The acquisition of the English temporal system: A developmental perspective

Taha El Hadari

doi:10.54475/jlt.2022.009

Authors

Taha El Hadari Mohammed V University in Rabat, University of Bayreuth

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54475/jlt.2022.009

Keywords:

language learning, Moroccan EFL learners, temporality, academic level, contrastive analysis, error analysis

Abstract

This study evaluates the relationship between the inherent tense and aspect systems among Moroccan EFL learners. The study was conducted through a mixed-methods approach focusing mainly on statistically significant findings. Data was collected using a self-governed grammaticality judgment test, translation, and writing tasks. Two hundred and twenty subjects were arbitrarily selected to participate in the study, mainly from the Rabat-Salé region given the high diversity of the latter. The statistical analysis highlighted second language learning in the case of Moroccan EFL learners. The study deduced that there is an impact on the learning process related to the student’s academic level. The results revealed that the higher the level of education attained, the more learning is exhibited, highlighting the crucial role of the academic level in the acquisitional process. The paper also highlights the role of the developmental path among Moroccan EFL learners. The findings reiterated the gradual learning claims in temporal system research, indicating that tense and aspect are learned simultaneously.

Author Biography

Taha El Hadari, Mohammed V University in Rabat, University of Bayreuth

Taha El Hadari is a Ph.D. candidate at University Mohammed V in Rabat, Morocco and BIGSAS, University of Bayreuth, Germany. His research interests span the fields of second language acquisition, English language teaching, sociolinguistics, language policy and planning and research synthesis.

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