Here's a breakdown:
* Mother tongue: Refers to the first language a person learns and is usually the language spoken at home.
* Interference: Means the influence of one language on another.
* Language transfer: The process of applying knowledge and skills from the L1 to the L2. This can be positive or negative.
How mother tongue interference affects L2 learning:
* Positive: It can facilitate learning by providing familiar concepts and structures that can be transferred to the new language. For example, understanding grammatical concepts in L1 can help learners grasp similar concepts in L2.
* Negative: It can lead to errors in the L2 because learners apply rules or patterns from their L1 that don't apply in the new language. These errors are called interference errors.
Examples of mother tongue interference:
* Pronunciation: A Spanish speaker might pronounce "the" as "deh" in English because the "th" sound doesn't exist in Spanish.
* Grammar: A French speaker might say "I have 10 years" instead of "I am 10 years old" in English because French uses "avoir" (to have) for age.
* Vocabulary: A German speaker might use the word "gift" instead of "present" in English because "gift" is a direct translation from German.
Understanding mother tongue interference is important for:
* Teachers: To be aware of potential difficulties learners might face and develop strategies to address them.
* Learners: To be conscious of their own L1 and how it might be influencing their L2 learning. This can help them identify and correct errors.
In essence, mother tongue interference is a natural process that happens to all language learners. Recognizing and understanding this phenomenon is crucial for effective language learning.