First language(FL) interference in Second Language (SL)

English language learning is never an easy process for me due to the interference of my first language. My first language is Malay while second language is English.  The most common and simple errors that I did in English regarded singular and plural. I know the rules about singular and plural well, but while I was talking or writing. The errors kept on happening again and again. I think this error happen because in my first language, we did not indicate object like ‘buku’ in singular or plural. Example ‘buku’ or ‘bukus’ but in English we refer it as ‘book’ and ‘books’. Another example, in Malay language, there is no simple past tense form. In Malay any action that had been done, still using the same word or form while in English different form is used to indicate something had been done. Example in Malay ‘tidur’ is the same form whether before or after but ‘sleep’ for present  and ‘slept’ for past tense in English.

            My English language teacher’s error treatment during primary school was not overcorrected or should I say undercorrected. My primary education at a rural school, where the English class had been taught in Malay. My teacher seldom corrected our errors in speaking, but for writing most of my teachers would underlines the sentences, circle wrong choices of vocabulary etc. The English teacher seemed to understand that students having difficulty to speak in English and decided did not want to demotivate students by giving direct comment in front of other classmates.

            However, during my secondary school my English teachers were totally different. My secondary school was the best school in the town, and during English language was fully used during lessons. When I was in Form 2, my English teacher was freshly graduated from United Kingdom. Every day the teacher would ask students to read aloud from the textbook, while students were reading she would corrected all the wrong pronunciation. She wants all of us to sound like the native speakers which was totally difficult for us whose Malay language is the first language be used in home and daily life. When we were talking to her, she would corrected our errors directly in front of classmates. Most of times, during the class I was chosen to be silent because I was afraid she would correct my errors. English subject was not fun anymore, I kept on worried to attempt errors which would make my teacher corrected me and classmates were laughing on my errors.

            Now, as an English lecturer in a private college I need to correct my students’ errors too. However, I graded myself as undercorrect my students.  This happens because I am dealing with adult learners that have very weak English proficiency. I cannot simply correct them in front of other ways which might demotivate them to participate in classroom activities. In term of speaking, if my students pronouncing the words wrongly; as long as I can understand them, I choose to let it go. 

          However, when I am talking to them, I will use the words again and will pronounce the right pronunciations. So my students can learn the right pronunciations. When encountering difficult words, and they seemed to have problem to pronounce the words. I will encourage them to check the pronunciations through online dictionary and said to them I can learn it too. In terms of grammatical aspect, for writing, I will underline each of their errors. I will write comments, and sometime I will ask them to meet me personally and told them what was wrong with the sentences.