Problems of English Definite Article - Thesis Example

Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Table of Contents Problems of English Definite Article: Determinants for Arabic ESL 3 Introduction 3 Background Information 4 Problem statement 5 Scope of the study 5 Objectives of the study 6 Methodology 7 Literature Review 8 Difficulties with Arabic Word form 8 English article system 8 English Article systemization 8 Expected findings 15 Conclusion 15 Works Cited 16 Problems of English Definite Article: Determinants for Arabic ESL Introduction The learning of a second language has proven to be more advantageous in creating intercultural cohesion. The current trends in globalization provide plenty of opportunities to multi-lingual individuals. In addition, the European policy encourages many individuals in the region to learn a second language to gain a competitive advantage. Not only does learning of a second language provide an economic benefit, but also a political advantage. These major factors drive the world today. Movement and intercultural socialization force many individuals to learn a second language. Other factors that make people explore to learn a second language include education, personal interest, and occupational demands. Learning of a second language has therefore proven to be a fundamental step. People may only develop an interest to learn languages that have greater influence globally or languages that are widely spoken. Currently, English and Arabic are two of the most spoken languages in the world. The two languages have proven to be very significant thus having knowledge of the two languages is encouraged. However, learning the two languages may not be easy, as many differences exist between the two. Learners face challenges in various aspects such as language structure. Some authors have referred to this as problems in English that determine the learning of Arabic as a second language. According to Thouësny (pp 1), language interference is a major factor when it comes to second language learning. The challenges witnessed in language transfers have attracted the attention of many scholars to study the phenomenon. The primary causes of the differences are the similarities and errors in one language that may affect acquisition of the second language. According to James pp (167), a first language (L1) can either have a positive or negative effect on a second language (L2). Positive influence implies that a first language gives a person an advantage in learning a second language while negative influence means the vice-versa. Background Information According to Alamrani and Zughaibi (pp 93), Arabic and English native speakers provide an excellent example of phonological and phonetic errors. For instance, most of the Arabic speakers have been found to confuse the /p/ and /b/ in English. Confusion results from the single bilabial letter in English. Another challenge that Arabic speakers face when learning English is mastering the tenses. Often, the Arabic speakers face a difficulty in complex sentences that have a difference between time and verb. Some words in Arabic can be used interchangeably, which cannot always be a case in English. The interchangeability proves the existing differences in word usage and structure between English and Arabic language. The use of articles between English and Arabic languages has a significant variation. The errors of articles in English language that determine Arabic also have a significant effect on comprehension of sentences and phrases. The significant difference between the functions of articles often leaves new learners confused. It is, therefore, important to understand the existing shift in the linguistic characteristics required for either English or Arabic. The purpose of this paper is to identify the major differences that exist between English and Arabic language. The identification will play a major role in establishing the problems of English that affect the learning of the Arabic language. Problem statement ESL learners are likely to face challenges when learning L2 language due to effects of L1 language. The phonological and morphological transfer can affect learning of a second language. For instance, Arabic speakers may face challenges when learning to speak English due to one or a number of reasons. These challenges are what are referred to as problems in English that affect Arabic ESL learners. The reason this situation is considered problematic is the fact that globalization encourages people to have bilingual or multi-lingual capacity. English is one of the major languages used globally and so is Arabic. However, the existing differences between the structures of sentences between the two languages can pose a challenge to Arabic ESL learners. The use of definite and indefinite articles can prove to be problematic for ESL learners. The learners are likely misuse these articles since the Arabic sentence structure does not recognize such articles in their sentence structures. The study