Use Of Prepositions In English Research Articles

Difficulties Facing English Foreign Language University Students in Using English Prepositions

Prepositions are one of the most used parts of speech in English. Thisstudy is concerned with the difficulties are facing Libyan highereducation students on the use of English prepositions. More specifically,this study is an attempt to discover these problems and the misuse of theseprepositions. This study is a quantitative. Seventy-six EFL students wererandomly selected from Libyan English department in Faculty ofEducation. The objective test was the main instrument for data collection.The results showed that Libyan students committed varied kinds of theerrors in the use of prepositions. Analysis of the responses revealed thaterrors made were mainly based on the function and replacement of theprepositions. The difficulties encountered in the use of prepositions arelinked to the nature of English prepositions: polysemy, idiomatic usageand substitution with first language prepositions. Another strategy toteaching English prepositions is required to improve students’performance.

Actual Problems of Cognitive Linguistics at the Present Stage

This article is devoted to the study of the historical and scientific prerequisites for the formation of a young, developing, and at the same time controversial and controversial scientific branch of linguistics - cognitive linguistics. The goals, object and subject of research in this field of knowledge are determined by theoretical and methodological principles that are formed on the basis of the cognitive-oriented work of Kazakh and foreign linguists. The continuation of the research traditions of cognitive linguistics, which is gaining popularity among Kazakh researchers, is noted. The theoretical and scientific basis of the research are such linguistic areas as frame and conceptual semantics, prototypical semantics, the theory of relevance (or linguistic emphasis), the theory of cognitive models and cognitive metaphor, the theory of mental spaces. Special attention is paid to the problems of the English language in comparison with other language groups, which creates difficulties in linguists relying on traditional approaches to the study of the language system. The identified specific features in the use of English prepositions, modal verbs, the use of participles, the category of voice, tense, aspect, mood, as well as some difficulties in coordinating tenses lead researchers to the need to use linguo-cognitive methods of cognition. The establishment of a close and complex relationship between language and the process of thinking, cognition is accepted as an evidence-based advantage of the study. The data obtained as a result of the analysis are based on logical, deductive, comparative linguistic research methods. The tools used to assess the current problems of modern cognitive linguistics can be of applied significance and be used in international scientific communities to improve approaches to language learning. The scientific and practical significance of this study lies in the search for possible ways and implementation of identification opportunities, as well as a comprehensive study of the most pressing problems, reflecting the urgent need for further development of this scientific field.

Exploring the Influence of Gender and L1 Conceptual Transfer on English Prepositional Usage

This study explores how gender and first language (L1) conceptual transfer influence the use of English prepositions among 50 Vietnamese university students aged 18 to 25, enrolled in an English language program. The participants' comprehension of English prepositions in terms of usage, meaning, and context was assessed using pre- and post-tests consisting of 20 multiple-choice questions. The data analysis employed descriptive and inferential statistics, including chi-square tests and independent samples t-tests. Both the pre- and post-test results revealed a moderate level of English prepositional usage, with all participants displaying improvement. Female participants performed slightly better than males on the post-test, while there were no notable gender differences in pre-test scores. In both tests, participants with high levels of L1 conceptual transfer performed significantly poorer compared to those with low levels. These findings highlight the significant role of L1 conceptual transfer in the English prepositional usage of Vietnamese language learners, while suggesting a minor impact of gender. Further research is needed to delve deeper into this relationship. The results emphasize the importance of addressing L1 conceptual transfer in English language instruction, specifically regarding prepositions, within the context of Vietnam.

The Effects of Mobile-mediated Explicit and Implicit Feedback onThe Effects of Mobile-mediated Explicit and Implicit Feedback on EFL Learners’ Use of English Prepositions EFL Learners’ Use of English Prepositions

Making mistakes is a natural part of learning process requiring correction; accordingly, corrective feedback is indispensable. On this ground, the present study compared the effects of mobile-mediated explicit and implicit corrective feedback on Iranian EFL learners’ use of English prepositions of manner and movement. To this end, the participants including 60 learners were randomly assigned to three groups of 20 individuals on WhatsApp application. These three groups included two experimental and one control groups. The treatment groups sat for a pre-test, received instruction on the errors under study, and practiced correcting them in response to the corrective feedback condition. Next, participants took immediate post-test and delayed post-test. The statistical analysis revealed that although the control group was more proficient than its experimental counterparts on the pre-test, their performance did not improve on immediate and delayed post-tests. However, both of the experimental groups significantly improved on immediate post-test and retained their gains on the delayed post-test. The pedagogical implication is provided for both teachers and learners.

