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Language transfer as a learning strategy: a case study

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Ba, Ibrahima

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 LANGUAGE TRANSFER AS A LEARNING STRATEGY:
A CASE STUDY IN INTERLANGUAGE

Ibrahima Ba

The copyright of this thesis rests with the author.

No quotation from it should be pubHshed without

his prior written consent and information derived

from it should be acknowledged.

M.A. D i s s e r t a t i o n 1985

U n i v e r s i t y o f Durham

Submitted i n p a r t i a l fulfilment
f o r the degree o f M.A. i n A p p l i e d L i n g u i s t i c s

1 4 OCT m
To
My wife,
my children
and Rane
 Abstract

T h i s study i s an attempt t o show t h a t language transfer is a

n o t i o n which i s s t i l l r e l e v a n t i n a t h e o r y o f language l e a r n i n g , a t
l e a s t i n a formal m u l t i l i n g u a l educational s e t t i n g .
The f i r s t chapter, which i s the background -against which t h e
problem o f language transfer i s perceived, deals mainly with the
d i f f e r e n t views o f e r r o r s from c o n t r a s t i v e a n a l y s i s t o e r r o r a n a l y s i s .
The second chapter deals with t h e methodology used f o r the
c o l l e c t i o n o f d a t a , t h e data themselves, t h e s u b j e c t s and t h e s e t t i n g .
And finally, i n the l a s t chapter, t h e problems linked with a
theory o f language l e a r n i n g seen from t h e l e a r n e r ' s s t a n d p o i n t are
studied. The advantages t h e teacher can show from a knowledge o f
i n t e r l a n g u a g e t h e o r y are b r i e f l y examined t o o i n t h e l a s t p a r t .
 - (iv) -

Contents
Page
Acknowledgements (v)

1. Introduction 1
1.1 General 1
1.2 A j u s t i f i c a t i o n o f mother tongue t r a n s f e r 2
1.3 Contrastive analysis 4
1.4 Error analysis 5
1.5 Interlanguage 9
1.6 Language t r a n s f e r again 12
1.7 Aim and scope 13

2. Methodology and Analysis

2.1 Methodology 15
2.1.1 Data 15
2.1.2 Subject 16
• 2.1.3 Setting 16
2.2 Analysis 17
2.2.1 Phonological 18
2.2.2 Morphological 19
2.2.3 Syntactic 21
2.2.4 Lexical 23
2.2.5 Translation 25

Discussion and Conclusion 27

3.1 Discussion 27
3.1.1 French versus Wolof 27
3.2 Problems 33
3.2.1 Lack o f an adequate t h e o r y 33
3.2.2 Problems p e c u l i a r t o language t r a n s f e r 34
3.2.3 The r o l e o f the s e t t i n g 36
3.2.4 Overlapping between the d i f f e r e n t s t r a t e g i e s 37
3.3 A few p r a c t i c a l considerations 38
3.4 Conclusion 41

Bibliography 43
 - (v) -

Acknowledgements

I would l i k e t o thank Professor Charles Jones, Mr A r t h u r Brookes,

Mr Peter Grundy, Mr Lass Malmberg and Miss Maggie Tallerman, f o r a
l i v e l y and i n t e r e s t i n g course.
I n p a r t i c u l a r , I would l i k e t o thank Mr Grundy whose suggestions
helped me find my way. I am grateful t o the B r i t i s h Council f o r
awarding me the s c h o l a r s h i p which p e r m i t t e d me t o do t h i s work.
 - 1 -

Chapter One

1. Introduction

1.1 Genersil

Applied l i n g u i s t i c s like linguistics i s ' i n a state of f l u x and

agitation'. The wind of change which is sweeping throughout the

scientific study o f language i s c a r r y i n g new ideas and b r i n g i n g back

ideas which were thought t o be dead. This constant agitation is

n o t i c e a b l e i n a l l the f i e l d s of l i n g u i s t i c s . Not that i t i s only a

phenomenon o f c o n t a m i n a t i o n , i . e . t h a t one change i n one field can

i n f l u e n c e another, but r a t h e r l i n g u i s t s are a l l the time q u e s t i o n i n g

t h e i r f i n d i n g s and theories.

The way e r r o r s have been t a c k l e d i s a concrete s i g n o f t h i s 'flux

and agitation'. Psychology has i n f l u e n c e d language teaching to a

certain extent and in particular in its methodology. Some

m e t h o d o l o g i s t s thought t h a t language was no more than a behaviour and

should be d e a l t w i t h as such. Therefore t o teach language s u c c e s s f u l l y

e r r o r s must be minimized as much as p o s s i b l e . E r r o r s were considered

as something which prevented successful learning and drills were

conceived i n such a way t h a t p u p i l s were t o produce c o r r e c t u t t e r a n c e s

only.

This view o f e r r o r s o b l i g e d s y l l a b u s designers t o devise textbooks

based on t h e c o n t r a s t i v e a n a l y s i s o f the mother tongue o f the l e a r n e r s

and t h e t a r g e t language. I t was b e l i e v e d t h a t mother tongue t r a n s f e r

was v e r y common i n language l e a r n i n g and t h a t most e r r o r s were due t o

 - 2 -

d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e two languages. Thus by a n a l y s i n g t h e d i f f e r e n c e s ,

i t was t h o u g h t , people c o u l d p r e d i c t t h e k i n d s o f e r r o r s which c o u l d

be made by t h e l e a r n e r s . Syllabuses were t h e r e f o r e designed a c c o r d i n g

t o t h e elements o f language which were supposed t o be a t t h e source o f

errors, namely those which presented a g r e a t d i f f e r e n c e i n t h e two

languages. And some aspects o f the target language were n e g l e c t e d

because o f t h e i r s i m i l a r i t y w i t h t h e l e a r n e r s ' mother tongue.

However, future research both i n t h e psychology of language

learning and a p p l i e d linguistics showed that the claim made by

b e h a v i o u r i s t s and c o n t r a s t i v e a n a l y s t s was t o o s t r o n g and t h a t e r r o r s

are n o t o n l y unavoidable b u t necessary i n language l e a r n i n g . Learning

as d e s c r i b e d by t h e b e h a v i o u r i s t s was supposed t o be t h e same f o r a l l

human b e i n g s . I t i s t r u e t h a t human beings possess the capacity t o

acquire language. However, contrary to what the behaviourists

b e l i e v e d , as l o n g as t h e r e i s exposure t o a language, a c q u i s i t i o n can

take p l a c e and t h i s without r e p e t i t i o n . This new view i n language

a c q u i s i t i o n showed t h a t t h e r e p e t i t i o n o r t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f a c o r r e c t

u t t e r a n c e does n o t mean t h a t t h e r u l e o f t h e language i s known and

t h a t an e r r o r may be t h e i n d i c a t i o n that the learner i s devising a

system which will enable him t o f i n d the r u l e . Thus errors were

approached i n a new and more p r o d u c t i v e way.

1.2 A j u s t i f i c a t i o n o f mother tongue t r a n s f e r

A non-Wolof w i l l never be able t o understand t h i s sentence w r i t t e n

by a p u p i l i n h i s 'BEPC exams: 'Lend me my house'. This u t t e r a n c e i s

taken from a d i a l o g u e between a f a t h e r and h i s son, i t i s produced by

 - 3 -

the f o r m e r . I t i s an extreme case when the l e a r n e r i s translating

l i t e r a l l y , word f o r word, h i s mother tongue i n t o the t a r g e t language.

I n Wolof, t h e word, 'abal' may mean l e n d , f o r example i n 'abal ma

sa t e e r e ' , 'lend me your book'. But i t may mean, 'go away', 'get o u t ' ,

as i n 'abal ma sa ma k e r ' , which i s what t h e l e a r n e r wanted t o say.

However, t h e l e a r n e r , n o t knowing what a n a t i v e speaker o f E n g l i s h

would have s a i d i n that context, translated directly the phrase he

knew i n h i s mother tongue. The very choice o f t h i s phrase, which i s

more i d i o m a t i c , i n s t e a d o f 'genal sa ma k e r ' , which i s the literal

translation of 'get out o f my house', shows t h a t the l e a r n e r , has

t r a n s f e r r e d an i d i o m from h i s mother tongue t o the t a r g e t language.

This example, though 'extreme', i s an evidence that transfer does

happen i n language l e a r n i n g .

However, more c o n s p i c i o u s cases o f language t r a n s f e r appear a t the

phonological level. Many Africans cannot pronounce correctly the

alveolar fricatives /^/ and 1^1, they substitute them with the

c l o s e s t sounds i n t h e i r system, e i t h e r /d/ or /z/ f o r or If I or

I si f o r l\jl. T h i s p h o n o l o g i c a l transfer i s observed i n any contest

where t h e l e a r n i n g ^ f a f o r e i g n language i s taking place. This i s

j u s t i f i e d by t h e f a c t t h a t , t o paraphrase Trubetzkoy, the system o f

the mother i s a c t i n g as a s i e v e through which e v e r y t h i n g passes.

C o n t r a s t i v e a n a l y s t s , r e a l i z i n g t h i s t r a n s f e r , decided t o c o n t r a s t

a l l t h e elements o f any two languages which were g o i n g t o be a t a r g e t

language and a source language.

 1.3 Contrastive analysis

According t o Lado,

i n d i v i d u a l s tend t o t r a s f e r t h e forms and meanings

and t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f forms and meanings o f
t h e i r n a t i v e language and c u l t u r e t o the f o r e i g n
language and c u l t u r e . . .
(Lado, 1957:2)

This assumption shows t h e n e c e s s i t y t o p r e d i c t e r r o r s as the tendency

t o t r a n s f e r was t h e r e . Lado, q u o t i n g F r i e s , says t h a t

the most e f f e c t i v e m a t e r i a l s are those t h a t are

based upon a s c i e n t i f i c description o f the
language t o be l e a r n e d , c a r e f u l l y composed w i t h a
p a r a l l e l d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e n a t i v e language o f the
learner.
(Lado, 1957:1)

Contrastive analysis therefore will show the differences and

similarities of the two languages under study. The amount of

differences will show whether the learners will have great

difficulties i n l e a r n i n g t h e f o r e i g n language o r n o t . I t i s b e l i e v e d

t h a t t h e more t h e two languages are a l i k e , the easier i twill be t o

learn the t a r g e t language. Psychologists have tried t o show how

p r e s e n t l e a r n i n g can be i n f l u e n c e d by p r e v i o u s l e a r n i n g , as Rivers p u t

it,

the way a s t u d e n t perceives a new s i t u a t i o n i s the

result of transfer from previous similar
situations.
( R i v e r s , 1968, p.128)

Hence, t h e more i t i s p o s s i b l e t o t r a n s f e r p o s i t i v e l y , t h e more the

learner has f a c i l i t i e s i n h i s learning. This also gives t h e teacher

 - 5

the possibility t o diagnose 'quickly and a c c u r a t e l y t h e problems

t r o u b l i n g a s t u d e n t ' . The t e a c h e r w i l l know t h e items which are l i k e l y

t o be a source o f problems f o r h i s s t u d e n t s and those which are n o t .

