The Native Language Interference (language transfer) in Ecuadorian High School Learners of English.

Abstract

The native language interference (language transfer) in Ecuadorian high school learners of English” aims at identifying the influence of the native language on EFL Ecuadorian learners in grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. To achieve this goal, 98 students who are attending the first year of baccalaureate in a public high-school and one English teacher were asked to participate in this study. The instruments for data collection were a checklist and 2 written test. In one of the test students had to write a paragraph and in the other students had to translate words and phrases. Then, the data was organized into charts to determine the most common mistakes. The results from this study indicate that grammar and vocabulary are the most affected language aspects by language transfer. In grammar the most affected aspects by this phenomenon are misuse of article, misuse of preposition, and subject-verb agreement. In vocabulary, “librería”, “actualmente” and “asistir”, “hacer una pregunta”, “dar un exámen” and “tomar helado” were the most affected words and phrases by LT. In pronunciation “school”, “sport/sports” and “study/studied” were the most affected words.