Khadeja Ahmed 1

INFLUENCES OF ARABIC PRAGMATIC TRANSFER ON EFL ARAB LEARNERS

Introduction
When using L2, Arab EFL learners tend to speak English transferring
the Arabic pragmatic patterns into English. This transfer plays a significant
role in the learners ability to speak English fluently. The transfer of the
pragmatic patterns can be either positive or negative. If the transfer from L1
into L2 had a similar pattern, the transfer is positive. If the transfer from L1
to L2 didnt have a similar pattern, the transfer is negative. (Rose & Kasper,
2001). Confusion takes place when the transfer is negative. The negative
transfer from L1 to L2 results in creating a gap in the learners perception of
L2 and poor communication with native speakers resulting from ineffective
methods of teaching and poor exposure to L2 which in turn need to be
addressed by both EFL instructors and learners.
Effects of Negative Transfer on EFL Learners
A. Negative transfer results in a gap in the Arabic learners full perception of L2.
If Arabic EFL learners transfer any linguistic pattern negatively, they will
encounter

confusion

and

face

difficulty

in

understanding

or

being

understood sometimes. Some examples of that would be patterns like

apology, shyness, and compliment. A study conducted by Ghawi & Jonson
(1993, p.48) revealed that when it comes to apology, Arabic learners of
English tend to apologize less than native speakers do. Another situation

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INFLUENCES OF ARABIC PRAGMATIC TRANSFER ON EFL ARAB LEARNERS

where negative transfer might occur is wariness inside the classroom where
there is a mixture of Arabic and native speakers of English. For example, if
an Arabic student needs to go outside the classroom, he/she would prefer to
inform the teacher first. Unlike Arabic speakers of English, native speakers
would not seek the teachers permission if they wanted to leave the
classroom.
Wolfson (1989) led an approach on interlanguage pragmatics authentic
interactions of compliment where she found that L2 speakers did not seem
to understand the function of compliments as a social lubricant in the
American

culture.

The

non-native

subjects

always

had

difficulty

in

responding appropriately to compliments as cited in Ghawi & Johnson

(1993, p.40).

The reason for that would be the unawareness of Arabic

learners of the situations where they might receive or must give

compliments. Accordingly, many Arabic EFL learners prefer to avoid
situations where they might get confusion and then get embarrassed.
However, such a situation may not be avoidable. Therefore, when Arabic EFL
learners transfer any linguistic pattern like the ones mentioned above
incorrectly, that makes them frustrated and fearful to act or speak again in
order not to make another mistake. That is mainly because they were not
taught how to act at a particular situation that is present in the target
language and not in their native language.
B. Poor communication with native speakers.

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INFLUENCES OF ARABIC PRAGMATIC TRANSFER ON EFL ARAB LEARNERS

A result of the negative transfer that Arabic EFL learners may make is
inaccurate and weak ability to interact with native speakers. When Arabic
EFL learners encounter a negative transfer, they feel that they made a
mistake. That may affect their fluency which will in turn cause them to have
poor communication with native speakers which is also frustrating.
Interaction models that are basic in the communication of L2 culture are
essential elements for learning the language and are seen as constructive
aspects both socially and culturally, hence, a significant problem may face
both the language learners and teachers (Rose & Kasper, 2001, p.126).
EFL learners should be aware of this important element in the target
language. They should not focus only on L2 structure; instead, they should
study L2s socio-cultural components that are considered as a main part of
the language. Also EFL teachers should develop the techniques to cover all
the target language aspects to guarantee that learners, to some extent, are
aware of how to communicate properly and with confidence. Although
misunderstanding or confusion is a normal thing to happen even among
speakers of the same language, hence, Arabic EFL learners might rely on
that as a reason for being misunderstood and confused. Ghawi & Johnson
(1993, p.48) state that Since miscommunication sometimes occurs
between native speakers of the same language, it may not be unreasonable
to assume that miscommunication is likely to take place even more of in
intercultural communication. Therefore, Arabic EFL learners must not

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INFLUENCES OF ARABIC PRAGMATIC TRANSFER ON EFL ARAB LEARNERS

completely rely on that. Also, when studying the language, they must study
the language integrally .i.e. deep and surface structure, pragmatic and
linguistics components, and practical use.
Causes of Negative Transfer from L1 to L2.
A. Ineffective Methods of Teaching
The methods used to teach EFL learners a new language can have a
major role in the negative transfer learners do. A good reason for that would
be that EFL teachers mostly focus on form and meaning rather than other
cross-cultural issues related to the language. In most cases, EFL teachers
might be themselves unaware of those cross-cultural issues because the
way they were taught EFL is simply similar to the way they teach it. Ren,
Soler, & Alicia (2009) stated that researchers have investigated topics such
as the relationship between L2 linguistic development and pragmatic
development, developmental issues and problems related to pragmatic
transfer, the effect of instruction on L2 pragmatic development, and
pragmatic assessment. (P. 635). However, the materials used in the
classrooms are classic and outdated. FL syllabuses have mainly and
classically involved the use of the grammar method and the L2 terms,
however, the expansive teaching of L2 has given many opportunities to
different activities by which the capability of using L2 and the regular
accurate interaction can be properly improved (Rose & Kasper, 2001,
p.103).

