Native language interference in Bangladeshi students’ use of articles in English essays : A comparison of Bengali medium and English medium schools

Abstract: The impact of the first language on the second language has long been a vibrant and controversial issue in terms of second language acquisition. The impact or influence happens when learners learn a new language and transfer features from their native language to the new language. This paper investigates to what extent Bengali learners’ native language influences their use of articles in English as a second language and whether there is a difference depending on the language of instruction (Bengali and English, respectively). To do so 20 essays from two schools, one teaching through Bengali and one through English, a total of 40 learner essays were collected and examined. The results show that Bangladeshi English learners are influenced by the noun forms in Bengali and their ability to use English articles hardly differs according to the type of school they attend.