Abstract
It is difficult to describe cross-linguistic influence; however, it has been a contentious phenomenon for a long time. Whenever the speaker of a language becomes bilingual, the first language will subtly affect the new one, even if it is not used much. This is how first language influence begins since the majority of Arab English as a foreign language (EFL) learners suffer from this problem. This current research aims to study the negative influence of the native language (Arabic) on utilising the English passive voice. In this article, we aim to discover the levels of Arab EFL learners’ knowledge of the passive voice, as well as to examine the percentage of interlingual and intralingual errors. This study applies a quantitative method. Forty-six participants, who are Arab EFL learners studying at the Universiti Malaysia Pahang, engaged in the task of answering a grammar test. To conclude, the results show that Arab students have a high rate of L1 transfer on the English passive voice, and their levels of knowledge of passive voice are identified. The researchers recommend mixed methods for further research in order to provide a wider understanding about this issue.
 
 Keywords: English as a foreign language, mother tongue, native language, target language.
Highlights
Grammar is one of the aspects of the English language that contributes successfully to conveying meaning among speakers. Sultana (2017, p. 3) defines it, ‘As the system of language for altering the structure of words and combines them into language’
The findings of the current study revealed that Arab English as a foreign language (EFL) learners encountered many challenges with the English passive voice
The present study has investigated the phenomenon of cross-linguistic influence that Arab EFL learners undergo on the English passive voice
Summary
Grammar is one of the aspects of the English language that contributes successfully to conveying meaning among speakers. Sultana (2017, p. 3) defines it, ‘As the system of language for altering the structure of words and combines them into language’. Grammar is one of the aspects of the English language that contributes successfully to conveying meaning among speakers. It is one of the essential tools that learners need for successful communication with other different language users. In order to succeed in communication, which is the purpose of acquiring language, speakers of the language must have grammatical knowledge in addition to other skills (Alasfour, 2018). Constructing a passive voice in English differs from that in Arabic. For this reason, Arab English as a foreign language (EFL) learners combine the Arabic passive voice with that in English. Since tenses in Arabic and English are different, the students may have difficulties in forming the English passive voice
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