The Comprehension of English Relative Clauses by Arabic-Speaking EFL Learners

This study investigates the extent to which 50 Arabic-speaking EFL learners comprehend English relative clauses (RCs). It also aims to test which relative pronoun among the seven pronouns we are investigating is the easiest to comprehend and which is the most problematic. Furthermore, it aims to measure whether the English proficiency level of the participants affects their performance on the test. Therefore, a multiple-choice test was administered in order to examine their comprehension of this complex syntactic structure. The participants were asked to choose the correct answer out of four choices. The results demonstrate that Arabic-speaking EFL learners may not be fully aware of English relative clauses (total percentage= 48.5%). The t-test shows that the English proficiency level affected the participants’ performance on the test. Consequently, there is a significant difference between the answers of the advanced learners (ALs) (61.3%) and those of the intermediate learners (ILs) (35.6%). Moreover, the results reveal that the easiest relative pronoun to comprehend is the pronoun when, and the most difficult one is the pronoun whom. This study accounts for these difficulties and concludes with pedagogical implications and recommendations for further research.

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On the Acquisition of Derivational Suffixes by Kuwaiti EFL Learners

European Scientific Journal ESJ ◽

10.19044/esj.2017.v13n17p223 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 13 (17) ◽

pp. 223

Author(s):

Maye A. Alotaibi ◽

Abdullah M. Alotaibi

Keyword(s):

English Proficiency ◽

First Language ◽

Choice Test ◽

Production Test ◽

Advanced Learners ◽

Efl Learners ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Comprehension Skills ◽

L1 Influence

This study aims to test the extent to which 90 Kuwaiti EFL learners are aware of the correct use of derivational suffixes in English. It also identifies the mains reasons of the errors that Kuwaiti EFL learners may make. In addition, it investigates whether the English proficiency level of the participants plays a role in their answers on the test. To this end, the participants were tested twice in this study; a multiple-choice test was used to check their comprehension skills, whereas a fill-in the blank test was used to measure their ability to produce the correct derivational suffixes in English. Following data analysis, the results reveal that Kuwaiti EFL learners are fairly aware of the correct use of English derivational suffixes to a certain degree; the total mean on both tests (comprehension = 70% and production = 56%) is 63%. The participants obtained higher percentage of correct answers on the comprehension test (mean= 70%) compared to the production test (mean = 56%). Additionally, the t-test shows that the participants’ English proficiency level plays a central role in their comprehension and production of these suffixes. The performance of the Advanced Learners (ALs) (comprehension = 77% and production = 62%) is better than that of the Intermediate Learners (ILs) (comprehension = 64% and production = 48%) on the tests. In particular, there is a statistically significant difference between the answers of ALs and ILs on both tests. Regarding the types of error made by the participants, I argued that the most noticeable ones are due to: (1) the modification that non-neutral derivational suffixes cause when they are attached to the word (stems/roots); and (2) first language (L1) influence. Finally, the study concludes with some recommendations for further research.

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The Use of Inflectional Morphemes by Kuwaiti EFL Learners

English Language and Literature Studies ◽

10.5539/ells.v6n3p32 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 32

Author(s):

Abdullah M. Alotaibi

Keyword(s):

Negative Transfer ◽

English Proficiency ◽

First Language ◽

Choice Test ◽

Multiple Choice Test ◽

Advanced Learners ◽

Efl Learners ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Inflectional Morphemes

This research paper aims to test the extent to which 100 Kuwaiti EFL learners are aware of the correct use of inflectional morphemes in English. It also explores the main causes of the errors that Kuwaiti EFL learners may make. Additionally, it checks whether the English proficiency level of the participants plays a role in their answers on the test. To this end, a multiple-choice test was used to measure the participants’ ability to use the correct inflectional morphemesin English. Following data analysis, the results reveal that Kuwaiti EFL learners are aware of the correct use of the inflectional morphemes in English to a certain degree (total mean=65.5%). Additionally, the t-test shows that the participants’ English proficiency level plays a central role in their comprehension of these morphemes. In particular, there is a statistically significant difference between the answers of the advanced learners (ALs) (73.5%) and intermediate learners (ILs) (57.5%). The number of correct answers provided by ALs is higher than that provided by ILs. Regarding the types of errors made by the participants, it has been argued that the most noticeable ones are due to first language (L1) negative transfer and the irregularity of some types of inflectional morphemes in English. Finally, the study concludes with some pedagogical implications and recommendations for further research.

