Human Resource Management The Domestic Issues

Question: Describe about the Human Resource Management for The Domestic Issues. Answer: 1: Introduction: The human resource management has various issues in the international business that are different from the domestic issues. This is due to the fact that international business is more complicated than the domestic business. So it becomes important to decide the more suitable staffing policy approach in the international business. There are basically three types of staffing policies in the international HRM; the ethnocentric approach, the polycentric approach and the geocentric approach. Ethnocentric approach: Under the ethnocentric approach the home country nationals are kept at the top ranking employees while operating globally. For example in the American company that is located in Indonesia the executive positions there would be given to the Americans. Here the HR practices remain same and the same procedures that the parent company follows are followed in the host country. Polycentric Approach: Under this approach the top positions are assigned to the workers of the home country in the headquarters or the central offices and the local workers are assigned various other positions. This policy provides different opportunities to the local people for improving their careers through promotion and other techniques. Geocentric Approach: Under this approach the position is assigned to a person who is best suited for that position no matter what the background , culture or country origin is there of the employee. It helps in increasing the cultural knowledge of the firm about the various countries and the markets(Whitehead 2015). There are various advantages and disadvantages of all the above mentioned approaches which have been discussed in detail below: Staffing Method Advantages Disadvantages Ethnocentric Approach There might be well trained and well qualified employees of the parent company that might prove a great choice for the job overseas. It helps in transferring the culture of headquarters to foreign operations. It is promotion and career advancement opportunity for the parent company nationals. There are less chances of the host country nationals promotion. The personal planning procedures under this approach are very complicated. It may be possible that the nationals of the parent company take more time to adjust according to the culture of the host country. Polycentric Approach The language barriers and the adjustment problems are eliminated with this approach This approach is supported by the government of the host country. There is a lot of improvement in the morale and self esteem of the local people as they have more career prospects(Mindtools 2015). The career prospects get limited outside the divisions. There might be a problem in todays competitive world due to the shortage of experience of the local people. It becomes difficult to coordinate the activities between the subsidiaries and the headquarters. Geocentric Approach There is effective utilization of the human resources. The tendency of the national identification of the managers gets reduced. There is a great deal of sharing of the resources all over the company. The informal and cultural management gets stronger. There needs to be more training provided to the employees which increases the costs and is very expensive. There is too much of documentation involved in this approach. There is a great need of the personnel that is highly sophisticated that helps in matching the processes all over the world. 2: Marks and Spencer and Coca- Cola are the two companies that follow the ethnocentric, polycentric and geocentric Approaches of staffing. Marks and Spencer is a company that was established in the year 1884 and has grown from a single market stall to an international business. It is one of the leading retail businesses of UK. It takes all its decisions very carefully(Sharan 2008). It uses the polycentric and the geocentric approach to select its low level staff whereas it uses the ethnocentric approach for appointing the high level management people. Ethnocentric Approach: The companies like Marks and Spencer when decide to start their operations in other countries often send their knowledgeable and skilled workers to work in the host country. As it is estimated that they have good experience about the working of the organization and the top positions shall be filled with the experience of these people. The benefit is that there is less cost involved in this approach with more experience(Mindtools 2015). Polycentric approach: This approach cannot be followed at all the levels of hiring because this approach has its disadvantages as well(Aswathapa. 2005). The company prefer to hire its sale staff by following the polycentric approach as this requires the knowledge of the culture of the host country and the host countrys locals are the best for filling the sales position as they are very well aware of the host country culture. The benefit of this approach would be that the communication barriers would be reduced while selling the products. Geocentric approach: The Company cannot always rely on the single approach. The company after being running smoothly decides to hire the professionals by using the geocentric approach. It helps in developing a good pool of international managers. The second company that follows the above approaches for hiring the personnel is a very well known soft drink company named Coca-Cola(Anfuso 2000). The company was established in the year 1892. The company has been carrying on its operations in more than hundred countries presently. The staffing procedure that is followed by Coca-Cola makes it sure that the right individuals are hired to fill in the positions. The company follows the mixture of all the three approaches of staffing. Ethnocentric approach: The Company uses the ethnocentric approach for filling the important senior management positions. Polycentric approach: It is believed by the company that the local environment is better understood by the local people so the sales staff is normally hired by following the polycentric approach. Geocentric approach: it also uses the geocentric approach for hiring the professional staff and sends the experts to the various countries where it decides to carry on its operations. 3: Outsourcing means that when any company decides to give its operations and functions to any other company. There are various reasons for choosing outsourcing as a technique for the company. Etisalat is one of the leading telecommunication operators in UAE. The headquarters of the company is located in Abu Dhabi. The company is currently serving about 11 million customers in UAE. The company has made various improvements in its operations since it started functioning. There are advanced mobile technologies provided by the company to its customers(Mossler 2003). Services offered by the company: Following are the services that are provided by the company to its customers: E-vision Networks Enterprise solutions Customer care The company decided to outsource its customer services operations in Egypt like many other companies do. The step that is initiated by the company to outsource its operations would help in saving the cost of the company for both the in-house and outsource customer service(Datamark. 2015). There are various reasons as to why the well established company like Etisalat chose Egypt for outsourcing its operations. Some of the reasons for selecting the Egypt for the outsourcing are as mentioned below: One of the advantages at the disposal of Etisalat for choosing Egypt is the advantage of low cost. The land in Egypt is very affordable and the labor is also very cheap. The quality will not be affected due to the low cost because the skills of the labor in Egypt are very strong(Etisalat. 2015). There is a great spread of English and Arabic language all over the world. There is a good reputation of Egypt in the ICT companies(Annoynomous 2015). Various benefits of outsourcing the Customer service operations Increase in Expertise: It is seen mostly that the outsourcing is mainly done to the staff that possess expertise so it leads to the completion of the tasks in the effective manner. Reduction in the work load: The work load that is on the full time staff gets reduced due to the outsourcing of the operations. Reduction in the costs involved: One of another advantage is that there is a reduction in the hiring and operational costs as if the local people will be hired than it would definitely increase the expenses on the company. Low cost labor available: There are chances that better individuals are available in the outsourced companies than the local people and that too at a very low cost. Sharing or mitigating of the risks involved: There is a good sharing of the risk mitigation elements by the outsourcing vendor. Concentration on core areas: The Company can further concentrate on various other important elements rather than spending all their time in the support of the various processes which can be handled by the outsourced staff very easily. Availability of more staff in case of urgency: In case there is a requirement of more staff at any time than it is possible that the outsourcing company can manage that by providing extra workers to the company. Access to skilled Labor: The outsourcing vendors can have an access to the skilled resources and the training and recruiting expenses can be reduced due to outsourcing its operations. Time Zone advantage: The advantage is the Time Zone advantage in which the company can get its work done even when it is closed in its country. Faster and better services: There is increase in the pace of services along with good and improved quality by outsourcing the operations of the company. Expert management and support staff: the outsourcers are basically very specialized service providers and they can attract the best managers as compared to the local staff(Tian 2016). Quality monitoring and control: It helps in monitoring the quality of the work and taking the control measures as and when they are required. Access to latest technology: There will be investment in the best technologies by the outsourcers. As there are various software tools available these days that includes: email, web chat, cloud based platforms , social media marketing and SMS text(Bucki 2016). Bibliography Anfuso, D 2000, workforce-cocacola, viewed 10 December 2016, https://www.workforce.com/articles/coca-cola-s-staffing-philosophy-supports-its-global-strategy. Annoynomous 2015, Flatworld, viewed 10 December 2016, https://www.flatworldsolutions.com/articles/benefits-of-outsourcing.php. Aswathapa. 2005, Human Resource And Personnel Management - Page 646, 4th edn, McGraw Hill., New DElhi. Bucki, J 2016, Thebalance.com, viewed 10 December 2016, https://www.thebalance.com/top-outsourcing-advantages-2533765. Datamark. 2015, DATAMARK, viewed 10 December 2016, https://www.datamark.net/call-centers/blog/reasons-to-outsource-your-call-center/. Etisalat. 2015, , viewed 10 December 2016, https://www.etisalat.ae/en/aboutus/etisalatcorporation/corporation/profile/company-profile.jsp. Mindtools 2015, transformational leadership, viewed 10 December 2016, https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/transformational-leadership.htm. Mossler, K 2003, The Pros and Cons of International Staffing Policies. Sharan, V 2008, International Business 2/e , Concepts, Environment And Strategy, 2nd edn, Pearson Education, Sinagapore. Tian, X 2016, Managing International Business in China - Page 271. Whitehead, S 2015, panmore institute., viewed 10 December 2016, https://panmore.com/staffing-policy-hrm-issues-in-international-business.