therefore focuses on the English definite articles /the/ and the challenges it poses to Arabic ESL learners. Scope of the study Very many languages exist in the world, but only a fraction of these languages has earned recognition as the most spoken languages globally. English and Arabic are two languages that are widely spoken around the globe. The significance of these two languages plays major role in globalization. Having the knowledge of these two languages enhances one’s competitive advantage in many areas. Multilingualism encourages intercultural relationship and cohesion. It is, therefore, important to understand the existing differences between English and Arabic language to establish a point of intervention. The study, therefore, helps to identify the aspects of word and sound use in one language that affects acquisition of the other. In addition, the study delves into sentence structure and formation in English that may have an influence in acquiring a second language which I Arabic. With such information, scholars and educators can easily understand the important aspects of English and Arabic that contradicts or corresponds. Therefore, English Learners can thus understand the specific points of intervention in acquiring Arabic as a second language and vice versa. The study will therefore, benefit all individuals intending to learn English or Arabic as a second language. However, the study will focus on the definite article /the/ and the challenge it causes on Arabic ESL learners. Objectives of the study The main objective of the study is to establish problems of English definite determinants for Arabic ESL. The specific objectives include: 1. To determine the English article system 2. To determine the existing Errors in clauses 3. To establish the problems of English Article systemization 4. To analyze the Cross-linguistic dichotomies 5. To establish the effect of Phonological and morphological transfer on Arabic ESL learners 6. To determine the Challenges of English Grammar on Arabic ESL learners Methodology This section includes the methods and techniques that will be used during the study. The methodology include; constant comparative analysis, research design, Constant Comparative Analysis Constant comparative analysis will be used to identify the similarities and differences of various language aspects between English and Arabic. Major features of language will be identified upon which the study will maintain focus. With this approach, the study will maintain focus on differences between identified categories. The complexity and diversity of data on language features of English and Arabic will be identified. The use English definite article /the/ by Arabic ESL learners will form the focal point of the analysis. Study Design The study will involve a theoretical methodology that will rely on observation and facts. The method will make us of previous studies and findings on the English definite article problems that affect Arabic ESL learners. Desk studies and review of literature will form the major source of primary data. Study Population The populations this study will focus on are the Arabic ESL learners and English speakers. The study will identify the challenges these Arabic ESL learners face while learning the English language. Literature Review Difficulties with Arabic Word form English article system The English article system can be characterized into two categories, which are the definite, and the indefinite clause. The indefinite articles include /a/ and /an/ while there is only one definite, /the/. /a/0 and /an/ are often used to show count nouns in cases where another person is not aware of the noun being referred to. For instance in an example: ‘Tom had an apple’. When referring to a person or a thing in a group, the indefinite articles /a/ and /an/ can also be used. Like the indefinite articles, the definite article also has several uses in showing reference. /The/ is used to refer to a single thing, specific and in conceptual knowledge. English Article systemization According to Shalaby (pp 8), the role of article systemization in English is to modify a noun phrase they go before. The three articles in English include /a/, /an/ and /the/ enable encoding and postulation. Articles enable words to be specified like in a sentence; ‘I had a cup of tea.' The noun cup has been specified by the article /a/ to express specificity. On the other hand, ESL, learners are likely to fail to recognize the use of articles. In case these learners try to use articles, there is a high chance that the articles will be used inappropriately. One of the reasons for this problem is absence of the variability of articles in Arabic language. ESL learners may also fail to encode the divergent significance these articles create. Whenever ESL learners begin with their L1 structures to change into English language, there is a high chance of violating the basic rules of English. ESL learners have to identify specific environment to use articles. These environments include