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Examining the Learnability of English Relative Clauses: Evidence from Kuwaiti EFL Learners

English Language Teaching ◽

10.5539/elt.v9n2p57 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 57 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Abdullah M. Alotaibi

Keyword(s):

Relative Clauses ◽

English Proficiency ◽

Relative Pronoun ◽

Advanced Learners ◽

Efl Learners ◽

Resumptive Pronouns ◽

Indirect Object ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Intermediate Learners ◽

Types Of Error

This study aims to test the extent to which 120 Kuwaiti EFL learners are aware of the structure of relative clauses in English through measuring their ability to produce this structure. It also checks whether the English proficiency level of the participants plays a role in their answers on the test. For this purpose, a sentence combination task was used to measure the participants’ ability to produce correct relative clauses in English. This test was selected in order to examine the types of error made by the participants pertinent to relative clauses in English. The results reveal that Kuwaiti EFL learners may not be fully aware of the formation rules of relative clauses in English (total mean=60.4%). The t-test shows that the English proficiency level affected the participants' answers on the test. Specifically, there were statistically significant differences between the answers of the advanced (76.3%) and intermediate learners (44.4%). The number of errors made by the advanced learners was less than that made by the intermediate learners. Regarding the types of error made by the participants, the most noticeable ones were: deletion of the relative pronoun, wrong relative pronoun, repetitive use of resumptive pronouns, passivisation of the relative clause and problems with the indirect object and genitive relative clauses. The researcher analysed the participants' erroneous answers and provided potential reasons to account for them. Finally, the study concludes with some pedagogical implications and recommendations for further research.

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The Comprehension of Synonyms by Saudi EFL Learners: Acquisition and Pedagogical Implications

International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ◽

10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.6n.3p.58 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 58

Author(s):

Majed Alanazi

Keyword(s):

English Proficiency ◽

Native Speakers ◽

Multiple Choice ◽

Choice Test ◽

Control Group ◽

Multiple Choice Test ◽

Chi Square ◽

Advanced Learners ◽

Efl Learners ◽

Proficiency Level

This study investigates 40 Saudi EFL learners’ receptive knowledge of synonyms in English. It also tests whether the participants’ English proficiency level plays a role in their comprehension of English synonyms. To achieve this, the researcher designed a multiple-choice test to measure Saudi EFL learners’ ability to recognise the correct English synonym in contextualised sentences. In order to test whether the English proficiency level of the participants plays a role in their comprehension of English synonyms, the participants were divided on the basis of their scores on the Oxford Placement Test into two groups: 20 Advanced Learners (ALs) and 20 Intermediate Learners (ILs). Twenty native speakers of English (NSs) acted as the control group. The native speakers’ answers on the multiple-choice test were considered as the accurate answers. The answers provided by the ALs and ILs were compared to those provided by the NSs to determine whether the answers of the former approximate those of the latter. A Chi-square test was employed to determine whether the differences between the three groups, ALs, ILs and NSs on the multiple-choice test were statistically significant. The results reveal that the answers supplied by the ILs differed statistically from those of NSs on all items on the multiple-choice test, whereas those provided by the ALs differed significantly from those of the NSs on eight items. The results also show that participants’ English proficiency level may not have played a role in their ability to recognise the correct synonym on all items on the test. The researcher argued that the main sources of error were interference habits from the participants’ first language (L1), lack of awareness of the semantic differences between the synonyms in English and lack of familiarity with English collocations. The study concluded with some pedagogical implications for ESL/EFL teachers in the context of teaching English synonyms to L2 students.

