Analysis of Definite and Indefinite Article Usage in Students' Paragraphs
Main Article Content
Abstract
Although they are among the most basic words in the English language, articles make writing difficult for EFL and ESL students. This study looks into how students use definite and indefinite articles in their paragraphs. What is the frequency of definite and indefinite articles in first-year English majors' paragraphs at Salahaddin University's College of Education? To what extent are students accurate in their use of definite and indefinite articles? are the main questions under investigation. The study aims to identify the frequency of definite and indefinite articles in 35 paragraphs written by English majors in their first year at Salahaddin University's College of Education, Erbil, Iraq, in the academic year 2022-2023. The study utilizes conceptual content analysis to ascertain the frequency of articles through descriptive statistics. The findings indicate that first-year English majors struggle to use articles correctly in their writing. They struggle to consistently use definite and indefinite articles appropriately. The results of this study will be significant for both researchers and language instructors. Understanding students' use of definite and indefinite articles can provide valuable insights into potential problems or areas requiring additional instruction. The results of this study have the potential to influence curriculum design and language teaching strategies, ultimately enhancing English language learning and proficiency among EFL and ESL students. Keywords: analysis, definite articles, indefinite articles, students’ paragraphs.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Abumlhah, M. (2016). The role of input in the acquisition of English articles by L1 Najdi Arabic speakers. The University of Leeds. Available at: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:63749426.
Adway, A. (2013). The Study of the English Article System Errors Made by Secondary School Students in the United Arab Emirates. United Arab Emirates. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/4716809/The_Study_of_the_English.
Ahmed, S. (2015). The Generic Use of Articles in English with Reference to Kurdish. Raparin University Journal, 2(5),17-20. Available at: https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=0419a78adff1ccb8JmltdH.
Alhaisoni, A., Gaudel, D., & Al-Zuoud, K. (2017). Article Errors in the English Writing of Saudi EFL Preparatory Year Students. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 8(1), 72-78. http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.8n.1p.72.
Alhaysony, M. (2012). An analysis of article errors among Saudi Female EFL students: A case study. Asian Social Science, 8(12), 55-66. Http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v8n12p55.
Al-Sulaimaan, M., & Alsinjari, A. (2018). Problems of Translating Definite and Indefinite Articles from English into Arabic. International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 3(6), 1076-1087. https://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijels.3.6.25.
Andersen, R. (1984). The One to One Principle of Interlanguage Construction. Language Learning, 34, 77–95. Available at: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:145576538.
Awad, D. (2011). The Acquisition of English Articles by Arabic Speakers. Lancaster University. Available at: https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/50520487/Thesis_Awad_2011-libre.
Brown, R. (1973). Development of the First Language in the Human Species. American Psychologist, 28, 97-106. Available at: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144155805.
Butler, Y. (2002). Second Language Learners’ Theories on the use of English Articles. Cambridge University Press: Pennsylvania. Available at: http://repository.upenn.edu/gse.
Chaudron, C., & Parker, K. (1990). Discourse Markedness and structural Markedness: The acquisition of English noun phrases. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 12, 43-64. Available at: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:145086177.
Crompton, P. (2011). Article Errors in the English Writing of Advanced L1 Arabic Learners: The Role of Transfer. Asian EFL Journal. Professional Teaching Articles, 50, 4-29. Available at: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:6752317.
Grice, H. P. (1975). Logic and conversation. Syntax and Semantics 3, 41-58. Available at: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:222385009.
Han, N., Chodorow, M., & Leacock, C. (2006). Detecting errors in English article use by non-native speakers. Natural Language Engineering,12(2), 115-129. Available at: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:44557034.
Harb, M. (2014). A Closer Look at the English Article System: Internal and External Sources of Difficulty Revisited. International Journal of Linguistics, 6(4), 87-101. Available at: Http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/ijl.v6i4.5998.
Hawkins, J. A. (1991). On (in)definite articles: Implicatures and (un)grammaticality predictions. Journal of Linguistics 27: 405-442. Available at: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:1458.
