University learners’ performance in using the definite article in definite contexts versus the indefinite article in indefinite contexts.

Abstract

Interlanguage errors have long been a field of interest for a number of studies over the years. Errors in article usage, a kind of interlanguage errors are a persistent problem that teachers of English as a second/foreign language very often encounter. It is widely observed in the Sri Lankan context too that learners have difficulty with the article system of English as Sri Lankans consider error-free English as the hallmark of English proficiency. Many teachers agree that errors in article usage is basically a problem caused by the absolute complexity of English article system as learners experience difficulty in expressing definiteness or indefiniteness of the noun using appropriate articles. This study was an attempt to identify whether the first year undergraduates at the Wayamba University of Sri Lanka performed better in using the definite article in definite contexts than the indefinite article in indefinite contexts. The study was carried out by means of a pre-test, a post-test and a delayed post-test. Teaching was done after the pre-test and the post-test was deployed after teaching and a delayed post-test was conducted four weeks after the post-test. The tests consisted of a cloze test and a free writing task. The necessary data were obtained by analysing the students’ errors in zero, single and multiple modifier noun configurations. The descriptive method was used and a statistical analysis was followed to identify the variance of errors. P values of two-way ANOVA tests on the percentages of correct attempts were considered to determine the effect of article type on the learners’ performance. The analysis of the results indicated that the article type had some significant bearing on the performance of the subjects’ using of articles, and they performed better in definite contexts than in indefinite contexts. This supports the view that learners have to be exposed to a considerable amount of language over a long period of time before they master certain grammar rules, especially articles, which consist of a number of rules as well as exceptions to those rules.