Examining the Role of Native Language Interference in English Learning: A Quantitative Study of Azerbaijani EFL Learners

Yusif Suleymanov

doi:10.48161/qaj.v6n2a2530

Authors

Yusif Suleymanov Department of English Language, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Baku Engineering University, Khirdalan AZ0102, Baku, Azerbaijan. https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4044-200X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.48161/qaj.v6n2a2530

Keywords:

Language interference, Azerbaijani-English, Error analysis, EFL learners, Language teaching, Survey research.

Abstract

This study examines the phenomenon of language interference between Azerbaijani and English in the context of language teaching. The aim of the research is to identify major types of interference and analyze their impact on English language learning among Azerbaijani students. The study adopts a quantitative descriptive research design based on survey data collected from 102 Azerbaijani EFL university students. The findings reveal that first language interference significantly affects learners’ ability to produce grammatically and structurally accurate English sentences. Grammatical interference was identified as the most frequent type, followed by lexical and syntactic interference. Additionally, word order differences between Azerbaijani and English were found to be a major source of difficulty. The results also indicate that students perceive explicit instruction on language interference as beneficial for improving language accuracy. The study highlights the importance of addressing interference through targeted teaching strategies and provides empirical evidence for cross-linguistic influence in second language acquisition.

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