“THE GRAMMATICAL INFLUENCE OF MOTHER TONGUE IN ADULT

FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING”

Interviewee: Magister Ana Maria Calle. Date: On Friday 23 of March at 9:10 am Place: In the CONCELT Office. Time: 12 minutes and 16 seconds.

INTERVIEW

Mother tongue has an effect in the foreign

learning process. Depends on the age. Children learn in a natural way. Not conscious about the influence.

CHILDREN

Adults

Adults are more analytical learners. The influence is higher in adult people. “The Novelty Effect.” Keep translating is a bad habit. Transfer culture as well.

Nine adult EFL students. Universidad Del Azuay. Monday 26th.

8pm. Teacher: Magister Monica Martinez. Direct contact with her students. Apply a survey.

SITE VISIT REPORT AND FIELD RESEARCH REPORT

Do adult language learners compare the grammatical

structures of their native language with those of the target language?

Does this method of comparison help adult language students understand the new grammatical structures of the target language?

Are adult language learners likely to transfer native grammatical structures into the target language?

The research scope: study of adult students` perspectives about the relevance of

mother tongue in foreign language learning. Analysis of some sample sentences.

Focused on the grammatical and syntactical errors.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Uncover certain aspects of language use in a

particular sample of language learners. Descriptive purpose. Analyze the influence of native language on a

specific aspect of foreign language learning. Draw conclusions about the amount of

grammatical influence that native language has over the target.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

  Nine participants. Ecuadorian EFL students. Seven women. Two men. 31 to 61 years old. Different professions and language needs. Different language proficiency.

one beginner Four low-intermediate Three high-intermediate One advanced student.

PARTICIPANTS

11-question survey test

multiple choice questions. Questions:

Background information about the students. Students` viewpoints. Sentences presenting specific grammatical

structures.

TASKS AND MATERIALS

Tabulating the information Statistical representations Questions asking WHY? coincidences or

trends Translation section: Grammar transfer (APPLY) Correctness (O.K.) Structure usage avoidance (VOID)

ANALYSIS PROCEDURES

Find out something about adult learners`

perspectives of the language they are learning (English), as compared with their mother tongue (Spanish), as well as to

Determine the amount of influence generated by their mother tongue in the usage of some specific grammatical structures

RESULTS

72%

20%7%

Grammar Transfer Percentage

TransferCorrectIncorrect

GENERAL ANALYSIS

All the participants tend to rely on the grammar of

their native language. This helps them in cases where L1 language

structures and L2 grammatical structures are similar. It may generate grammatical mistakes when students

face different or new structures. Related to the students` age, proficiency, and

linguistic situations. Adult students tend to be more focused on grammar

as an important and demanding aspect of language.

CONCLUSIONS

Nine adult EFL students’ viewpoints. Certain aspects of their grammar usage. Small number of participants. Adults of ages ranging from 31 to 61. Structures involved in the study. No generalizable.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY