The Acquisition of Tense by Arabic Learners of English Language - Thesis Proposal Example

The Acquisition of Tense by Arabic Learners of English Language Abstract: This proposal is intended to introduce the study of the acquisition of tense in the English language by those whose first language is Arabic. For people in this position, learning the tenses of the English language is a difficult process and can take years to fully master. The differences between Arabic and English add further difficulties due to conflicting linguistic conceptions, namely English tenses. Sources referring to the difficulties of learning tense morphemes include the Contrastive Analysis of Arabic and English Verbs in Tense, Aspect, and Structure, by Mohamed Kaleefa Al-Aswald and The Acquisition of Tense in English: Distinguishing child second language from first language and specific language impairment, by Johanne Paradis, among others. Material referred to in this study will be drawn from appropriate scientific material in order to create credibility and show the logical thought processes from the collection of data to conclusion. The test group for this study will include thirty students at three different levels of L2 proficiency. Results will be analyzed using both a lexical-morphological as well as a syntactic morphological approach in order to prove two hypotheses. Introduction: This proposal was motivated by an interest in the subject as well as the knowledge that the results of the study are potentially productive and could provide necessary knowledge in the area of linguistic science. This subject is a problem of significance for the students it affects and the knowledge to be gained from this study stands to benefit more than the population of peoples with Arabic as a first language. It is my hope that the findings of this study will also be used to assist other L2 students, and perhaps enrich their relationship with a second language. Among the problems faced by English students with Arabic as their first language is the acquisition of tenses. The morphemes of the English language differ greatly from those of Arabic, and the irregularities of tenses must be memorized, making the acquisition of tenses one of the most difficult parts of the learning process. As stated by Johanne Paradis, this situation “…is a vulnerable domain for English language learners across acquisition contexts…” ( 2008). Since one of two allomorphs pertaining to the past tense is possible, either [td] or [t or d], the English past tense exhibits a quasi-regularity (McClelland). These combined attributes create difficulties for the would-be English learner. To appreciate the hardship of the L2 student, data will be collected from thirty students at three consecutive levels of ability. Two approaches will be taken while analyzing the data in an attempt to prove two hypotheses. Problem Statement: Learning difficulties arising for L2 students can affect certain aspects of their lives. In the case of foreign students, attempts to integrate into a new country can be inhibited by linguistic difficulties. “…knowing a language involves mastering an intricate system full of surprising regularities and idiosyncrasies.” (Sag and Wasow, 2001) For people attempting to learn English as a second language, it can be embarrassing and often debilitating to incorrectly express tenses. In the workplace, people with English as a second language are often misjudged as unintelligent. Added to the difficulties most adults have with the correct acquisition of phonological sounds, (Escudero, 2005) the learning of English for Arabic speakers is quite a challenge. The confusion of past tenses was one of the major errors in tenses reported in a study of Arab learners of English at the University of Sudan (Kambal, 1980). Therefore, a study concerning the acquisition of English tenses by Arabic students can assist students with similar problems by determining the most effective solution. Hypotheses: There are two hypotheses which will be used to attempt an explanation of the difficulties that arise in the acquisition of tenses; the Aspect hypothesis advocated by Lardiere (1998a, 1998b) and Fumio Miyahara (1996) and the Perpetual Salience Hypothesis (Man, 1990). The latter is contradicted by the proposition that the cause of tense confusion is extra-syntactic (Prevost and White, 2000). One of the hypotheses to be tested in this study is that of the inherent aspectual class and its specific affects upon the acquisition of verbal inflectional morphemes by L1 Arabic learners of the English language. Robinson (2008:317) describes the Aspect hypothesis in his work Handbook of Cognitive linguistics and second language acquisition; “learners associate forms that mark time with the lexical aspect inherent in the meaning of the verb.” The Aspect theory is widely upheld by the linguistic scientific community and will be used specifically to analyze the acquisition of past tense morphemes. The second hypothesis to be tested is the