Exploring the Challenges of L1 Negative Transfer among Vietnamese English Language Learners: A Qualitative Study
Main Article Content
Abstract
The current study aimed to gain insight into the nuanced challenges that Vietnamese learners encountered due to the interference of their native linguistic structures and norms. This qualitative study explored the experiences of Vietnamese learners in acquiring English, focusing on the influence of negative L1 transfer. This study focused on the influence of negative transfer from their first language (L1) by drawing upon in-depth interviews and observational data from a group of Vietnamese university students. The results showed that despite exhibiting high levels of motivation and enthusiasm for learning English, Vietnamese learners struggled with the shadows of L1 interference in areas such as pronunciation, syntax, and idiomatic expressions. The tonal nature of the Vietnamese language led to intonation patterns in English that deviated from native norms. Direct translations also contributed to unidiomatic English, indicating a deep influence of L1 thought patterns. Additionally, cultural contexts embedded within the Vietnamese language presented challenges, as some concepts and expressions lacked direct English equivalents. Although students faced various obstacles, they utilized a variety of adaptive techniques to lessen the impact of negative transfer. These techniques included code-switching, peer correction, and self-reflection. The study emphasized the significance of recognizing and comprehending the significant role of L1 when creating English language educational programs and teaching techniques for Vietnamese students. By illuminating the specific challenges and adaptive strategies of these learners, educators could personalize their approaches, leading to a more comprehensive and efficacious language-learning atmosphere.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Antonova-Ünlü, E., & Wei, L. (2020). Examining possible sources of L2 divergence at the pragmatics interface: Turkish accusative in the end-state grammar of L1 Russian and L1 English users of L2 Turkish. Lingua, 244, 102868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2020.102868 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2020.102868
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa DOI: https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Bui, H. P. (2022). Vietnamese EFL students’ use and misconceptions of cohesive devices in writing. SAGE Open, 12(3), 21582440221126993. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221126993 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221126993
Byram, M. (2009). The intercultural speaker and the pedagogy of foreign language education. In D. K. Deardorff (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of intercultural competence (pp. 321–332). SAGE Publications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071872987.n18
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. SAGE Publications.
Chi, P. K. (2020). Error analysis on English compositions and paragraphs of Vietnamese students. TNU Journal of Science and Technology, 225(11), 55–63. https://doi.org/10.34238/tnu-jst.3183 DOI: https://doi.org/10.34238/tnu-jst.3183
Comrie, B. (2002). The major languages of Eastern Europe. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203216149
Corder, S. P. (1967). The significance of learner's errors. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 5(1-4), 161–170. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral.1967.5.1-4.161 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/iral.1967.5.1-4.161
Cummins, J. (1979). Linguistic interdependence and the educational development of bilingual children. Review of Educational Research, 49(2), 222–251. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543049002222 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543049002222
Do, P. T. V. (2023). Common written error analysis committed by EFL graders at a secondary school in Vietnam. Pegem Journal of Education and Instruction, 13(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.47750/pegegog.13.01.01 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47750/pegegog.13.01.01
Donato, R., & MacCormick, D. (1994). A sociocultural perspective on language learning strategies: The role of mediation. The Modern Language Journal, 78(4), 453–464. https://doi.org/10.2307/328584 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1994.tb02063.x
Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410613349 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410613349
Eng, L. S., Luyue, C., & Lim, C. K. (2020). A comparison of the English grammatical errors of Chinese undergraduates from China and Malaysia. International Journal of Instruction, 13(1), 931–950. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2020.13160a DOI: https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2020.13160a
EF Education First. (2022). EF EPI 2022: The world’s largest ranking of countries and regions by English skills. https://www.ef.com/wwen/epi/
Erkaya, O. R. (2012). Vocabulary and L1 interference: Error analysis of Turkish students. Literacy Issues in Higher Education, 36(2), 1–11. https://www.mextesol.net/journal/index.php?page=journal&id_article=167
Islam, S. M. (2020). L1 interference in the acquisition of English syntax and lexis. Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 15(1), 56–70. https://www.jesoc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/JESOC15_315.pdf
James, C. (1980). Contrastive analysis. Longman.
Jarvis, S., & Pavlenko, A. (2008). Crosslinguistic influence in language and cognition. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203935927
Jensen, I. N., Slabakova, R., Westergaard, M., & Lundquist, B. (2020). The bottleneck hypothesis in L2 acquisition: L1 Norwegian learners’ knowledge of syntax and morphology in L2 English. Second Language Research, 36(1), 3–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658318783662 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658318825067
Kazazoğlu, S. (2020). The impact of L1 interference on foreign language writing: A contrastive error analysis. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 16(3), 1168–1188. https://doi.org/10.17263/jlls.803097 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17263/jlls.803621
Lin, Y. (2021). Pragmatic transfer in the speech act of compliment among Chinese EFL learners. Journal of Contemporary Educational Research, 5(8), 60–65. https://doi.org/10.26689/jcer.v5i8.2434 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26689/jcer.v5i8.2434
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. SAGE Publications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0147-1767(85)90062-8
Linh, M. T. T., & Vien, T. (2020). An investigation into grammatical errors in essays written by Vietnamese EFL high school students. Journal of Science, Hue University of Education, 4(56), 7–17. https://csdlkhoahoc.hueuni.edu.vn/data/2021/7/Thuy-Linh_Vien.pdf
Luong, V. (2016). Semantic features of the Vietnamese translation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies, 4(2), 46–62. https://www.eltsjournal.org/archive/value4%20issue2/4-4-2-16.pdf
Nghi, T. T., & Phuc, T. H. (2022). A corpus-based study on the most frequently used English prepositions: A conceptual transfer perspective. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 12(2), 213–220. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1202.01 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1202.01
Nguyen, N. T., Grainger, P., & Carey, M. D. (2016). Code-switching in English language education: Voices from Vietnam. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 6(7), 1333–1340. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0607.01 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0607.01
Nguyen, T. A. T., Ingram, C. L. J., & Pensalfini, J. R. (2008). Prosodic transfer in Vietnamese acquisition of English contrastive stress patterns. Journal of Phonetics, 36(1), 158–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2007.09.001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2007.09.001
Nguyen, V. K. (2021). Challenges in translation of English phraseological units with onomastic constituents into Vietnamese equivalents. VNU Journal of Foreign Studies, 37(3), 158–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2007.09.001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25073/2525-2445/vnufs.4624
Nhut, N. M. (2020). An analysis of grammatical errors by Vietnamese learners of English. International Journal of Advanced Research in Education and Society, 2(2), 23–34. https://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/ijares/article/view/9652
Ohta, A. S. (2005). Interlanguage pragmatics in the zone of proximal development. System, 33(3), 503–517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2005.06.001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2005.06.001
Richards, J. C. (2015). A non-contrastive approach to error analysis. In J. C. Richards (Ed.), Error analysis (pp. 172–188). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315836003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315836003
Selinker, L., & Gass, S. M. (2008). Second language acquisition. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Terence, O. (1989). Language transfer (Vol. 11). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139524537 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139524537
Thorne, S. L., & Lantolf, J. P. (2006). A linguistics of communicative activity. Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 62, 170–183. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781853599255-009 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21832/9781853599255-009
Vygotsky, L. S., & Cole, M. (1978). Mind in society: Development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Wang, X. (2009). Exploring the negative transfer on English learning. Asian Social Science, 5(7), 138–142. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v5n7p138 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v5n7p138
Yu, L., & Odlin, T. (2016). New perspectives on transfer in second language learning. Multilingual Matters. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783094349