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The Acquisition of the English Plural Morphemes by Arabic-Speaking EFL Learners

International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies ◽

10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.6n.2p.34 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 34

Author(s):

Safaa M. Altarawneh ◽

Maram H. Hajjo

Keyword(s):

United Arab Emirates ◽

English Proficiency ◽

American English ◽

Science And Technology ◽

Judgment Task ◽

Efl Learners ◽

Grammaticality Judgment ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Al Ain ◽

Arabic Speaking

This research paper analyzes the extent to which Arabic-speaking EFL learners are aware of the English plural morphemes and whether they are able to recognize them in context. The study also investigates whether the participants’ English proficiency level may play a role in their ability to recognize these morphemes. For the purpose of the study, we designed a Grammaticality Judgment Task (GJT), which was by sixty students from Al Ain University of Science and Technology, Al Ain, The United Arab Emirates (UAE), to elicit data. The sentences used in the test were adapted and modified from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) in order to suit the students’ English proficiency level. The results revealed that there is a little awareness of the English plural morphemes among Arabic-speaking EFL learners. In addition, the participants’ English proficiency level had a little effect on the participants’ use of English plural morphemes. Finally, the paper concluded with some pedagogical implications and recommendations for further research.

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On the Production of Synonyms by Arabic-Speaking EFL Learners

International Journal of English Linguistics ◽

10.5539/ijel.v7n3p17 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 17 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Majed Alanazi

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

English Proficiency ◽

Placement Test ◽

Chi Square ◽

Advanced Learners ◽

Efl Learners ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Chi Square Test ◽

Arabic Speaking ◽

Lack Of Knowledge

This study examines the productive knowledge of synonyms in English by 40 Saudi EFL learners. It also tests whether the participants’ English proficiency level plays a role in their production of English synonyms. To this end, the researcher designed a translation test to measure Saudi EFL learners’ ability to produce the correct synonym in contextualised English sentences. In order to test whether the English proficiency level of the participants influenced their production of English synonyms, the participants were divided, on the basis of their scores on the Oxford Placement Test, into two groups: 20 Advanced Learners (ALs) and 20 Intermediate Learners (ILs). The answers of the two groups on the translation test, i.e., the ALs and ILs were compared to check whether their English proficiency level played a role on their answers. A Chi-square test was employed to determine whether the differences between the ALs and ILs on the test were statistically significant. The results show that the number of correct answers provided by ALs was higher than that provided by ILs, suggesting that their English proficiency level may have played a role in their answers. The study suggested that the main sources of error were L1 interference, lack of focus on the acquisition of vocabulary in schools in Saudi Arabia, lack of knowledge of some English lexical items, lack of awareness of the different nuances of meaning between the synonyms in English and lack of knowledge with English collocations. Finally, the study concludes with some recommendations for further research.

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Contrastive analysis of Turkish and English in Turkish EFL learners’ spoken discourse

International Journal of English Studies ◽

10.6018/ijes/2016/1/212631 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 57 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mustafa Yildiz

Keyword(s):

English Proficiency ◽

T Test ◽

Contrastive Analysis ◽

Spoken Discourse ◽

Efl Learners ◽

Spoken English ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Grammatical Errors

The present study aimed at finding whether L1 Turkish caused interference errors on Turkish EFL learners’ spoken English discourse. Whether English proficiency level had any effect on the number of errors learners made was further investigated. The participants were given the chance to choose one of the two alternative topics to speak about. The entire videotaped speaking session was further transcribed to analyze the spoken errors. The results indicated that prepositional, lexical, and grammatical errors were the most frequently encountered errors, in descending order. Also, independent samples t-test was applied to the data to determine whether English proficiency level had any effect on the number of errors made by two different English proficiency groups. It was found that there was no significant difference between two different English proficiency groups with regard to the number of errors they made.

