Errors in the Use of English Articles Among EFL Students. A Moroccan Case Study

Case Study from the year 2019 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 18/20, Ibn Tofail University (Faculty of Arts and Humanities), language: English, abstract: In the realm of second language acquisition, the comprehension of challenges faced by learners, particularly concerning linguistic structures like articles in English, is paramount. This study is centered on the identification and analysis of errors made by EFL learners in utilizing the English article system, with a specific focus on tracing the origins of these errors.

The significance of this investigation lies in its potential to illuminate the complexities inherent in the learning process and provide insights into effective teaching methods. By examining the errors made by forty EFL learners through a questionnaire test and utilizing the Surface Structure Taxonomy (SST) framework to categorize these errors, this research aims to classify errors into three main types: Addition, Omission, and Substitution. Additionally, it seeks to differentiate between interlingual errors, stemming from the influence of the learners' native language, Arabic, and intralingual errors, resulting from gaps or misconceptions in English article rules.

Initial findings indicate that addition errors are the most common among EFL learners, followed by substitution errors, while omission errors are less frequent. Moreover, the analysis suggests a significant impact of Arabic language norms on the use of English articles by learners, with some errors originating from the negative transfer of Arabic article rules.

Through this study, valuable insights are provided for educators to better understand the challenges faced by EFL learners in mastering the English article system. By addressing these challenges and offering recommendations based on the findings, a contribution is made to the improvement of language instruction methodologies and the facilitation of more effective language learning experiences.