question of whether or not the past tense production by L1 Arabic speakers differs from that of native English speakers. In particular, the study will focus on the production of English past tense by L1 Arabic speakers. According to Lardiere (1998a, 1998b) , difficulties involving tenses are not believed to be the fault of a deviation in underlying syntactic representation, but the incorrect mapping of syntactic representations onto morpho(phono)logical forms. These hypotheses will be tested within the study in order to better define linguistic difficulties and therefore, determine solutions to specific problems. Methodology: The test group for this study will be taken from a population of L2 students due to the overall presence of a general learning age. The study will be conducted upon thirty students divided into three groups of ten. Each group will contain members with the same generalized level of proficiency within the English language. The groups will be tested to find the occurrences of correct verbal inflection by using elicitation probes. Once obtained, the probes will grade the scores for an accuracy of tense morphemes and will also perform an analysis of variance between test groups. Once graded, the scores will be analyzed using a lexical-morphological and syntactic morphological approach. The former will be used to test the effects of inherent lexical aspects and if found, will ultimately prove the Aspect Hypothesis. If proven, the lexical aspect of the verb will significantly influence the appearance of grammatical morphology, as indicated in findings by Shirai (2007) The latter will be used to test for errors due to deviant L2 syntactic knowledge, which is the problem of incorrect mapping of syntactic representations onto morphology (Lardiere, 1998). Conclusion This study is intended to research the tense acquisition of the English language by native Arabic speakers. Specifically, this project will study the acquisition of past tense morphemes and will also contrast the use of the English past tense by L1 Arabic speakers against native English speakers. It is proposed that the conclusion of this study will prove the Aspect theory. It is hoped that the final results of the study will indicate the reasons for difficulties involving tense acquisition. Above all, this study is intended to progress the knowledge of how L1 Arabic students learn the past tense and also to individually investigate the problems associated with tense acquisition. Careful research and accurate analysis of data will be used to produce a study which will enrich scientific knowledge on the subject of tense acquisition and will help to create a foundation for further research in this area. Bibliography Al-Aswad, Mohamed Kaleefa. Contrastive Analysis of Arabic and English Verbs in Tense, Aspect, and Structure. 1984. Escudero, Paolo. Linguistic Perception and Second Language Acquisition. 2005. Kambal, M. An Analysis of Kartoum University Students’ Composition Errors with Implications for Remedial English in the Context of Arabicization. PhD Dissertation. University of Texas at Austin, USA. Lardiere, Donna. Case and tense in the ‘fossilised’ steady state. Second Language Research. 14:1-26. 1998. Quoted in L2 Perception and Production of the English Regular Past: The Role of L1 and L2 Phonology. www.linguistics.stonybrook.edu/old_events/konf/sunycunyu04/pugach_et_al.pdf [10 May, 2009]. Man. The Function of Perception in the Acquisition of Non-native Inflectional Morphology: The Case of the Past in English. Upublished Doctoral Dissertation. The City University of New York. Quoted in Klien, Elaine. Past Tense Affixation in L2 English: The Effects of Lexical Aspect and Perceptual Salience. 2004. 128.197.86.186/posters/klein.pdf [11 May, 2009]. McClelland, James L. Rules or Connections in Past-Tense Inflections: What does the Evidence Rule Out? Trends in Cognitive Sciences. N.d. Miyahara, Fumio. Aspect as an English Grammatical Category: Groundwork for the Aspect Theory. Shohakusha (Tokyo). pp. viii + 211. 1996. Paradis, Johanne et al. The Acquisition of Tense in English: Distinguishing child second language from first language and specific language impairment. Applied Psycholinguist. Vol.29, No.4, pp. 689-722. 2008. Prevost & White. 2000. Quoted in Gavruseva, Elena. The Complicity of Telicity in the Root Infinitive Effect in Child L2 English. Proceedings of the 6th Generative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition Conference (GASLA 2002. Juana M. Liceras et al., 106-114. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. 2003. Robinson, Peter. Handbook of cognitive linguistics and second language acquisition. Routledge. 2008. Sag & Wasow. Syntactic Theory A Formal Introduction. CSLI Publications. pp. 3-12. 2001. Shirai, Yasuhiro. The Aspect Hypothesis, the comparative fallacy and the validity of obligatory context analysis: a reply to Lardiere, 2003. Second Language Research, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 51-64. 2007. Read More