He w i l l not, therefore, waste time teaching things which w i l l be

mastered t h r o u g h a mere exposiore t o t h e language thanks t o t h e i r g r e a t

similarity with the learner's native language. The claim of

c o n t r a s t i v e a n a l y s t s t h a t l e a r n e r s ' e r r o r s and d i f f i c u l t i e s c o u l d be •

p r e d i c t e d was proved by f u t u r e r e s e a r c h t o be wrong. Many o f t h e

e r r o r s which were p r e d i c t e d were n o t made, and many which were n o t

were made.

Together with the r e a l i z a t i o n o f the f a i l u r e of contrastive

a n a l y s i s , came a d r a s t i c change i n l i n g u i s t i c theory. This change was

led by Chomsky who argues that a l l human beings possess a language

a c q u i s i t i o n device which enables them t o l e a r n language and t h a t i t i s

i n n a t e . I t i s w i t h t h i s device t h a t t h e c h i l d formulates hypotheses

about the s t r u c t u r e o f t h e language t o which he i s exposed. The

hypotheses are checked and m o d i f i e d a c c o r d i n g t o whether they can

account f o r a l l t h e data o r n o t . I n t h i s process 'errors' are made,

and they form an i n e v i t a b l e p a r t o f t h e l e a r n i n g process. I t i s a way

for t h e c h i l d a c q u i r i n g h i s f i r s t language t o check t h e c o r r e c t n e s s o f

the r u l e s he i s f o r m u l a t i n g .

This view in first language acquisition, even though Chomsky

thinks theoretical linguistics has no d i r e c t influence i n language

t e a c h i n g , has v a r i o u s implications i n second language l e a r n i n g . The

f i r s t one i s t h a t l e a r n i n g w i l l t a k e p l a c e p r o v i d e d t h e r e i s exposure

t o t h e language. The l e a r n i n g mechanism w i l l work as l o n g as t h e r e i s

 - 6 -

an adequate exposure.

The second implication i s that errors may be the sign that

l e a r n i n g i s t a k i n g place as they may help t h e l e a r n e r t o f i n d out the

r u l e s by changing h i s h y p o t h e s i s . As our concern here i s mainly e r r o r

a n a l y s i s , we w i l l c o n c e n t r a t e more on t h i s t o p i c .

1.4 E r r o r a n a l y s i s

Contrastive analysis failing t o account f o r a l l the learners'

e r r o r s and being wrong i n most o f i t s p r e d i c t i o n s , i t became necessary

t o approach e r r o r s i n a new way.

The new approach i s based on t h e hypothesis t h a t there i s a great

similarity between first language acquisition and second language

l e a r n i n g . A l l human beings are endowed w i t h t h e c a p a c i t y t o a s s i m i l a t e

language. However, as f a r as t h e a c q u i s i t i o n o f a second language i s

concerned, t h e age up t o which t h i s c a p a c i t y i s s t i l l operational i s

an i s s u e which has been the s u b j e c t o f debates i n language teaching

f o r q u i t e a l o n g t i m e . I t may be i n t e r e s t i n g t o say a few words about

t h e o p t i m a l age q u e s t i o n .

E m p i r i c a l l y , people have n o t i c e d t h a t young c h i l d r e n seem t o be

more a t ease when l e a r n i n g a second language and hence the proposal by

some e d u c a t i o n a l t h e o r i s t s t o s t a r t second language teaching as e a r l y

as p o s s i b l e . However, due t o p r a c t i c a l reasons, i . e . not enough s t a f f

and a curriculum already wide enough f o r young c h i l d r e n , many

c o u n t r i e s s t a r t second language t e a c h i n g a f t e r t h e age o f t w e l v e .

The e m p i r i c a l o b s e r v a t i o n t h a t young c h i l d r e n seem t o be more a t

ease i n second language l e a r n i n g has been supported t h e o r e t i c a l l y by

 - 7 -

r e s e a r c h e r s such as Lenneberg (1967) who suggested t h a t t h e r e was a

critical period after which language a c q u i s i t i o n 'by mere exposure'

was impossible. Learning a second language i s then thought t o be

b e t t e r b e f o r e p u b e r t y i f one accepts Lenneberg's conclusions.

Another view is Krashen's (1975) which modifies Lenneberg's

critical period of language acquisition. Krashen argues that

l a t e r a l i z a t i o n takes p l a c e e a r l i e r than p u b e r t y , a t about the age o f

five. The implication of this modification i s that, i f there is a

d i f f e r e n c e between t h e apparent f a c i l i t y w i t h which young c h i l d r e n are

supposed to learn language and difficulties older people meet i n

language l e a r n i n g , t h e d i f f e r e n c e i s n o t a n e u r o l o g i c a l one. According

to Krashen

the development o f l a t e r a l i z a t i o n may represent

the a c q u i s i t i o n o f an a b i l i t y r a t h e r than the l o s s
o f an a b i l i t y .
(1975, p.69)

The debate i s s t i l l g o i n g on, however, so f a r , t h e existence o f a

critical p e r i o d has n o t been demonstrated and Krashen, r e p o r t i n g the

case o f Genie, a g i r l who started f i r s t language l e a r n i n g a t t h e age

of 13 y e a r s , e i g h t months, says language l e a r n i n g i s possible after

p u b e r t y , though t h e process i s slower and l e s s e f f i c i e n t than normal

f i r s t language a c q u i s i t i o n .

Therefore, the question of the critical period of language

l e a r n i n g i s s t i l l an issue which has n o t found a s a t i s f a c t o r y answer.

However, i f we accept t h e h y p o t h e s i s t h a t f i r s t language acquisition

i s v e r y s i m i l a r t o second language l e a r n i n g we may c l a i m t h a t some o f

the s t r a t e g i e s , i f n o t a l l , t h e c h i l d uses when a c q u i r i n g h i s first

 - 8 -

language a r e t h e same as those he uses when learning a second

language. This claim receives great empirical evidence as f a r as

e r r o r s a r e concerned.

A c h i l d a c q u i r i n g h i s mother tongue produces u t t e r a n c e s which are

not c o r r e c t a c c o r d i n g t o a d u l t s ' standards. However, no one c o n s i d e r s

those u t t e r a n c e s as d e v i a n t . Rather they are considered as evidence o f

the l i n g u i s t i c development o f the c h i l d . I f adults do r e a c t at a

child's incorrect utterance, they merely repeat i t in a form

a c c e p t a b l e by grown-ups. This r e a c t i o n can be a s s i m i l a t e d t o what

happens i n t h e classroom when a l e a r n e r makes an e r r o r . However,

learners' errors a r e c o n s i d e r e d as deviant utterances. Incorrect

u t t e r a n c e s produced by c h i l d r e n are no longer thought as marks o f

deviance, thanks t o t h e s c i e n t i f i c study o f c h i l d language which has

shown t h a t children are f o r m u l a t i n g hypotheses about the rules o f

t h e i r language and are moving toward t h e c o r r e c t form.

If a parallel i s made w i t h second language acquisition i t is

p o s s i b l e t o see t h a t t h e l e a r n e r ' s e r r o r s p l a y t h e same r o l e as i n

first language acquisition, namely that the learner i s using an

'approximative system'.

, An a p p r o x i m a t i v e system i s t h e d e v i a n t l i n g u i s t i c
system a c t u a l l y employed by t h e l e a r n e r a t t e m p t i n g
t o u t i l i z e t h e t a r g e t language. Such approximative
systems vary i n c h a r a c t e r i n accordance w i t h
p r o f i c i e n c y l e v e l , v a r i a t i o n i s a l s o i n t r o d u c e d by
l e a r n i n g experience ( i n c l u d i n g exposure t o a
target language s c r i p t system), communication
function, personal learning characteristics,
etc...

(Nemser i n J . Richards, 1974, p.55)

We can t h e r e f o r e say w i t h S.P. Corder

 - 9 -

the making o f e r r o r s i s a s t r a t e g y employed both

by c h i l d r e n a c q u i r i n g t h e i r mother tongue and by
those l e a r n i n g a second language.

(S.P. Corder, 1981, p.11)

It will be i n t e r e s t i n g t o know whether t h e r e i s j u s t one stategy or

many s t r a t e g i e s i n second language l e a r n i n g .

1.5 Interlanguage

Errors seen from a l e a r n i n g s t a n d p o i n t are no longer deviances

which must be banished, but rather processes which 'are

p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y r e l e v a n t i n a t h e o r y o f second language a c q u i s i t i o n ' .

When we analyse t h e u t t e r a n c e s o f someone who i s l e a r n i n g a second

language, we r e a l i z e t h a t they are n o t t h e same as those which would

have been produced by a n a t i v e speaker o f t h e t a r g e t language i f the

l a t t e r had t r i e d t o g e t t h e same message across. This a n a l y s i s will

show a l s o t h a t t h e u t t e r a n c e s do n o t belong t o t h e l e a r n e r ' s mother

tongue l i n g u i s t i c system. Hence t h e l e a r n e r i s using a linguistic

system which i s n e i t h e r t h a t o f h i s mother tongue nor t h a t o f the

target language. This linguistic system is idiosyncratic but

s y s t e m a t i c . I t has been c a l l e d 'approximative system', 'interlingua',

' t r a n s i t i o n a l competence' ei 'interlanguage'. The l a t t e r term i s t h e

one which has a more widespread use.

