Abstract: This paper examines the errors of English articles in the writings of the advanced Arab students. It is believed that ESL advanced Arabs, if not trained well, face the problem of employing the English article system due to the difference between their L1 and English. The participants were 20 ESL students who spoke Arabic as a first language, 11 males and 9 females. All of them were students at the ELI, Missouri State University, at level 502 which is the most advanced level. Students in this level are expected to pursue their graduate studies when they pass it. Examining their essays, Six categories of errors were found: the for Ø, Ø for the, a/an for Ø, Ø for a/an, the for a/an, and over-avoidance. The category that has the most errors is the Ø for a/an (27 errors). The second most-erred category is Ø for the (14 errors); then, the third, Over-avoidance (11 errors); next, the fourth, the for Ø (8 errors); followed by, the fifth, the for a/an (4 errors); and finally, the sixth, a/an for Ø (2 errors). It might be said that these students need to be taught articles separately and be given extensive exercises on the articles in different contexts. It is also recommended that they be taught the rules of the articles as mentioned in the different books of grammar and be asked to follow them.
Keywords: English article system, Arabic article system, language interference.
Title: English Article Errors in the Writings of ESL Advanced Arab Students
Author: Mohamed A. Yacoub
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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