The Acquisition of English Restrictive Relative Clauses by Arab Adult EFL Learners

Hayat Eid Alroudhan

doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.7n.1p.33

Abstract

This study investigates the challenges faced by Arab adult learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) in acquiring English restrictive relative clauses (RRCs), as well as the factors that affect the process of acquisition. This issue has received considerable attention in second language (L2) research. The present study discusses the syntactic structure of RRCs in English and Arabic with regard to the use of resumptive pronouns and the use of overt versus covert relative markers as related to the definiteness of the head noun. This study is carried out using an acceptability judgment test as the tool for data collection. A sample of 100 male and female adult Arabic speakers is used with the aim of identifying potential acquisition problems. The results obtained provide further support for first language (L1) transfer. This study concludes that participants accepted the use of resumptive pronouns and preferred the overt relative markers determined by definiteness. It is further discovered that certain factors influenced the acquisition process such as participants’ age, age of learning, and age of immersion. The current study has some pedagogical implications for the teaching of relative clauses in the EFL context. Keywords: English Relative Clauses, Restrictive Relative Clauses, Relative pronoun, Arab Learners of English

Highlights

The acquisition of a second language’s (L2) structure often attracts researchers’ interest
The current study was conducted to investigate the acquisition of English restrictive relative clauses (RRCs) by adult English learners with regard to the use of resumptive pronouns and the use of overt versus covert relative markers as related to the definiteness of the head noun as well as the different factors that may result in difficulty in that acquisition
In order to meet the purpose of this study, the following research questions were formulated: Q1- What are the most common mistakes made by Arab adult English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in acquiring English RRCs?

Summary

Introduction

The acquisition of a second language’s (L2) structure often attracts researchers’ interest. Many studies have provided evidence that the structural distinction between first and second languages often causes difficulties in the process of acquiring a second language’s complex structure. Researchers such as Shaheen (2013), Algady (2013) and Zagood and Juma (2012) have examined the influence of cross-linguistic transfer between Arabic and English on the acquisition of L2 relative clauses. There is a need to conduct research in order to investigate the causes of the serious errors that hinder the ability of learners to master the complex structures of the English language generally and English restrictive relative clauses in particular. In order to meet the purpose of this study, the following research questions were formulated: Q1- What are the most common mistakes made by Arab adult EFL learners in acquiring English RRCs?

Methods

Results

Conclusion