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On the Acquisition of the Prenominal Adjective Order by Kuwaiti EFL Learners

Advances in Language and Literary Studies ◽

10.7575/aiac.alls.v.8n.1p.1 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 1

Author(s):

Maye A. Alotaibi ◽

Abdullah M. Alotaibi

Keyword(s):

Negative Transfer ◽

English Proficiency ◽

First Language ◽

Advanced Learners ◽

Efl Learners ◽

English Grammar ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Intermediate Learners ◽

Types Of Error

This study aims to test the extent to which 80 Kuwaiti EFL learners are aware of prenominal adjective ordering system in English, particularly how it affects Kuwaiti EFL learners’ grasp on English grammar. In addition, it checks whether the English proficiency level of the participants plays a role in their answers on the test. Therefore, a prenominal adjective ordering test was used to measure the participants’ ability to produce the correct order of prenominal adjectives in English. This research instrument was chosen on the basis of the researchers’ belief that this type of test leads to uncovering the causes beyond the correct/wrong answers provided by the participants on the test. Following data analysis, the results reveal that Kuwaiti EFL learners may not be fully aware of the prenominal adjective ordering system in English (total mean=48.75%). The t-test shows that the English proficiency level of the participants plays a crucial role in the production of prenominal adjectives in English. In particular, there is a statistically significant difference between the answers of the advanced (65%) and intermediate learners (32.5%). The number of correct answers provided by the advanced learners is higher than that provided by the intermediate learners. Regarding the types of error made by the participants, it has been argued that the most noticeable ones are due to first language (L1) negative transfer. Finally, the study concludes with some pedagogical implications and recommendations for further research.

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On the Awareness of English Polysemous Words by Arabic-Speaking EFL Learners

Advances in Language and Literary Studies ◽

10.7575/aiac.alls.v.8n.2p.112 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 112 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sulafah Abdul Salam Alnamer

Keyword(s):

English Proficiency ◽

Efl Learners ◽

Arabic Translation ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Primary Meaning ◽

Arabic Speaking ◽

Polysemous Words

This study measures the extent to which Arabic-speaking EFL learners are aware of polysemy in English. It also investigates whether the English proficiency level of Arabic-speaking EFL learners plays a role in their ability to distinguish between the various meanings of English polysemous words, and whether they face problems when they encounter these words in unusual contexts (i.e. the contexts that employ the extended meanings of the target polysemous words). To these ends, a translation test in which the participants were asked to give full Arabic translation for fifteen English sentences was designed. The words open, run, and make were the target polysemous words in this study. The Results show that Arabic-speaking EFL learners have little awareness of polysemy in English, and their English proficiency level does play a role in their ability to distinguish between the different meanings of English polysemous words. It was also found that Arabic-speaking EFL learners have no problems guessing the primary meaning of the English polysemous words. However, they face difficulty guessing the extended meanings of polysemous words in unusual contexts. Moreover, some Arabic-speaking EFL learners can guess the extended meanings of the polysemous words they encounter in familiar contexts, or when they understand some cues provided to disambiguate these words. This study concludes with some pedagogical implications and recommendations for further studies.

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The Incidental Acquisition of English Prepositions by Arabic-Speaking EFL Learners: Evidence From Al Ain University of Science and Technology

SAGE Open ◽

10.1177/2158244019861497 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 215824401986149 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Abdel Rahman Mitib Altakhaineh ◽

Mona Kamal Ibrahim

Keyword(s):

Reading Comprehension ◽

Treatment Group ◽

Multiple Choice ◽

Choice Test ◽

Control Group ◽

Multiple Choice Test ◽

Efl Learners ◽

Al Ain ◽

Post Test ◽

Arabic Speaking

This study examined the incidental acquisition of English prepositions by Arabic-speaking English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. Employing reading comprehension exercises as a treatment, we adopted the experimental design of a pre- and post-test to determine the effectiveness of the treatment on the participants’ incidental acquisition of English prepositions. For the purpose of the study, we divided the participants into a treatment group, who engaged in reading comprehension exercises for one academic term, and a control group, who did not. We used a multiple-choice test and a fill-in-the-blank test to measure the participants’ receptive and productive knowledge of English prepositions, respectively. We also conducted an introspective session with the treatment group following the administration of the post-tests to determine the areas of difficulty. The results of the study mainly indicated that reading accompanied by exercises resulted in better incidental gains in the acquisition of English prepositions, especially on the multiple-choice test. The study concludes with recommendations for further research.

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