According t o S e l i n k e r , t h e r e are f i v e processes which are

central t o second language learning: first,

language t r a n s f e r : second, t r a n s f e r o f t r a i n i n g :
t h i r d , s t r a t e g i e s o f second language l e a r n i n g :
f o u r t h , s t r a t e g i e s o f second language commun-
ication, and f i f t h , o v e r g e n e r a l i z a t i o n o f TL
linguistic material.

( S e l i n k e r i n J. Richards, 1974, p.35)

 10 -

Selinker claims t h a t these f i v e processes bear the items, rules

and subsystems which are l i k e l y t o be fossilized.

F o s s i l i z a b l e l i n g u i s t i c phenomena are l i n g u i s t i c
items, r u l e s and subsystems which speakers o f
p a r t i c u l a r NL w i l l t e n d t o keep i n t h e i r I L
r e l a t i v e t o a p a r t i c u l a r TL, no matter what the
age o f the l e a r n e r or amount o f i n s t r u c t i o n he
r e c e i v e s i n t h e TL.

( S e l i n k e r i n Richards, 1974, p.36)

F o s s i l i z a t i o n c o n s t i t u t e s one fundamental d i f f e r e n c e when second

language l e a r n i n g i s compared w i t h f i r s t language a c q u i s i t i o n . There

i s no s i g n o f f o s s i l i z a t i o n i n the language o f an a d u l t speaking h i s

mother tongue, the mistakes he makes are s l i p s o f the tongue and he

can c o r r e c t them.

The learner's interlanguage, being a t r a n s i t i o n a l system, i s going

t o be r a t h e r u n s t a b l e as i t changes w i t h the amount o f learning and

exposure. The context i n which the l e a r n i n g i s t a k i n g place i s o f a

fundamental importance as i t can influence the shape o f the inter-

language. What i s g o i n g t o be f o s s i l i z e d , though not p r e d i c t a b l e , i s

different whether one i s dealing with a minority learning a second

language i n a dominant culture or a group of learners learning a

second language i n a f o r m a l s e t t i n g . This can be explained by the f a c t

t h a t immigrants are n o t , most o f the t i m e , integrated i n t h e i r - host

countries, therefore, they tend t o develop a d i a l e c t of their own

which a c t s 'as an i n s t r u m e n t o f s e l f and group i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and of

s o c i a l p e r c e p t i o n ' ( R i c h a r d s i n Richards, 1971, p74). Immigrant speech

can be described w i t h the notion of interlanguage but the rules of

t h i s interlanguage are l i n g u i s t i c and s o c i a l i n o r i g i n . However, what

 - I l -

l s i m p o r t a n t t o note a t t h e t h e o r e t i c a l l e v e l i s t h a t many linguistic

items o f immigrant speech a r e t h e r e s u l t s o f f o s s i l i z a t i o n due t o l a c k

o f exposure o r r e i n f o r c e m e n t . We are g o i n g t o borrow Richard's example

which he h i m s e l f borrowed from Fisherman. Reproducing an u t t e r a n c e

made by a Puerto Rican i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , he w r i t e s

No make any d i f f e r e n c e , b u t I l i k e when I go

because I don't have t o o many time f o r buy and t h e
l i t t l e t i m e we buy have t o go t o someplace and I
f i n d everything there.
(op. c i t , p.70)

Here t h e speaker i s u s i n g an a p p r o x i m a t i v e system and as Richards

comments

heavy communication demands may be made on t h e

second language, f o r c i n g t h e l e a r n e r t o mould what
he has a s s i m i l a t e d o f t h e language i n t o a means o f
s a y i n g what he wants t o say...
(op. c i t , p.70)

W h i l s t i n a f o r m a l s e t t i n g communication demands are n o t as heavy

as i n an i n f o r m a l s e t t i n g w i t h n a t i v e speakers o f the t a r g e t language

as i n t e r l o c u t o r s . Moreover, t h e o r i g i n o f t h e interlanguage' i s , most

o f t h e t i m e , l i n g u i s t i c n o t s o c i a l , t h e r e f o r e l e a r n e r s want always t o

r e c e i v e r e i n f o r c e m e n t from t h e i r teachers.

Schachter ( i n Gass and S e l i n k e r , 1983, p.108), gives t h e examples

o f Japanese and Spanish l e a r n e r s who use t h e same hypothesis u s i n g

r u l e s o f t h e i r languages, namely t h e u n n e c e s s i t y o f s u b j e c t marking

when t h e t o p i c i s i d e n t i f i e d . ' I n my c o u n t r y hasn't army, navy and a i r

force.' ' I n Venezuala i s h o l i d a ^ ^ b o t h days.' These examples taken^

from two d i f f e r e n t c o n t e x t s show t h a t one can expect one or two o f t h e

five processes i n interlanguage t o be dominant according t o t h e

 - 12 -

setting.

The example o f t h e Puerto Ricon's utterance shows t h e use of

strategy i n second language communication and overgeneralization.

Whilst i n those borrowed from Schachter, i t i s a case of language

t r a n s f e r . I n a s e t t i n g where E n g l i s h i s l e a r n e d as a f o r e i g n language,

the concept o f language t r a n s f e r i s g o i n g t o have an i m p o r t a n t p l a c e

as many o f t h e techniques used by teachers are based on translation

exercises. Moreover,

i n t h e case o f o l d e r c h i l d r e n , e i t h e r i n a f o r m a l
or i n f o r m a l s e t t i n g , t h e i n f l u e n c e o f the mother
tongue o r o t h e r known languages become more
evident...
(S.P. Corder, 1981, p.74)

1.6 Language t r a n s f e r agedn

I t i s c o m f o r t i n g t o know t h a t t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f
f i r s t language t r a n s f e r has once a g a i n become
respectable. Whatever one's p o s i t i o n on the
r e l a t i v e importance o f t r a n s f e r i n second language
a c q u i s t i o n , t r a n s f e r must be d e a l t w i t h .

(R.W. Andersen i n Gass and S e l i n k e r , 1983, p.177)

The reason why f i r s t language t r a n s f e r had l o s t i t s respectability

is that i t was v e r y much r e l a t e d t o behaviourist learning theories

which claimed that language- l e a r n i n g was no more than a habit

f o r m a t i o n . Another reason i s t h e c o n n o t a t i o n o f the term 'transfer'

which makes one t h i n k o f a simple t r a n s f e r o f surface p a t t e r n s . Now

psychologists have moved away from behaviourism and they look at

language l e a r n i n g from t h e s t a n d p o i n t o f t h e l e a r n e r s , i . e . they are

more concerned about how l e a r n i n g i s done than about how t e a c h i n g can

 - 13 -

be e f f e c t i v e l y done.

In this new concern about t h e l e a r n e r , the r o l e o f the mother

tongue has a g a i n been t h e o b j e c t o f i n v e s t i g a t i o n s by t h e o r i s t s o f

second language l e a r n i n g . Though i t i s q u i t e c l e a r t h a t the first

language p l a y s a r o l e i n second language a c q u i s i t i o n , the e x t e n t o f

t h a t r o l e has n o t y e t been determined.

It i s without doubt that second language a c q u i s i t i o n a t the

p h o n o l o g i c a l l e v e l i s a r e s t r u c t u r i n g process, i . e . t h e s t a r t i n g p o i n t

is t h e mother tongue whose p h o n o l o g i c a l system 'acts as a sieve'.

However, as f a r as the acquisition of syntax and vocabulary i s

concerned, i t i s p o s s i b l e t o say t h a t i t i s n o t , most o f t h e t i m e ,

determined by the f i r s t language.

It i s now generally accepted that in the learning process,

learners formulate hypotheses and t e s t them against the linguistic

i n p u t and t h e i r f i r s t language system i s p a r t o f the elements which

c o n s t i t u t e t h e device which enable them t o c r e a t e t h e i r own linguistic

system, t h e i r interlanguage.

1.7 Aim and scope

The aim o f t h i s s t u d y i s t o show, or r a t h e r t o c o n f i r m , the r o l e

which i s p l a y e d by the languages p r e v i o u s l y l e a r n e d by l e a r n e r s . I t i s

n o t c o n t r a s t i v e a n a l y s i s as we are n o t g o i n g t o c o n t r a s t t h e d i f f e r e n t

elements o f the languages e x i s t i n g i n t h e s e t t i n g where the l e a r n i n g

is taking place. However, we will have to compare different

utterances, namely the learner's interlanguage, the reconstructed

u t t e r a n c e , and t h e e q u i v a l e n t i n t h e l e a r n e r ' s mother tongue.

 - 14 -

The hypothesis at t h e basis of this study is that in a

m u l t i l i n g u a l and f o r m a l system o f e d u c a t i o n , learners resort t o t h e i r

p r e v i o u s l e a r n i n g as a s t r a t e g y i n communication more o f t e n than i n an

informal setting.

We w i l l t r y t o show a l s o t h a t t h e r e i s more t r a n s f e r from t h e

language which i s c l o s e r t o t h e t a r g e t language, as t h e r e are elements

which are more l i k e l y t o be t r a n s f e r r e d . When t r a n s f e r o f t h e A f r i c a n

languages occurs, i t i s e i t h e r a phonological t r a n s f e r or the r e s u l t

of a l i t e r a l t r a n s l a t i o n o f a sentence, a phrase o r a word. Obviously,

it i s sometimes difficult t o say whether a strategy i s language

transfer or strategy i n second language communication. There is a

g r e a t o v e r l a p between t h e d i f f e r e n t processes.

As seen from t h e aim o f t h i s study, t h e scope i s very l i m i t e d . We

are n o t d e a l i n g w i t h i n t e r l a n g u a g e b u t o n l y a p a r t o f what c o n s t i t u t e s

the l e a r n e r ' s i n t e r l a n g u a g e . We do n o t pretend e i t h e r t o g i v e a f u l l

account o f t r a n s f e r i n t h e Senegalese setting.

 - 15 -

Chapter Two

2. Methodology and A n a l y s i s

2.1 Methodology

2.1.1 Data

Most o f t h e e r r o r s analysed were c o l l e c t e d from a t e s t given to

the a n a l y s t ' s s t u d e n t s i n June 1984. The t e s t was based on a t e x t and

the s t u d e n t s had t o answer questions about the t e x t , i t was therefore

a f r e e c o m p o s i t i o n . The t e x t was d e a l i n g w i t h the r a p i d m u l t i p l i c a t i o n

o f man and the f o l l o w i n g questions were asked:

1) What are the reasons f o r the flowing tide o f human

population? Explain the reasons clearly i n your own

words.

