ARABIC L1 TRANSFER IN ENGLISH SYNTAX ACQUISITION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WITH PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

Abstract

: For decades, the transfer of first language (L1) knowledge has been recognized as a significant factor shaping second language (L2) syntactic development, particularly when L1 and L2 differ typologically. This systematic review examines how Arabic L1 transfer affects English syntax acquisition among Arabic-speaking EFL learners, synthesizing 14 empirical studies published between 2018 and 2026 and identified through a PRISMA 2020-guided search of five academic databases. Drawing on Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, Error Analysis, and Interlanguage Theory, the review finds that transfer effects concentrate in five syntactic domains: word order, article usage, subject-verb agreement, verb tense/aspect, and relative clause formation. Negative transfer was most pronounced where Arabic and English diverge structurally, with indefinite article omission and VSO-to-SVO word order transfer emerging as the most frequently reported error types; positive transfer, though comparatively understudied, was documented consistently wherever structural or categorical overlap existed, such as in definite article marking and parallel adjective ordering. Cross-study comparison further revealed that transfer outcomes are not determined by structural distance alone, but are jointly shaped by dialectal variation within Arabic itself, learner proficiency level, and the degree of explicit contrastive awareness learners receive during instruction. Based on these findings, the review offers practical pedagogical recommendations, including contrastive grammar instruction, error-analysis-based corrective feedback, structured input processing, consciousness-raising tasks, and the strategic use of L1 in the EFL classroom. The study contributes a consolidated, evidence-based account of Arabic-English syntactic transfer capable of informing both future research directions and classroom practice for Arabic-speaking learners of English.