Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 10. Number 1. March 2019 Pp.16 -30
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol10no1.2
Fossilized Use of Active and Passive Simple Present by Iraqi M.A. Students
Nawal Fadhil Abbas
Department of English, College of Education for Women,
University of Baghdad, Jadiriya, Baghdad, Iraq
Lina Laith Younus
Department of English, College of Education for Women,
University of Baghdad, Jadiriya, Baghdad, Iraq
*Corresponding author
Huda Hadi Khalil
Department of English, College of Education for Women,
University of Baghdad, Jadiriya, Baghdad, Iraq
Abstract:
Interlanguage fossilization is a crucial dilemma that foreign language learners may fall in. The problem of the present study is shown clearly in the answers of Iraqi students of Master of Arts in the College of Education for Women University of Baghdad. In spite of all the previous years of studying English language, some still have the problem of fossilized active and passive simple present tense. The present study aims at shedding light on the reasons behind the Iraqi students’ problem. An error analysis is applied to critically examine the students’ answers in their final course exam of two courses namely; pragmatics and discourse analysis. Depending on Selinker’s model (1972) of error analysis, students errors are all traced back to the language transfer of their native language. Among the results of analysis the researchers have arrived at a suitable solution for the current problem embodied by Sharwood’s Consciousness-Raising Approach (1981). It is recommended as a psycholinguistic model for defossilization. It is very suitable for mentally matured learners and help to solve the dilemma.
Keywords: active and passive simple present tense, Consciousness-Raising, interlanguage-fossilization, Iraqi M.A. students
Cite as: Abbas, N. F., Younus, L.L., & Khalil, H. H. (2019). Fossilized Use of Active and Passive Simple Present by Iraqi M.A. Students. Ara Nawal Fadhil Abbas b World English Journal, 10 (1) 16 -30.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol10no1.2