Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Arabic Students’ Spanish Writing Skills

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to analyze the grammatical errors made by Arabic-speaking learners when writing in Spanish, with the goal of identifying the most common errors, determining their linguistic sources, and proposing pedagogical solutions that support teachers in instructing Spanish as a foreign language. Methods: The research adopted a mixed-methods approach that combines analysis of written essays, structured questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. Data were collected from 50 Spanish-language teachers who evaluated samples of learners’ writing. A frequency-based error analysis was used to classify and interpret the errors in light of linguistic interference. Results: The findings revealed that the most common errors relate to mismatches between nouns and definite articles, mistakes in possessive adjectives, and issues of gender and number agreement. Errors related to verbs, such as incorrect use of tenses and omission of linking verbs, ranked second. The third most frequent category included prepositional errors stemming from structural differences between Arabic and Spanish. The study confirmed that linguistic interference from the learners’ mother tongue is the main source of these difficulties. Conclusions: The results highlight an urgent need for specialized grammatical instruction, the use of contrastive teaching strategies, and the incorporation of authentic and purpose-designed academic materials for Arab learners. These recommendations contribute to improving Spanish-as-a-foreign-language curricula in ways that align with learners’ needs.