The paper titled "Intralingual and Interlanguage Factors Affecting Usage of the English Language Prepositions 'in' and 'on' for EFL Learners" explores the challenges that English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners face when using the prepositions "in" and "on." The study specifically examines whether these challenges stem from intralingual factors (related to the English language structure itself) or interlanguage factors (influence of the learners' native language).
The research involved a sample of EFL students from King Khalid University, who were tested on their usage of these prepositions. The findings revealed that misuse of "in" and "on" is common among the students, with a significant portion of errors attributable to negative transfer from their mother tongue (Arabic). This negative transfer, where students incorrectly apply rules from their native language to English, led to frequent substitution errors, such as using "in" instead of "on."
The study concludes that both intralingual and interlanguage factors contribute to the misuse of English prepositions, but interlanguage factors, particularly the influence of the mother tongue, play a more significant role. The paper emphasizes the need for teachers to focus more on the contextual use of prepositions in teaching to help learners achieve better understanding and correct usage.