2) What has been done by man to abet the fast

multiplication of his species?

3) Do you t h i n k t h e r e i s r e a l danger i n t h i s a c c e l e r a t i o n

o f w o r l d p o p u l a t i o n ? Why or why not? Are you i n favour

o f or a g a i n s t b i r t h c o n t r o l p r a c t i c e s ?

There are a few o t h e r e r r o r s which were c o l l e c t e d a t random i n

classes o f d i f f e r e n t standards. However a l l o f them are w r i t t e n data

and we face many problems when a n a l y s i n g t h i s k i n d o f data.

The f i r s t i s t h a t i t happens under c o n d i t i o n s i n which the l e a r n e r

i s h i g h l y m o n i t o r i n g h i s o u t p u t and thus tends t o avoid using elements

o f language which sound or l o o k erroneous t o him.

The second i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n and r e c o n s t r u c t i o n . I t may be easy.

 - 16 -

sometimes, to have a plausible interpretation of the learner's

utterance, as we are s h a r i n g the same language background as him.

However,utterances which are really ambiguous are difficult to

i n t e r p r e t and r e c o n s t r u c t when t h e l e a r n e r i s n o t present.

Last, but not l e a s t , i t i s always d i f f i c u l t t o say whether an

e r r o r i s an e r r o r or a s p e l l i n g mistake when a n a l y s i n g w r i t t e n data,

as we s h a l l see i n t h e p h o n o l o g i c a l t r a n s f e r and i n E^^.

2.1.2 Subjects

The s u b j e c t s are Senegalese who had been, a t t h e time o f the t e s t ,

l e a r n i n g E n g l i s h f o r a t l e a s t f o u r yours. Nevertheless, t h e i r standard

is rather low as they were a l l i n the t e c h n i c a l section i n which

E n g l i s h i s n o t c o n s i d e r e d a major t o p i c though compulsory. A l l o f them

can be s a i d t o be f l u e n t b o t h i n French and Wolof. Their contact w i t h

English is strictly limited- to the written form except i n the

classroom. They have o n l y one p e r i o d o f two hours weekly as f a r as

E n g l i s h lessons are concerned.

2.1.3 Setting

French i s the official language of Senegal, the language of

administration, o f most o f the media and o f most o f the leading

financial and business institutions. I t is still the . medium of

instruction t h r o u g h o u t the system of education, though there are

experiments i n t r o d u c i n g t h e s i x n a t i o n a l languages i n the f i r s t two

years o f p r i m a r y s c h o o l s . However, the use o f French i n every day

activities i s very l i m i t e d , Wolof i s used as a l i n g u a f r a n c a i n a l l

 - 17 -

towns and most r u r a l areas.

French and Wolof are t h e two dominant languages i n t h e c o u n t r y .

English i s considered important because o f p o l i t i c a l and academic

f a c t o r s . I t i s t a u g h t a t a l l l e v e l s i n t h e secondary schools and i s

the f o r e i g n language which has more students learning i t . There are

other f o r e i g n languages which a r e taught such as ' A r a b i c , Spanish,

Russian, I t a l i a n , German and Portuguese. And depending on t h e s e c t i o n

students can take up t o three foreign languages, one being t h e

minimum.

Thus t h e l i n g u i s t i c s e t t i n g i s r a t h e r complex and we can expect

l e a r n e r s exposed t o such a v a r i e t y o f languages t o r e s o r t t o them t o

devise s t r a t e g y f o r l e a r n i n g o t h e r s . This i s more so since t r a n s l a t i o n

i s s t i l l c u r r e n t and some teachers make an abusive use o f i t .

Now l e t us see how t h i s complex l i n g u i s t i c s e t t i n g i s e x p l o i t e d by

l e a r n e r s t o l e a r n a new language namely E n g l i s h i n t h i s study.

2.2 A n a l y s i s

Though we are d e a l i n g o n l y w i t h t r a n s f e r from t h e mother tongue,

it i s obvious that there i s a great overlap between t h e d i f f e r e n t

phenomena o f i n t e r l a n g u a g e and some o f our examples may r e f l e c t this

overlap. We have tried to classify t h e data i n five different

c a t e g o r i e s , being again aware that t h e border between those five

c a t e g o r i e s i s very narrow.

First o f a l l we have data showing p h o n o l o g i c a l transfer, then

those which are m o r p h o l o g i c a l , t h i r d l y s y n t a c t i c , f o u r t h l y l e x i c a l and

finally those which we c a l l translations as they are d i f f i c u l t t o

 - 18 -

c l a s s i f y and r e p r e s e n t l i t e r a l t r a n s l a t i o n s from t h e mother tongue.

2.2.1 Phonological

Some may be s u p r i s e d t o hear o f p h o n o l o g i c a l t r a n s f e r i n w r i t t e n

data as i t i s d i f f i c u l t to tell whether i t i s a s p e l l i n g mistake o r

not. But teachers who have been working i n a s p e c i f i c s i t u a t i o n can

always t e l l between what may be c a l l e d a s p e l l i n g mistake and a r e a l

phonological transfer.

In our f i r s t example,

E^.'In t h e c o u n t r i e s developing, they are many economic

problems.'

the s t u d e n t wanted t o say ' I n t h e developing c o u n t r i e s , t h e r e are many

economic problems' o r b e t t e r 'there are many economic problems i n t h e

developing c o u n t r i e s ' . But we are interested i n t h e use o f ' they'

i n s t e a d o f 'there'.

This i s a very common e r r o r among Senegalese students even i n t h e i r

speech. The diphthong / e i / e x i s t s i n Wolof as i n /f'eiy , today, b u t

does n o t . Therefore, / e i / and I I being very close, they

assimilate them by u s i n g t h e o n l y form which e x i s t s i n t h e i r language.

The error i s e q u a l l y due t o t h e f a c t t h a t t h e l i n k i n g /!./ i s always

dropped by most t e a c h e r s .

Another p h o n o l o g i c a l t r a n s f e r observable .in t h e i r w r i t t e n work i s

t h e c o n f u s i o n between / Q f J / and l^i'^l. The sound //|/ e x i s t s i n many

Senegalese languages, but clusters do n o t . I n t h e presence of

clusters, Wolof speakers tend to insert a vowel or s i m p l i f y the

c l u s t e r . I t i s t h e l a t t e r which i s happening i n E^ =

' I t h i n g you must make a t t e n t i o n . '

 - 19 -

Though t h e data are l i m i t e d , i n s t a n c e s o f mother tongue transfer

can be found i n t h e w r i t t e n work o f f o r e i g n language learners. No

doubt i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i s always d i f f i c u l t i n t h i s k i n d o f data and we

must acknowledge t h a t p h o n o l o g i c a l t r a n s f e r i s more o b j e c t i v e l y judged

in speech.

Written work g i v e s more i n f o r m a t i o n about morphology, syntax and

lexis.

2.2.2 Morphological

The learners who have been i n c o n t a c t w i t h French f o r some time

t e n d t o t r a n s f e r French r u l e s t o E n g l i s h .

E^ 'For t o abet t h i s f a s t m u l t i p l y i n g . . . '

Having l e a r n e d t h a t i n French 'pour' i s f o l l o w e d by t h e i n f i n i t i v e ,

and t h a t i n English the i n f i n i t i v e i s realized as t o + verb, this

l e a r n e r b u i l d s h i s sentence by amalgamating two r u l e s . Here again t h e

overlap between transfer o f language, transfer o f t r a i n i n g and

overgeneralization i s obvious. However, t h i s e r r o r i s common enough

and t h e t r a n s f e r from French t o E n g l i s h i s w i t h o u t q u e s t i o n .

E^ ' I n t h e underdeveloped c o u n t r y , t h e human l i f e depends

of the a g r i c u l t u r e . '

Here t h e l e a r n e r i s u s i n g t h e wrong p r e p o s t i o n ' o f instead o f 'on'.

Again t h e i n f l u e n c e from French can be n o t i c e d easily as they say

'dependre de'. The example above must have shown that reference,

namely t h e use o f t h e d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e i s one o f t h e most difficult

p o i n t s t o master. Many l e a r n e r s o f E n g l i s h as a f o r e i g n language find

i t hard t o use t h e d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e c o r r e c t l y . Senegalese students are

 - 20 -

no e x c e p t i o n and t h e i r t a s k i s made more d i f f i c u l t by t h e i r knowledge

o f French. T h e i r t a s k i s complicated because the use o f the definite

a r t i c l e i s , most o f the t i m e , t o t a l l y d i f f e r e n t i n the two languages.

E^ shows two instances when the definite article i s not used in

E n g l i s h w h i l s t i t would have been used i f the sentence was i n French.

The f o l l o w i n g examples are errors i n the use of the definite

article:

E^ 'the l i f e i s very expensive.'

E_ 'to p e r m i t the men to l i v e . '

6

E^ 'the death was very l o t '

It i s interesting t o note t h a t the learners seem t o be using the

definite article p e r v a s i v e l y as i f they were h y p o t h e s i z i n g i t should

always be used, which i s not the case i n French.

E_, ' I have a f r a i d o f t h a t . '
8

instead of ' I am afraid of that.' Obvious t r a n s f e r from French when

' a v o i r ' i s used i n phrases such as 'to be a f r a i d ' , 'to be sleepy', 'to

be hungry',... e t c .

E 'Since many years'

E^Q 'Men are l i v i n g on the e a r t h a long time ago.'

Eg i s e a s i e r t o r e c o n s t r u c t as 'since' i s used i n s t e a d o f 'for'.

But E^Q poses more problems. Does the l e a r n e r want t o say 'men have

been l i v i n g on the e a r t h f o r a l o n g time' or ' l i f e on e a r t h s t a r t e d a

l o n g time ago'? Anyway as we are l o o k i n g f o r the i n f l u e n c e o f French

i n t h e i r l e a r n i n g s t r a t e g y , we can a t t r i b u t e these two e r r o r s t o the

fact that 'for', 'ago' and 'since', can be t r a n s l a t e d by the same

word, 'depuis'. Knowing t h a t i n French one word can be used, they tend
 - 21 -

t o t h i n k t h a t those used i n E n g l i s h are synonyms, as they do n o t seem

t o f o l l o w a p a t i c u l a r rule- b u t r a t h e r use them a t random.