Impact of First Language Transfer on the Use of English Prepositions by Arab English Learners

This study aims to investigate the overuse of English prepositions by Arabs caused by first language transfer among high school, university, and graduate-level students who study English as a foreign language in Saudi Arabia. The researcher developed the research tool of multiple-choice questions to be responded to by the study participants, including five hundred thirty-one persons of the mentioned research community. It has been found after the analysis of responses of the study participants that the greater the students' competence level, the less impact the first language transfer has on second language acquisition. In this study, the researcher recommends that the student should be taught more about the different meanings and usage of prepositions in English and Arabic. In addition, more comparative linguistic research between English and other languages, such as Arabic, should be encouraged to help students understand how prepositions are used in each language.

THE EFFECT OF ENHANCED EXTENSIVE READING TO THE INCIDENTAL ENGLISH PREPOSITION ACQUISITION

The English prepositions are still problematic for EFL learners since the existing knowledge of their first language hinders them from understanding the use of English prepositions. This study investigated the effect of enhanced extensive reading on their incidental English preposition acquisition. A total of 16 Indonesian University learners of English as a foreign language participated in this study. The treatment lasted for four weeks, initiated with the pretest. Two weeks after the treatment, the posttest was administered, followed by distributing questionnaires to find out the factors influencing them in doing the posttest. The results showed a significant improvement in the students' incidental acquisition of the targeted English prepositions after they received repeated exposure to the English prepositions through enhanced extensive reading. The factors influencing the improvement of their incidental acquisition involve their existing knowledge of the English prepositions and their built intuition in decision making. It is hoped that teachers and educational institutions are encouraged to add extensive reading to their curriculum.

Teaching English Grammar with Special Reference to the Use of Prepositions at Al-Balqa Applied University

This study aims to investigate the teaching of English grammar with special reference to the use of prepositions at Al-Balqa Applied University, Jordan. The researcher has collected the data from a total of 120 students studying English at the four levels of BA English students. From each level, 30 students were selected to participate in this study. The data on English prepositions and other grammatical categories were analyzed by using a statistical model like SPSS version 16.0. The statistical analysis indicates that: (1) there is plenty of differences in the rate of committed errors by students at all levels. Furthermore, students face many problems in the use of English prepositions than the other grammatical categories. These problems are probably a result of the interference of their mother tongue (Arabic), and the lack of linguistic competence. (2) Errors of prepositions and other grammatical categories were not equally distributed within all levels of students. (3) The statistical analysis shows that prepositions are the most problematic grammatical item for students. Finally, the negative role of mother tongues influences in the learning of English prepositions and other grammatical categories noticed high. Some pedagogical implications have been given.

Mastering Prepositions in English: Explicit versus Implicit Instruction

Prepositions form a hurdle for several EFL learners, Arabs in particular. One major catalyst is that the preposition systems in English and Arabic rarely correspond to one another. Most scholars who researched this area concentrated on the problem itself, rather than finding a successful remedy that can empower these students to masterfully handle such a thorny area. This study is novel inasmuch as it concerns itself with finding means of facilitating this language area for Arab learners. It reveals the effectiveness of using translation to teach English prepositions to these learners. The research question of this study is: do students who have received explicit tuition and adequate practice on the use of English prepositions in translated texts naturally perform better using such grammatical items in subsequently translated texts than those who have not been instructed on such exemplars in similar language contexts? Sixty students at the Gulf University for Science and Technology in Kuwait participated in the field experiment. The study paradigm had a pre-test/post-test protocol. While the pre-test included four fill-in-the-gap exercises, the post-test contained three Arabic passages which participants were required to translate into English. The findings showed that teaching prepositions explicitly in translated texts is a viable technique for EFL learners’ mastery of such grammatical items. This has implications for EFL specialists and syllabus designers.

Difficulties in using correct English prepositions among EFL students

The objectives of this study are to find out the reasons of this problem and find some solutions. The participants were ten students at levels seven and eight, at the Faculty of Sciences and Arts. The researcher used the Descriptive Statistical Method and collected the data via a written test as the main research tool. The data were then analyzed using a Statistical Package of Social Sciences Programme (SPSS). The results were as follows: Saudi students faced problems with using the correct prepositions after certain verbs. Students encountered difficulties in identifying the correct prepositional phrase. Students experienced the same problem with the use of English prepositions in writing tasks and in daily communication. The recommendations of this study are that students need to revise the use of English prepositions in general and need more practice in the use of prepositions after certain verbs. They also need to make a greater effort to use English prepositional phrases in their written work. Regarding writing courses, students need to focus more on the use of prepositions in general. Curriculum designers need more attention about teaching prepositions in their textbooks and curriculums.
 HIGHLIGHTS:
 
 Saudi students faced problems with using the correct prepositions after certain verbs.
 Students encountered difficulties in identifying the correct prepositional phrase.
 Students experienced the same problem with the use of English prepositions in writing tasks and in daily communication. 

