Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.
Introduction
The national and linguistic isolation of a person is practically impossible due to the accelerating processes of globalization. Genetically different languages, such as, for example, English and Arabic, are attracted by the fundamental differences in their structure, which increases the interest in the identities between them. This study examines the peculiarities of learning a second language by Arab students, which most often turns out to be English due to its popularity and prevalence. Several factors can complicate the acquisition of English as a second language by Arabic students. First, there are fundamental differences in phonetics, spelling, grammar, and other areas of the language system that are difficult to understand (Oliver & Azkarai, 2017). Secondly, these are organizational problems: lack of school resources, lack of practice, poor quality materials. Third, these are the problems of fundamental cultural differences, which have a significant impact on language and personality formation (José De la Fuente & Goldenberg, 2020). Finally, lack of motivation can also play a critical role, although it is individual.
Since I am inspired by people who informally study a foreign language, in this study, too, much attention is paid to the issues of non-formal education. First, it depends entirely on the students motivation. Secondly, the methodology has many approaches, which in each case are very individual and successful in their way. Based on the information above, as a participant in this study and interview, I took an Arab who had just started his journey in comprehending a second language. The issues raised by this study also include language learning goals, understanding, and awareness of the sounds of a foreign language, the adequacy of instructions and teaching methods, subjective assessment of complexity, and the semantic space of words.
Finally, the study raises the question of the impact of technology on the educational process. It is known that for formal and non-formal education, the use of technology is an essential tool in language learning. Aspects of technology, such as online learning, reading electronic media in English, and many others, can affect language acquisition to one degree or another. The question is really complex and depends on variables such as the students age, skill level, motivation, or availability. The importance of this study is to ensure that students have the opportunity to at least take into account and how to use such tools as successfully as possible during informal education since, in the formal aspect, the use of technology is dictated by the equipment of the classroom and the appropriate training of the teacher.
The aspects described above form the core of this study, which is fully disclosed below. This paper describes a participant in the experiment, his experience of mastering a second language, gives his linguistic characteristics. The following sections describe the methodology used to collect and analyze the data obtained and the theoretical underpinnings needed to interpret the results. At the end of the work, conclusions, discussions, and prospects for further research are given.
Case
An Arab student, motivated in learning English, who is at the initial stage of the study, shared important information about his motives and the difficulties of learning the language. This participant was not chosen by chance: first of all, he is a native speaker of a language that is significantly different from the English he learns. Moreover, in Arabic-speaking countries, there is a problem of a lack of technical equipment for educational institutions (Keblawi, 2020). Finally, this is a reasonably young student familiar with a variety of modern technologies. For example, he tries to train reading using English-language media sites on the Internet on topics of his interest.
The participant of the experiment began the experience of learning a language a couple of years ago, and the first obstacle in his path was phonetics. Arabic phonetics uses back-lingual, laryngeal, and ligamentous consonants, often absent in English phonetics (Abdelgadir & Ramana, 2017). The difficulties have several reasons: first of all, linguistic or phonetic interference, or the influence of the phonetic norms of the native language on the pronunciation of the sounds of the Arabic language. In addition to interference, incorrect auditory perception of sounds associated with their absence in the native language affects. Finally, incorrect articulation of sounds or incorrect place of articulation or articulation of sounds by inappropriate speech organs complicates the phonetic perception of the target language (Koffi, 2021). To better understand the problem, the student carried out the following work: he studied more profound literature, watched the video, and listened to the audio with the correct pronunciation.
Features of the grammar of the Arabic language, such as the classification of pronouns, hidden declension of names, biplative names, verb breeds, and state, as a morphological feature of words, either have remote analogs or are absent in the usual understanding in English. A complication is that Arabic lacks capital letters and has less developed punctuation: Arabs tend to use longer sentences connected by conjunctions, while English is dominated by clearer and shorter sentences (Alasmari et al., 2018). Finally, the word order in English differs from Arabic: Arabic adjectives come after nouns, the structure of the question is different, and there are no differences between the forms of designation of belonging (Azaz, 2020). A different construction of syntax and writing, at first glance, creates an insurmountable chasm of understanding between languages. Nevertheless, with varying success, the participant of the experiment tries to cope with all the difficulties of the language.