generics nouns, referential definite, earlier mention, specifies through entailment or definition and unique in all or given context. Other areas include non-referential nouns, attributive or non-specific identities, idioms and other predictable uses (Shalaby pp 9). Challenge in Grammar According to Shalaby (pp 12), another difficulty Arabic speakers face when learning English is grammar. Aspects of grammar that create a problem include tense, auxiliary, modal verbs, articles and phrasal verbs (Al-Khatib et al., pp 13). When comparing English and Arabic language, English has relatively more tenses that Arabic. The diversity of tense, therefore, requires more drills to make an Arabic speaker understand these tenses. An example, in this case, include past participle tense and past continuous tense. English grammar requires the use of auxiliary verbs of tenses that Arabic speakers find it hard to use. Considering a sentence like ‘he hasn’t been helping his parents,' various inversions emerge that include ‘has he helped?’, ‘hasn’t he?’. The variations appear when questions, question tags, and answers are derived from the initial statement. In this case, the auxiliary verbs ‘do’ and ‘does’, are responsible for the variations (Al-Buainain pp 7). Modal verbs present another form of complexity Arabic speakers has to face when learning English. According to a study conducted by Al-Buainain (pp 6), several students of Arabic background expressed signs of difficulties in when forming verb phrases. An example presented in the study indicates how these students were unable to construct a grammatical sentence using the word ‘cannot’. The tense of the verb after this word was often misplaced with some students directly using past tense. An example of such a sentence includes ‘the people were too many that you cannot heard what he said'. The problem of relative clauses in English also emerges whenever Arabic speakers face a challenge to construct an adjective clause. Arabic speakers have high chances to make errors in such situations. For instance, a speaker can say, ‘I want to tell about the pain which I suffered from it.' The sentence indicates how an Arabic speaker finds it hard to use an adjective clause accurately (Al-Buainain, Students'’ Writing Errors in EFL: A Study Case pp 6). ESL students face a challenging task when it comes to the use of articles. For instance, Arabic speakers get confused in deciding when and how to use a definite article. According to Al-Buainain (pp 8), Arabic students either include or omit definite articles in an attempt to create a correct English statement. ‘I think eating well is good thing’ is an example of a sentence where an article has been omitted. At times, English nouns require a person to use a demonstrative adjective as a modifier. When using the demonstrative adjectives in English, the adjective and the noun must concur. Al-Buainain (pp 9), explains how his study identified the challenge in the use of demonstrative adjectives. In a sentence like ‘this dogs are helpful’ or ‘the girls makes him happy’ are examples of how modifiers were used alongside plural nouns. Countable and uncountable nouns are common in English. However, ESL students face challenges in differentiating countable and uncountable nouns. There are tendencies of ESL learners to generalize the use of the plural in the two types of nouns. The rules, in this case, seem more complex compared to the rules used in the Arabic language. Phonological and morphological transfer ESL students must understand a linguistic structure of L2 to develop comprehension and to read (Alamrani and Zughaibi pp 93). Therefore, ESL students have to be conversant with the phonology and discourse that exists in a new language. However, (Alamrani and Zughaibi), also indicate that some author links intelligence to the comprehension of L2. English and Arabic languages exhibit a difference in the phonological structure that ultimately affects the morphological transfer. Despite the fact that English and Arabic languages share linguistic characteristics, several distinguishable differences may affect ESL learners. English and Arabic languages require learners to have a deep understanding of the variations in phonemes and morphemes. More so, one has to understand how to represent sentences using syntactic and semantics (Alamrani and Zughaibi pp 93; Chomsky pp 26). Modern Standard Arabic has twenty-eight letters that stand for twenty-eight consonants and additional three letters that can serve as vowels. The vowels in Standard Arabic can be categorized into short vowels and long vowels. The short Arabic vowels include /a/ and /i/ while the long Arabic vowels include /aa/, /ii/ and /uu/. Comparing the number of vowels in Arabic and English, English has five vowels /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/ and /u/. There is no special categorization of English vowels, thus, ESL learners have to establish such differences. In addition, English has twenty-six letter, two less than the total number