Adipic Acid Essays - Commodity Chemicals, Adipic Acid, Nylon

Adipic Acid SWOSU ICER98 submitted 2/23/98 Bart Barnett, Bill McKinley, Darren Toczko, Kevin Worley Adipic acid is one of the most used chemicals in the world today, conversly, it contributes significantly to the production of nitrous oxides (NOx), a greenhouse gas. Many methods are available to produce adipic acid, with various results and potential for pollution. The following paper discusses the impacts that adipic acid has on our society and the worlds environment. At the end of the paper, is a list of some of the sources used for this topic. Any disagreements between the various sections of this article probably resulted from this being a group effort. Uses Adipic acid is a very important chemical that is used all over the world to produce various products that people use every day. Nylon 6.6, foams, paints and tires are just a few of the products that are formed by the use of adipic acid (AAD). Adipic acid is also used as a food ingredient in gelatins, desserts and other foods that require acidulation. Nylon 6.6 is the largest outlet for adipic acid, accounting for more than 89% of the total consumption in North America. One of the leading producers, BASF, produces 70 million pounds of nylon per year. Nylon is used for everyday applications such as electrical connectors, cable tires, fishing line, fabrics, carpeting, and many other useful products. Production The consumption and production for adipic acid is dominated by the United States. Of the 2.3 million metric tons of adipic acid produced worldwide, 42% is produced in the United State while the United State consumes 62% of total production. Western Europe produces the majority of the remaining adipic acid with 40%, and 13% in Asia-Pacific, while the other regions account for the remaining 5%. The process of producing adipic acid can be done by using different reactions. The main reaction is by the oxidation of cyclohexane into cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone. Another industry reaction is by the hydrogenation of benzene into cyclohexane and then oxidation. Adipic acid can be produced from butadiene by carboalkoxylation, but this process is not commercialized. The production of adipic acid through the oxidation of cyclohexane is done by reacting cyclohexane with oxygen for air in the presents of a catalyze of cobalt or manganese at a temperature of 150C to 160C. This reaction forms a mixture of the cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone. The products are distilled to remove the unreacted cyclohexane which is recycled. The cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone are then reacted with nitric acid and air with a copper and vanadium catalyst. In this reaction, air is the oxidation reactant that produces the adipic acid. This reaction produces almost all of the world's adipic acid. There are variations of this reactions first step producing cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol from cyclohexane. This includes the using of Boron oxide hydroxide and oxygen, or by oxygen and a catalysis to form the intermediate cyclohexyl hydroperoxide with further reaction with catalytic amounts of transition metals. The second step also can be done by reacting cyclohexanol and cyclohex anone with only air and catalytic amounts Cobalt, copper, and manganese. This non-nitric acid process has the advantages of no risk of corrosion and no NOx are produced. The disadvantage is that succinic acid and glutartic acid is formed with the adipic acid, thus making purification a problem. Phenol can be substituted for cyclohexane. This involves the hydrogenation on the phenol into cyclohexanol with elemental hydrogen and a catalysis. From the cyclohexanol, nitric acid is used to form the adipic acid. The process of production of adipic acid from benzene is commercially used, but does not account for a major amount of the total production. This reaction, starting with benzene, produces cyclohexane as an intermediate step. Then the reaction continues, as in the cyclohexane path of reaction. The change of the benzene to cyclohexane is done by simply hydrogenation of the benzene. The benzene can also be change into phenol, and the reaction process that pathway. The production of adipic acid with carboalkoxylation of butadiene is new and only in the experimental stage, but may hold promise for a less expense production. Many alternate processes have been researched; but so far, the oxidation of cyclohexane with nitric acid is the most efficient. So in turn, it

Julia Morgan, About the Architect of Hearst Castle

Julia Morgan, About the Architect of Hearst Castle Best known for the lavish Hearst Castle, Julia Morgan also designed public venues for the YWCA as well as hundreds of homes in California. Morgan helped rebuild San Francisco after the earthquake and fires of 1906- except for the bell tower at Mills College, which she had already designed to survive the damage. And it still stands. Background: Born: January 20, 1872 in San Francisco, California Died: February 2, 1957, at age 85. Buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California Education: 1890: Graduated from Oakland High School, California1894: Earned a degree in civil engineering from the University of California, BerkeleyWhile at Berkeley, mentored by architect Bernard MaybeckTwice rejected by the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in ParisEntered and won several important architecture competitions in Europe1896: Accepted by the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and became the first woman to graduate from that school with a degree in architecture Career Highlights and Challenges: 1902-1903: Worked for John Galen Howard, University Architect in Berkeley1904: Established her own practice in San Francisco1906: Office destroyed in a fire caused by the 1906 earthquake; Morgan established a new office1919: Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst hired Morgan to design his San Simeon estate, Hearst Castle1920s: Problems with her inner ear required surgery that distorted Morgans face and affected her balance1923: Fires in Berkeley destroyed many homes designed by Morgan1951: Morgan closed her office and died six years later2014: Posthumously awarded the highest honor of the American Institute of Architects and elevated to the College of Fellows (FAIA). Morgan was the first woman to be given the AIA Gold Medal. Selected Buildings by Julia Morgan: 1904: Campanile (bell tower), Mills College, Oakland, California1913: Asilomar, Pacific Grove, CA1917: Livermore House, San Francisco, CA1922: The Hacienda, William Randolph Hearsts home at Valley of the Oaks, CA1922-1939: San Simeon (Hearst Castle), San Simeon, CA1924-1943: Wyntoon, Mount Shasta, CA1927: Laniakea YWCA, Honolulu, HI1929: The Berkeley City Club, Berkeley, CA About Julia Morgan: Julia Morgan was one of Americas most important and prolific architects. Morgan was the first woman to study architecture at the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and the first woman to work as a professional architect in California. During her 45-year career, she designed more than 700 homes, churches, office buildings, hospitals, stores, and educational buildings. Like her mentor, Bernard Maybeck, Julia Morgan was an eclectic architect who worked in a variety of styles. She was known for her painstaking craftsmanship and for designing interiors that incorporated the owners collections of art and antiques. Many of Julia Morgans buildings featured Arts and Crafts elements such as: exposed support beamshorizontal lines that blend into the landscapeextensive use of wooden shinglesearth coloringsCalifornia redwood and other natural materials After the California earthquake and fires of 1906, Julia Morgan obtained commissions to rebuild Fairmont Hotel, St. Johns Presbyterian Church, and many other important buildings in and around San Francisco. Of the hundreds of homes that Julia Morgan designed, she is perhaps most famous for Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. For nearly 28 years, craftsmen labored to create William Randolph Hearsts magnificent estate. The estate has 165 rooms, 127 acres of gardens, beautiful terraces, indoor and outdoor pools, and an exclusive private zoo. Hearst Castle is one of the largest and most elaborate homes in the United States. Learn More: Julia Morgan Papers, MS 010 at the Robert F. Kennedy Library, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. CAJulia Morgan: Architect of Beauty by Mark Wilson, 2007Julia Morgan Built a Castle Hardcover by Celeste Mannis, 2006Women of Steel and Stone: 22 Inspirational Architects, Engineers, and Landscape Designers by Anna M. Lewis, 2014

How you would apply a semiological and ideological analysis to a Essay

How you would apply a semiological and ideological analysis to a television advert for a consumer product - Essay Example According to Gillian Dyer advertising is the "official art" in which beliefs and values through the brand are reminded to the people (Reschke, 1998). To understand the real meaning of advertisement its analysis are done to learn the techniques that are employed in designing the content of an advertisement. Media analysts have used different parameters of analysis to gain understanding of concepts interrelated with advertisements. This paper aims to analyze an advertisement through the most commonly used analysis methods called semiotic and ideological analysis. The advertisement selected for this paper is projecting a perfume named 1 million which is the new male fragrance by the Spanish leading colognes and perfume company named Paco Rabbane. Perfumes are considered as both essential and luxurious part of everybody’s life. When worn in daily life they are a necessity, when worn for formal occasions they depict a luxurious life style, elegant personality for women and sheer masculinity for the men. Perfume advertisements are always based on a sophisticated and sensational theme which is directly relating to physiological aspects of humans. The advertisement of perfume 1 million Paco Rabbane had been analyzed during the broadcast of 24th July 2010 by American TV channel namely AsiaVision. I have analyzed it semiotically to understand the hidden meanings prevailing within the text. Semiotic are basically the symbols and signs used within the text to create meaning. The signifier in this particular advert is no doubt the perfume 1 million where it signifies a young sexy looking man that uses the perfume to achieve all his dreams. Several iconic signs the moving objects have been used in the ad to convey the message to the user. To give the add a realistic touch they have made the use of many conventional codes set by our society such as firstly the color of the

China vs. USA. The Quest for Global Supremacy Research Paper

