The Impact of Mother Tongue Interference on English Grammar: A Case Study of EFL Students at Technical College, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The mother tongue influence plays a crucial role in the process of second or foreign language acquisition, serving as both a potential aid and an obstacle. When significant linguistic differences exist between a learner’s first and second language, the influence of the mother tongue may hinder the acquisition of the target language. This case study investigates the negative impact of mother-tongue interference on English language acquisition among EFL learners. Specifically, it examines the most common grammatical errors in English paragraph writing made by technical students and explores the underlying causes of these errors. The research focuses on the analysis of paragraph writing from the final-term examination scripts of thirty students at the Technical College of Al-Hait in Saudi Arabia. Analysis of the data revealed that the most frequent grammatical errors involved the use of the copulas, adjective phrase, prepositions, articles, and apostrophes. The findings indicate that mother-tongue interference is the primary factor contributing to these grammatical inaccuracies. The results emphasize the need for contrastive awareness and explicit instruction targeting error-prone structures. The paper proposes pedagogical interventions such as focused grammar instruction, corrective feedback, and consistent writing practice to reduce the impact of L1 transfer. The study concludes that while mother-tongue influence poses a significant challenge in EFL contexts, especially in writing, its negative effects can be reduced or eliminated and mitigated through systematic and consistent writing practice. Based on these insights, the paper proposes pedagogical strategies and valuable insights for educators and learners aiming to minimize first-language interference and enhancing grammatical accuracy among Arabic-speaking EFL learners and contributes to the broader filed of second language acquisition research.