E^^ ' I t can t o cause many problems t o t h e p o p u l a t i o n s . '

'Quand deux verbes se s u i v e n t l e second se met a

I'infinitif.'

i.e. 'when two verbs follow each other the l a t t e r i s a t the

i n f i n i t i v e . ' This i s a r u l e which i s l e a r n e d r i g h t from t h e e a r l i e s t

years o f primary s c h o o l . Learners r e c i t e i t so much t h a t i t remains i n

their subconscious. No wonder, t h e r e f o r e , t h a t teachers o f English

face t r o u b l e when t e a c h i n g t h e use o f 'may', 'can' and 'must'. Most

l e a r n e r s make t h a t e r r o r by p u t t i n g ' t o ' between these verbs and those

which f o l l o w them.

Therefore we can conclude this s e c t i o n by saying that at the

morphological level transfer from French t o English is a constant

s t r a t e g y used by l e a r n e r s . The phenomenon o f 'distance' i s n o t i c e a b l e

here'as t h e r e i s no t r a c e o f a t r a n s f e r from A f r i c a n languages.

2.2.3 S y n t a c t i c

^12 ''^^ c o u n t r i e s developing, they are many economic

problems.'

I n t h e f i r s t p a r t o f t h e u t t e r a n c e , t h e l e a r n e r d i d n o t apply t h e

r i g h t word-order, w h i l s t he d i d i n t h e second p a r t o f t h e u t t e r a n c e .

This shows how d i f f i c u l t i t i s , i f n o t i m p o s s i b l e , t o p r e d i c t e r r o r s .

E^2 ^ training medical'.

E and E show e r r o r s i n word-order. What i s happening here i s r a t h e r

complex. The l e a r n e r s are u s i n g a t r a n s f o r m a t i o n which can be c a l l e d

 - 22 -

To-be d e l e t i o n , i n both languages, however, they do n o t accompany i t

w i t h t h e movement o f t h e a d j e c t i v e which i s placed before t h e noun as

i t should be done i n E n g l i s h .

In French t h e sentence; ' les pays q u i sont en voie de

developpement' 'les pays en v o i e de de'veloppement. ' I n E n g l i s h , 'The

c o u n t r i e s which a r e d e v e l o p i n g ' ^ ^ ^ 'The c o u n t r i e s developing' 'The

d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s . ' I t i s t h e same o p e r a t i o n which i s a p p l i e d t o

E^2' T^^^s i n both examples t h e l e a r n e r s are aware o f t h e d e l e t i o n o f

TO-be b u t basing their hypotheses on French, they do n o t move t h e

predicates.

Language t r a n s f e r i s a l s o n o t i c e d i n q u e s t i o n s .

E,^ 'When K o f f i can wear h i s new s h i r t ? '

14
E,^ 'Where go you?'
15

E^^ shows how t h e leairner's system i s a p p r o x i m a t i v e . Though we can

detect t h e i n f l u e n c e o f French, as t h e s u b j e c t , K o f f i , i s placed

before the a u x i l i a r y , t h e l e a r n e r does n o t use t h e pronoun 'he' which

i n French i s expressed. The French sentence i s 'Quand K o f f i peut i l

p o r t e r sa chemise neuve?'

Why doesn't t h e l e a r n e r repeat t h e pronoun 'he' i n t h e E n g l i s h

sentence? He may have mastered one p a r t o f t h e r u l e o n l y and i s s t i l l

t r y i n g t o f i n d the r i g h t r u l e f o r question.

E^^ 'Where go you?'

A p p a r e n t l y t h i s i s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y language t r a n s f e r . I t may be

c o n s i d e r e d as o v e r g e n e r a l i z a t i o n , knowing t h e r u l e f o r a u x i l i a r i e s he

may apply them t o o r d i n a r y verbs. However, a c l o s e r look a t t h e French

sentence from which i t may have been t r a n s l a t e d urges us t o consider

 - 23 -

i t a transfer.

I n French 'Ou vas-tu?' which t r a n s l a t e d i n t o E n g l i s h i s 'Where are

you going?' U s u a l l y what happens w i t h t h e E n g l i s h sentence i s .copula

deletion, 'where you going?', when l e a r n e r s a r e u s i n g communication

strategies and under heavy communicative demands. However, when

learners have time to think they tend to translate literally.

Obviously, our evidence i s n o t enough, b u t some e r r o r s which can be

e x p l a i n e d i n o t h e r terms than language t r a n s f e r , a r e , sometimes,caused

by an interference o f t h e mother tongue. Thus, phonologically,

morphologically and s y n t a c t i c a l l y , transfer i s a strategy used by

l e a r n e r s t o overcome d i f f i c u l t i e s they are f a c i n g i n t h e a s s i m i l a t i o n

o f new r u l e s .

Now l e t us see i f we can f i n d instances o f l e x i c a l t r a n s f e r .

2.2.4 L e x i c a l

E,_ 'Because i f I have many sons...?

ID

This looks l i k e a c o r r e c t u t t e r a n c e , b u t i f we know t h e c o n t e x t where

it has been taken from, we r e a l i z e t h a t t h e l e a r n e r wanted t o w r i t e

'because i f I have many c h i l d r e n ' . As i n Wolof we do n o t have t h r e e

words f o r daughter, son and c h i l d . There i s j u s t one word 'dom' and i f

we want t o be p r e c i s e we say a 'male-child' or a ' f e m a l e - c h i l d ' . So

because o f t h e semantic scope o f 'dom' i n Wolof, the l e a r n e r i s u s i n g

'sons' f o r c h i l d r e n .

E^^ ' I n Senegal we are i n economic crease.'

E.„ 'They have h a b i t u d t o l i v e t o g e t h e r . '

18
I n those two examples, t h e l e a r n e r s , n o t knowing t h e r i g h t word or
 - 24 -

phrase, use words o r phrases which, a c c o r d i n g t o t h e i r hypotheses, are

close t o English. 'Crease' i s used instead o f ' c r i s i s ' , the learner

being a Wolof speaker cannot pronounce t h e French word c r i s e /Kriz/

p r o p e r l y , as t h e r e i s no / z / i n h i s language. Thus t h e word c l o s e r i n

E n g l i s h t o h i s p r o n u n c i a t i o n o f t h e French i s 'crease'. And i n t h e

second example, the learner i s translating literally t h e French

phrase, ' a v o i r 1'habitude de', b u t he i s n o t sure o f t h e r i g h t phrase

and t h e r e f o r e uses t h e French by d r o p p i n g t h e 'e' a t t h e end t o make

i t sound more E n g l i s h .

E^^ and E^g can be c o n s i d e r e d as language switching. Learners

a c t u a l l y do use t h i s s t r a t e g y i n t h e classroom when they cannot f i n d

the right word t o express t h e i r idea. I t i s one form o f appeal t o

a u t h o r i t y . They are sure t h a t t h e teacher w i l l c o r r e c t them when they

use a non-English word.

E ' I t h i n k you must make a t t e n t i o n . '

xy

The r e c o n s t r u c t e d sentence i s ' I t h i n k you must be c a r e f u l ' , which

means i n French ' j e pense que t u d o i s f a i r e attention'. The l e a r n e r

being aware o f t h e p e r v a s i v e use o f ' f a i r e ' i n French thinks that

'make' has t h e same d i s t r i b u t i o n as t h e French verb.

We have seen just a few examples of lexical t r a n s f e r which can

lead t o e r r o r s , obviously t h e r e are v a r i o u s ways i n which lexical

transfer can o p e r a t e . However, what i s important t o note i s t h a t

l e x i c a l t r a n s f e r seems.-to; p l a c e more c o n s t r a i n t s on l e a r n e r s . That i s

what e x p l a i n s why i t i s l e s s used.

The last technique o f t r a n s f e r we are g o i n g t o analyse i s

translation.
 - 25 -

2.2.5 T r a n s l a t i o n

There i s a g e n e r a l agreement among t h e o r i s t s t h a t a language i s

not learned through translation. However, in specific situations

learners r e s o r t t o t r a n s l a t i o n s and t h i s i s r e f l e c t e d through t h e k i n d

o f e r r o r s they make when u s i n g t h i s technique as a l e a r n i n g strategy.

For i n s t a n c e , when w r i t i n g a f r e e composition, learners have enough

time t o t h i n k and m o n i t o r t h e i r o u t p u t . As they do n o t master the

t a r g e t language w e l l enough t o t h i n k i n i t . they t h i n k i n t h e i r mother

tongue and then t r a n s l a t e i t . I f we look a t a few e r r o r s we will

d e t e c t t h i s phenomenon e a s i l y .

E^Q ' I ask god t o g i v e you a good husband and c h i l d r e n '

can be r e c o n s t r u c t e d as 'May god g i v e you a good husband and many

children.'

T h i s u t t e r a n c e shows a l i n g u i s t i c and c u l t u r a l t r a n s f e r . I t i s very

common i n t h e A f r i c a n culture t o f o r m u l a t e such a wish, b u t i t i s

r a r e r i n t h e European c u l t u r e . The l e a r n e r , therefore, has t o f i n d a

means t o g e t h i s message across by t r a n s l a t i n g l i t e r a l l y h i s mother

tongue.

Translation i s q u i t e common among l e a r n e r s o f a c e r t a i n age.

^21 many b i r t h s make the human body t i r e d . '

i.e. 'incessant c h i l d b e a r i n g damages women's h e a l t h . '

^22 '""^ "'• ^° l o o k i n t h e room.'

E^g 'the e a t w i l l be d i f f i c u l t t o f i n d . '

A l l these examples are a c t u a l l y t r a n s l a t i o n s from Wolof i n t o E n g l i s h .

The predominance o f Wolof i n what we c a l l t r a n s l a t i o n - t r a n s f e r shows

the presence o f t h e mother tongue a t a l e v e l where i t i s supposed t o

be superseded by French.
 - 26 -

However, the predominance of e i t h e r French or Wolof in the

linguistic system of the learners depends on the topic and the

individual. Some have reached a highly s o p h i s t i c a t e d knowledge of

French, o t h e r s have n o t . The l a t t e r t h i n k more i n t h e i r mother tongue

than t h e former.