China vs. USA. The Quest for Global Supremacy - Research Paper Example The Euro zone has become the lowest ranked commercial performers after severely affected regions in Africa. Although the United States has maintained its financial superiority, the stability of this particular region is not constant. With a fluctuating financial graph, the United States does not have control of the global commercial market. This leaves the top spot to upcoming commercial hubs. Asia and Middle East have countries with the fastest growing economies. With political instability making the Middle East a poor investment area, Asia remains the only region with the capability of claiming the throne in matters of commercial and financial success. One country that has significantly improved its commercial capabilities is the Republic of China. This paper will focus on the supremacy battles between the United States and China. The paper will also provide a perspective on which country has the highest probability of clinching the top spot in the long run. A perspective on the investment of both nations shows the difference between their strategies. In China investment opportunities are obtained from all nations across the globe. Regardless of their financial position China has invested in many countries in all continents. According to Swedroe, China has invested in 30 percent of all the countries in Africa (par, 4). This means that China looks to capitalize on the resources that Africa can bring to the global market. This maximization of the resources in Africa has raised the economy of China by around 10 percent (Lash, par 7). The situation is different when it comes to the United States. The United States bases its investment on the ability of the country to pay back in certain conditions. In most cases the United States strikes deal with state government instead of venturing into private investment. The private investment China undertakes enables the country to contract with other private companies who are in need of

Criticism of the movie '' City of God'' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Criticism of the movie '' City of God'' - Essay Example Additionally, this society never valued the right of others. For instance, despite being bathed in golden lights and amber moods, children were being kicked around like football. Furthermore, the City of God is often expected to flourish in light throughout or all the time. However, it was full of darkness at some points. The darkness in this film is characterized not only y the frequent blackouts it experiences, but also by the action of its people. Nonetheless, the film is produced in a captivating style that is appealing to the audience. The storyline is perfect and well formulated. The film portrays the social issues that happened in a society. The society in question is Brazilian society that needed quick interventions. Furthermore, despite the film’s setting being based in a Brazilian society, its message of rotten vices in was far reaching with some of the crimes being global concerns. The problems and damages caused by gang groups have continued to affect many parts of the global society including cities in the United States. It is also worth noting that the film depicted immense creativity particularly in reflecting real life violence in a society. Additionally, the creativity is in the use of slang language that makes the film truly local and appealing to its targeted audience. In addition, the music that changes depending on the scenes significantly adds value to the success of this film. The director and produ cer of the film also ensured that the cinematography and writing were also perfectly related. The written script of the film portrayed the vices in the society and the same I well brought in play by the cinema presented by the film. Notably, the first expression in the film is the lack of peace and order in the society. This theme strikes everywhere and it is what leads to criminal activities such as murder, theft and rape. One of

Inter-lingual Interference in the Usage of Prepositions

Inter-lingual Interference in the Usage of Prepositions Inter-lingual Interference in the Usage of Prepositions in the English of Syrian Students Abstract In recent years, studies of foreign language acquisition have tended to focus on learners errors since they allow for prediction of the difficulties involved in acquiring a foreign language. In this way, teachers can be made aware of the difficult areas to be encountered by their students and devote special care and emphasis to them. Prepositions, on which this dissertation focuses, are one of these difficult areas. Thus, the main objective is to investigate whether the English preposition errors of the Syrian university students come more from inter-lingual interference or from other sources and whether classical or colloquial Arabic has the dominant influence on this interference. It also investigates which category of error in inter-lingual interference is the most frequent in the students using the prepositions in, on, at, of and to. The data is samples consisting of the answers of a diagnostic test by 38 Syrian first-year students of law. The diagnostic test was designed as a mu ltiple choice test and took by the students online. This investigation showed that preposition errors come mainly from inter-lingual interference, which is attributed more to standard Arabic here. It also showed that the students seem to have a serious problem in first language interference errors, especially substitution errors. This has implications for curriculum change and teachers method of teaching. 1. Introduction 1.1. Background of the study Language difficulty is often determined by how far or close the target and mother languages are. â€Å"Contrastive analysis is one of the areas of linguistics which elude a clear, unequivocal, and simple definition† (Vizmuller-Zocco, 1990:466). Errors in a certain area of grammar in the second language are often compared with an area of grammar in the first language. One of the most challenging things in learning English as a second language is using prepositions, â€Å"Among those who teach or learn the English language, prepositions have earned a reputation for difficulty if not downright unpredictability.† (Pittman, 1966) â€Å"As any English teacher well knows, our prepositions are a particularly troublesome lot to the non-native speaker of English† (McCarthy, 1972). When we, non-native speakers of English, speak English, we usually hesitate over choosing the correct preposition or whether a certain verb needs a preposition or not. This matter has always interested me, as many Arabic-speaking learners of English complain about it. Thahir (1987) indicates that prepositions can cause a problem for Arabic learners of English. For instance, an Arabic speaker would say this sentence *Fast trains can travel at a speed of 300m in hour. This is because per hour is expressed as in hour in Arabic. This transfer from Arabic into English is what makes Arabic learners English seem broken. Moreover, some linguists say that the mastery of prepositions in English is a late stage in native-language learning as well (Scott and Tucker, 1974). Therefore, this dissertation intends to look into the differences of preposition aspects between Arabic and English: are their distributions the same? Do all the Arabic words that need prepositions also need prepositions in English? If the words that need prepositions in Arabic also need prepositions in English, are these prepositions the same or different? From these general questions more specific questions will be formulated in the ‘Methodology chapter. 1.2. Grammar of English and Arabic prepositions â€Å"Arabic has a wealth of prepositions†¦with both verbs and adjectives. Many of these do not coincide with their direct English translations† (Swan and Smith, 1987:152). Nevertheless, Arabic prepositions are more limited in number than those of English. Abbas says that there are only twenty prepositions in Arabic (1961:320), while in English, there are fifty seven (Hayden, 1965:171-176). This, as a matter of fact, makes it harder for Arabic learners of English to have a command of English preposition usage. Grubic says: Non-native speakers of English tend to have three types of problems with prepositions: 1. Using the wrong preposition, e.g.: *My grandfather picked the name on me. (for) 2. Omitting a required preposition, e.g.: *I served the Army until 1964. (in) 3. Using a superfluous prepositions, e.g.: *I studied in Biology for three years. (2004:22) Despite all the efforts made by grammar book writers and teachers, learners of English still make mistakes in the usage of prepositions. So, what makes EFL learners make these errors? There is no doubt that Arabic learners of English translate grammar from Arabic into English, ignoring the rigorous grammatical structures of the English language. However, are all preposition-usage errors related to L1? Prepositions are words or groups of words that typically come before a noun phrase and indicate syntactic relations (Matthews, 1997). v My fathers plane arrives after midnight. v We have got a tree in front of the house. v There are no snakes in Ireland. One important feature of prepositions is that they cannot stand alone, regardless of how many words they are combined with (Downing and Locke, 1992). Since prepositions are not independent, they form meaning when combined with nouns or noun phrases, for example: after midnight, in front of the house, in Ireland. â€Å"Prepositions can be divided into three categories, i.e. basic prepositions, systematic prepositions and idiomatic prepositions: v standing on the table. v come on Friday. v comment on speech.† (Karlsson, 2002) In expressing time, on is used with days, such as on Friday, on Saturday and on January 30th. At, on the other hand, indicates a specific part or time of the day, such as at 12 oclock, at noon and at midnight. While in is used with years, months and seasons or main parts of the day, for example in 2001, in summer, in April. For explains a period of time, and by and within indicate limitation of a period of time, such as for six years, by next year and within two hours (Hewings, 2005). The Arabic preposition fee ( »Ã¢â‚¬Å" »Ã‚ ²), which is equivalent to the English in, is used in almost all of the above cases, but for within Arabic uses khilal ( ºÃ‚ »Ã‚ ¼Ã‚ »Ã‚ ). By and for have no equivalents in Arabic and they are expressed in phrases. As for prepositions of movement and place, in is used when indicating a certain position and on when talking about the surface, as in: v The keys are in the drawer. v The keys are on the table. At is used when pointing at a certain place which is close to the object, for example: v Im waiting for you at the bus stop. Inside is used to indicate the inner place of a certain object, while outside is the opposite. v There is a scorpion inside my room. v Outside the Palace, there were crowds of people waiting for the Queen to show up. Also, from and to are opposite prepositions. From indicates the origin of the movement, but to indicates the target of the movement (ibid), as in: v My plane ticket is from London Heathrow to Damascus International Airport. All of the prepositions of movement and place have their equivalents in Arabic:  § in → fee ( »Ã¢â‚¬Å" »Ã‚ ²)  § on → ala ( »Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‚ »Ã‚  Ã‚ »Ã‚ °)  § at → inda ( »Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‚ »Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ª)  § inside → dakhel ( ºÃ‚ ªÃ‚ ºÃ‚ Ã‚ ºÃ‚ »Ã… ¾)  § outside → kharej ( ºÃ‚ ºÃ‚ Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ®Ã‚ ºÃ‚ )  § from → min ( »Ã‚ £Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥)  § to → ila ( ºÃ¢â‚¬ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  Ã‚ »Ã‚ °) 1.3. Study aims The prepositions in, on, at and to are the most commonly used prepositions in English. Therefore, my research study is going to focus closely on these four prepositions in the English of Syrian university students. I will see whether the first language interference kind of error is more effective than the other kinds. I will identify the errors that have to do with L1 interference and see if the interference comes from classical or colloquial Arabic. I will also look at the categories of L1 interference errors and see which one is the most frequent: substitution, addition or omission. This will, hopefully, help Syrian university students improve their written and spoken English. 