Two reasons dictate the extremely high interest in the language and the students motivation. Firstly, the English language opens up enormous opportunities for communication almost anywhere globally, and using social networks, opens the door to communication with people of interest and other topics of discussion. Secondly, working for an international company requires knowledge of a second language. Since most of the major players in the market in almost any field of business are filled with English-speaking nations, knowledge of the language opens up the opportunity for career achievements. As a result, communication and the opportunity to become part of the largest society in the world and paths in the labor market can be identified as the main determinants of second language learning in Arab countries.
Language Feature
Each person is a unique combination of cultural and social aspects that manifest themselves in learning a foreign language differently. Culture and traditions always leave their mark on the language, not only in the lexical meanings of individual words but also in grammatical rules and syntactic structures (Kim, 2020). Although the interviews focused on phonetics as a fundamental part of learning a foreign language, grammar, vocabulary, phonology, and pragmatics are equally important. This study examines the main direct problems in learning a language, as well as indirect ones, related more to organizational issues in educational institutions and opportunities for non-formal education with the help of the participant example.
In this section, we will touch upon the grammatical and lexical issues faced by the experiment participant. He notes the difficulty of understanding parts of speech, particularly the verb, in the early stages of learning. In Arabic, the verb is the most crucial part of speech since, in addition to the richness of the forms of the verbs themselves, the bulk of the names are formed and formed from verbal roots. It necessarily indicates the person who speaks, the person who is being addressed, and the person being spoken about (Alasmari et al., 2018). A verb in Arabic has the following categories: tense, person, number, gender, transitivity/intransitivity, mood, voice, participles, and action names masdar (Alasmari et al., 2018). However, it has a very developed system of temporal forms, levers, and moods the main verb categories that cover the entire verb system as a whole. They operate within personal forms; nevertheless, impersonal forms (participles, gerund, infinitive) have unique functions and convey other relationships.
Despite the significant difference of the studied languages, in the analysis, some general and particular patterns were established in the structure of their verb systems. It turned out that such signs as time, mood, voice, and participle are characteristic of both languages. For example, both Arabic and English have active and passive voices, identical in meaning (Alasmari et al., 2017). The leading voice is valid since it maintains the correct word order according to the commissions activity. The passive voice is used to draw attention to the object of the action.
The Arabic verbs are distinguished from the English verbs by their pronounced gender, number, and face. They are characterized by all three persons, masculine and feminine, singular, dual, and plural. Moreover, English has only minor changes in declension: only the 3rd person singular is different. It is believed that in the English language, these categories disappeared already by the end of the Middle English period of the 14th century (Alasmari et al., 2018). The tenses system is the most complex and extensive layer in the verb. Despite the division of time into only two in Arabic, it turned out that they correspond to most of the English, known for their diversity in certain forms. Despite the unrelatedness of the studied languages, many similarities were found in the meaning and use of verbs. The main thing that unites them is the importance, the need to use this part of speech. The correlation of these parts of speech in two languages will make it possible to identify the problems that Arab students face in learning English.
In addition, the study of the influence of the Arabic language on English has mainly resulted in practical guidelines and teaching aids for Arabic-speaking native speakers to learn English. The influence of English on Arabic is studied, as a rule, within the framework of describing the modern literary Arabic language, which adopts the lexical units and grammatical structures of European languages (Safaa & Maram, 2018). However, fundamental differences in syntactic structures, such as the modality of verbs or the presence of phrasal verbs in English, create an obstacle to the study and use of the language for Arabs. If lexical transitions, or linguistic interferences, are a more straightforward process for students to master, then the language does not tolerate such transitions in grammar, from which many errors appear.
Finally, the problem in learning can be complicated by the many accents, colloquial forms of the language, both from the side of the native Arabic for students and from the side of teachers or native speakers of English. The challenges of teaching a second language include the need for practice with a native speaker, but not everyone has the opportunity to study individually, and local schools are more often taught by specialists who also teach English as a second language (Keblawi, 2020). Moreover, the chosen path of non-formal education for the student I have chosen includes practice in reading English-language media the assumptions of colloquial vocabulary can be found in local news sites or sites of interest. However, globally, this does not represent the main problem in language learning with the proper amount of critical thinking, acquaintance with the accents will only broaden the students horizons and will not interfere with the assimilation of the main literary language. In addition, there is a similar division in Arabic: most of the studies that focused on the Arabic language focused on traditional diglossia in the Arab world, that is, on the alternation of modern Arabic and some colloquial form it (Al Suwaiyan, 2018). In this area, many works are studying the mutual influence of European languages. However, there is very little research on English and Semitic languages, which is explained by the small amount of theoretical material for studying the linguistic behavior of Anglo-Arabic bilinguals.