Hewson, J. (1972). Article and Noun in English. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, 104 in the series Janua Linguarum. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110878455.
Huebner, T. (1983). A Longitudinal Analysis of the Acquisition of English. Ann Arbor, MI: Karoma Publishers. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 9, 363-367. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:143213047.
Ionin, T., & Montrul, S. (2010). The role of L1 transfer in the interpretation with articles in plural definite in L2 English. Language Learning, 60, 877-925. Available at: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:142744096.
Kempson, R. (1975). Presupposition and the Delimitation of Semantics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 235. doi:10.1017/S002222670000503X. Available at: https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/49315594/j.1468-0149.1977.
Kharma, N. (1981). Analysis of the errors committed by Arab university students in the use of the English definite/indefinite articles. IRAL, 19, 333-345.
Kim, L., & Lakshmanan, U. (2009). The Processing Role of the Article Choice Parameter: Evidence from L2 Learners of English. Second Language Acquisition of Articles: Empirical Findings and Theoretical Implications, Garcia Mayo, Maria del Pilar and Roger Hawkins (eds.), 87-13. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1075/lald.49.08kim.
Kim, S., & Song, M. (2020). Is Starting Early Beneficial for the Acquisition of English Articles in an EFL Setting? English Teaching, 75(4), 3-32. Available at: https://doi.org/10.15858/engtea.75.4.202012.3.
Krippendorff, K. (1980). Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Leech, G., & Svartvik, J. (1994). Communicative Grammar of English (2nd Eds.). London/ New York: Longman. Available at: https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/58214253/A-Communicative-Grammar.
Levinson, S. C. (1987). Pragmatics and the grammar of anaphora: a practical pragmatic reduction of binding and control phenomena. Journal of Linguistics 23, 379-434. Available at: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:11769220.
Master, P. (1987). A cross-linguistic interlanguage analysis of the acquisition of the English article system. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Los Angles: University of California. Available at: https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=6ae4ca405c6b3678.
Master, P. (1995). Consciousness Raising and Article Pedagogy. In D. Belcher & G. Braine (Eds.), Academic writing in a second language. Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 183-204. Available at: https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=0bb922dfa2ffc0eeJmltdHM9M.
Master, P. (1997). The English article system: Acquisition, function, and pedagogy. System, 25, 215-232. Available at: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:61126612.
Master, P. (2002). Information structure and English article pedagogy. System, 30, 331-348. Available at: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:62642700.
Miller, J. (2005). Most ESL students have trouble with the articles. International Education Journal, ERC2004 Special Issue, 5(5), 80-88. Available at: http://iej.cjb.net/.
Necir, O. (2021). Error analysis in the use of definite and indefinite articles among BA students of English, Adrar University. University of Ahmed Draia Adrar: Algeria. Available at: https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=3d5778a94356efcfJmltdHM9.
Parrish, B. (1987). A new look at methodologies in the study of article acquisition for learners of ESL. Language Learning, 37, 361-384. Available at: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:143663989.
Quirk, R. et al. (1973). A University Grammar of English. Harlow: Longman, 66-69. Available at: https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=700517eb8e2f43f4JmltdHM9MTcwOT.
Romaine, S. (2003). Variation. In C. J. Doughty & M. H. Long (Eds.), The Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 409-435). Oxford, UK: Blackwell. Available at: https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=8987b5a546bc9f4fJmltdHM9MT.
Sun, G. (2016). The Acquisition of English Articles by Second Language Learners: The Sequence, Differences, and Difficulties. SAGE Open, 6(1), 1-8. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016635716.
Thomas, M. (1989). The acquisition of English articles by first-and second-language learners? Applied Psycholinguistics, 10, 335-355. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication.
Warden, D. (1976). The Influence of Context on Children’s Use of Identifying Expressions and References. British Journal of Psychology, 67(1), 101-112. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.
Weber, R. P. (1990). Basic Content Analysis, 2nd ed. Newbury Park, CA.
Wilson, V. (2011). Research Methods: Content Analysis. Evidence-Based Library and Information Practice, 6(4), 177-179.