Are Most of The Errors Which EFL Learners Make Due to Interference from Their L1?

There can be several different reasons why an English Language Learner can have troubles comprehending the English language. Poverty can play a huge role when in explaining why many English language learners have the troubles in mastering the English language. The State testing has varied throughout the years, along with the degrees of assessments and progress. Teachers also need constructive feedback to properly assess their own progress. The increase prescription of ADHD medication can also be a factor. Programs like SLADI in effect that pulls ELL’s from mainstream classrooms to focus on advanced grammatical structures of the English language; all in which, have been unsuccessful in aiding the student to acquire mastery within the English language domains of reading and writing. Comparing a personal experience I had dealt with wasted school year time, regarding an ELL student, involves a teacher being out of touch with her student and giving inappropriate leveled work. All of these issues work hand in hand. The ultimate goal is to teach literacy and to reach proficiency within the English language.

Since, the second language is an additional language after we acquire the first language, the L2 learning process can be influenced by the L1 learning process This essay will demonstrate the similarities and differences in L1 and L2 acquisition by discussing various theories. Then, draw a conclusion based on the evidence provided and my own experience.

There are those who feel that existing research points to the inability of the individual ever to recapture those phases of linguistic

Many popular theories of second language acquisition have been analyzed throughout history. The socialization of L2 learners, their present emotional state that is present at the time of acquisition, as well as the comprehensible input and output with the use of scaffolding play a major role in second language acquisition. Kirsten Hummel states, “The one most effective way to increase L2 competence was by exposure to ‘comprehensible input’.” (Hummel, 2014, p. 73) Let us also not forget the importance of written expression as well as reading comprehension with these L2 learners. Each plays a role in language development. However, I believe that to acquire language one must use a variety of techniques that work together to create a balance within the learning environment. Furthermore, all L2 learners acquire language differently and so using a variety of resources that are based on the ability of each student is neccesary. There are many theories that have been developed by highly qualified experts in the field of linguistics. However, I will address those areas that I agree with as I present my personal theories on second language acquisition.

The first area of difference between first (L1) and second (L2) language learning is input – specifically the quality and quantity of input. It is the idea of the "connectionist model that implies... (that the) language learning process depends on the input frequency and regularity" (5).. It is here where one finds the greatest difference between L1 and L2 acquisition. The quantity of exposure to a target language a child gets is immense compared to the amount an adult receives. A child hears the language all day everyday, whereas an adult learner may only hear the target language in the classroom – which could be as little as three hours a week. Even if one looks at an adult in a total submersion situation the quantity is still less because the amount of one on one interaction that a child gets for example with a parent or other caregiver is still much greater then the adult is receiving.

One of the most common differences among people is language. In chapter seven of Classroom Discourse, Cazden talks about how teachers often times misinterpret the pronunciation of words a student says because they got lost in-between the accent of their primary language and the standard pronunciation of the English language, this often can cause a teacher to over correct students and forces a student into not wanting to learn.(Cazden P.142) Many people overlook the difficulties one goes through when trying to learn a second language, let alone trying to learn a new language while also trying to understand the information being taught to them in the unfamiliar language. When we tend to over correct a student they will see their differences as a deficit to their learning and it will be harder to turn it into a strength.

Krashen placed the variables affecting second language acquisition into three categories: motivation, self-confidence, and anxiety (Schutz, 1997). According to Kocher, motivation of an ESL student is “primarily connected with the desire to become part to the L2 speaking community (2013, pg. 14). This is primarily known as integrative motivation, an orientation that is socially and culturally oriented (Brown, 2014). Kocher outlines that motivation is often negatively impacted in a classroom setting due to embarrassment in messing up the second language (Kocher, 2013).

Park (2010) investigated on 1) teachers’ and learners’ preferences for error correction including the necessity, frequency, timing, type, method, and delivering agent of error treatment; and 2) the relationship between anxiety and preferences for error correction among students. The participants of his study where One hundred sixty adult ESL students and 18 native English speaking teachers. The result of his study shows that the majority of both the students (94%) and teachers (88%) agreed that students’ spoken errors need to be corrected.

Second language learners who begin to acquire a language later in life are often thought to have more trouble with learning to pronounce the sounds of their second language than learners who began second language acquisition early in life. In the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH), the errors in pronunciation are the result of transfer from the speaker’s native language (L1) to their second language (L2). However, other factors can account for the troubles second language learners encounter in their pronunciation. Factors such as the positive or negative attitude towards the target language as well as phonological memory can influence how well a learner acquires a language. As well, perception of the sounds of the target language and the native

One of the reasons that some students struggle in studying and learning in core areas is lack of content-related vocabulary. We acknowledge that the most challenging situation is with English language learners (ELLs). This is the reason Texas has adopted the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) to be able to support the ELLs as they learn the required Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). However, on a large scale, we observe that even some of our students who are native English speakers also sometimes struggle academically. This is because some of our core areas such as math and science are also foreign to them. We normally do not use words such as bivariate, coefficient, tectonics, metalloids, etc. in our daily conversation. This is what makes learning our core areas challenging if we do not address vocabulary as we teach content.

When examining the research behind the cognitive processes in second language learning, attention and awareness are two key processes that aid in L2 development through interaction- as mentioned previously. “Attention allows learners to notice a gap between what they produce or know and what is produced by the speakers of the L2, and the perception of the gap or mismatch can lead to grammar restructuring” (Mackey, 2006). In order for attention and awareness to

The question of what in the input guides learners forward throughout interlanguage development (Young-Scholten & Piske, 2009) has fueled empirical investigations in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) for decades. Such interest over the strength of second language (L2) input gets transpired into a variety of research

Based on the influence of L1 and universal markedness (things that are present in a small number of languages), Eckman (1977) proposes the Markedness Differential Hypothesis (MDH). It helps predicting errors that L2 learners will have based on a comparison between L1 and L2 and universal markedness. The aim of the present study is to examine to what extent the MDH can account for mispronunciation of word-final voiced stops by Saudi Arabian learners of English.

It is a well-attested fact that learners commit errors when learning a second language. Errors are in fact considered inevitable in any learning process. For a very long time different authors (Corder, 1967; Richards, 1971; Dulay and Burt, 1972, as cited in Taylor, 1975;) see those errors not only as deviations of the rules but also as important sources for studying the process of learning a target language. The learner’s mental process and rules adopted by them at different stages are evidenced by those errors. (Fauziati, 2011). It is, therefore, the

In order to analyse the sentences part of our study, it is paramount to take into account the five central processes Selinker accounts for the different erroneous utterances a learner produce within his interlanguage; and which may become fossilized affecting the learner for a lifetime. Selinker (1972) classifies those process as: