Students’ Attitudes towards the Impact of the First Language Tense System on the Use of English Tenses in Written Production

Abstract

This study explores the influence of first language tense system on the use of English tenses by EFL students‟ .The main goal is to present a clear explanation of tense systems in English and Arabic, focusing on their similarities and differences and to find out whether their native language affects their learning and use of English tenses. The assumption on which the present thesis is based on is whether English 2nd year students face difficulties while using English tenses in written production due to their mother tongue interference. To achieve the ultimate aim, a questionnaire was handed to 50 second year students at the department of English. The findings of this study revealed that second year students have difficulties regarding their usage of tenses since the grammatical structures and forms in the Arabic language differs from the English one. Their native language hinders their learning since there is a negative interference that leads to errors and inappropriate forms in English.