Non-Native English Speakers Use of Prepositions in Saudi Arabia: A Cognitive Linguistics Study

Prepositions have a significant role in languages as users of language depend on them to produce sentence meanings and structures. This study investigates the non-linguistic factors like cognitive, social context and experiential that are beyond linguistics and affect the use of English prepositions by Saudi non-native speakers of English. As the student’s psychology to comprehend language and the centrality of the cognition are bases of cognitive linguistics, this research aimed to analyze factors that validate the use of English prepositions by examining a variety of background and personal information,to find out whether Arabic negative pragmatic transfer resulted in the choice of the simple English prepositions used by Saudi non-native speakers of English, explore if the choice of a preposition was affected by social or geographical factors as it is hypothesized that they have an effect on the production of prepositions, and to examine if gender affected the use of prepositions. Using a sample of 50 non-native English speakers aged 19–25 years, the research instrument consisted of two tests. The first test investigated the use of prepositions through multiple choices and the second consisted of descriptive questions. Independent sample t-tests, linear regression tests, and ANOVA tests were used to compare the results. Results revealed that age and reading time were two social factors that affected the use of prepositions. There were no significant gender differences in the prepositional use, while geographical factors that may intervene had a negative effect.

An Investigation into Factors Affecting the Use of English Prepositions by Vietnamese Learners of English

English prepositions play a significant role in helping students form a well-structured sentence in their learning and communicating. To help Vietnamese learners of English acquire their competence, the authors have done survey research to investigate the factors affecting the uses of English prepositions made by Vietnamese learners of English. The population included 200 female and 200 male participants. A total of 400 answers on the questions provided in the 100-question questionnaire were used for hypothesis testing. The items in the survey were given different weights, and the total attainable marks were 100. The results showed that Vietnamese intra-lingual interference strongly affected prepositional sense expressed by Vietnamese EFL learners. Genders, level of learning (low, intermediate, and advanced), writing and speaking, and cognitive embodiment also played a significant role in terms of language transfer, affecting the usage of English prepositions by EFL learners.

The use of English prepositions in lexical bundles in essays written by Korean university students

The purpose of this study is to explore how Korean university undergraduate students use English prepositions embedded in frequently occurring multiword sequences, or lexical bundles, in their essays. Most prior research on prepositions has centered on prepositional phrases (PPs), including idiomatic expressions, identified on the basis of their structure and function. This study investigates prepositions in lexical bundles, which are identified solely on the basis of frequency in context and are therefore generally incomplete in structure. The findings show patterns of preposition use by English learners that differ from the accumulated findings on this topic in the literature. The study first identifies the types of PP-based bundles in a learner corpus built on the English writing samples of 2130 students. It then compares the learners’ uses of PP-based bundles with the uses by native speakers of English in academic prose, as documented by Biber et al. (1999). Results show that Korean learners rely heavily on a small number of PP-based bundles and underuse those that are characteristic of academic prose. A subsequent error analysis of prepositions in the learner bundles reveals an error rate of approximately 7% in 13 bundle types. More than 70% of the errors are preposition misuses. Based on these findings, this study offers suggestions for classroom materials and further research topics centering on PP-based lexical bundles.

Should Feedback be Direct or Indirect? Comparing the Effectiveness of Different Types of WCF on L1 Arabic Writers’ Use of English Prepositions

Should Feedback be Direct or Indirect? Comparing the Effectiveness of Different Types of WCF on L1 Arabic Writers’ Use of English Prepositions

Efficacy of Electronic Versus Traditional Type of Metalinguistic Feedback in Correct Use of Prepositions: An Experimental Study

Background: In education and learning, teaching to write well is still one of the challenges of Iranian English teachers. Objectives Since the writing skill has different aspects, this study aimed at investigating the impact of metalinguistic feedback and electronic feedback on the correct use of English prepositions in Iranian learners’ writings. Methods: The study utilized a semi-experimental design. The participants of the study were 84 Iranian language learners. These learners were randomly divided into one control and two experimental groups to take a writing pretest. One of the experimental groups received electronic feedback while the other was exposed to metalinguistic feedback. After the treatment period, the participants took a writing posttest. The writing products of the learners at both pretest and posttest were evaluated and scored in terms of the correct use of prepositions. The scores were analyzed through a combination of statistical tests of Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney. Results: The results of the Mann-Whitney test on the gained scores (posttests-pretest) of the three groups indicated that there was a significant difference between the sets of scores (H = 50.82, P = 0.00). Nevertheless, the result of Mann-Whitney U test showed that there was no significant difference between electronic and metalinguistic feedback (U = 433.500, P = 0.642), which means both types of electronic and metalinguistic feedback were equally effective on the correct use of English prepositions. Conclusions: In conclusion, the study led to a better understanding of the impact of electronic and metalinguistic feedback on the writing skill, which provided a basis for English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers to integrate them in the teaching and learning process.

