A Cross-sectional Study of the Present Perfect Tense in Arabic and Indonesian EFL Settings

Year 2022, Volume: 5 Issue: 2, 80 - 91, 19.12.2022

Listyani Listyani , Abdu Al-kadi

https://doi.org/10.35207/later.1177143

Abstract

This document-based paper investigates EFL learners’ uses of the present perfect tense when using English as their second or foreign language. A sample of 216 sentences written by 38 Indonesian and Arab undergraduate students was analyzed to detect erroneous uses of the present perfect tense (PPT) in their English writing. Twelve erroneous structures in the Arab corpus and 17 in the Indonesian dataset were underlined. The incorrect sentences were singled out and discussed. Pairing these grammar-related errors to SLA research and existing literature, the findings demonstrate that the majority of errors were grounded in either Arabic or Bahasa Indonesian language interference with English. The Arab learners seem to have more difficulties in using the PPT than the past simple tense. In contrast, the Indonesian EFL learners seem to have difficulties in both past and present perfect tenses altogether due to the absence of the past tense in the Indonesian tongue. It is concluded that learners’ mother tongues in both contexts affect their uses of English grammatical structures. This yields important implications with reference to the effects of the mother tongue in EFL settings.

Keywords

EFL learners, English grammar, Mother-tongue interference, Present perfect

References

• Al-Kadi, A., & Moqbel, M. (2022). Towards formalizing the relationship between L1 and L2: Triggering writing in English through Arabic. Journal of Language and Education (in press).
• Al-Kadi, A. (2020). Reflections on Kumaravadivelu’s post-method pedagogy: Juxtaposing perceptions and practice. MEXTESOL Journal, 44(20). ERIC Number: EJ1311037
• Al-Khaleel, A. (2018). The acquisition of English tenses and aspects’ categories by Saudi EFL undergraduate female students at the University of Tabuk. Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, 48. Retrieved from https://iiste.org/Journals/index.php/JLLL/article/view/44447
• Alzahrani, M. (2020). EFL Saudi undergraduates' tenses errors in written discourse due to interlingual and intralingual interference. International Journal of Linguistics, 12(5), 173-198.
• Croft, W. (2012). Verbs: Aspect and causal structure. OUP.
• Djenar, D. N. (2005). A student’s guide to Indonesian grammar. Retrieved from https://johncurran.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/djenar-2003-a-students-guide-to-indonesian-grammar-oxford.pdf
• Fredericksonn, C. J. (1997). Tenses. Yindii Dot Com Co.Ltd.
• Halliday, M.A. (2002). On grammar. London: Peking University Press.
• Halik, A., Kareema, F. & Arsath, M. (2022). Overcoming the difficulties confronted by grade 10 students in using present perfect tense: A study on T/Mu/Al
• Hilal Central College, Mutur, Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 10(12), 769-775.
• Hazzaa, A. A. M. (2021). EFL Yemeni undergraduates’ tense error resulted due to L1 transfer. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT), 9(12), 496-509.
• Indonesianpot101. (2021). Indonesian tenses: Expressing the past, present, and future. Retrieved from https://www.indonesianpod101.com/blog/2021/07/08/indonesian-tenses/
• Jubran, S. M. (2021). The familiar challenge of present perfect versus past tenses in teaching Arab students paragraph writing. Multicultural Education, 7(4), 156- 161.
• Karpava, S., & Agouraki, Y. (2013). L2 acquisition of English present perfect interpretations. Journal of Portuguese Linguistics, 12(1), 145-175. doi: https://doi.org/10.5334/jpl.81
• Karim, K., & Nassaji, H. (2013). First language transfer in second language writing: An examination of current research. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 1(1), (Jan., 2013) 117- 134.
• Lado, R. (1975). Linguistic across culture: Applied linguistics for language teachers. Ann Arbor: Michigan University of Michigan.
• Leśniewska, J. (2019). Articles in English as a second language: A phraseological perspective. Krakow: Jagiellonian University Press.
• Levinson, S. (1983). Pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Moqbel, M.S. (2022). Mother tongue use in EFL grammar classroom: Attitudes and impact. Language Teaching and Educational Research, 5(1), 36-58. https://doi.org/10.35207/later.1115937
• Mudhsh, B. ( 2021). A comparative study of tense and aspect categories in Arabic and English. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 8(1). DOI: 10.1080/23311983.2021.1899568
• Mudhsh, B. A., & Laskar, N. B. ( 2021). Examining the learning and comprehension of English aspect categories by Yemeni EFL Students. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 17(Special Issue 1), 222-235.
• Mudhsh, B. A., Mohammed, G. M., & Laskar, N. B. (2021). Learning and comprehension of English tense categories: Examining the prevalent patterns among Yemeni EFL students. Asian EFL Journal Research Articles, 28(3).
• Ellis, N. C. (2006). Selective attention and transfer phenomena in L2 acquisition: Contingency, cue competition, salience, interference, overshadowing, blocking, and perceptual learning. Applied Linguistics, 27(2), 164–194, https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/aml015
• Ellis, R. (2008). Investigating grammatical difficulty in second language learning: Implications for second language acquisition research and language testing. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 18(1), 4–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/ j.1473-4192.2008.00184.x
• Noochoochai, P. (1978). Temporal aspect in Thai and English: A contrastive analysis. (doctoral dissertation). New York University. Ockenden, M. (1967). The unfinished time aspect of the present perfect tense. ELT Journal, XXI, (2), 156–159. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/XXI.2.156
• Odlin, T. (1989). Language transfer: Cross-linguistic influence in language learning. Cambridge University Press.
• Rizka, N. (2017). The students’ problems encountered in using present perfect tense (MA thesis). Faculty of Education and Teacher Training, Ar-Raniry State Islamic University.
• Rochman, S. (2017). Indonesian students misconception in using present perfect tense to write composition. Celt: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching & Literature, 3(2), 95-104. doi: https://doi.org/10.24167/celt.v3i2.1088
• Rose, H., McKinley, J., & Briggs Baffoe-Djan, J. (2020). Data collection research methods in Applied Linguistics. Bloomsbury Academics.
• Setyaningrum, P. (2022). Daftar Bahasa Daerah 34 Provinsi di Indonesia. Kompas. 29/01/2022. https://regional.kompas.com/read/2022/01/29/151815878/daftar-bahasa-daerah-34-provinsi-di-indonesia
• Santosa, A.P. (2022). Personal interview. September 1, 2022.
• Sholeha, M., Ardian, E., & Amri, S. (2020). Some difficulties faced by the students in learning present perfect tense. J-Shelves of Indragiri (JSI), 1(2), 66-74. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.32520/jsi.v1i2.1054
• Tahang, H. (2020). Understanding the function of present perfect tense through EGRA implementation in EFL classroom. Qalam: Jurnal Ilmu Kependidikan, 9(1).
• TalkingIndonesia. (2022). No tenses in Indonesian language. https://talkingindonesia.com/no-tenses-in-indonesian-language/
• Teng, W. ( 2022). The Chinese representations of English past tense and present perfect tense. Routledge. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.4324/97810030243