Our l a s t example shows a t r a n s l a t i o n from French;

E^^ By i n s t a n c e , t h e case o f those who had l e f t I s r a e l f o r

t o s e t t l e i n U.S.A.

I n French 'Par exemple, l e cas de ceux q u i a v a i e n t q u i t t e Israel

pour s ' i n s t a l l e r aux Etats-Unis.

An a b s o l u t e word-for-word t r a n s l a t i o n .

What t h i s b r i e f a n a l y s i s has shown i s t h a t language t r a n s f e r from

the language or languages known by f o r e i g n language learners is a

process which i s p a r t o f t h e l e a r n e r s ' i n t e r l a n g u a g e . 'Thus t h e mother

tongue has c e r t a i n l y a r o l e t o p l a y i n a l e a r n e r - c e n t r e d c u r r i c u l u m .
 - 27 -

Chapter Three

3. D i s c u s s i o n and Conclusion

3.1 D i s c u s s i o n

3.1.1 French Versus Wolof

I n t h e l a s t s e c t i o n we wrote t h a t those who mastered French b e t t e r

were u s i n g i t more o f t e n as t h e b a s i s o f t h e i r i n t e r l a n g u a g e . I n t h i s

s e c t i o n we w i l l t r y t o show t h e ' c o m p e t i t i o n ' which i s t a k i n g p l a c e

between t h e two languages. French i s a h i g h prestige language and

moreover t h e medium o f i n s t r u c t i o n , t h e r e f o r e a l l the t e a c h i n g i s done

t h r o u g h i t . W h i l s t Wolof, though spoken by t h e g r e a t m a j o r i t y o f the

Senegalese population i s hardly used i n instruction. However, as

Sharwood Smith ( i n Gass and S e l i n k e r , 1983, p.222) q u o t i n g Carroll

says, ' i n t e a c h i n g a second language we do n o t expect our students t o

forget the f i r s t system'. Thus, one can imagine the process through

which t h e s t u d e n t s ' mother tongue i s g o i n g i n t h e l e a r n i n g setting.

E a r l y i n t h e i r p r i m a r y s t u d i e s , t h e s t u d e n t s were already f a c i n g two

l i n g u i s t i c systems, t h e French system as t h e medium o f i n s t r u c t i o n and

their mother tongue as their medium o f communication outside the

classroom. We must n o t e , i n p a s s i n g , t h a t French i s taught as a first

language though n o t known by most school e n t r a n t s . I t i s obvious

t h e r e f o r e , i f we b e l i e v e t h a t i t i s o n l y by 'thinking i n the mother

tongue' t h a t a l e a r n e r can b e g i n t o communicate i n a second language,

we can expect l e a r n e r s i n this situation to resort quite often to

language t r a n s f e r as a l e a r n i n g s t r a t e g y . Time and space do n o t p e r m i t

 - 28 -

us t o analyse t h e l e a r n e r ' s i n t e r l a n g u a g e i n primary school. Let us

just mention that French as well as English, i s going through a

process o f a d a p t a t i o n i n t h e former A f r i c a n colonies. That i s the

reason why people t a l k o f a N i g e r i a n s t a n d a r d E n g l i s h , f o r example.

And i f one reads a n o v e l w r i t t e n i n French o r E n g l i s h by an African

• writer, one realities t h a t many expressions used are paraphrases or

circumlocutions taken from A f r i c a n languages, and this i s done on

purpose. T h i s s t r a t e g y i s used i n everyday l i f e by people who do not

know those European languages well. Even i n t e l l e c t u a l s tend t o use

c o d e - s w i t c h i n g when d i s c u s s i n g w i t h people s h a r i n g t h e same l i n g u i s t i c

background as them.

Now l e t us t a c k l e our main i s s u e . What w i l l happen t o t h e first

language which i s b e i n g superseded more and more by French, when

l e a r n e r s are t a k i n g a t h i r d language? Does i t disappear completely i n

the t h i n k i n g process o r i s i t s t i l l present?

The t h i n k i n g process i s a very c o m p l i c a t e d one. I n

E^ ' I n t h e c o u n t r i e s d e v e l o p i n g , they are many economic

problems'

and

E^ ' I t h i n g you must make a t t e n t i o n ' ,

we have seen t h e mother tongue p h o n o l o g i c a l system which was inferring

i n t h e l e a r n i n g process. However, t h e process can be more complex, i n

E^7, ' I n Senegal we are i n economic crease',

' crease' , though i t can be said to be a phonological transfer

undergoes two processes. F i r s t i t i s i d e n t i f i e d w i t h the French word

' c r i s e ' , j K'l I 2. but with i t s Wolof p r o n u n c i a t i o n |K • c i> . This

 - 29 -

example shows t h a t t h e b a s i s o f t h e i n t e r l a n g u a g e can be t w o f o l d , here

i t i s Wolof and French.

In the t r a n s l a t i o n t r a n s f e r s

E^Q ' I ask god t o g i v e you a good husband and c h i l d r e n '

^21 ' "lany b i r t h s make t h e human body t i r e d ' ,

'Me I go l o o k i n t h e room',

E 'the eat w i l l be d i f f i c u l t t o f i n d ' ,

the b a s i s o f t h e t r a n s f e r i s t r a c e a b l e t o Wolof. We can a s s e r t that

t h e l e a r n e r s were t h i n k i n g i n Wolof when w r i t i n g those sentences. Why

can we make such a claim? Because t h e s u b j e c t they were d i s c u s s i n g i s

a topic linked very much t o t h e k i n d o f e x i s t e n c e they are f a c i n g

every day. They discuss i n their homes, w i t h t h e i r friends, about

contraception, f a m i l y - p l a n n i n g and t h e s c a r c i t y o f food. Therefore,

they are p r o v i d e d w i t h the l i n g u i s t i c m a t e r i a l s t o deal w i t h these

problems i n t h e i r mother tongue.

I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o note t h a t i n the m o r p h o l o g i c a l , s y n t a c t i c and

l e x i c a l t r a n s f e r s , very few instances were d e r i v e d from Wolof. Here

the n o t i o n o f distance between languages play an important part.

Compared t o Wolof, French syntax i s c l o s e r t o E n g l i s h . Therefore one

should expect French r u l e s t o be more t r a n s f e r r a b l e . We have r e a l i z e d

t h a t o l d e r l e a r n e r s tend t o use more language t r a n s f e r than younger

ones and t h a t those who know a t l e a s t two languages use t h i s s t r a t e g y

too when l e a r n i n g a t h i r d language. When u s i n g t r a n s f e r the l e a r n e r i s

using h i s previous knowledge, h i s mother tongue as any language he

knows, b u t a l s o what i s called 'imperfect knowledge' of the target

language as we have seen i n

^14 '^^^"^ K o f f i can wear h i s new shirt'.

 - 30 -

i n which we said t h a t the r u l e was not f u l l y mastered. He may also

have expectations about the target language, whether they are

conscious o r n o t . For instance, a Wolof speaker who i s learning

E n g l i s h may consider i t closer t o English because i t i s a European

language, and t h i s need n o t be conscious. This p o i n t may be a d i r e c t i o n

of research i n t h e study o f l e a r n i n g s t r a t e g i e s .

Let us compare r a p i d l y t h e t h r e e d i f f e r e n t s t r u c t u r e s i n

E„, ' I have a f r a i d o f t h a t ' ,

o
as an i l l u s t r a t i o n . The reconstructed utterance i s , I am afraid of

t h a t , i t s French e q u i v a l e n t , ' j a i peur de c e l a ' and Wolof ' dama Ko

ragal'.

NP VP

PRO

AP

am
\
Adj PP

i
afraid
det
Prep
i

of that
 - 31 -

/
NP

PRO

ai

peur
det
P-

i
de cela

VP
NP

( /
i
pro

dama clitic

ragal

What we l e a r n from these t h r e e phrase-markers, i s t h a t , though

they a l l have S —i?'NP VP, Wolof i s d i f f e r e n t from E n g l i s h and French.

Wolof i s a pro-drop language i n t h e sense o f Chomsky (1981, 1982), i n

that i t can have a n u l l subject, which i s characterized as p r o .

Another c o n c l u s i o n which can be drawn from t h e phrase-markers i s that

French i s c l o s e r i n i t s s u r f a c e s t r u c t u r e t o E n g l i s h . However, we do

not mean t h a t whenever there i s similarity i n surface structure,

transfer i s n e c e s s a r i l y going t o be used by l e a r n e r s . What we are

t r y i n g t o show i s t h a t a s t r u c t u r e such as t h e one we have i n Wolof i s

 - 32 -

l e s s l i k e l y t o be t r a n s f e r r e d .

E^^ ' I t can cause many problems t o t h e p o p u l a t i o n ' ,

here a g a i n t h e French sentence, ' I I peut poser beaucoup de problemes a

l a p o p u l a t i o n ' , can be thought t o be a t t h e b a s i s o f the t r a n s f e r .

This is a hint that there are constraints on language transfer.

Learners do n o t know what these constraints are but rather they

intuitively think o f t h e two structures as distant or c l o s e , and

t h e r e f o r e a d j u s t t h e i r hypotheses a c c o r d i n g t o t h e i r c o n c l u s i o n .

Learners r e s o r t t o French or Wolof, n o t o n l y because 'they t h i n k

i n t h e i r mother tongue', b u t a l s o because t h e environment i n which the

learning i s taking p l a c e favours more the phenomenon of language

t r a n s f e r . Not b e i n g i n v o l v e d i n a c o n v e r s a t i o n which w i l l compel them

to devise o t h e r s t r a t e g i e s , they have enough time t o t h i n k i n the

language which seems more appropriate to their topic and then

' t r a n s l a t e t h e i r t h o u g h t s ' . That i s t h e reason why the place o f phrase

translations i s paramount i n their interlanguage. Another way of

explaining t h e phenomenon i s that teachers are now more concerned

about f l u e n c y than accuracy. D u r i n g lessons they t r y t o make t h e i r

s t u d e n t s c o n c e n t r a t e on the message, communication, not on the form.

