Patterns of English Article Use by L1 Swahili-speaking Learners of EFL in Tanzania
Abstract
Using English articles correctly is noticeably difficult for non-native speakers of
the language. Several competing perspectives attempt to address such
difficulty. Whereas some perspectives hold that non-target-like performance on
articles stems from learners accessing both the definiteness and specificity
settings of the Article Choice Parameter, others hold that such performance
stems from misanalysing English articles as adjectives. This debate
necessitates further research. Accordingly, this paper sets out to determine
which non-target-like aspects €“between substitution and omission ones €“ L1
Swahili-speaking learners are producing more, whether their substitution of
articles stems from accessing both definiteness and specificity settings, and
whether their omission of articles results from misanalysing English articles as
adjectives. Thirty-five learners of English participated in a picture description
task. Results indicate that they substitute articles more frequently than
omitting them. They also fluctuate between definiteness and specificity. The
data do not provide evidence for misanalysing English articles as adjectives.
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