2. INTERVIEW

 Interviewee: Magister Ana Maria Calle.
 Date: On Friday 23 of March at 9:10 am
 Place: In the CONCELT Office.
 Time: 12 minutes and 16 seconds.

3. CHILDREN

 Mother tongue has an effect in the foreign learning
process.
 Depends on the age.
 Children learn in a natural way.
 Not conscious about the influence.

4. Adults

 Adults are more analytical learners.
 The influence is higher in adult people.
 “The Novelty Effect.”
 Keep translating is a bad habit.
 Transfer culture as well.

5. SITE VISIT REPORT AND FIELD
RESEARCH REPORT

 Nine adult EFL students.
 Universidad Del Azuay.
 Monday 26th.
 8pm.
 Teacher: Magister Monica Martinez.
 Direct contact with her students.
 Apply a survey.

6. RESEARCH
QUESTIONS

 Do adult language learners compare the grammatical
structures of their native language with those of the target
language?
 Does this method of comparison help adult language
students understand the new grammatical structures of
the target language?
 Are adult language learners likely to transfer native
grammatical structures into the target language?
 The research scope:
 study of adult students` perspectives about the relevance of
mother tongue in foreign language learning.
 Analysis of some sample sentences.
 Focused on the grammatical and syntactical errors.

7. RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY

 Uncover certain aspects of language use in a
particular sample of language learners.
 Descriptive purpose.
 Analyze the influence of native language on a
specific aspect of foreign language learning.
 Draw conclusions about the amount of grammatical
influence that native language has over the target.

8. PARTICIPANTS

 Nine participants.
 Ecuadorian EFL students.
 Seven women.
 Two men.
 31 to 61 years old.
 Different professions and language needs.
 Different language proficiency.
 one beginner
 Four low-intermediate
 Three high-intermediate
 One advanced student.

9. TASKS AND
MATERIALS

 11-question survey test
 multiple choice questions.
 Questions:
 Background information about the students.
 Students` viewpoints.
 Sentences presenting specific grammatical structures.

10. ANALYSIS
PROCEDURES

 Tabulating the information
 Statistical representations
 Questions asking WHY? coincidences or trends
Translation section:
 Grammar transfer (APPLY)
 Correctness (O.K.)
 Structure usage avoidance (VOID)

11. RESULTS

 Find out something about adult learners`
perspectives of the language they are learning
(English), as compared with their mother tongue
(Spanish), as well as to
 Determine the amount of influence generated by
their mother tongue in the usage of some specific
grammatical structures

12. GENERAL ANALYSIS

Grammar Transfer Percentage
8%
20%
Transfer
Correct
72%
Incorrect

13. CONCLUSIONS

 All the participants tend to rely on the grammar of
their native language.
 This helps them in cases where L1 language
structures and L2 grammatical structures are similar.
 It may generate grammatical mistakes when
students face different or new structures.
 Related to the students` age, proficiency, and
linguistic situations.
 Adult students tend to be more focused on grammar
as an important and demanding aspect of language.

14. LIMITATIONS OF
THE STUDY

 Nine adult EFL students’ viewpoints.
 Certain aspects of their grammar usage.
 Small number of participants.
 Adults of ages ranging from 31 to 61.
 Structures involved in the study.
 No generalizable.