Problems encountered by the Maltese learner of English in operating the English prepositional system

Abstract

This dissertation sets out to investigate the problems encountered by the Maltese learner of English in operating the English prepositional system. In so doing, it attempts to define the status of English in Malta and then approaches theoretically second language learning and how the mother tongue can interfere with such learning. Next, this work deals with the role and importance of contrastive and error analysis in the explanation of errors due to mother tongue interference. An introduction to the survey follows and this presents certain criticisms and evaluations of the method and structure of the survey. A list of the prepositions investigated in this survey is also supplied. The survey is presented next and its findings are given. A speculative analysis of some of these findings is made, especially in cases where the phenomenon of language transfer does not clearly emerge in the errors produced by the pupils. Finally, some ideas are expressed about how certain prepositions should be presented to the pupils.