Negative Transfer and Delay in Proficiency Development: L1 Influenced Syntax Issues Faced by Arab EFL Learners

Authors

  • Abdullah Ahmad M Alfaifi

    Department of English, College of Science and Arts, King Abdulaziz University, Rabigh, Saudi Arabia
  • Mohammad Saleem

    Department of English, College of Science and Arts, King Abdulaziz University, Rabigh, Saudi Arabia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v6i4.6664
Received: 9 March 2024 | Revised: 30 March 2024 | Accepted: 24 April 2024 | Published Online: 6 September 2024

Abstract

Mother-tongue/L1 influence/interference in the learning process of a foreign/second language is quite common. Mother-tongue influence theory was quite popular in academia in the early twentieth century till the1950s, and fell out of favor in the 1960s, being replaced by the Interlanguage theory. However, the former has once again gained popularity as more scholars have come to accept that L1 does interfere in learning a foreign/second language, especially if learners are of mature age, and if there is little commonality between L1 and L2. L1 interference in L2 learning is usually referred to as “transfer,” which may be negative or positive. Negative transfer is assumed to hinder L2 learning. In the present study, the hypothesis that negative transfer impedes L2 learners’ proficiency development has been tested in a small-scale experiment conducted with Saudi first year university learners. The study provides evidence for the existence of negative transfer in the spoken English of these students. Bearing in mind the idea of L1 interference, due to dissimilarities between Arabic and English, this study was conducted with a focus on a few syntactic structures in Hijazi Arabic (HA) that are found to have clear echo in the English sentences of the participants, namely young adult Saudi EFL learners.

Keywords:

contrastive linguistics; L1 interference; error analysis; syntax errors; Arab EFL learners’ errors

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How to Cite

Abdullah Ahmad M Alfaifi, & Mohammad Saleem. (2024). Negative Transfer and Delay in Proficiency Development: L1 Influenced Syntax Issues Faced by Arab EFL Learners. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 6(4), 42–57. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v6i4.6664

Issue

Vol. 6 , Iss. 4 (October 2024)

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Article

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Copyright © 2024 Moussa Diagne Faye, Vini Yves Bernadin Loyara, Amadou Keita, Mamadou Diop, Angelbert Chabi Biaou, Mahamadou Koita, Hamma Yacouba

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