of letters in Arabic. The Arabic language makes use of three basic formulae when forming words (Alamrani and Zughaibi pp 93). A typical Arabic word is made up of a root that is consonantal, vowel and a single or couple of affixes. This structure is different in English thus ESL learner has to face some complexities when learning the English language. The Arabic sentence structure may significantly avoid the use of definite articles. The problems manifests when the Arabic ESL learners avoid the use of /the/ in sentence structures. Cross-linguistic dichotomies and articles Given that the Arabic language is considered Semitic, it has a morphological system that is intricate (Shalaby pp18). The Arabic language has a diversity of definite articles due to /al-/ that are an explicit bound morpheme. The article is an equivalent of /the in English that, on the contrary, is implicit in indefinite articles. To explain this, Shalaby (pp 18) presents an example: Arabic version: Toreed Steve an taqr’a qesah Direct Translation: Want Steve to read story English version: Steve wants to read a story In this example, the direct translation version to English a different sentence structure that is not grammatical. The difference in the sentence structures of Arabic and English will affect an ESL learner. From the sentence verbs modifier that creates a present continuous situation is misplaced when Arabic is directly translated to English. It is, therefore, necessary for an Arabic speaker to establish the difference of sentence structures between Arabic and English. Another example is evident when ‘3an al-tha’alab al-makkar. When directly translated to English, then it will form ‘about the fox the cunning’. The double use of /al/ article in Arabic is very different from the use of /the/ article in English. When these words are expressed in correct English grammar, they will be read as ‘about the cunning fox.' the variation in the English and Arabic articles are caused by the rigid article in Arabic. The Arabic language only has definite article while the English language has both the definite and indefinite article. The Semitic nature of Arabic language is characterized by nunation markers to mark the final sound of nouns. Definiteness in the Arabic language can be achieved through syntactical marking of nouns (Shalaby pp19). The definite article /the/ can be omitted at various occasions when Arabic speakers learn to speak english Errors in clauses According to Brinton (pp 215), English has two clauses, finite and nonfinite clauses. This clause may pose to be a great challenge for ESL learners especially in differentiating areas in which they are used. Finite clauses have verbs that are finite in terms of tense, person and number. The finite clause is of three types, dependent, adverbial and independent or wh-clause. In a sentence, that clause always begins with a conjunction that is subordinating. Therefore, that can be used when a finite verb is present and can have several auxiliaries. In addition, there is a possibility of passiveness, negating and self-complexity. ESL learners have to ensure that the use of ‘that’ should not be imperative and must not be used as a question. In a sentence that can serve as a subject, complement of a subject, direct object, complement of A and complement of N. ‘Wh-clause are of three types which include ‘wh’-questions, relative clauses and indirect questions (Brinton pp 225). Relative clause and indirect questions are subordinate clauses. The verbal part of non-finite clauses have a person, number and tense unmarked to make the clauses dependent and embedded (Brinton pp 239). In most cases the non-finite clauses, lack obligatory elements thus remain incomplete. There are high chances of ESL learners to fall victim of interlingual errors such as relative pronoun deletion. Learners of Arabic origin learning English are likely to commit this grammatical offence e under two circumstances. One of the circumstances is when a clause acts a modifier of a noun in a position of subject complement. Another circumstance is seen when a noun phrase that has been relatalivized serves as a direct object. The main cause of the two errors is the interference by the Arabic mother language. In Arabic, there is no chance of occurrence of a relative pronoun. Other mistake Arabic speakers make when learning English is avoiding non-restrictive clauses. For this reason, the ESL learners end up using restrictive clauses in wrong occasions. An example, in this case, is; ‘John who bought the cup yesterday is my worst enemy’. The Arabic language does not bring out the semantic differences between restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses. ESL learners are also victims of using possessives with antecedents due to negative transfer from Arabic. The error is possible since Arabic language lacks restrictions on the use of possessives alongside antecedents. Subject-verb agreement is a very important part when constructing grammatically correct sentences in