The use of syntactic features in formulating sentences in English as a second language by native speakers of Spanish

Abstract

This study examined how native speakers of Spanish formulated sentences in English as a second language (L2) when randomly ordered words were orally presented. Participants included 206 adult literacy students (70 native Spanish speakers and 136 native English speakers) whose word reading equivalency was at third- through fifth-grade levels. The Word Ordering subtest of the Test of Language Development-3 was administered. Although they showed a similar pattern of performance in the sentence type (i.e., declarative, interrogative, or imperative sentence), the two groups showed a different pattern in the misuse of syntactic features. Pertaining to grammatical features, verbs were the most difficult item for the native speakers of Spanish. The findings of this study were explained through the intricate nature of English verbs as well as unique lexicalization patterns resulting from the typological difference between Spanish and English.

Native language interference: The interference of passive voice

“…The use of Bahasa Indonesia's passive voice norm in English sentences clearly affect the message or the meaning of the sentences. It is due to the combinatorial structure in sentences that essentially determines the essence of the message (Pae, et. al, 2016).…”