Acquisition of Referentiality in English by Adult Indonesian Learners

 

 

Astika

 

 

The English article system is complex, and students of English as a foreign language frequently find it frustrating when they have to deal with problems of English articles both in writing and speaking. Whitman (1974) recognizes this problem and comments that “the article in English has always been considered one of the most formidable problems to overcome in teaching English grammar to foreigners, and its misuse is one of the most evident grammatical signs that a person is not a native speaker of English” (p. 253). Indonesian learners, who are the subjects in this study, often use English articles inappropriately or omit them in environments where articles should have been used. This phenomenon could be expected because referentiality and definiteness are expressed differently in Indonesian and in English.

 

 

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Astika. (1991). Acquisition of referentiality in English by adult Indonesian learners. TEFLIN Journal, 4(2), 93-110.

 

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