From a l l this we can say with Krashen (1981) that 'transfer'

appears to be strongest in word order and in word-for-word

t r a n s l a t i o n s o f phrases'. And second t h a t 'language t r a n s f e r i s weaker

i n bound morphology'. I n our data t h e r e are few e r r o r s due t o omission

o f p l u r a l s or a d j e c t i v e - n o u n agreement.

And finally language transfer 'seems to be strongest in

"acquisition poor" 'environment', i ^ ,a setting which is highly

 - 33 -

academic and f o r m a l , where ' n a t u r a l a p p r o p r i a t e i n t a k e i s scarce and

t r a n s l a t i o n e x e r c i s e s a r e f r e q u e n t ' (Krashen, 1981 p.66).

To sum up, we can say t h a t l e a r n e r s who a r e b i l i n g u a l resort to

both languages as they devise learning strategies, However, t h e two

languages may play different roles according to their distance

vis-a-vis the target language and t h e standard o f • t h e . l e a r n e r . Our

data have shown t h a t t h e mother tongue i s used t o t r a n s l a t e phrases,

whereas French i s used' as t h e b a s i s f o r s t r u c t u r a l t r a n s f e r .

I n s p i t e o f t h i s d i v i s i o n o f labour between the two languages i n

the earlier periods o f l e a r n i n g , one can envisage a period when

learners w i l l f e e l c o n f i d e n t enough t o t h i n k i n the t a r g e t language

and r e s o r t t o o t h e r s t r a t e g i e s i n communication with l i t t l e or no

transfer.

3.2 Problems

3.2.1 Lack of an adequate theory

Improvements i n t h e methods and m a t e r i a l s o f

second language t e a c h i n g are l i k e l y t o remain a
matter o f t r i a l and e r r o r u n t i l we have a b e t t e r
understanding than we have a t present o f the
processes o f l e a r n i n g a second language.

(S.P. Corder, 1981, p.26)

The c o m p l e x i t y o f t h e l e a r n i n g process and the d i f f i c u l t y t o analyse

data based on e r r o r s s c i e n t i f i c a l l y have prevented researchers from

d e v i s i n g a theory o f i n t e r l a n g u a g e w i t h enough explanatory power. We

s t i l l do n o t know what i s happening e x a c t l y when someone i s l e a r n i n g a

second language. The s t a t e o f l i n g u i s t i c science does n o t p e r m i t us t o

 - 34 -

a s s e r t t h a t second language a c q u i s i t i o n operates i n t h e same way as

first language acquisition. There are many points which need

clarification f o r the b u i l d i n g of a theory o f second language

learning. However, this lack o f an adequate theory instead of

d e t e r r i n g r e s e a r c h e r s has compelled them t o concentrate on p a r t i c u l a r

p o i n t s i n t h e l e a r n e r ' s language. S e l i n k e r (1972) has t r i e d t o show

the processes which a r e p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y r e l e v a n t t o a theory o f second

language l e a r n i n g , namely, language t r a n s f e r , t r a n s f e r o f t r a i n i n g ,

s t r a t e g i e s i n second language l e a r n i n g , s t r a t e g i e s i n second language

communication and overgeneralization of TL linguistic material.

Selinker's psychologically relevant factors, though posing a few

problems, which we w i l l discuss later, c o n s t i t u t e a basis for a

d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e l e a r n e r ' s language.

Another i m p o r t a n t move forward i s t h a t t h e r e i s general agreement

among r e s e a r c h e r s t h a t l e a r n e r s use hypotheses as Schachter p u t s i t :

The idea t h a t l e a r n e r s f o r m u l a t e and t e s t hypotheses

a g a i n s t l i n g u i s t i c i n p u t has been w i t h us f o r some
time now and i s g e n e r a l l y , i f n o t u n i v e r s a l l y ,
accepted.
( i n Gass & S e l i n k e r , 1983, p.104)

Therefore, though t h e i n t e r e s t i n t h e study o f interlanguage i s recent,

much progress has been made and d i f f e r e n t t h e o r i e s , though incomplete,

developed.

3.2.2 Problems p e c u l i a r to language t r a n s f e r

In s p i t e o f a l l the studies based on c o n t r a s t i v e analysis and

language t r a n s f e r , our knowledge about t h e phenomenon c a l l e d language

transfer i s very limited. For i n s t a n c e , we do n o t know what i s

 - 35 -

transferable and when t r a n s f e r occurs. Transfer, having been closely

a s s o c i a t e d t o behaviourism, can be a m i s l e a d i n g term and some authors

such as P i t Corder and Schachter ask f o r t h e use o f another term which

does n o t have a n e g a t i v e c o n n o t a t i o n , or a t l e a s t i t s r e d e f i n i t i o n . And

Schachter a t t e m p t i n g t o d e f i n e transfer writes:

What i s c a l l e d t r a n s f e r i s simply t h e s e t o f
c o n s t r a i n t s t h a t one's p r e v i o u s knowledge imposes
on t h e domains from which t o s e l e c t hypotheses
about t h e data one i s a t t e n d i n g t o .

( I n Gass and S e l i n k e r , 1983, p.104)

This new view o f language transfer i s pointing at directions f o r

f u t u r e r e s e a r c h , namely c o n s t r a i n t s on t r a n s f e r . I t i s i m p o r t a n t i n a

t h e o r y o f language l e a r n i n g t o see whether t h e r e are c o n s t r a i n t s on

t r a n s f e r or not. This i s i m p o r t a n t on t h e one hand, because i f t h e r e

are no c o n s t r a i n t s , t h e range o f hypotheses w i l l be very wide and t h e

learner's t a s k w i l l be very d i f f i c u l t . On t h e o t h e r hand, t h e t h e o r i s t

w i l l no l o n g e r be concerned w i t h t h e p r e d i c t i o n o f t r a n s f e r b u t w i t h

the i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f areas where t r a n s f e r can happen. Adjemian, about

t h i s t h e o r e t i c a l framework, w r i t e s :

This t h e o r y , coupled w i t h a conception o f t h e

learner as an a c t i v e analyzer and hypothesis
formulator, encourages us t o l o c a t e areas o f ,
lexical space where t h e . l e x i c a l relatedness
appears t o t h e l e a r n e r t o transcend t h e d e f i n i n g
edges o f a s i n g l e language. These areas, then, are
p e r c e i v e d as t r a n s f e r r a b l e thereby s i m p l i f y i n g t h e
language-learning task f o r the learner by
p e r m i t t i n g t h e use o f ready-made hypotheses.

( I n Gass and S e l i n k e r , 1983, p.265)

Thus, the t h e o r e t i c a l framework seems t o be s e t f o r a much more

 36 -

systematic study o f language t r a n s f e r . I f we accept t h e n o t i o n o f t h e

i n f l u e n c e o f p r e v i o u s knowledge i n any form o f l e a r n i n g , and t h a t o f

the learner as an analyser and hypothesis formulator, we must

acknowledge t h a t t h e mother tongue p l a y s a role i n second language

a c q u i s i t i o n and t h a t t h i s r o l e must be s t u d i e d .

3.2.3 The r o l e o f the s e t t i n g

As many sociolinguists have shown the social context has an

i m p o r t a n t p a r t t o p l a y i n any t h e o r y a t t e m p t i n g t o describe language

i n use. And as second language l e a r n i n g i s language i n c o n t e x t we must

expect t h e s e t t i n g where t h e l e a r n i n g i s t a k i n g place t o have some

effect i n the acquisition process. We have a l r e a d y said that the

l e a r n e r ' s language i s i d i o s y n c r a t i c and t h i s i s going t o add up t o t h e

c o m p l e x i t y which w i l l be brought by t h e v a r i e t y o f s e t t i n g s . Richards

(1974) has shown that the interlanguage of different groups of

immigrants vary according t o some social factors. For instance,

immigrant I n d i a n s who keep shops i n B r i t a i n and c a t e r f o r an I n d i a n

community will need little English. They will be i n communication

situations i n which they will have t o use s t r a t e g i e s i n second

language communication, overgeneralization more than language

t r a n s f e r . However, t h i s form o f t h e i r i n t e r l a n g u a g e can be described

by t h e model proposed by S e l i n k e r , i e t h e f i v e processes which are

psychologically relevant to a theory o f second language theory.

Another case i s t h e l e a r n i n g o f E n g l i s h as a f o r e i g n language. I n t h i s

case t h e most conspicuous s t r a t e g i e s used by l e a r n e r s w i l l be t r a n s f e r

of training and language t r a n s f e r as most o f t h e teaching i s done

 - 37 -

through translation. I n a setting where English i s learned as a

f o r e i g n language, t h e l e a r n e r ' s language can be s t u d i e d w i t h t h e same

model as i n t h e s e t t i n g mentioned above.

T h e r e f o r e , though t h e nature o f t h e i n t e r l a n g u a g e can be d i f f e r e n t

according t o the s e t t i n g , one t h e o r e t i c a l model can be used i n any

s e t t i n g t o account f o r t h e v a r i o u s data. Thus, t h e d i f f i c u l t y which

may be l i n k e d t o t h e v a r i e t y o f t h e c o n t e x t s i n which second language

learning i s taken i s n o t insurmountable as f a r as one model o f

a n a l y s i s i s a v a i l a b l e t o t h e o r i s t s and researchers.

3.2.4 Overlapping between the d i f f e r e n t s t r a t e g i e s

Five processes have been s a i d as c o n s t i t u t i n g s t r a t e g i e s l e a r n e r s

use. However, S e l i n k e r h i m s e l f acknowledges the d i f f i c u l t y t o i d e n t i f y

unambiguously which o f the f i v e processes we are d e a l i n g with.

Therefore a real difficulty i s there and one has t o face i t .

