A cross-linguistic analysis of simple present tense usage by arab and malay users of english /
Issues concerning the acquisition of English as a second language (ESL) have been perpetually discussed in reference to the influence of learners' first language. As an extension to that, this thesis focuses not only on ESL but also on English as possibly the third language of the users. In par...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | Click here to view 1st 24 pages of the thesis. Members can view fulltext at the specified PCs in the library. |
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| Summary: | Issues concerning the acquisition of English as a second language (ESL) have been perpetually discussed in reference to the influence of learners' first language. As an extension to that, this thesis focuses not only on ESL but also on English as possibly the third language of the users. In particular, the study investigates cross-linguistic matters by presenting a comparative analysis of simple present time forms that are present in the written output of Malay and Arab users of English. The study seeks to identify temporal similarities and differences between three languages: Malay, Arabic and English. It attempts to further elucidate theoretical understanding of the three languages and to see if such understanding can help in the process of acquiring English grammatical features. To facilitate the comparative analyses, data was collated in the form of written output from Malay and Arab respondents (n=60). The participants were advanced users of the English language and they were requested to write an essay of approximately four hundred words on a given topic. Textual analysis was carried out to examine the obligatory occasions and the erroneous forms of the simple present tense. The findings were presented in descriptive statistics through frequencies and percentages. The results indicated that the Arab and Malay users of English were able to produce simple present forms extensively. It is also revealed that habitual action is the most frequently used form of simple present tense for the Arabs and the Malays. The habitual forms were also the most identified forms with errors. In comparison, the Arab users used more variations of simple present tense forms than the Malay users and the former used simple present tense forms with more accuracy and correctness. Meanwhile, the Malays faced a significant challenge in using the simple present forms appropriately and it was reflected in the noticeable evidence of tense errors. The result of the study shows that the temporal system of Arabic and Malay language interferes with the acquisition of the English temporal system, or specifically the simple present tense. The study suggests that English language learners with the help of their instructors should change their customary ways of understanding and learning the English tenses. They should adopt a more pragmatic and semantic approach to the teaching and learning process so that the learners can have better understanding in using the linguistic feature. |
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| Physical Description: | xiv, 104 leaves : illustrations ; 30cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-99). |