This paper is based on research that aims to provide evidence of which approach, contrastive analysis (CA) or error analysis (EA), is more adequate in dealing with errors in tense formation and usage made by Greek learners of English. A contrastive analysis of the English and Greek tense systems, providing points of correspondence and divergence…

The English spoken in India is too close to standard English to be characterized as a separate variety. Although phonological variations give English in India some regional flavors, they do not have any structural or semantic base and do not constitute a new language. Cultural differences have not caused English-language literature written in…

A contrastive analysis of English and Korean sentences, including error analysis, is presented. The study focuses on word order, comparing the languages' similarities and differences with the objective of understanding better how the structural differences inhibit the progress of the Korean learner of English. The English data are derived from…

A language typology based on common errors made in pronunciation of English by speakers of other languages is presented and discussed. The classification system was developed from the concept of interlanguage, the intermediate step between a language learner's native and target languages, and the notion that interference in learning a new language…

This paper reviews the history of contrastive analysis (CA) against the background of its objectives and its present problems and presents an outline of procedures which seem to be necessary to make the methods meet the objectives of applied CA. CA in the United States was closely connected with structuralism, which was an obvious cause for later…

The English speech of an adult native Polish speaker learning English as a second language was analyzed for the acquisition of the English negation system. The types of errors made appeared to be developmental rather than language transfer errors. There was little trouble with single negation in English which contrasts with multiple negation in…

Suggestions are offered here for effecting a smooth transition in Spanish FLES classes from the audiolingual skills level to a level of reading competence which allows for proper pronunciation and both oral and silent reading comprehension. The discussion centers on creating reading readiness at the pre-reading level and considered such aspects as…

The use of the "traditional passive" form of the Japanese verb indicates to a native speaker that the subject of the verb was involuntarily subjected to something unpleasant. When combined with the causative form (passive causative), it is felt that the subject of the sentence was "caused to" take an action and is therefore not…

Communicative competence in a second language is conditioned by the transfer of linguistic, heuristic and interactive aptitudes. A solution to the problems raised by this threefold transfer might be found in the conjunction of psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic insights. A number of pedagogical techniques are suggested in order to show how the…

The comparatively small vowel inventory of Bantu languages leads young Bantu learners to produce "undifferentiations," so that, for example, the spoken forms of "hat,""hut,""heart" and "hurt" sound the same to a British ear. The two criteria for a non-native speaker's spoken performance are…

The most significant criterion for classifying spelling errors is whether the erroneous form yields the same pronunciation as the intended word. Five categories can be discerned: (1) non-identical pronunciation, non-existent English word; (2) non-identical pronunciation, confusion of existing words; (3) identical pronunciation, English spelling…

This paper discusses some theoretical aspects of contrastive phonetics. A fundamental problem in contrasting the sound structure of two languages is the question of equivalence between the two sound systems. There are four possible criteria: (1) similar spelling; (2) similar phonetic description and transcription; (3) use of phonological criteria;…

Classic studies in second language (L2) learning offer little evidence for the validity of the notion of universals in L2 learning. The present study investigates this notion in data collected from 15 observational studies of 40 L2 learners who acquired the L2 naturally, that is, they were not taught the language in any formal ways. Interpretation…

This introduction to Levantine Arabic pronunciation is designed to teach the student to recognize the major points of phonological interference between Levantine Arabic and American English, as well as the significant phonological contrasts within the dialect of Arabic itself, and to provide the student with a model for mimicry. Tape recordings…

An investigation of instances of phonological contact between Hungarian and American English concerns the perception and production of English interdental fricatives and English stops, in a representative selection of contexts, by native speakers of Hungarian. Implications of structural differences between the stop and fricative subsystems of the…