2. Literature review 2.1. Error analysis One way for identifying errors in preposition usage is error analysis. First of all, it is important to define the word ‘error. An error is â€Å"an instance of language that is unintentionally deviant and is not self-corrigible by its author† (James, 1998:78). Brown considers the errors as either ‘overt or ‘covert (1994:208). According to Ellis (1987) Error analysis was considered as an alternative to contrastive analysis, and it is considered of value in the classroom research (Brown, 1994: 214). It also predicts the difficulties of acquiring a second language (Richards, 1974: 172). Error analysis shows â€Å"the significance of errors in learners inter-language system† (Brown, 1994:204). Ellis and Richards et al say that error analysis can be conducted for pedagogical purposes (1994:51; 1993:127). At the level of pragmatic classroom experience, error analysis will continue to provide one means by which the teacher can assess learning and teaching and determine priorities for future effort (Richards, 1974:15). When we analyse errors, we should give a detailed explanation for each type of error that corresponds to the different processes that Selinker (1992) reported as central to second language learning: language transfer, transfer of training, strategies of second language learning, strategies of second language communication, and overgeneralization of TL [Target Language] linguistic material. Error analysis helps teachers overcome the difficulties learners of English face in learning the language through figuring out the sources of errors and, consequently, taking some precautions towards them. It can be said that error analysis can be used to determine the learners need in learning. 2.2. Language transfer The â€Å"study of transfer depends greatly on the systematic comparisons of languages provided by contrastive analyses† (Odlin, 1989: 28). Odlin goes on to say that although many contrastive analyses provide useful and sometimes highly perceptive information about languages they compare, none comes close to meeting in full the criteria of descriptive and theoretical adequacy. There is no doubt that interference constitutes a major problem and obstacle in language usage amongst learners of a second language. They cannot help letting their mother tongue interfere in the target language. Therefore, some errors are tolerable to native speakers of English. Even native speakers of English have problems with certain preposition structures. Over-generalisation or intra-lingual transfer is said to have a considerably negative effect on learner English. Learners of a second language sometimes transfer some features of grammar to apply it on other inappropriate features. This certainly results in errors in the target language. Almost all the research that has been done so far indicates that preposition misuse is mainly caused by linguistic interference, inappropriate learning and wrong application of rules. Some views contradict this saying that errors of prepositions are due to the complexity of the English language itself. Others go so far as to say that the misuse or errors of a language could be related to bad teaching and resources, ignorance, lack of practice and carelessness. In fact, attitudes vary considerably. The first attitude represents the feeling that errors are undesirable and, therefore, should be avoided, but the second says that errors are inevitable in an imperfect world (Corder, 1981). In behaviourism, errors are depicted as sins that should be avoided and bad habits that should not be tolerated, while in cognitivism, errors are perceived as part of the learning process. The main focus of behaviourism followers methods is on preventing errors, whereas the focus of the methods of cognitivists is on intellectual analyses of the causes of errors and ways of dealing with them. This supports Frenchs argument (1989) that â€Å"errors are oddities that are not evidence of carelessness or of unwillingness but of growing pains and a desire to learn, not punishable offences because they are accidents† (French, 1989). Actually they are part of the language learning process. Humans cannot learn without making errors to err is human. Krashen and Terrell (1983) argue that the errors made by learners are a natural process in learning, and learners will get over this stage of inter-language interference and develop naturally. L1 interference is one of several types of errors learners of a second language make (ibid, 1988: 64-69). When learners of a second language use this language, they have no way but to submit to the grammar of their first language. In the case of English prepositions, when Arabic learners of English are not sure which preposition to use, they literally translate from Arabic into English. As Arabic and English prepositions seldom have one-to-one correspondence, this results in inter-language interference errors. An Arabic preposition may be translated by several English prepositions, while an English usage may have several Arabic translations (Scott and Tucker, 1974: 85). 2.3. Studies on language transfer The processes of language transfer and over-generalisation receive considerable attention. Jain (in Richards, 1974) and Taylor (1975) reported that over-generalisation errors are an application of the generalisation strategies of the learners second language to produce this same second language. Brown states that inter-lingual transfer is the negative influence of the mother tongue, and that intra-lingual transfer is the negative transfer within the target language (1980:173-181). Swan and Smith give a detailed account of errors made by speakers of nineteen different first language backgrounds (1995:ix). Also, Diab (1996) conducted a research on error analysis showing the interference of the mother language, Arabic, in the English writings of EFL students at the American University of Beirut (1996). The transfer of Arabic structures in the Lebanese students writings resulted in a number of errors. However, they made more errors where they felt English and Arabic were similar (articles, prepositions and choice of diction). James indicates that â€Å"the clearest proof of L1 interference is where L1 nonstandard dialect gets transferred to L2† (1998:179). Dulay et al (1982) defines language interference as the automatic transfer from the surface structure of the first language to the surface structure to the second language, while Lott (1983) defines it as errors in learners foreign language that can be attributed to the mother tongue. Ellis also comments on interference saying that it is â€Å"the influence that the learners L1 exerts over the acquisition of an L2† (1997:51). ‘An Analysis of Interference Errors in the Written English of Sudanese Students is a study made by Tadros (1966) in order to analyse the errors of language interference in the writings of Sudanese students. He looked into 472 scripts written by 236 students in their seventh year of English learning. The students were first given different exercises about relative clauses and had to follow explicit instructions. Then they were asked to write a paragraph about their school, using relative clauses. This research made the writer come up with the conclusion that this is an effective way to apply what they have already learnt. I think the conditions were helpful for the students, so their writings were not an indication of their true proficiency level in English. The students were asked to write paragraphs immediately after they had been taught. Scott et al (1974) also made a study in Beirut called â€Å"Error Analysis and English Language Strategies of Arab Students†. This study examined samples of Arab students speech and writing both at the beginning and the end of the semester in an intensive English course; compared the types of error in speech and writing, the frequency of these errors and the relative frequency of the errors made at the beginning and the end of the semester; identified the sources of errors; considered both inter-language interference and intra-language interference in the English learning strategies of Arab students and identified some rules that represent early and late acquisition of a second language. This researcher made this study on 22 Arab students in the first semester of a lower intermediate intensive English course at the University of Beirut. Those students had already completed their school education, where the medium of instruction was Arabic. They had also studied some English as a foreign language. This study revealed that verbs, prepositions and articles are the areas where the students often made errors. It also showed that the error frequency in the usage of prepositions was similar in writing and speech and that the preposition errors at the beginning and the end of the semester ranked after the number of verb errors. Verb errors Preposition errors Beginning of the semester 80 61 End of the semester 60 51 Half of the errors in writing and speech at the beginning of the semester were due to inter-language interference and the other half due to intra-language interference. About two thirds of the errors at the end of the semester were due to inter-language interference and one third due to intra-language interference. Since the larger number of errors was made due to inter-language interference at the end rather than at the beginning of the semester, this means that the students were making more progress in overcoming intra-language interference confusion than in solving the problem of the first language transfer. The interference of Arabic was most obvious in the frequent omission of auxiliaries and copulas, in preposition and article errors and in the repetition of subjects and objects. However, at the end of the semester, the students made a great progress in almost all areas except in prepositions and articles; the interference of the mother language continued to be a dominant feature in the usage of prepositions and articles. The preposition errors fell into three groups: 1. Interference from Arabic. 2. Interference from English. 