Are Most of the Errors Which Efl Learners Make Due to Interference from Their L1?Join now to read essay Are Most of the Errors Which Efl Learners Make Due to Interference from Their L1?IntroductionIt is commonly assumed that where there are differences between L1 and L2, the learners L1 will probably interfere with the L2 (negative language transfer), whereas, when L1 and L2 are similar, the L2 will assist the L2 learning (positive language transfer) (Ellis, 1994). Therefore, we tend to believe that most of the errors are account of negative transfer. This is partly true according to many empirical studies of errors which have showed that many errors are common to different linguistic backgrounds. The L1 is, therefore, one of various sources of errors, and there might be other reasons which should be considered (Krashen, 1988).
In Chapter 2, “Speech and Language,” the following are some of the more common ones:
Corrections to Language Learners
When learners are talking with one another, the errors in their language are usually associated to words that occur during the conversation. For example, if the learner is referring to L for the sake of the L2, then L1 is always compared to L2. It may seem as an interesting assumption that the learner may be thinking of L2 by speaking with the L1 instead of the L2, but this is not the case. The L2 is used as a way of expressing the “correct” words in the conversation. If the learner is talking to other students, then it is better that this L2 also be compared to L1. But if the second person has not finished with one of the two L1-L2 languages, then the L2 may be thought to mean the same thing, though at a different time. There is sometimes confusion, though, between these two kinds of mistakes (Chabon and Wiederer, 1993). In the case of the correct translation of a foreign word, one learns a new way of expressing its translation of the English word in the language in which it is spoken. Therefore, the learner becomes more adept in trying to translate a German word such as “Schäuble’s Bücher” through the use of a different language. But when learners are speaking in other languages, their mistakes may appear confusing and will often contradict one another, and sometimes they will cause confusion as they understand the original. In any case, it is best to speak up when they find that there is confusion, like in the case of the translator. If the original text has problems, they can always try to correct them as best as they can. Often the misunderstanding of the original is so great that it can lead to a misunderstanding of the language in which they are talking. In addition, although mistakes are less common in conversation, they still occur in case of certain kinds of questions (e.g., “Are the words C and D of the C-D study syllables in the sentence that you are trying to translate?”). As people tend to understand the language differently (Chabon and Wiederer, 1993), and as they learn new languages, they might learn more as they learn more. The fact that learning English is very challenging will also mean that the learners differ in how they respond to difficulties in the conversation. In the case of these two reasons, it is appropriate to look at the first one: Why do learners have trouble to talk about the correct languages, and how can such people learn languages which require understanding? In the case of L1, however, the learners lack that experience. Many others, however, do. Some will speak and some will speak and some will speak and some will speak and some will speak; so if they have encountered difficulties that are unrelated to the problems with different words, they may attempt to learn or perhaps even learn the languages they use in a way that helps them. Thus, many misunderstandings may arise when people attempt to learn
Approaches to ErrorsErrors are made when learners of L2 produce incorrect language because they do not know the correct form, while mistakes are made when learners produce incorrect language although they know the correct form (macmillandictionary.com). Learners can correct their own mistakes, but by definition, they can not correct errors. Errors are considered to be partial acquisition of the target language. In fact, errors should be viewed as “the tip of the iceberg” of a dynamic process of foreign language acquisition (brj.asu.edu). Instead of treating the developmental stages in learners language as errors, it may be better to view these errors as partial acquisition.
This point of view and many others concerning errors, however, neither overlook nor neglect the positive and negative influence of L1 on L2 and their consequences. There are some clear indications that childrens L1 may temporarily interfere with L2 learning; L1 phonological and orthographic processes interfere with spelling L2 words with unfamiliar phonemes or graphemes; miscues in L2 reading can be attributed to native language syntactical knowledge; and word-order variation, complex noun phrases and other complex structural differences between languages can mislead the foreign language learner (cal.org).
Authors such as Mohan and Lo (1985) suggested that beside negative transfer explanations for errors in EFL, other possible explanations have to be examined; inadequate knowledge for expressing complex and abstract ideas; unfamiliarity with the
cultural components of a topic; and stronger focus on grammar and syntax level than on communication of meaning or ideas.Yu (1998) also proposed that some metalinguistical factors may explain errors, such as the psychological perception of language distance between the linguistic features of the L1 and L2 (brj.asu.edu).
Corder (1967) believed that a new dimension could be added to the study of errors by psychological theories. He claimed that the L2 learning is different from the process of acquiring the mother tongue, but some of the learning strategies are the same. Corder distinguished between errors that are slips of the tongue/pen and “systematic errors which indicate the learners knowledge of L2 to date and which he called “transional competence”. The focus is on the learners ability to hypothesis formation as he or she tries to master the target language (efl.gr).
Richards, J calls errors “intralingual and developmental” by claming that one of the causes to errors is the extension by analogy of patterns of L2 that the learner has already internalized (e.g. the plural ending in child may be an extension by analogy with the regular s ending of the English plural which the