The interaction of verb regularity, L1 and task in the language of Mandarin and Tamil-speaking ESL learners
Keywords:
regular verbs, irregular verbs, L1 influence, Mandarin, TamilAbstract
Previous research indicates that ESL learners use irregular past tense verbs more accurately than regular past tense verbs in English, particularly in their oral production. The study reported here examined the level of accuracy in the use of English regular past tense verbs and irregular past tense verbs of two groups of learners of English whose L1 was Mandarin and Tamil respectively. The results reveal that irregular verbs were sometimes used more accurately than regular verbs although this accuracy is influenced by type of task and participant L1. There was no difference in the accuracy of regular or irregular verb use for either group on a task which was designed to elicit explicit, declarative knowledge of the simple past tense. However, the Mandarin L1 group was more accurate with irregular verb use than with regular verb use on both oral tasks while the Tamil L1 group was more accurate with irregular verbs than regular verbs on only one of the oral tasks.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
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.