3. Errors without identifiable source. The preposition errors were reduced by one third during the semester. Although the larger proportion of these errors was attributed to the interference of the first language, it was thought that the students would make progress in the usage of prepositions since it is a late acquisition in native language learning (Scott et al, 1974:95). The researcher suggested that other studies should investigate the errors made by Arab students at both lower and higher levels of English proficiency and if inter-language interference comes from formal or colloquial Arabic. She suggests that â€Å"interference in writing comes from classical Arabic but interference in speech from colloquial Arabic.† (ibid: 96). Mukattash made a pilot project in common grammatical errors in Jordanian English (1981: 250-291). The broad objective of his research â€Å"Common Grammatical Errors in Jordanian English† is to get a general idea of the areas in English syntax which are problematic to Jordanian students at university. The specific objective of his research was to calculate and analyse the different types of errors in the written English of Jordanian university students. The subject students were 200 first-year students at the University of Jordan. They were graduates of public secondary schools, where they had received eight years of English language teaching. They were also from different parts of Jordan and some of them were from the West Bank in Palestine. The students were given a comprehensive test in comprehension, structure and vocabulary. All the 200 essays contained errors, but the detailed analysis was made on only fifty essays, which were chosen randomly. The errors in the usage of prepositions ranked fourth in the order of the total occurrence of errors. This study disagrees with Scotts study, which ranks preposition usage errors second after verb errors. Here the ranking order is as follows: verbals, articles, nominals and prepositions. The percentage of the preposition errors was 15% of the overall number of errors in the fifty essays. Although we cannot compare the results of the two studies due to the fact that Scott did not state precisely what percentage the preposition usage errors constituted in the writings of her subject students, we can say that preposition errors are still a serious problem for Arabic learners of English. In Scotts study, the percentage of interference from Arabic was 67%, while in this Study, it is 78%. However, the interference of Arabic in the usage of prepositions is still significant in the results of both studies. Also, Kerr (1970) made a study on the common errors in the English writings of a group of Greek learners of English as a foreign language. The research study purpose was to show the teachers of English in Greece the serious problems their students have in writing. Teachers find certain types of errors which they have previously ignored, and so find indications of the kinds of preventive and remedial teaching that would prevent the growth of bad language habits by using clearer explanations and more effective practice at the more elementary stages of learning. The errors also indicate the areas of language on which tests and examinations would be based. (Kerr, 1970: ix). Kerr based his study on over a thousand compositions written by adult students at an advanced level of English proficiency. The causes of the errors found were ignorance of words and constructions to express an idea, carelessness of the students, the interference of the mother language and making false analogies within the target language. Between 20% and 30% of the grammatical errors made by the Greek students involved errors in the usage of prepositions of all types (ibid, 1970: 22). Handrickson (1979) made another research study on error analysis and error correction at Ohio State University called ‘Error Analysis and Error Correction on ESL Learners at Ohio State University. The subject learners were adults of intermediate level studying English as a second language. His study aimed at identifying the most frequent communicative and linguistic errors in the compositions of intermediate ESL learners. It also aimed at determining the effect of the teachers direct correction on the English writing proficiency of students. He found that most of the communicative errors were as a result of inadequate lexical knowledge, incorrect use of prepositions and pronouns or misspelling of lexical items. On the other hand, the linguistic errors were caused by inappropriate lexical choice, lack of subject-verb agreement, the omission and misuse of prepositions, incorrect word order or misspelling of words. The effect of the teachers direct error correction on the students English proficiency in writing came out to be statistically insignificant. Another study was made in the United States on EFL learners, but this time on Iranian students. The research was conducted by Henning (1978) at the University of California and is called ‘A Developmental Analysis of English Errors Made by Iranian Students. He analysed the developmental error patterns of the Iranian learners of English as a second language. The subjects of this study were 22 Iranian women in the second semester of their first year at Damayand College in Tehran, Iran. The students had already had an average of six years of English learning and were, at the time of the research, enrolled in an intensive course where 20 hours of English language teaching was being given to them. The medium of instruction was also English. â€Å"The conclusion reached was that†¦mastery in the usage of English prepositions according to their meanings is one of the most sensitive indicators of the degree of English proficiency† (Henning, 1978:396-397). Zarei (2002) also found that, for Iranian EFL learners, the collocations of prepositions are among the most problematic collocations in English. Khampang (1974) also made a research study at the University of California. This Research study is called ‘The Difficulties in Using English Prepositions, and it focused on the difficulties facing Thai learners of English in using English prepositions. The research was conducted to investigate what the prepositions that Thai learners of English found difficult to learn were and whether there was a big difference between the prepositions that Thai learners of English chose and those chosen by learners of English from other L1 backgrounds. It also investigated whether the problem of using English prepositions was universal, shared with non-Thai learners of English, or Thai learners had specific problems. He wanted to know if this problem was due to first language interference and, consequently, predictable from contrastive analysis. The study was only on 8 simple prepositions of time and place: in, on, at, for, to, from, by and the empty form ∅. ‘The subject students in this research were 169 students from different L1 backgrounds: 40 from Thailand, 48 from Japan, 38 from Spain and 43 from countries of different language backgrounds (Persian, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese and Arabic). The levels of the students were both intermediate and advanced, and they were in adult schools in the area of Los Angeles. The students were tested on the 8 prepositions of time and place by a diagnostic test. This test was in three parts: multiple choice, error correction and close test. Each part consisted of 15 items. The 45 questions included the repetition of each preposition 4 times in random order. The results came up with the fact that: there was no evidence of significant difference between the language groups based on total test scores. Neither was there any evidence found for interaction effects between the language groups and the factors selected. There was only one factor, previous educational level, which showed significant difference between high school and college subjects. (Khampang, 1974: 218). Different language groups did not affect the subject students performance in the usage of English prepositions. Again, age, sex or the number of years or hours per week allotted for learning English were not important factors in mastering the usage of English prepositions. As for the question about whether certain prepositions were more difficult or easier for certain language groups, the writer had to use the criterion of difficulty in order to answer it. If a group had less than 50% of the responses correct, then the test item was considered difficult. 16 out of the 45 items were considered difficult, and the data showed that not all the four groups had the same responses for the test items. Khampang gave some statements that, as he said, are applicable to ESL teaching. He said that of the three test parts, the close test seemed to be more effective than the other parts in testing the usage of English prepositions. He also argues that to teach them English, there is no need to separate students of English by age, sex, or number of years or hours allotted for learning English. Diagnostic and placement tests came out to be more effective than considering the students L1 backgrounds. Moreover, for a heterogeneous language group, the way of teaching English prepositions of time and place should be the same for all students, along with emphasising the areas of difficulty in English language learning for a particular language group. This last statement is the real objective behind error analysis. Im researching Syrian university students preposition errors in order to see if the errors are as a result of the interference of their first language, Arabic. This will help us devel op strategies to teach those students. An investigation on the grammatical errors made by Swedish 16-year-old learners of English was made by Kohlmyr (2003). She analysed errors in around 400 compositions from two national assessment programmes, and she found that preposition errors accounted for 12% of all the grammatical errors. The preposition errors that were mainly found with to, in, at, of and for included substitution, omission and addition. The most frequent type of error was actually substitution. According to this research, the preposition errors were caused by first language transfer, over-generalisation and simplification. About 50% of the errors were caused by over-generalisation, 40% by first language transfer and 10% by simplification. Gabrys-Biskup argues that interference is the prime cause of the learners second language (in Arnauld Benjoint, 1992). All of the above research articles focused on learner English. Some of them also focused on the usage of English prepositions by EFL learners; for instance, the research done by Scott and Khampang. Scott, in her research, found that the usage of English prepositions was a serious problem for Arabic learners of English (1973). While Khampang said that different language groups did not have effect on the students performance in using English prepositions (1974). That suggests that the usage of English prepositions are a serious problem for learners of English as a foreign language. In Scotts research, preposition errors ranked second after verb errors, and in Mukattashs, they ranked fourth. In both cases, preposition errors are problematic for Arabic learners of English. Also, in Kerrs research study, the preposition errors constituted between 20% and 30% of the overall grammatical errors. Some of the above researchers gave some recommendations and suggestions for dealing with errors. Kerr (1970) said that preventive and remedial teaching had a good and positive effect. This can be done by using clearer explanations and more effective practice at the elementary stage. However, Tadros (1979) suggested intensive drilling. On the other hand, Scott suggested that further investigations should be made on the errors that are committed by Arabic learners of English at their lower levels of English proficiency (1973). She also suggested that researches should look into the influence of classical and colloquial Arabic on Arabic students written English. These suggestions, in addition to my interest, have urged me to conduct a research study into this problematic area for Syrian learners of English, especially since there have not been many studies on this topic, as far as I know. Even at more advanced levels of English proficiency, Syrian learners of English still make errors in the usage of prepositions. The kind of error they make is due to the mother tongue, and since Arabic has two varieties (formal and colloquial), it is worth investigating which one the learners take their English grammar structures from. Scott (1974) says that the English production of Arabic learners is affected by both formal and colloquial Arabic. Nevertheless, we do not know which variety is dominant and to what extent. 