Keywords
progressive
lexical aspect
ESL
L1 influence
Mandarin
Tamil
interlanguage
How to Cite
Abstract
This study sought to determine if lexical aspect would influence the oversuppliance of progressive English verb forms in L2 obligatory contexts for the use of the simple past tense in two oral tasks, namely, a film retell task and an interview questions task. It also sought to determine if the L1 of the ESL learner participants, Mandarin and Tamil, would interact with lexical aspect in the oversuppliance of the progressive verb forms. The results of this study revealed that both L1 groups used primarily activities and accomplishments with the oversupplied progressive verb forms on both tasks. In addition, there appeared to be L1 influence in this oversuppliance as only the Tamil learners had a greater proportion of accomplishments than achievements and a greater proportion of activities than states for the oversupplied progressive forms on both tasks.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Note: Authors are encouraged to post copies of their AJAL published papers to their own institutional or personal/professional websites along with a link to the original paper at the AJAL website. This will assist in diseminating their work as well as raising awareness of the journal.