Using the TPR method to develop the EFL primary pupils' use of English prepositions

The current research aimed at investigating the use ofTPR method to develop the EFL primary pupil's use of English prepositions for this purpose, 68 participants at the primary school level grade 6 were selected and assigned equally into two experimental and control groups. The study instrument included a achievement test which includes prepositions of (location-movement –time) and collocations of prepositions. Results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the mean score of the experimental and control groups on the post- administration of the prepositions achievement test favoring the experimental group. In addition, the result of the study showed that the pupils' progress in mastering English preposition during the teaching learning activity by using Total Physical Response method was good. The pupils’ achievement In English preposition improved. By comparing the post- test scores and the pre- test scores.

English

The acquisition and learning of a language involve understanding and mastery of what constitutes its grammar. This paper assessed the performance of second language undergraduate students in the use of English prepositions and determined the likely sources of challenges in its correct use.  One hundred and ninety eight undergraduate students were randomly selected from the Department of English Language of a Nigerian University. An assessment test on preposition use was the main instrument for data collection. The results show that the highest number of the students scored between 15 and 19 over 50 which is the modal class. Less than average (43.7%) scored fifty and above. The challenges and difficulties encountered in the use of prepositions are linked to the nature of English prepositions: Polysemy, idiomatic usage and substitution with first language (LI) prepositions. The difficulties were made manifest as majority of the respondents wrongly substituted ‘on’ with other prepositions such as ‘in’, ‘at’, ‘over’, ‘for’, ‘by’, ‘with’, ‘to’ usually influenced by L1 meaning. To address the difficulty in preposition use, the study recommended an eclectic approach combining collocation, prototype and cognitive linguistic approaches for teaching following a comparative and contrastive study of the preposition systems of the languages (L1 and L2) involved. Learners are encouraged to use dictionaries and e-learning modules to complement the classroom teaching. Key words: Preposition, English Language learners, ESL learners.

The Use of English Prepositions: An Empirical Study

This study examined the writing skill of the students at the undergraduate level, with a special focus on the use of prepositions of place, time and direction in English. The subjects of the study comprised of 100 randomly selected students of English literature from two Arts and Science colleges located in Coimbatore city. The data elicitation instrument was a guided cloze test in which the subjects were asked to fill the gaps using appropriate prepositions of place, time and direction. To analyze the collected data, socio-linguistic and descriptive methods were used. The results indicated that the students found more difficulties in the use of prepositions of place and direction than the prepositions of time because of their mother tongue interference. The findings imply that teachers should pay more attention while teaching the prepositions of place, time and direction and provide sufficient explanations about them to the students in the classroom. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/nelta.v19i1-2.12089 Journal of NELTA, Vol 19 No. 1-2, December 2014: 158-168

The Effect of Written Corrective Feedback on Omani Students’ Accuracy in the Use of English Prepositions

A quasi-experimental study was conducted to examin the effectiveness of providing written corrective feedback (WCF) to Arab speakers of English on ten uses of English prepositions. Arab speakers commonly find it difficult to correctly use English propositions, mainly due to the differences between the two languages (e.g. Ortega, 2009). Examples of prepositions misuse are “married from,” “die from,” and “kind with.” The WCF implementation lasted for seven weeks. The students’ being in intact classes made random assignments to different groups difficult. The data were derived from three tests: pre-test, immediate post-test and delayed post-test as well as an open-ended questionnaire. The experimental group (n= 25) received WCF on their writing, oral meta-linguistic tutorials, and a treatment task for their pre-test. For both the immediate post-test and the delayed post-test, they only received WCF on their writings. The control group (n= 25) only received general comments, like “good organization of the story events.” The statistical results of the independent samples t-test show the experimental group outperforming the control group on the target features. The analysis of the questionnaire data also shows the benefits of WCF for improving preposition use. The results also have pedagogical implications with regard to WCF. Keywords: WCF, writing, prepositions, students’ views, Arabic, EFL