Preposition Selection in EFL by Swedish EFL Learners : An exploratory study investigating language transfer and the impact of implicit and explicit knowledge in EFL

Abstract: This study investigates how learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) whose first language (L1) is Swedish select prepositions in the English language. The study involves two groups, the participants and their respective controls. The participants are advanced EFL students at a Swedish university and their controls are intermediate EFL speakers who are no longer enrolled in an EFL course. The aim of the present psycholinguistic investigation is to elucidate the process of the preposition selection in EFL by means of a think-aloud-protocol. The present study involves the assumption that preposition selection by Swedish EFL learners is based on both implicitly and explicitly acquired knowledge. Data analysis indicates that the participants’ EFL preposition selection is influenced by their L1 knowledge. The results suggest that EFL preposition selection does not differ significantly between the two groups. However, the results are indicative of a variation in EFL preposition selection between the two groups in an EFL proficiency test and a think-aloud-protocol.