The Perspectives of Turkish EFL Learners on the Differences and Similarities between Turkish (L1) and English (L2) Languages

Abstract

Pedagogically, the issue of similarities and/or differences between the mother tongue and the foreign language is one of the interesting areas of second/foreign language acquisition and learning. Therefore, this study aims at exploring in which way the Turkish language (L1) influences the English language (L2) learning through the perspectives of EFL undergraduate Turkish students, whereby the main focus is on the extent of the possible effects of the Turkish language (L1) on English learning (L2). A qualitative approach was employed, including 15 male and female students from Karabuk University studying in the first year of the English Department whose mother tongue is Turkish. The majority of the findings showed negative transfer from L1 (Turkish) to L2 (English), including pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and thinking in the mother tongue (Turkish), whereas the positive aspects involved only two aspects, namely similar alphabets, and vocabulary (cognates). These findings can be employed pedagogically for second language learning/acquisition through enhancing the positive aspects and overcoming the negative ones.