Insights into Mother Tongue Influence in ESL Classrooms: A Comparative Empirical Analysis of Syntactic, Grammatical, and Translational Errors in Secondary School Narrative Essays

Abstract

Mother tongue (L1) interference remains a central obstacle in second language (L2) acquisition within English as a Second Language (ESL) environments. This empirical qualitative study investigates the influence of Bahasa Melayu (L1) on English (L2) narrative essay writing among secondary school students in Hulu Perak, Malaysia. The main objective was to systematically identify, categorize, and analyze the linguistic errors made by ESL learners due to negative L1 transfer. Using a qualitative case study design, thirty Form Two Malay secondary school students were selected via purposive sampling. Data collection involved textual document analysis of 30 narrative essays written under controlled conditions, complemented by qualitative semi-structured interviews with three selected focal participants to provide additional qualitative evidence regarding students’ reported cognitive translation processes. A total of 342 linguistic errors were identified and categorized into three main domains: syntax errors (39.5%), grammatical errors(41.2%), and direct word-for-word translation (19.3%). The findings identified recurring patterns consistent with possible interlingual transfer, particularly in noun–adjective word order, copula omission, tense marking, subject–verb agreement, and literal translation of Malay expressions, driven by fundamental structural dissimilarity between Bahasa Melayu and English syntax (e.g., noun-adjective word order inversion, absence of verb conjugation for tense, omission of copular 'be', and literal translation of Malay idioms). The interview findings further indicated that some learners reported using their L1 as a cognitive resource during drafting, particularly when they were uncertain about English structures or expressions in written L2 output. Recommendations are provided for ESL practitioners to implement contrastive analysis and translanguaging strategies to mitigate negative language transfer in dual-language contexts.