Arabic cultural/educational and linguistic background as factors affecting EFL writing performance

Effective communication in a foreign language depends on more than \nknowing the rules of its lexicon, grammar, and phonology. It involves \nthe processing of cultural as well as linguistic knowledge. Any form \nof communication (and language is one form of communication) has its \nown strategies. The strategies of language communication vary \nsystematically across languages and cultures. The differences in the \ngeneral ethos of one community as compared to another lead to \ndifferences in the strategies of communication, as certain aspects of \nthe communicative properties of languages might be culture- and \nlanguage-specific. \nAs a result, foreign language learners might fail to communicate \neffectively in the foreign language. This failure seems to be greatly \ndue to a transferance of the native-language communicative strategies \nto the foreign language. The most appropriate way to solve this \nproblem as suggested in this thesis, alongside many other foreign \nlanguage teachers and applied linguists, is contrastive language work \nthrough translation. Such approach makes possible the juxtaposition of \nthe native language and the foreign language, thus allowing the \nstudents to see practically and for themselves the culturo-linguistic \ndifferences and similarities between the two languages. Otherwise, \nnative language interference will persist and successful performance \nin the foreign language will not be achieved. \nThe present study sets to investigate two major factors that seem \nto considerably affect Arab students' learning of English as a foreign language. First, the culturo- educational background which is almost \ntotally ignored as being the second major factor affecting foreign \nlanguage learning. Second, the linguistic (or mother tongue) factor \nwhich, though more researched, no appropriate solutions are yet \nprovided. \nDue to culturo-educational influence --dealt with in the first \npart of this thesis-- Arab students tend to approach the foreign \nlanguage in the same way they approach their native language. They \nseem to rely on memorization in the study of the foreign language and \nin their essay-writing. For this reason, they are often accused of \nplagiarism, a practice for which the blame should not be laid upon \nthem alone. The Arab educational system should undergo- the biggest \nportion of the blame. \nArab students, from a very young age and from the earliest \neducational stage, the kuttaab, are instructed basically orally and \ntrained to rely heavily on their memories. Though such training suits \nyoung children and the major subject they are taught (Qurlan), it does \nnot stop at this stage, nor does it confine itself to that particular \nsubject. Rather, it escorts them up till university level and extends \nto most subjects. A solution to get over such a problem as to EFL \nteaching is suggested in the concluding chapter to this thesis. \nThe second major factor affecting foreign language learning \n--dealt with in the second part of this thesis-- is the influence from \nthe native language, which is seen to manifest itself on the two major \nlevels of language: the micro and the macro levels. The micro level of \nlanguage is that of the word and sentence. Influence at such a level appears from the early stages of foreign language learning. However, \nit is not as serious and as persistent as that at the macro level, ie. \nthe discourse or text level. Here, Arab students often make grave \ndeviations from the norms of the foreign language. Such deviations, \ntheir nature, and their cultural and linguistic background are \ndiscussed through the examination of the major rhetorical and textual \ncharacteristics pertaining to Arabic and English. \nTranslation is proposed as an effective approach of teaching \ncomposition to advanced EFL students. Such approach, if applied \nmethodically, will help students develop a much needed awareness of \nthe textual pecularities of the, foreign language; an awareness which \nwill sensitize them to the general linguistic differences and, in \nparticular, those of composing that exist between their mother tongue \nand the foreign language. Besides, it will certainly help them enlarge \nmore quickly and more practically their EFL lexical and idiomatic \nrepertoire.