Arabic cultural/educational and linguistic background as factors affecting EFL writing performance

Labidi, A

Abstract

Effective communication in a foreign language depends on more than
knowing the rules of its lexicon, grammar, and phonology. It involves
the processing of cultural as well as linguistic knowledge. Any form
of communication (and language is one form of communication) has its
own strategies. The strategies of language communication vary
systematically across languages and cultures. The differences in the
general ethos of one community as compared to another lead to
differences in the strategies of communication, as certain aspects of
the communicative properties of languages might be culture- and
language-specific.
As a result, foreign language learners might fail to communicate
effectively in the foreign language. This failure seems to be greatly
due to a transferance of the native-language communicative strategies
to the foreign language. The most appropriate way to solve this
problem as suggested in this thesis, alongside many other foreign
language teachers and applied linguists, is contrastive language work
through translation. Such approach makes possible the juxtaposition of
the native language and the foreign language, thus allowing the
students to see practically and for themselves the culturo-linguistic
differences and similarities between the two languages. Otherwise,
native language interference will persist and successful performance
in the foreign language will not be achieved.
The present study sets to investigate two major factors that seem
to considerably affect Arab students' learning of English as a foreign language. First, the culturo- educational background which is almost
totally ignored as being the second major factor affecting foreign
language learning. Second, the linguistic (or mother tongue) factor
which, though more researched, no appropriate solutions are yet
provided.
Due to culturo-educational influence --dealt with in the first
part of this thesis-- Arab students tend to approach the foreign
language in the same way they approach their native language. They
seem to rely on memorization in the study of the foreign language and
in their essay-writing. For this reason, they are often accused of
plagiarism, a practice for which the blame should not be laid upon
them alone. The Arab educational system should undergo- the biggest
portion of the blame.
Arab students, from a very young age and from the earliest
educational stage, the kuttaab, are instructed basically orally and
trained to rely heavily on their memories. Though such training suits
young children and the major subject they are taught (Qurlan), it does
not stop at this stage, nor does it confine itself to that particular
subject. Rather, it escorts them up till university level and extends
to most subjects. A solution to get over such a problem as to EFL
teaching is suggested in the concluding chapter to this thesis.
The second major factor affecting foreign language learning
--dealt with in the second part of this thesis-- is the influence from
the native language, which is seen to manifest itself on the two major
levels of language: the micro and the macro levels. The micro level of
language is that of the word and sentence. Influence at such a level appears from the early stages of foreign language learning. However,
it is not as serious and as persistent as that at the macro level, ie.
the discourse or text level. Here, Arab students often make grave
deviations from the norms of the foreign language. Such deviations,
their nature, and their cultural and linguistic background are
discussed through the examination of the major rhetorical and textual
characteristics pertaining to Arabic and English.
Translation is proposed as an effective approach of teaching
composition to advanced EFL students. Such approach, if applied
methodically, will help students develop a much needed awareness of
the textual pecularities of the, foreign language; an awareness which
will sensitize them to the general linguistic differences and, in
particular, those of composing that exist between their mother tongue
and the foreign language. Besides, it will certainly help them enlarge
more quickly and more practically their EFL lexical and idiomatic
repertoire.

Citation

Labidi, A. Arabic cultural/educational and linguistic background as factors affecting EFL writing performance. (Thesis). University of Salford, UK

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Jul 7, 2009
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 7, 2009
• Additional Information: Additional Information : PhD supervisor: Dr. Hassan Mustapha
• Award Date: Jan 1, 1992