Language Transfer and its Impact on TEFL: Some Theoretical and Practical Considerations

Abstract

This paper focuses on the analysis of the notion ‘Language Transfer’. It aims at investigating the impact that existing linguistic knowledge may have on the acquisition of another language; more precisely, the main purpose is to analyse the cross-linguistic influence that Spanish as an L1 may have on the learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The project is divided into two main parts: (i) a theoretical part, in which the main points concerning the study of this linguistic phenomenon are discussed (its main types and some of its pedagogical implications, among others), and (ii) a practical part, in which written production by Spanish learners of English is examined by paying special attention to Language Transfer from a grammatical and lexical perspectiveTo this end, academic essays retrieved from two learner corpora, ICLE SP and SULEC, were selected for the analysis. The data gathered from the two corpora show that Language Transfer is present in the learners’ written production, either interfering (Negative Transfer) or facilitating (Positive Transfer) their use of English syntax, morphology and lexis.