory are discussed briefly. It was concluded that examining the differences between the learners’ first language and English language may provide useful insights into the English spelling problems faced by EFL learners.

scholarly journals Second Language Acquisition and Mother Tongue Influence of English Language Learners – A Psycho Analytic Approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4.36) ◽  
pp. 497
Author(s):  
A. Delbio ◽  
R. Abilasha ◽  
M. Ilankumaran
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Second Language Learner

Language is a tool used to convey one’s thoughts, feelings and needs. Mother tongue is the language acquired by everyone ever since his birth. A learner encounters mother tongue influence while learning or speaking a foreign language or target language. Mother tongue influence is something that affects a person’s thought process in a sense that he thinks in mother tongue and expresses in English or a second language. People use incorrect pronunciation of words while communicating in English language as they are influenced by the sound patterns of their mother tongue. A second language learner has an unconscious preference to convey his customs from his first language to the target language. The influence of mother tongue has become a significant region and is generally referred to as ‘Language Interference’. Every language learner comes across this issue. Students, sometimes, use words from their parent language while communicating in English. This paper speaks about the difficulties faced by the learners of the second language and the causes of first language influence. This paper attempts to bring out the ways to avoid the overwhelmed influence of mother tongue and gives some notions to the students to develop their second language skills.  

scholarly journals Significance of Mother Tongue influence on Saudi Female EFL Learners: a Critical Discourse Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 329-342
Author(s):  
Shadma Iffat Rahmatullah
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Critical Study ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Efl Learners

The speculation, that the Saudi EFL learners with less exposure to the target language exhibit more mother tongue influence on their second language speaking, is apparent. The phonetic similarity of two languages helps EFL learners to grasp the lexical accent with the accurate articulation of the words from the second language. However, the difference in sound patterns in various languages prompts the learners to mispronounce the words more frequently. This critical study endeavors to evaluate the influential aspects of the mother tongue on the EFL learners’ second language (L2) discourse. This research is carried out through a qualitative method for critical discourse analysis to answer the main question; what significant errors students make that reflect their mother tongue influence? For a comparative study, the participants are the Saudi undergraduates from multidimensional sections of female colleges in King Khalid University and the non-native English-speaking teachers from five different nations, who also manifest the influence of their mother tongue on English language speaking. Their recorded presentations and conversations were analyzed to identify the interference of their mother tongue on their English language performance. The language patterns of both students and the teachers eventually affect their English language efficiency. The significant outcome of this study reveals the possibility of the pros and cons of the mother tongue on L2 learning. The data also revealed that the inability of faculty members to produce the flawless accent of the English language has a significant effect on Saudi learners’ oral performance.

scholarly journals Significance of Mother Tongue influence on Saudi Female EFL Learners: a Critical Discourse Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shadma Iffat Rahmatullah
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Critical Study ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Efl Learners

The speculation, that the Saudi EFL learners with less exposure to the target language exhibit more mother tongue influence on their second language speaking, is apparent. The phonetic similarity of two languages helps EFL learners to grasp the lexical accent with the accurate articulation of the words from the second language. However, the difference in sound patterns in various languages prompts the learners to mispronounce the words more frequently. This critical study endeavors to evaluate the influential aspects of the mother tongue on the EFL learners’ second language (L2) discourse. This research is carried out through a qualitative method for critical discourse analysis to answer the main question; what significant errors students make that reflect their mother tongue influence? For a comparative study, the participants are the Saudi undergraduates from multidimensional sections of female colleges in King Khalid University and the non-native English-speaking teachers from five different nations, who also manifest the influence of their mother tongue on English language speaking. Their recorded presentations and conversations were analyzed to identify the interference of their mother tongue on their English language performance. The language patterns of both students and the teachers eventually affect their English language efficiency. The significant outcome of this study reveals the possibility of the pros and cons of the mother tongue on L2 learning. The data also revealed that the inability of faculty members to produce the flawless accent of the English language has a significant effect on Saudi learners’ oral performance.

scholarly journals GANGGUAN BUNYI BAHASA KADAZANDUSUN DALAM SEBUTAN ARAB OLEH ETNIK KADAZANDUSUN DI RANAU, SABAH

2020 ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
MOHD. TAQWUDIN BIN MOHD. YAZID ◽  
VERONICA PETRUS ATIN ◽  
SAIDATUL NORNIS HJ. MAHALI
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Language Transfer ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Transfer Product ◽  
Sound System ◽  
Consonant Phoneme