T h e o r e t i c a l l y i t i s p o s s i b l e t o t a c k l e a problem w h i l e knowing t h a t i t

i s n o t p o s s i b l e t o c h a r a c t e r i z e i t e x a c t l y . However, provided we use

the r i g h t theoretical framework t o analyse what i s happening, the

r e s u l t s can be sound enough t o account f o r t h e data. This difficulty

i s n o t p e c u l i a r t o l i n g u i s t i c s , i t i s met i n o t h e r s c i e n t i f i c fields

where t h e r e i s ; sometimes, an o v e r l a p between two phenomena which

cannot be separated quite clearly. Two o r t h r e e s t r a t e g i e s can be

c o n f l a t e d and e x p l a i n e d w i t h t h e same model o f a n a l y s i s we have been

dealing with.
 - 38 -

3.3 A few p r a c t i c a l considerations

We have been l e a d i n g an i n v e s t i g a t i o n from the s t a n d p o i n t o f the

researcher or t h e o r i s t , now we are going t o see what the i m p l i c a t i o n s

are f o r t e a c h e r s .

Teachers must have some knowledge o f i n t e r l a n g u a g e theory i n order

to r e a c t p o s i t i v e l y when, t h e i r p u p i l s make e r r o r s . Teachers used t o

t r y t o e r a d i c a t e e r r o r s and they tended t o be i m p a t i e n t w i t h students

who made many e r r o r s . But i f teachers are convinced t h a t e r r i n g i s one

way o f l e a r n i n g , then they can help t h e i r students f i n d out what i s

wrong i n t h e hypotheses they are f o r m u l a t i n g . Of course, we agree w i t h

Krashen when he says t h a t f o r m a l t e a c h i n g does not help very much.

However, we as teachers must face t h i s problem. We have a t some p o i n t

t o teach o r a t l e a s t t o p r o v i d e our students w i t h the i n p u t we think

can h e l p l e a r n e r s a c q u i r e the l i n g u i s t i c m a t e r i a l they are lacking.

Obviously, we do n o t have any c o n t r o l on t h e i n t a k e , but a sympathetic

attitude can do much good t o l e a r n e r s who will be more w i l l i n g to

participate.

As we have seen, e r r o r s i n the l e a r n i n g o f E n g l i s h as a foreign

language can be due t o language t r a n s f e r . Though our data show c l e a r l y

t h i s , t h e r e i s some disagreement among r e s e a r c h e r s . No matter what the

opinion of teachers i s , they must be aware o f the phenomenon of

language t r a n s f e r and the c o n d i t i o n s i n which i t i s l i k e l y t o be used

as a learning s t r a t e g y . This awareness of the problem can urge

teachers t o c r e a t e c o n d i t i o n s i n which there w i l l be more p o s i t i v e

t r a n s f e r s than n e g a t i v e ones. Their t e a c h i n g techniques can be improved

a g r e a t d e a l i f they gather data about the k i n d s o f e r r o r s which are

made by t h e i r s t u d e n t s . Moreover, they can concentrate on i n d i v i d u a l s ,

and thus g i v e a more p e r s o n a l i z e d t e a c h i n g .

 - 39 -

A knowledge o f i n t e r l a n g u a g e t h e o r y can a l s o help teachers improve

textbooks by b r i n g i n g new m a t e r i a l i n t h e classroom. I f they know what

e r r o r s mean they w i l l be able t o d e t e c t through t h e i r students' e r r o r s

the f l a w s i n t h e i r t e a c h i n g . I f , f o r i n s t a n c e , they r e a l i z e t h a t most

of t h e e r r o r s are due t o t r a n s f e r o f t r a i n i n g , they must change t h e

way they teach. Therefore error analysis is a means for self-

e v a l u a t i o n f o r t e a c h e r s . E r r o r s g i v e i n f o r m a t i o n about t h e l e a r n e r s ,

the textbooks, the teaching and t h e c o n t e x t . Therefore, they are

v a l u a b l e t o any teacher whose aim i s t o help h i s students improve h i s

learning strategies. However, a word o f balance must be p u t here.

Showing a sympathetic a t t i t u d e does n o t mean being permissive. A f a l s e

comprehension o f i n t e r l a n g u a g e may l e a d t o d i s a s t e r s i n the classroom.

Immigrants can reach a p o i n t when t h e i r i n t e r l a n g u a g e i s used as a

-Creole o r a l i n g u a f r a n c a , f o r i n s t a n c e , p i d g i n E n g l i s h . But l e a r n e r s

of English as a foreign language cannot reach that level. The

o b j e c t i v e o f l e a r n e r s o f E n g l i s h as a f o r e i g n language i s t o be as

near as p o s s i b l e t o n a t i v e speakers' standard. Therefore, they expect

t h e i r teachers t o a s s e r t some s o r t o f a u t h o r i t y by h e l p i n g them g e t

r i d of their errors. I t i s a d i f f i c u l t t a s k as i t i s n o t always easy

t o know when an e r r o r i s a minor one o r i s n o t . By t r y i n g t o c o r r e c t

all t h e e r r o r s , t h e teacher i s going to inhibit learners. Richards,

q u o t i n g James, w r i t e s :

Accepting t h e i n t e r l i n g u a , l i k e a c c e p t i n g a c h i l d ' s
non-standard speech avoids t h e n e c e s s i t y t o h a l t t h e
communication process f o r t h e sake o f t h e l e a r n i n g
process.
(Richards, 1974, p.89)

Thus, i t i s by o n l y having a wide sample o f t h e i r students' e r r o r s t h a t

 - 40

teachers can be able t o know when t o c o r r e c t and when n o t . The emphasis

must be l a i d on communication and i f i t i s achieved successfully,

teachers need n o t worry very much. However, they must c a t e r f o r the

needs o f t h e i r students who w i l l face o t h e r i n t e r l o c u t o r s who may laugh

at their mistakes and t h i s can cause inhibition. Learners must be

prepared psychologically i n t h e classroom. Teachers will be more

prepared t o achieve t h i s t a s k i f they have a knowledge o f i n t e r l a n g u a g e

theory.

Another i m p o r t a n t t h i n g f o r teachers t o know i s t h a t t h e l e a r n e r s '

p e r s o n a l i t y has a c e r t a i n r o l e t o p l a y i n t h e i r a t t i t u d e towards e r r o r s .

Some f a v o u r f l u e n c y and do n o t worry very much about making errors.

Others a r e over-conscious o f t h e i r e r r o r s and tend t o avoid speech as

much as p o s s i b l e . Teachers, i n both cases, have t o be very c a u t i o u s . As

i n any human e n t e r p r i s e , t h e balance i s n o t always easy t o f i n d . I n t h e

case o f t h e former an excess o f sympathy can b r i n g t h e l e a r n i n g t o an

end and i n t h e case o f t h e l a t t e r a l a c k o f sympathy e n t a i l s t h e absence

of l e a r n i n g . Therefore teachers have t o show t o o v e r - c o n f i d e n t l e a r n e r s

t h a t they communicate w e l l b u t languages have r u l e s and t h a t they cannot

communicate i n whatever way they l i k e . And q u i t e a d i f f e r e n t thing i s

g o i n g t o be s a i d t o i n h i b i t e d l e a r n e r s .

We can a s s e r t a t t h i s p o i n t t h a t a good knowledge o f i n t e r l a n g u a g e

theory i s an i m p o r t a n t asset f o r teachers. A systematic analysis of

e r r o r s must be a constant preoccupation f o r teachers. By doing t h i s they

w i l l d e t e c t t h e weaknesses o f t h e i r s t u d e n t s , t h e s t r u c t u r e s which prove

to be d i f f i c u l t o r those which are never used and which a r e , however,

necessary f o r communicative purposes. E r r o r a n a l y s i s shows t o o t h e f l a w s

or t h e good aspects o f t h e s y l l a b u s . Last, b u t n o t l e a s t , teachers can

 - 41 -

d e t e c t where t h e i r weaknesses l i e as f a r as t h e i r teaching techniques

are concerned.

3.4 Conclusion

We have reached t h e end o f our i n v e s t i g a t i o n and we must draw a

c o n c l u s i o n . We have, however, t o acknowledge t h a t t h e r e are many aspects

o f our t o p i c which c o u l d have been i n v e s t i g a t e d and which were n o t . I f

time and p l a c e had p e r m i t t e d us t o do so, we would have analysed

problems such as c o n s t r a i n t s i n language t r a n s f e r , as t h i s seems t o be a

t u r n i n g p o i n t i n language t r a n s f e r . We c o u l d have t r i e d too t o f i n d out

whether t h e r e were o t h e r s t r a t e g i e s than those which are described i n

the c l a s s i c l i t e r a t u r e o f i n t e r l a n g u a g e t h e o r y .

In this brief and limited analysis we have tried t o show that

language t r a n s f e r has i t s p l a c e i n a framework o f e r r o r analysis. We

have attempted t o show t h e shortcomings o f c o n t r a s t i v e analysis which

claimed t h a t a l l errors were t r a c e a b l e t o t h e mother tongue. Such a

strong claim has urged e r r o r analysts t o minimize the importance o f

langauge t r a n s f e r as most data could be described through different

processes. Hitherto, researchers do not agree completely on the

importance o f language t r a n s f e r as a l e a r n i n g strategy. However, one

t h i n g i s c l e a r - they a l l agree t h a t l e a r n e r s use hypotheses and that

p r e v i o u s knowledge p l a y s a p a r t i n t h e l e a r n i n g process.

Our data have c l e a r l y shown t h a t i n a formal educational s e t t i n g ,

language t r a n s f e r can be a t t h e source o f many e r r o r s . This constitutes

a good reason t o consider t h i s phenomenon as a s t r a t e g y which must be

s t u d i e d t o understand how l e a r n i n g i s done.

I t i s obvious t h a t t h e r e are many problems r e l a t e d t o the model o f

 - 42 -

a n a l y s i s we have been u s i n g i n our i n v e s t i g a t i o n . However, whether i t i s

the d i f f i c u l t y o f i d e n t i f y i n g e r r o r s e x a c t l y , o r t h e lack o f an adequate

theory, t h e o r i s t s can use t h i s model t o account f o r data of various

o r i g i n . I t may be necessary t o r e f i n e t h e model, b u t e r r o r a n a l y s i s i s

e v o l v i n g and every day researchers are making breakthroughs which b r i n g

new i n s i g h t s .

And f i n a l l y i n the l a s t section we have tried t o see what the

i m p l i c a t i o n s were f o r t e a c h e r s . We have shown t h a t a good knowledge o f

interlanguage theory i s useful t o teachers and t h a t they can b e n e f i t

from the findings of researchers i f they use their discoveries

judiciously.
 - 43 -

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