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INFLUENCES OF ARABIC PRAGMATIC TRANSFER ON EFL ARAB LEARNERS

EFL learners can learn the pragmatic patterns of L2 if an insight to the

L2 cross-cultural components correlating or dissociating with their L1 was
made clear to them. Also, because of the current traditional methods of
teaching, students will not be able to even know if they will encounter any
problems when using L2 in different situations. EFL learners will not be able
to use the language naturally if they were not taught every usage pattern
related to the target language. This can be better done through L2
pragmatic teaching. Kasper,1997; Kasper & Rose,1999 stated that recent
classroom research on interlanguage pragmatics has found that, in general,
teaching pragmatics is beneficial to second and foreign language learners.
B. Poor Exposure to L2
When it comes to the improper use of L2, EFL learners tend to have a
role in this problem. The way they in which they follow the target language
rules might be ineffective because they dont do what they are supposed to
do. For example, EFL learners might only rely on the methods, syllabuses,
and assignments in the classroom only whereas they are also required to
work hard by exposing themselves to L2 as possible as they can if they want
to improve. This is one of the reasons why there might be students of
different levels in the same classroom with the same methods of teaching
which is because the good students usually continue their everyday
language learning outside the classroom.
Also, the environment where the EFL learners live has a major role in
their poor or strong exposure to L2. In foreign environments, EFL learners

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INFLUENCES OF ARABIC PRAGMATIC TRANSFER ON EFL ARAB LEARNERS

can mainly get in touch with L2 inside the classroom and that is not enough
if they want to learn the target language efficiently. However, even inside
the classroom, EFL learners L2 acquisition still can be effected by the crosslinguistic patterns of L1. A study revealed that Intermediate level L2
learners were sensitive to the semantic contrasts that are instantiated in
their L1, but they didnt recognize the contrast if the semantic entailment is
different between their L1 and L2 which suggests L1 transfer (Chin, &
Hsien-jen, 2006, P.235).
Hence, in places where EFL leaners cannot get in touch with L2 native
speakers, they are required along with their L2 teachers to create an
atmosphere that is similar to the target languages native environment.
Recommended methods for EFL instructors and learners to address the
issue
A. EFL Instructors Role
To thoroughly teach EFL, teachers can use methods that can help students
use L2 accurately taking into account the ross-cultural and pragmatic
patterns of the target language. For the purpose of providing helpful
inferential methods of instruction when teaching L2, syllabuses sociocultural structure should be both studied and pragmatically perceived by
EFL teachers (Kasper & Rose, 1999. P). Hence, EFL teachers cannot teach
the learners these linguistic patterns if they were not aware of their
importance in the practical use of L2. They must employ materials that
correlate with L2s socio-cultural background.

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INFLUENCES OF ARABIC PRAGMATIC TRANSFER ON EFL ARAB LEARNERS

Including L2s pragmatic pattern inside the classroom is a major factor

that guarantees a good perception of the target language by EFL learners.
Ghawai (1993) stated that the lack of socio-cultural pragmatic teaching
and the error correction have been the reason for what Scarcella (1992)
called a fossilized discourse accent in advanced L2 speakers of English
(P.49). EFL teachers can cover any issue arising from learners unawareness
of L2 pragmatic patterns by including those patterns in the syllabus.
B. EFL Learners Role
EFL learners should be aware that when learning a foreign language, they
must expect that this language will not have the same linguistic forms and
socio-cultural components that are available in their L1. Also they should be
aware of the importance of learning the L2 pragmatic patterns so that they
dont make any negative transfer that affect their fluency and accuracy
when using the target language or communicating with L2s native
speakers. According to Ghawi & Johnson (1993), Omago (1986, P. 359)
reminds us that in addition to being acquainted with the linguistic aspect of
a language, the L2 learners should have knowledge of the patterns of
living, acting, reacting, seeing, and explaining the world of the target
country as well (P.49). Hence, it is not enough for EFL learners to only study
the structure and meaning of L2, but they should go beyond that and
explore all the pragmatic aspects of the target language if they look forward
to using it properly.

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INFLUENCES OF ARABIC PRAGMATIC TRANSFER ON EFL ARAB LEARNERS

Conclusion
As long as Arabic EFL learners make a positive transfer from L1 to L2, they
might not encounter any problem when speaking in the target language. But
once there is a negative transfer when the pragmatic patterns of L1 are not
the same as those in L2, then Arabic EFL learners can face a problem.
However, there are some factors that results from this negative transfer
such as the gap in the EFL learners perception of L2 and the poor
communication with native speakers. Those factors are mainly caused
because of the ineffective methods of teaching and the poor exposure
Arabic EFL learners have to L2. There are two major roles both EFL teachers
and learners can have in order to avoid having the negative transfer.
Teachers should use effective teaching method and syllabuses that include
the L2s pragmatic patterns as a main part of L2. Also, Arabic EFL learners
should know that those pragmatic patterns are the ones that constitute any
practical use of any language. Besides, they shouldnt only rely on the
materials given to them inside the classroom but they should advance to
studying every linguistic and socio-cultural element of the target language if
possible.

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INFLUENCES OF ARABIC PRAGMATIC TRANSFER ON EFL ARAB LEARNERS

References
Chin, & Hsien-jen, 2006. Cross-linguistic Effects on L2 Acquisition : An
Investigation of Aspect retrieved from ProQuest Digital Dissertations
Ghawi, M., & Johnson, D., (1993). Pragmatic transfer in Arabic learners of
English. Working Papers of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Second
Language Acquisition and Teaching, 1, (1), 39-55, University of Arizona.
Ren, W., Soler, E., & Alicia, M. (2009). Investigating Pragmatics in Foreign Language Learning,
Teaching and Testing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 31, (4), 653-655.doi:
10.1017/S0272263109990131.
Rose, K., & Kasper, G. (2001). Pragmatics in Language Teaching. Retrieved from
http://books.google.com.ly/books