Many languages are different from English in terms of semantics, syntax, and grammar. Although there are a variety of differences, this ar...
Many languages are different from English in terms of semantics, syntax, and grammar. Although there are a variety of differences, this article investigates the use, misuse, and acquisition of items. I predict that non-English language speakers who lack an article system (Korean, Russian, Polish, and Japanese) will demonstrate language transfer errors within the English article system, a / an, the, or zero, when they learn to speak English. Research suggests that non-native English speakers will make mistakes when speaking English if their native language lacks articles.
Ionin, Ko and Wexler (2003) tested the linguistic theory of L2 acquisition in relation to the use of the article. They predicted that Korean and Russian English learners will overuse the article in specific and indefinite specific and indefinite contexts. In a 2004 study, Ekiert examined the acquisition and misuse of the English article system by Polish speakers studying English in ESL and EFL settings. Neal Snape, 2004 examined the use of articles by Japanese English and Spanish learners and proposed that due to the L2 acquisition processes, all English learners would make systematic transfer errors with respect to articles in English.
In a 2003 analysis by Ionin, Ko and Wexler, Russian and Korean English learners were studied in relation to the use of their English articles. Participants in this study were 50 Russian English learners aged 17 to 57, with an average age of 38 years who had resided in the United States for an average of approximately 3 years (3 years, 2 months). There were also 38 Korean English learners aged between 17 and 38, with an average age of 28 who had been living in the US. USA For an average of just under 2 years (1 year, 10 months). All of these participants had been exposed to English in their home country at an early age or during adolescence, but were not fully exposed to it until they arrived in the US. USA During late adolescence or adulthood. There was also a control group that participated in this study. It was composed of seven adult native English speakers. They performed as expected on all tasks.
Ionin, Ko and Wexler (2003) point out that the data for this study was collected in the form of forced retrieval tasks and participants were asked to complete the written part of the Michigan L2 proficiency test, a multiple choice test. of 30 items that grouped the students in the skill level (beginner, intermediate and advanced). The researchers also point out in the results section that there was another task that was not reported in this study. For the retrieval task, there were 56 short dialogues that tested 14 types of context in which participants had to choose between a, the, and the null article (-) for singular and some, the, and – for plurals. The study by Ionin, Ko, and Wexler shows examples of the task of obtaining dialogue on pages 250-252. Three of the context types were intended to elicit singular specific undefined. Former-
In a “Lost and Found”:
Secretary: Can I help you? Are you looking for something you lost?
Client: Yes, I realize you have many things here, but maybe you have what I need. You see, I’m looking for (a, the, -) green scarf. I think I lost it here last week.
Three types of context were used to obtain non-specific singular indefinites: Ex-
In a clothing store:
Secretary: Can I help you?
Client: Yes please! I have rummaged through every post, with no success. I’m looking for (a, the, -) warm hat. It is getting quite cold outside.
Two contexts tested indefinite plurals (specific and non-specific). Former-
Telephone conversation: (specific)
Jeweler: Hello, this is Robertson’s jewelry. What can I do for you, ma’am? Are you looking for a jewel? Or are you interested in selling?
Client: Yes, selling is correct. I would like to sell you (some, the, -) beautiful necklaces. They are very valuable
Telephone conversation: (not specific)
Seller: Hello Erik’s Grocery Deliveries. What can I do for you?
Customer: Well, I have a pretty exotic order.
Seller: we can help you.
Client: I would like to buy (some, the -) green tomatoes. I am making a special Mexican sauce.
Two types of context were designed to obtain defined determining phrases (PD) in plural and singular contexts. Examples:
Singular defined:
Richard: I visited my friend Kelly yesterday. Kelly really likes animals, she has two cats and a dog. Kelly was busy last night, she was studying for an exam. So I helped her with her animals.
Maryanne: What did you do?
Richard: I took (a, the, -) dog for a walk.
Defined plural:
Rosalyn: My cousin started school yesterday. He took a notebook and two
new books with him to school, and he was very excited. He was so proud to have his own things from school! But he came home very sad.
Jane: What made you so sad? Did you lose any of your things?
Rosalyn: yes! Lost (some, the, -) books.
Since the results of this study were separated by skill level, the results of the Michigan Test were given first. The Korean group L1 had 1 beginner, 12 intermediate and 25 advanced in English. The L1-Russian group contained 13 beginners, 15 intermediate and 22 advanced English. The results show that intermediate and advanced students generally overuse in specific undefined contexts. The results also showed that the use of the era was greater with definite undefined than with specific indefinite and was also greater with specific indefinite than non-specific. The researchers also noted that item omission was greater with plural PDs.