3. Methodology and research procedures 3.1. Research questions In this research study, I will look into the preposition usage errors made by Syrian university students and try to answer the following questions: 1. Which kind of error is more effective in using the English prepositions in, on, at, of and to: inter-language interference or other kinds of error? 2. Which variety of Arabic has the influence on the usage of English prepositions of Syrian university students and w Inter-lingual Interference in the Usage of Prepositions Inter-lingual Interference in the Usage of Prepositions Inter-lingual Interference in the Usage of Prepositions in the English of Syrian Students Abstract In recent years, studies of foreign language acquisition have tended to focus on learners errors since they allow for prediction of the difficulties involved in acquiring a foreign language. In this way, teachers can be made aware of the difficult areas to be encountered by their students and devote special care and emphasis to them. Prepositions, on which this dissertation focuses, are one of these difficult areas. Thus, the main objective is to investigate whether the English preposition errors of the Syrian university students come more from inter-lingual interference or from other sources and whether classical or colloquial Arabic has the dominant influence on this interference. It also investigates which category of error in inter-lingual interference is the most frequent in the students using the prepositions in, on, at, of and to. The data is samples consisting of the answers of a diagnostic test by 38 Syrian first-year students of law. The diagnostic test was designed as a mu ltiple choice test and took by the students online. This investigation showed that preposition errors come mainly from inter-lingual interference, which is attributed more to standard Arabic here. It also showed that the students seem to have a serious problem in first language interference errors, especially substitution errors. This has implications for curriculum change and teachers method of teaching. 1. Introduction 1.1. Background of the study Language difficulty is often determined by how far or close the target and mother languages are. â€Å"Contrastive analysis is one of the areas of linguistics which elude a clear, unequivocal, and simple definition† (Vizmuller-Zocco, 1990:466). Errors in a certain area of grammar in the second language are often compared with an area of grammar in the first language. One of the most challenging things in learning English as a second language is using prepositions, â€Å"Among those who teach or learn the English language, prepositions have earned a reputation for difficulty if not downright unpredictability.† (Pittman, 1966) â€Å"As any English teacher well knows, our prepositions are a particularly troublesome lot to the non-native speaker of English† (McCarthy, 1972). When we, non-native speakers of English, speak English, we usually hesitate over choosing the correct preposition or whether a certain verb needs a preposition or not. This matter has always interested me, as many Arabic-speaking learners of English complain about it. Thahir (1987) indicates that prepositions can cause a problem for Arabic learners of English. For instance, an Arabic speaker would say this sentence *Fast trains can travel at a speed of 300m in hour. This is because per hour is expressed as in hour in Arabic. This transfer from Arabic into English is what makes Arabic learners English seem broken. Moreover, some linguists say that the mastery of prepositions in English is a late stage in native-language learning as well (Scott and Tucker, 1974). Therefore, this dissertation intends to look into the differences of preposition aspects between Arabic and English: are their distributions the same? Do all the Arabic words that need prepositions also need prepositions in English? If the words that need prepositions in Arabic also need prepositions in English, are these prepositions the same or different? From these general questions more specific questions will be formulated in the ‘Methodology chapter. 1.2. Grammar of English and Arabic prepositions â€Å"Arabic has a wealth of prepositions†¦with both verbs and adjectives. Many of these do not coincide with their direct English translations† (Swan and Smith, 1987:152). Nevertheless, Arabic prepositions are more limited in number than those of English. Abbas says that there are only twenty prepositions in Arabic (1961:320), while in English, there are fifty seven (Hayden, 1965:171-176). This, as a matter of fact, makes it harder for Arabic learners of English to have a command of English preposition usage. Grubic says: Non-native speakers of English tend to have three types of problems with prepositions: 1. Using the wrong preposition, e.g.: *My grandfather picked the name on me. (for) 2. Omitting a required preposition, e.g.: *I served the Army until 1964. (in) 3. Using a superfluous prepositions, e.g.: *I studied in Biology for three years. (2004:22) Despite all the efforts made by grammar book writers and teachers, learners of English still make mistakes in the usage of prepositions. So, what makes EFL learners make these errors? There is no doubt that Arabic learners of English translate grammar from Arabic into English, ignoring the rigorous grammatical structures of the English language. However, are all preposition-usage errors related to L1? Prepositions are words or groups of words that typically come before a noun phrase and indicate syntactic relations (Matthews, 1997). v My fathers plane arrives after midnight. v We have got a tree in front of the house. v There are no snakes in Ireland. One important feature of prepositions is that they cannot stand alone, regardless of how many words they are combined with (Downing and Locke, 1992). Since prepositions are not independent, they form meaning when combined with nouns or noun phrases, for example: after midnight, in front of the house, in Ireland. â€Å"Prepositions can be divided into three categories, i.e. basic prepositions, systematic prepositions and idiomatic prepositions: v standing on the table. v come on Friday. v comment on speech.† (Karlsson, 2002) In expressing time, on is used with days, such as on Friday, on Saturday and on January 30th. At, on the other hand, indicates a specific part or time of the day, such as at 12 oclock, at noon and at midnight. While in is used with years, months and seasons or main parts of the day, for example in 2001, in summer, in April. For explains a period of time, and by and within indicate limitation of a period of time, such as for six years, by next year and within two hours (Hewings, 2005). The Arabic preposition fee ( »Ã¢â‚¬Å" »Ã‚ ²), which is equivalent to the English in, is used in almost all of the above cases, but for within Arabic uses khilal ( ºÃ‚ »Ã‚ ¼Ã‚ »Ã‚ ). By and for have no equivalents in Arabic and they are expressed in phrases. As for prepositions of movement and place, in is used when indicating a certain position and on when talking about the surface, as in: v The keys are in the drawer. v The keys are on the table. At is used when pointing at a certain place which is close to the object, for example: v Im waiting for you at the bus stop. Inside is used to indicate the inner place of a certain object, while outside is the opposite. v There is a scorpion inside my room. v Outside the Palace, there were crowds of people waiting for the Queen to show up. Also, from and to are opposite prepositions. From indicates the origin of the movement, but to indicates the target of the movement (ibid), as in: v My plane ticket is from London Heathrow to Damascus International Airport. All of the prepositions of movement and place have their equivalents in Arabic:  § in → fee ( »Ã¢â‚¬Å" »Ã‚ ²)  § on → ala ( »Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‚ »Ã‚  Ã‚ »Ã‚ °)  § at → inda ( »Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‚ »Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ª)  § inside → dakhel ( ºÃ‚ ªÃ‚ ºÃ‚ Ã‚ ºÃ‚ »Ã… ¾)  § outside → kharej ( ºÃ‚ ºÃ‚ Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ®Ã‚ ºÃ‚ )  § from → min ( »Ã‚ £Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥)  § to → ila ( ºÃ¢â‚¬ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  Ã‚ »Ã‚ °) 1.3. Study aims The prepositions in, on, at and to are the most commonly used prepositions in English. Therefore, my research study is going to focus closely on these four prepositions in the English of Syrian university students. I will see whether the first language interference kind of error is more effective than the other kinds. I will identify the errors that have to do with L1 interference and see if the interference comes from classical or colloquial Arabic. I will also look at the categories of L1 interference errors and see which one is the most frequent: substitution, addition or omission. This will, hopefully, help Syrian university students improve their written and spoken English. 2. Literature review 2.1. Error analysis One way for identifying errors in preposition usage is error analysis. First of all, it is important to define the word ‘error. An error is â€Å"an instance of language that is unintentionally deviant and is not self-corrigible by its author† (James, 1998:78). Brown considers the errors as either ‘overt or ‘covert (1994:208). According to Ellis (1987) Error analysis was considered as an alternative to contrastive analysis, and it is considered of value in the classroom research (Brown, 1994: 214). It also predicts the difficulties of acquiring a second language (Richards, 1974: 172). Error analysis shows â€Å"the significance of errors in learners inter-language system† (Brown, 1994:204). Ellis and Richards et al say that error analysis can be conducted for pedagogical purposes (1994:51; 1993:127). At the level of pragmatic classroom experience, error analysis will continue to provide one means by which the teacher can assess learning and teaching and determine priorities for future effort (Richards, 1974:15). When we analyse errors, we should give a detailed explanation for each type of error that corresponds to the different processes that Selinker (1992) reported as central to second language learning: language transfer, transfer of training, strategies of second language learning, strategies of second language communication, and overgeneralization of TL [Target Language] linguistic material. Error analysis helps teachers overcome the difficulties learners of English face in learning the language through figuring out the sources of errors and, consequently, taking some precautions towards them. It can be said that error analysis can be used to determine the learners need in learning. 