Theoretical Framework
The linguistic problems that an Arab may face in learning English have been identified in the previous section of this paper. This chapter looks at the research and issues related to modern teaching methods commonly used in classrooms and factors influencing the learning process and the use of classroom and self-paced techniques. In addition, issues for Arabic-speaking students will be addressed with an emphasis on age. It is worth noting the relevance and necessity of such studies immediately since the adaptive behavior of a person in learning a second language already goes beyond imitation and a trial and error approach and requires new approaches to learning (Atkinson & Shvidko, 2019). As a result, a direction of natural pedagogy arises, which considers non-verbal signs of communication, and is especially promising in a group approach to learning.
Age has a rather important role in the initial stages due to the peculiarities of the development of children. Preschool children perceive a foreign language as a discovery. They are just beginning to know the world around them. A pedagogically and psychologically competent acquaintance with a foreign language will allow them to achieve outstanding results: a foreign language will become almost native for a child, organically entering his system of knowledge about the world. It is recommended to teach a foreign language at the age of five to seven years when the child has mastered the rules and principles of the native language and is able to perceive the foreign language as a new one. In this case, speech behavior is still slightly manifested; the childs thoughts are more adaptive, there are no great difficulties in establishing contact in a foreign language (Paradis et al., 2017). If the methodological system is built quite competently from a lingua didactic and psycholinguistic point of view, then mastering the proposed limited language material and creating the necessary prerequisites for further mastering any foreign language is provided to almost all children.
Children 5-7 years old are especially sensitive to linguistic phenomena; they are interested in understanding their speech experience, the secrets of the language. This age is quite important for both the child and the teacher since it is necessary to make the transition from play to other activities in order to promote development. Memory is at the stage of development, while involuntary memorization of information is in the leading position: more emotional and exciting moments remain in the memory of children better and longer. Older preschoolers show interest in different ways of expressing thoughts, in language as a way of communication, in words specific to a given language, in writing. In language, children are interested in semantics (the semantic side of speech) and words meanings and can give their interpretation (Schwartz & Gorbatt, 2018). Hence, it is not without reason that English is a compulsory subject in many Arabic-language schools, which our interviewed student took.
The rapid development of technology creates an advantage for various spheres of human activity, including education. The discovery of neural networks, the ability to work with big data, artificial intelligence, and other advanced developments find their application in teaching foreign languages (Tafazoli & Gomez-Parra, 2017). The emergence of such a phenomenon as social networks has opened up access to opportunities for communication with many people anywhere in the world. Communication in a second language on social media develops many English sub-skills, the positive impact of which has been noted by both students and teachers (Hamadeh et al., 2020). On the other hand, the prospects for using this technology in education are not limited to communication. For example, a group of scientists found that a small amount of information explained in simple language is better assimilated by students than significant texts with theory (Al Ghmadi, 2018). Various reasons explain it: first, an increasing amount of information passes through a person; second, as a result, the time for its consumption is reduced (McEnery et al., 2019). If young students are actively using technology and are motivated to learn a language, it is highly recommended to use social networks not only for communication in this regard.
Another advantage of technologies for non-formal learning is the significant number of mobile applications, some of which are distributed free of charge. Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) has some undeniable advantages: use at any convenient time, anywhere, while maintaining an individual pace of work and availability of materials (Gangaiamaran & Pasupathi, 2017). The wide selection allows classifying applications for almost any students skill level, of any age. The capabilities of applications allow the implementation of visual images to create several mechanisms for memorizing new words and constructions, which positively impacts the result (Halwani, 2017). Mobile operating systems provide a platform for creating various kinds of interactivity: students can hone listening, reading, writing, and even speaking. Various pedagogical models are even developed based on these applications (Hashemi et al., 2017). However, not only direct educational applications have a positive impact on language learning, but also various kinds of podcasts, conferences, questionnaires, and more (Godwin-Jones, 2018; Wilson et al., 2010). Applications that can work in the native languages of learners account for a smaller group but are more understandable for learners and better take into account the cultural and social aspects of the native language in contrast to the target language.