Overall, it was observed that L1 Korean students outperformed L1 Russian speakers in most categories. This performance difference was attributed to the fact that “Korean L1 students were predominantly international students receiving intensive English instruction, while the speakers came from a variety of backgrounds” (Ionin, Ko & Wexler, 2003).
In a similar study by Monica Ekiert in 2004, the acquisition of the English article system by Polish speakers in ESL and EFL settings was studied. Participants in this study included 10 adult Polish English learners (ESL), 10 Polish English learners (EFL), and 5 native English speakers who served as a control group. All Polish students were in their 20s and 30s, had a grammar test, and were divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced skill levels. ESL students enrolled in an intensive English course at Columbia University with an average length of stay in the United States of one year. EFL students enrolled at the University of Warsaw, while English was not their major and they had not been outside of Poland for more than a month nor did they use English outside of the classroom.
Homework assigned to students was 42 sentences containing 75 required uses removed from a / an, the, zero. Participants were asked to read the sentences, insert a / an, zero in the appropriate place. No blanks were put in the sentences because the researcher felt that if blanks were inserted, participants would fill each blanks with one or the creation of unreliable data. Each student was given 20 minutes to complete the task and asked not to use dictionaries. An overuse analysis of a / an, the, zero was performed. Unfortunately, no examples of the sentences used for this task were reported in the report.
The results of this study showed that students at all skill levels overused article zero. A direct relationship between skill level and zero item overuse was shown, while beginners showed the most overuse, the least intermediate and advanced students made the fewest number of zero overuse errors. The results of the misuse of an article were the same for the level of competition v. Misuse. In contrast, the item was not overused by beginners. The level of overuse was highest among intermediate students.
Ekiert (2004) noted that a remarkable finding from this study was that EFL students outperformed their ESL counterparts. This provides evidence that the acquisition of the English article system does not depend solely on exposure. One reason given for this performance difference is that all EFL students enrolled in a college program, while ESL students varied in educational background and simply enrolled in a college-level ESL class for one semester.
Neal Snape conducted another study in 2004 that examined the use of articles by Japanese English and Spanish students. This study proposes that, although Spanish speakers use an article system, due to L2 acquisition processes, Spanish English speakers would make systematic transfer errors with respect to English articles similar to Japanese students. He also predicted that L2 students would overuse the definite article.
Participants in this study were three Japanese-speaking English learners, three Spanish-speaking English learners, and two native English speakers acted as a control group. All participants ranged in age from 23 to 40 years, with a mean age of 28 years. All English learners had studied in the UK for six months and had taken 575 or more on TOEFL. The two groups of students were separated into skill levels based on the scores on the level tests.
The first task in this experiment was an oral production task and consisted of making the participants listen to 13 stories. The stories were presented using PowerPoint slides and students were given directions on each slide to help them remember the story. They listened to the story twice and remembered it using the prompts. Each recall was digitally recorded, transcribed, and verified for accuracy. Ex history:
“I thought the train was leaving,” said the young man. “They can’t find a driver.” the old woman’s daughter replied.
The results showed that the participants had difficulty using the correct article. Previous results: “Cannot find driver.”
The results of this study also show that the precision with the use of the article is directly correlated with the performance of the students in the level test, while the beginners obtained the lowest score with the correct use of the article, while the students Advanced obtained the highest score.
The second task in this study was a gap filling test where participants had to read a dialogue and fill in the gap with the correct article, a / an, the or zero. Former-
A: come on! We have been in this store for hours.
B: I can’t decide. Which shirt do you like the most?
C: I prefer ____ striped shirt.
The results of this task found that Japanese English learners and Spanish English learners did not overuse the definitive article. This research showed that all English learners performed better in the written than in the verbal section by creating fewer article errors. In the oral section of the assignment, advanced students were more precise in the use of their article, but errors of omission still persist (Snape, 2004).
In all studies, non-English language speakers lacking an article system, use of a / an, the or zero were shown to display language transfer errors when learning to speak English. It also showed that most of the errors were omissions, because their native languages don’t have an article system. Although this is true for Korean, Russian, Polish, and Japanese English speakers, it is not true for Spanish speakers. This leads to the interpretation of Snape’s 2004 data and results regarding language acquisition. Perhaps it is not due to the lack of a system of articles in the other language, it is directly related to the acquisition of a second language, while articles in English are not acquired until a later stage.
Research suggests that ESL articles are so difficult to learn and teach ESL and EFL students due to the vastness and complexity of the rules and exceptions regarding article use (Norris, 1992). Some teaching techniques that might be useful to ESL and EFL teachers include providing extended descriptions, meaningful learning experiences, and the use of visual aids and images.
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