2.2. Language transfer The â€Å"study of transfer depends greatly on the systematic comparisons of languages provided by contrastive analyses† (Odlin, 1989: 28). Odlin goes on to say that although many contrastive analyses provide useful and sometimes highly perceptive information about languages they compare, none comes close to meeting in full the criteria of descriptive and theoretical adequacy. There is no doubt that interference constitutes a major problem and obstacle in language usage amongst learners of a second language. They cannot help letting their mother tongue interfere in the target language. Therefore, some errors are tolerable to native speakers of English. Even native speakers of English have problems with certain preposition structures. Over-generalisation or intra-lingual transfer is said to have a considerably negative effect on learner English. Learners of a second language sometimes transfer some features of grammar to apply it on other inappropriate features. This certainly results in errors in the target language. Almost all the research that has been done so far indicates that preposition misuse is mainly caused by linguistic interference, inappropriate learning and wrong application of rules. Some views contradict this saying that errors of prepositions are due to the complexity of the English language itself. Others go so far as to say that the misuse or errors of a language could be related to bad teaching and resources, ignorance, lack of practice and carelessness. In fact, attitudes vary considerably. The first attitude represents the feeling that errors are undesirable and, therefore, should be avoided, but the second says that errors are inevitable in an imperfect world (Corder, 1981). In behaviourism, errors are depicted as sins that should be avoided and bad habits that should not be tolerated, while in cognitivism, errors are perceived as part of the learning process. The main focus of behaviourism followers methods is on preventing errors, whereas the focus of the methods of cognitivists is on intellectual analyses of the causes of errors and ways of dealing with them. This supports Frenchs argument (1989) that â€Å"errors are oddities that are not evidence of carelessness or of unwillingness but of growing pains and a desire to learn, not punishable offences because they are accidents† (French, 1989). Actually they are part of the language learning process. Humans cannot learn without making errors to err is human. Krashen and Terrell (1983) argue that the errors made by learners are a natural process in learning, and learners will get over this stage of inter-language interference and develop naturally. L1 interference is one of several types of errors learners of a second language make (ibid, 1988: 64-69). When learners of a second language use this language, they have no way but to submit to the grammar of their first language. In the case of English prepositions, when Arabic learners of English are not sure which preposition to use, they literally translate from Arabic into English. As Arabic and English prepositions seldom have one-to-one correspondence, this results in inter-language interference errors. An Arabic preposition may be translated by several English prepositions, while an English usage may have several Arabic translations (Scott and Tucker, 1974: 85). 2.3. Studies on language transfer The processes of language transfer and over-generalisation receive considerable attention. Jain (in Richards, 1974) and Taylor (1975) reported that over-generalisation errors are an application of the generalisation strategies of the learners second language to produce this same second language. Brown states that inter-lingual transfer is the negative influence of the mother tongue, and that intra-lingual transfer is the negative transfer within the target language (1980:173-181). Swan and Smith give a detailed account of errors made by speakers of nineteen different first language backgrounds (1995:ix). Also, Diab (1996) conducted a research on error analysis showing the interference of the mother language, Arabic, in the English writings of EFL students at the American University of Beirut (1996). The transfer of Arabic structures in the Lebanese students writings resulted in a number of errors. However, they made more errors where they felt English and Arabic were similar (articles, prepositions and choice of diction). James indicates that â€Å"the clearest proof of L1 interference is where L1 nonstandard dialect gets transferred to L2† (1998:179). Dulay et al (1982) defines language interference as the automatic transfer from the surface structure of the first language to the surface structure to the second language, while Lott (1983) defines it as errors in learners foreign language that can be attributed to the mother tongue. Ellis also comments on interference saying that it is â€Å"the influence that the learners L1 exerts over the acquisition of an L2† (1997:51). ‘An Analysis of Interference Errors in the Written English of Sudanese Students is a study made by Tadros (1966) in order to analyse the errors of language interference in the writings of Sudanese students. He looked into 472 scripts written by 236 students in their seventh year of English learning. The students were first given different exercises about relative clauses and had to follow explicit instructions. Then they were asked to write a paragraph about their school, using relative clauses. This research made the writer come up with the conclusion that this is an effective way to apply what they have already learnt. I think the conditions were helpful for the students, so their writings were not an indication of their true proficiency level in English. The students were asked to write paragraphs immediately after they had been taught. Scott et al (1974) also made a study in Beirut called â€Å"Error Analysis and English Language Strategies of Arab Students†. This study examined samples of Arab students speech and writing both at the beginning and the end of the semester in an intensive English course; compared the types of error in speech and writing, the frequency of these errors and the relative frequency of the errors made at the beginning and the end of the semester; identified the sources of errors; considered both inter-language interference and intra-language interference in the English learning strategies of Arab students and identified some rules that represent early and late acquisition of a second language. This researcher made this study on 22 Arab students in the first semester of a lower intermediate intensive English course at the University of Beirut. Those students had already completed their school education, where the medium of instruction was Arabic. They had also studied some English as a foreign language. This study revealed that verbs, prepositions and articles are the areas where the students often made errors. It also showed that the error frequency in the usage of prepositions was similar in writing and speech and that the preposition errors at the beginning and the end of the semester ranked after the number of verb errors. Verb errors Preposition errors Beginning of the semester 80 61 End of the semester 60 51 Half of the errors in writing and speech at the beginning of the semester were due to inter-language interference and the other half due to intra-language interference. About two thirds of the errors at the end of the semester were due to inter-language interference and one third due to intra-language interference. Since the larger number of errors was made due to inter-language interference at the end rather than at the beginning of the semester, this means that the students were making more progress in overcoming intra-language interference confusion than in solving the problem of the first language transfer. The interference of Arabic was most obvious in the frequent omission of auxiliaries and copulas, in preposition and article errors and in the repetition of subjects and objects. However, at the end of the semester, the students made a great progress in almost all areas except in prepositions and articles; the interference of the mother language continued to be a dominant feature in the usage of prepositions and articles. The preposition errors fell into three groups: 1. Interference from Arabic. 2. Interference from English. 3. Errors without identifiable source. The preposition errors were reduced by one third during the semester. Although the larger proportion of these errors was attributed to the interference of the first language, it was thought that the students would make progress in the usage of prepositions since it is a late acquisition in native language learning (Scott et al, 1974:95). The researcher suggested that other studies should investigate the errors made by Arab students at both lower and higher levels of English proficiency and if inter-language interference comes from formal or colloquial Arabic. She suggests that â€Å"interference in writing comes from classical Arabic but interference in speech from colloquial Arabic.