It is worth noting that MALL began to gain popularity following the development of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) as an innovative pedagogical tool to facilitate and support language learning for both teachers and learners. There is a shortage of school resources, classroom facilities, and teacher competence in technology management (Keblawi, 2020). However, using the information and hardware capabilities of our time, this approach provides space for solving many study problems. Moreover, according to surveys, students overwhelmingly welcome the use of technology in classrooms for many reasons (Kazu & Issaku, 2021). First, CALL technologies help reduce stress on students by giving them confidence and room for independent work and self-control. Secondly, as a consequence, this technology can increase interest and motivation to learn a language (Dirar Shehadeh Musmar, 2018). However, the application of these techniques is complicated by organizational issues: a lack of resources can lead to uneven knowledge acquisition. Finally, the implementation of CALL requires a corresponding revision of the programs course so that the use of technology brings maximum results.
Methodology
For this study, in particular, for interviews, the variables used were the degree of application of CALL to formal education, the degree of use of MALL for self-learning by the experimental participant, as well as the use of social networks and other educational opportunities. It is proposed to consider age aspects in each variable individually and at the level of theory, given that for this experiment, we are studying in detail only one student. First of all, information was collected by keywords, as a result of which a range of sources and journals suitable for this study was identified. Information from review articles was used to describe the problem in general terms, while case studies covered one aspect in more detail.
An Arabic-speaking student being tested in an interview identified the main difficulties in learning English in the early stages, then analyzed and presented in the previous chapters of this work. The issues related to the use of technology were more related to the non-formal part of education. However, the student clarified that his classrooms and auditoriums, in general, are equipped with the necessary equipment, but their application is poor. In this regard, the CALL and MALL approaches were analyzed as possible solutions to the problem described by the student. Naturally, solutions to these problems depend not only on the quality of formal and non-formal education approaches but also on political, social, and economic factors. In addition, when selecting and analyzing studies, we looked to experiences in European countries where Arabic-speaking children were learning English (Hamann et al., 2018). Identifying the issue made it possible to carry out a certain systematization of the problems associated with the study of a second language by Arabic-speaking students.
Thus, we searched for information by keywords in the search engines of scientific papers, based on which the initial analysis was built. It provided a foundation for preparing for an interview with an Arabic-speaking student who began to study a second language English. During the interview, the practical aspects of the study and the students principal difficulties were clarified. Difficulties were not limited to educational issues any economic and social factors associated with formal education were also discussed in detail in the interviews. Regarding the study of the language, a discussion was raised of the phonetics of two languages quite different in structure, the grammatical and syntactic nuances that had to be considered before the student switched to the tasks for writing and speaking. As a result, a picture of the comparison of these two languages and their main differences was drawn based on the students answer.
Social factors and the technical side of the issue in education were also discussed. As a result, in parallel, the main approaches were studied using information and computer technologies to study languages, both in general and on examples of specifically Arabic and English. We studied this information in theory and asked the student about practical points to relate these two sides of the same issue. Finally, we assessed the students second language skills to determine the stage he is now more accurate. In addition, the student himself tried to assess the knowledge of the language according to the European system with personal comments, which will reveal various psychological signs associated with learning (Williams & Korko, 2019). Naturally, this event is also held to compare the subjective understanding of ones level and its objective result.
Findings
After analyzing the scientific literature on the questions posed, correlating it with the students answers to the interview questions, the following results were obtained. The linguistic differences between English and Arabic have taken on a more systematic form for each section of the language. Phonetically, specific categories of sounds in Arabic, which are not in English, were distinguished, and vice versa. It will allow students to immediately focus on more complex phonetics aspects, activating educational materials specifically for these phonetic units. Grammatically, the main differences were identified for each of the parts of speech: the morphological features of verbs and nouns. The practical side, revealed in the interview with the student, gave only specific guidelines, according to which the research work was carried out, allowing to classification aspects of the problems. Finally, syntactic features revealed several fundamental differences that should be considered and discussed before the transition of the students learning stage to writing or speaking to avoid the formation of incorrect principles.