English. However, Arabic speakers learning English fail to bring out a correct subject and verb agreement when constructing sentences. For instance, ‘who’ is considered singular and plural in Arabic. When negative transfer is applied an example of a sentence will use who when referring to people and then followed by is – ‘the people who is walking are mad’. Intralingual errors may also affect relative clauses thus influence ESL learning. For instance, Arabic speakers have a difficulty to differentiate which and who. The condition is referred to as substitution of relative pronouns. Expected findings The study will play a major role in identifying the specific problems in English definite article, /the/, which affects Arabic ESL learners. In addition, the study will delve deeply to bring out the effect of l1 language on acquisition of l2 language, existing errors in definite clauses, problems of English Article systemization, existing Cross-linguistic dichotomies between Arabic and English, Phonological and morphological determinants for Arabic ESL learners and Challenges of English Grammar on Arabic ESL learners. The main aim will to pull all these strings together and identify how they affect the use of definite article on Arabic ESL learners. Conclusion Globalization has created the need for people to learn more than one language in order to benefit. English and Arabic are among the most spoken languages in the world but English still remains the most powerful. Learning English places a person in a good position to communicate to individuals in various parts of the world. However, there are challenges that Arabic ESL learners face while learning English. Use of English articles causes a major challenge to arabi ESL learners. The study therefore uses a theoretical methodology to study this definite article related problem. The findings of the study will be important in identifying specific areas for Arabic ESL learners to concentrate when learning English. The study will also establish reasons why the definite article affects the Arabic ESL learners. Works Cited Alamrani, Gamil and Abdullah A Zughaibi. "Phonological and Morphological Transfer among Arab ESL Learners." 2015. International Journal of Language and Literature. Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 91-98 . http://ijll-net.com/journals/ijll/Vol_3_No_1_June_2015/13.pdf. 23rd January 2015. Al-Buainain, Haifa. "Researching Types and Causes of Errors in Arabic Speakers' Writings." 2007. Qatar Univerisity. http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/001054/current.pdf?_s=BbbfTof_892kOFX-. 23th January 2016. —. "Students'’ Writing Errors in EFL: A Case Study." 2009. Qatar University. http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/001050/current.pdf?_s=he71emh4erWha-Pw. 25th January 2016. Al-Khatib, Hayat, et al. "Difficulties that Arab Students Face in Learning English Research Project ." 2015. Arab Open University - Lebanon. https://arabou.edu.kw/files/lebanon/Lebanon%20branch%20research%20study.pdf. 22th January 2016. Brinton, Laurel J. The Structure of Modern English: A Linguistic Introduction. New Yrko: John Benjamins Publishing, 2000. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=9MO7Mlg2RnMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Problems+of+English+Definite:+Determinants+for+Arabic+ESL&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false. Chomsky, Noam. Syntactic Structures. Walter de Gruyter, 2002. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=SNeHkMXHcd8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Problems+of+English+Definite:+Determinants+for+Arabic+ESL&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false. James, Purpura E. Assessing Grammar. Cambridge University Press, 2004. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=C1AyH555ykkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Problems+of+English+Definite:+Determinants+for+Arabic+ESL&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false. Saigh, Kholood and Norbert Schmitt. "Difficulties with Vocabulary Word Form: The Case of Arabic ESL learners." 2011. King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia. System 40 (2012) 24-36. http://www.norbertschmitt.co.uk/uploads/saigh-k-and-schmitt-n-(2012)-difficulties-with-vocabulary-form-the-case-of-arabic-esl-learners-system-40-24-36.pdf. 24th January 2016. Shalaby, Atia Atia Ibrahim. "English– and Arabic-Medium of Instruction and Second Language Acquisition of English Articles System by ESL Arab Sophomores in Sharjah ." 2014. A Dissertation Submitted in Conformity with the Requirements for the Master Degree of Education in TESOL. http://bspace.buid.ac.ae/bitstream/1234/669/1/120147.pdf. 24th January 2016. Thouësny, Sylvie. "Modeling Second Language Learners Interlanguage and its Variability: A Computer-Based Dynamic Assessment Approach." 2011. Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Dublin City University. http://doras.dcu.ie/16559/1/sylvieThouesny_PhD_thesis.pdf. 23rd January 2016. Read More