† (ibid: 96). Mukattash made a pilot project in common grammatical errors in Jordanian English (1981: 250-291). The broad objective of his research â€Å"Common Grammatical Errors in Jordanian English† is to get a general idea of the areas in English syntax which are problematic to Jordanian students at university. The specific objective of his research was to calculate and analyse the different types of errors in the written English of Jordanian university students. The subject students were 200 first-year students at the University of Jordan. They were graduates of public secondary schools, where they had received eight years of English language teaching. They were also from different parts of Jordan and some of them were from the West Bank in Palestine. The students were given a comprehensive test in comprehension, structure and vocabulary. All the 200 essays contained errors, but the detailed analysis was made on only fifty essays, which were chosen randomly. The errors in the usage of prepositions ranked fourth in the order of the total occurrence of errors. This study disagrees with Scotts study, which ranks preposition usage errors second after verb errors. Here the ranking order is as follows: verbals, articles, nominals and prepositions. The percentage of the preposition errors was 15% of the overall number of errors in the fifty essays. Although we cannot compare the results of the two studies due to the fact that Scott did not state precisely what percentage the preposition usage errors constituted in the writings of her subject students, we can say that preposition errors are still a serious problem for Arabic learners of English. In Scotts study, the percentage of interference from Arabic was 67%, while in this Study, it is 78%. However, the interference of Arabic in the usage of prepositions is still significant in the results of both studies. Also, Kerr (1970) made a study on the common errors in the English writings of a group of Greek learners of English as a foreign language. The research study purpose was to show the teachers of English in Greece the serious problems their students have in writing. Teachers find certain types of errors which they have previously ignored, and so find indications of the kinds of preventive and remedial teaching that would prevent the growth of bad language habits by using clearer explanations and more effective practice at the more elementary stages of learning. The errors also indicate the areas of language on which tests and examinations would be based. (Kerr, 1970: ix). Kerr based his study on over a thousand compositions written by adult students at an advanced level of English proficiency. The causes of the errors found were ignorance of words and constructions to express an idea, carelessness of the students, the interference of the mother language and making false analogies within the target language. Between 20% and 30% of the grammatical errors made by the Greek students involved errors in the usage of prepositions of all types (ibid, 1970: 22). Handrickson (1979) made another research study on error analysis and error correction at Ohio State University called ‘Error Analysis and Error Correction on ESL Learners at Ohio State University. The subject learners were adults of intermediate level studying English as a second language. His study aimed at identifying the most frequent communicative and linguistic errors in the compositions of intermediate ESL learners. It also aimed at determining the effect of the teachers direct correction on the English writing proficiency of students. He found that most of the communicative errors were as a result of inadequate lexical knowledge, incorrect use of prepositions and pronouns or misspelling of lexical items. On the other hand, the linguistic errors were caused by inappropriate lexical choice, lack of subject-verb agreement, the omission and misuse of prepositions, incorrect word order or misspelling of words. The effect of the teachers direct error correction on the students English proficiency in writing came out to be statistically insignificant. Another study was made in the United States on EFL learners, but this time on Iranian students. The research was conducted by Henning (1978) at the University of California and is called ‘A Developmental Analysis of English Errors Made by Iranian Students. He analysed the developmental error patterns of the Iranian learners of English as a second language. The subjects of this study were 22 Iranian women in the second semester of their first year at Damayand College in Tehran, Iran. The students had already had an average of six years of English learning and were, at the time of the research, enrolled in an intensive course where 20 hours of English language teaching was being given to them. The medium of instruction was also English. â€Å"The conclusion reached was that†¦mastery in the usage of English prepositions according to their meanings is one of the most sensitive indicators of the degree of English proficiency† (Henning, 1978:396-397). Zarei (2002) also found that, for Iranian EFL learners, the collocations of prepositions are among the most problematic collocations in English. Khampang (1974) also made a research study at the University of California. This Research study is called ‘The Difficulties in Using English Prepositions, and it focused on the difficulties facing Thai learners of English in using English prepositions. The research was conducted to investigate what the prepositions that Thai learners of English found difficult to learn were and whether there was a big difference between the prepositions that Thai learners of English chose and those chosen by learners of English from other L1 backgrounds. It also investigated whether the problem of using English prepositions was universal, shared with non-Thai learners of English, or Thai learners had specific problems. He wanted to know if this problem was due to first language interference and, consequently, predictable from contrastive analysis. The study was only on 8 simple prepositions of time and place: in, on, at, for, to, from, by and the empty form ∅. ‘The subject students in this research were 169 students from different L1 backgrounds: 40 from Thailand, 48 from Japan, 38 from Spain and 43 from countries of different language backgrounds (Persian, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese and Arabic). The levels of the students were both intermediate and advanced, and they were in adult schools in the area of Los Angeles. The students were tested on the 8 prepositions of time and place by a diagnostic test. This test was in three parts: multiple choice, error correction and close test. Each part consisted of 15 items. The 45 questions included the repetition of each preposition 4 times in random order. The results came up with the fact that: there was no evidence of significant difference between the language groups based on total test scores. Neither was there any evidence found for interaction effects between the language groups and the factors selected. There was only one factor, previous educational level, which showed significant difference between high school and college subjects. (Khampang, 1974: 218). Different language groups did not affect the subject students performance in the usage of English prepositions. Again, age, sex or the number of years or hours per week allotted for learning English were not important factors in mastering the usage of English prepositions. As for the question about whether certain prepositions were more difficult or easier for certain language groups, the writer had to use the criterion of difficulty in order to answer it. If a group had less than 50% of the responses correct, then the test item was considered difficult. 16 out of the 45 items were considered difficult, and the data showed that not all the four groups had the same responses for the test items. Khampang gave some statements that, as he said, are applicable to ESL teaching. He said that of the three test parts, the close test seemed to be more effective than the other parts in testing the usage of English prepositions. He also argues that to teach them English, there is no need to separate students of English by age, sex, or number of years or hours allotted for learning English. Diagnostic and placement tests came out to be more effective than considering the students L1 backgrounds. Moreover, for a heterogeneous language group, the way of teaching English prepositions of time and place should be the same for all students, along with emphasising the areas of difficulty in English language learning for a particular language group. This last statement is the real objective behind error analysis. Im researching Syrian university students preposition errors in order to see if the errors are as a result of the interference of their first language, Arabic. This will help us devel op strategies to teach those students. An investigation on the grammatical errors made by Swedish 16-year-old learners of English was made by Kohlmyr (2003). She analysed errors in around 400 compositions from two national assessment programmes, and she found that preposition errors accounted for 12% of all the grammatical errors. The preposition errors that were mainly found with to, in, at, of and for included substitution, omission and addition. The most frequent type of error was actually substitution. According to this research, the preposition errors were caused by first language transfer, over-generalisation and simplification. About 50% of the errors were caused by over-generalisation, 40% by first language transfer and 10% by simplification. Gabrys-Biskup argues that interference is the prime cause of the learners second language (in Arnauld Benjoint, 1992). All of the above research articles focused on learner English. Some of them also focused on the usage of English prepositions by EFL learners; for instance, the research done by Scott and Khampang. Scott, in her research, found that the usage of English prepositions was a serious problem for Arabic learners of English (1973). While Khampang said that different language groups did not have effect on the students performance in using English prepositions (1974). That suggests that the usage of English prepositions are a serious problem for learners of English as a foreign language. In Scotts research, preposition errors ranked second after verb errors, and in Mukattashs, they ranked fourth. In both cases, preposition errors are problematic for Arabic learners of English. Also, in Kerrs research study, the preposition errors constituted between 20% and 30% of the overall grammatical errors. Some of the above researchers gave some recommendations and suggestions for dealing with errors. Kerr (1970) said that preventive and remedial teaching had a good and positive effect. This can be done by using clearer explanations and more effective practice at the elementary stage. However, Tadros (1979) suggested intensive drilling. On the other hand, Scott suggested that further investigations should be made on the errors that are committed by Arabic learners of English at their lower levels of English proficiency (1973). She also suggested that researches should look into the influence of classical and colloquial Arabic on Arabic students written English. These suggestions, in addition to my interest, have urged me to conduct a research study into this problematic area for Syrian learners of English, especially since there have not been many studies on this topic, as far as I know. Even at more advanced levels of English proficiency, Syrian learners of English still make errors in the usage of prepositions. The kind of error they make is due to the mother tongue, and since Arabic has two varieties (formal and colloquial), it is worth investigating which one the learners take their English grammar structures from. Scott (1974) says that the English production of Arabic learners is affected by both formal and colloquial Arabic. Nevertheless, we do not know which variety is dominant and to what extent. 3. Methodology and research procedures 3.1. Research questions In this research study, I will look into the preposition usage errors made by Syrian university students and try to answer the following questions: 1. Which kind of error is more effective in using the English prepositions in, on, at, of and to: inter-language interference or other kinds of error? 2. Which variety of Arabic has the influence on the usage of English prepositions of Syrian university students and w