The problems noticed by the student with the technical support of learning English prompted us to collect information about modern developments and approaches in this area. The starting point was the experience of an Arabic-speaking student, which he shared during an interview. He said he tries to practice reading by visiting the web pages of the English-language media. We have highlighted this approachs main pros and cons and proposed several other approaches to the student. Ideally, we will continue our cooperation and evaluate each of the proposed approaches, how well it suited the student and what success it led. Of course, from a scientific point of view, such an assessment is not of interest due to the subjectivity of the application and results, but it can also serve as a starting point for a more global study.
However, a detailed review and analysis of the above technologies allowed them to be classified by students and teachers for further use. Depending on the availability of particular hardware, the student or educator may decide to use either the CALL or MALL approach. CALL is better suited for group and group learning, while MALL is more suited for individual non-formal education. Nevertheless, every aspect of a particular technology is entirely possible to apply and vice versa. These techniques have some advantages, and already many teachers agree not only on recommendations but also on the need to use them during self-education or preparation for classes.
Studying the aspects of age in matters of learning two languages that are very different from each other, we concluded that the basics of the second language must be given to the child playfully when the native language is sufficiently well mastered. There is an understanding of the differentiation of the new language. Typically, this occurs in a child between four and seven years of age. Starting to learn a language at an older age, it is necessary to have a sufficiently large reserve of motivation. By adulthood, a fundamental cultural formation of a persons personality occurs, which, as a rule, has many differences from the culture inherent in the language being studied. In this regard, the childs abilities are more adaptive, which is an undoubted advantage when it comes to phonetics and grammar, the difficulties which students most often note as the most difficult to overcome.
Finally, questions of motivation for Arabic-speaking students also helped delineate and categorize the interview conducted with the student. First, the language is learned to become part of one of the largest societies in the world, getting opportunities not only for communication but also employment, tourism, cultural education, art in the original language. Secondly, these are, in particular, career opportunities both in the home country and abroad. Many successful companies of various profiles often look for specialists with good knowledge of the English language, even if their activities are not related to international cooperation.
Discussion
Further developments based on this study can address each of the considered aspects separately. First, grammatical and phonetic differences can hone curricula and language learning strategies by focusing on the most challenging and fundamental differences between languages. In addition, studies looking at the peculiarities of learning any other language by Arabic and English students look extremely promising (Fithriyah & Yusuf, 2019). Also of interest are students studying Arabic as a second language. The analysis of such programs allows looking at the Arabic language from a different point of view to see its linguistic features through the prism of other languages and cultures, which, through interaction and dialogue, can pick up the key to learning English.
The use of technology on a scientific scale can always herald revolutionary changes in applying these technologies in other areas, including education. For example, a group of scientists has achieved outstanding results in the study of fuzzy logic for the recognition of Arabic speech (Eljawad et al., 2019). Such research studies in detail the phonetics of the language precisely in its direct application, which is very important from a practical point of view. In addition, the formal approach implies a certain discreteness and rigor in the classification of sounds, which, together with technology, may herald new, more understandable approaches, as well as applications and other information and technical developments for language learning. Comparing such approaches with those already developed for the English language, as for the most popular and easier to learn, will allow us to see the necessary dynamics of differences, highlighted as important in this study.
Further stages of language learning 6 writing and speaking 6 will already be based on available research on the differences in fundamentally different languages. Of course, the specificity of the Arabic and English language pair has distinctive qualities, but the general structure of the learning approach can be applied to other pairs as well. The translation is an essential technique in language learning, and translation from the native language into the target language is more effective. Research in this area is also of most significant interest in the future since the features, and specifics of the most frequent mistakes made by students can reveal new key obstacles in language learning, associated both with a partially studied grammatical interference and with a much wider field of lexical interference (Dweik & Othman, 2017). Even though borrowing from other languages is increasingly taking place due to the process of globalization, there are many deceptively similar to foreign words that have a different meaning. Finally, an important role is played by the context, which, due to the cultural characteristics of the language, can change the meaning of a word up to the opposite in meaning (Dweik & Othman, 2017). These reasons are only part of the possible mistakes due to lexical interference, the study of which opens up vast opportunities for understanding the fundamental differences of languages.
The age characteristics of language acquisition have already been studied in sufficient detail in general, but at a more specific level, there are still blank spots. It is known that a unique predisposition to speech, the plasticity of the natural mechanism of speech as
Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.