Gangguan bahasa ialah produk pemindahan bahasa yang berbentuk negatif daripada bahasa pertama (Kadazandusun) kepada bahasa sasaran (Arab). Berdasarkan perbezaan fonem konsonan yang terdapat dalam sistem bunyi kedua-dua bahasa tersebut, penutur jati Kadazandusun dijangka menghadapi kesukaran ketika menyebut huruf-huruf tertentu. Justeru, kajian ini bertujuan untuk merungkai hakikat gangguan bahasa dari sudut fonetik yang berlaku ketika penutur jati Kadazandusun menyebut huruf tersebut. Oleh itu, objektif pertama kajian ini adalah untuk mengenal pasti huruf bahasa Arab yang sukar untuk disebut berdasarkan gangguan bunyi bahasa Kadazandusun dan sebabnya. Objektif yang kedua pula ialah mengenal pasti huruf bahasa Arab yang mudah disebut oleh etnik Kadazandusun dan sebabnya. Kajian ini berbentuk kajian tindakan yang menggunakan satu set ujian sebutan yang diubah suai berasaskan teori Mahjub untuk mendapatkan skor sebutan sembilan bunyi fonem Arab. Responden kajian seramai 21 orang penutur jati Kadazandusun yang terdiri daripada kalangan remaja, dewasa dan warga tua. Pemilihan responden berasaskan keupayaan membaca al-Quran, penguasaan bahasa ibunda dan kawasan penempatan. Hasil ujian dinilai dengan khidmat nasihat daripada penilai yang pakar dalam bidang ilmu al-Quran dan Qiraat. Dapatan kajian mendapati bahawa   Language interference is the negative language transfer product from the first language (Kadazandusun) to the target language (Arabic). Based on consonant phoneme differences in the sound system of both languages, native speakers of Kadazandusun are expected to have difficulty in pronouncing certain Arabic letters. This study therefore was aimed atinvestigating language interference specifically on the aspect of phonetic that occurred when Kadazandusun native speakers pronounced these particular Arabic letters. The first objective of the study was to identify Arabic letters that posed difficulty in pronunciation due to Kadazandusun language interference and ascertain the reasons for this problem. The second objective was to identify Arabic letters that were easy for Kadazandusun speakers to pronounce and the reasons for this non-difficulty. This action research study utilised an adapted pronunciation test set based on theMahjub theory in order to obtain scores for nine Arabic pronunciations. The respondents consisted 21 Kadazandusun native speakers comprising teenagers, adults and the elderly. The selection of respondents was based on their ability to read the Quran, mother tongue mastery and their locality. Test results were evaluated with consultation from experts in Quran and Qira’at. Findings revealed [ ,[ ط ] ,[ ض ] ,[ صع ] ,[ ظ] ] and [ ح ] as letters that the speakers tend to mispronounce whereas [ أ ] ,[ ز ] ,[ ت ] ,[ د ] ,[ س ] ,[ غ ] ,[ خ ] ,[ ق ] and [ ه ] were easy to vocalise. This study has demonstrated that the level of similarities and differences between the  phonetic systems of the Kadazandusun and Arabic languages determine the level of interference during language transfer process. Hence it is recommended that the learning of Arabic pronunciation among Kadazandusun native speakers should begin with easier-topronounce letters initially and end with those that are more difficult.

scholarly journals An Investigation of Mother Tongue Influence on EFL Learners during their Speaking Performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 30-35
Author(s):  
Naria Fitriani ◽  
Said Iskandar Zulkarnain
Keyword(s):  
Learning Process ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
English Class ◽  
Speaking Performance

This study aimed at investigating the mother tongue influence of Acehnese learners in vocational English class. The students’ mother tongue influence can be detected by the results of speaking errors on their performance. The primary data of the students’ speaking performance was recorded, then transcribed. Furthermore, the student’s questionnaire was applied to support the primary data. The results of this study were analyzed and presented into two parts containing pronunciation and grammar errors. Meanwhile, the data obtained from the questionnaire was quantitatively shown that the learning process of the target language was affected by the first language.

scholarly journals Young EFL Learners’ Processing of Phrasal Verbs: An Experimental Approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Trisevgeni Liontou
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
English Language ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Phrasal Verbs ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
One Year

Research has shown that EFL learners face specific difficulties when processing phrasal verbs, mainly due to the fact that identical or similar expressions rarely exist in their mother tongue. Though some studies on second language acquisition have explored the development of figurative language competence and the strategies employed for the interpretation of phrasal verbs, limited research based information is available as regards the relationship between such a processing and learners' reading comprehension performance according to their level of English language competence. This paper reports on a one-year study that aimed at investigating the development of young learners’ reading competence in relation to comprehending phrasal verbs. A total of 50 young EFL students aged 9 to 12 years old took part in the study. The findings could provide practical guidance to EFL instructors, material developers and test designers with regard to the type of reading comprehension difficulties EFL learners face when exposed to phrasal verbs while learning English as a Foreign Language.

scholarly journals Synchronic Account of Substitution among Educated Ohaozara Speakers of English

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 52-60
Author(s):  
Okechukwu Okorie ◽  
Joekin Ekwueme ◽  
Nkeiru Angela Ezeh
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Audio Recorder ◽  
Good Number ◽  
Problem Data

Substitution is a natural experience among second language speakers because it occurs in a situation where the target language presents segments that do not exist in the native language of speakers. Native speakers, therefore, unavoidably try to overcome the linguistic problem of having to articulate sounds that are present in the foreign language but unavailable in their mother tongue. It is against this linguistic pedigree that this study explored the synchronic account of substitution among educated Ohaozara speakers of English using the Natural Phonology Hypotheses (NPH) as its analytical tool. The study aimed to identify and account for the particular cases of phonological substitution as it affects Ohaozara educated speakers of the English language and thereafter, recommend workable and sustainable remedies that would mitigate the problem. Data for the study were collected through the use of audio recorder and a reading comprehension passage. One hundred (100) educated Ohaozara speakers of English, who were drawn at random, using the stratified random sampling technique, participated in the study. The data were analyzed quantitatively in accordance with the tenets of NPH. The results showed that the speakers exhibited acts of phoneme substitution in most of their spoken discourses in English as evidenced by both data. The study offered a good number of recommendations and suggestions to mitigate the problem.

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