An Investigation into the Effect of the Mother Tongue (Arabic) on the Use

Abstract

The effect of the mother tongue on the learning of a second language is one of the main issues faced by learners. The dissertation examines the effect of mother tongue (Arabic) on the use of English prepositions among EFL learners. The primary objective of this study is to examine the impact of MT, Arabic on the TL, English, to confirm the hypothesis that third year LMD students rely on their mother tongue, to identify the most common types of errors made by English language learners in relation to the use of English prepositions and to highlight the challenges they encounter when using English prepositions. The hypotheses posit that third year LMD students of the English department at Yahia Fares University of Medea misuse the most common English prepositions in their written production due to the negative interference of the students’ mother tongue, in addition to the challenges they face when using English prepositions. To test these hypotheses, three data collection instruments were employed: a test, a questionnaire, administered to 44 participants aged between 20 and 24, who had been studying English for a minimum of 7 to 10 years, and an analysis of the students; exam papers, specifically their essays. The collected data aimed to determine the extent to which L1 interference was present in the participants’ use of prepositions. The findings confirm that third year students indeed encounter difficulties with English prepositions, influenced by their mother tongue.