Contents

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 3

1 THEORETICAL PART .......................................................................................................... 4

1.1 Basic terms(notions) ......................................................................................................... 4

1.2 Positive and negative transfer .......................................................................................... 4

1.3 Robert Lado’s Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis ............................................................ 5

1.4 Krashen’s of Language Acquisition ................................................................................. 7

1.4.1 Aqusition-Learning Hypothesis ................................................................................ 7

1.4.2 Natural order hypothesis ........................................................................................... 8

1.4.3 Monitor hypothesis ................................................................................................... 8

1.4.4 Input hypothesis ........................................................................................................ 8

1.4.5 Affective filter ........................................................................................................... 9

1.5 Macedonian-English Transfer .......................................................................................... 9

1.6 Verbs in Macedonian and English language .................................................................. 10

1.6.1 Mechanical and systematic errors and self-correction ............................................ 10

1.6.2 Verb-groups in the Macedonian language versus the suffix -s in the English
language ................................................................................................................................ 11

1.7 Connecting the –s suffix for third person singular with the suffixes for plural and
genitive ...................................................................................................................................... 13

2 Research methodology .......................................................................................................... 14

2.1 Subject of research ......................................................................................................... 14

2.2 The purpose of the research ........................................................................................... 14

2.3 Hypotheses ..................................................................................................................... 14

2.4 Methods and techniques of research .............................................................................. 14

2.5 Research sample ............................................................................................................. 15

1
3 Analysis and interpretation of the results of the research ..................................................... 15

3.1 Negative transfer of the –s suffix in third person singular ............................................. 15

3.2 Negative transfer of the –s suffix in genitive and plural ................................................ 19

3.3 Self-correction ................................................................................................................ 20

4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 22

BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................... 23

2
 INTRODUCTION
English is a language that is spoken and taught throughout the world. There are
approximately 400 million people who are learning and speaking it as a second language, and
about 700 million learning and speaking it as a foreign language. The distribution of the
language around the world is so widespread that it is even used as an official language in larger
organizations such as the United Nations, European Union, NATO, etc. In Macedonia, it is
studied as a first foreign language. Students’ first contact with the English language is in the first
grade. Although English is taught from such an early age, it is normal to make mistakes that
originate from the students’ native Macedonian language. One of these mistakes, which comes
from the influence of the English language on Macedonian, is the use of the -s suffix. Therefore,
the main emphasis of this work is put on the negative transfer of the -s suffix into the study of
English as a foreign language.

3
1 THEORETICAL PART

1.1 Basic terms(notions)

At the very beginning of this paper, the basic concepts that will be further mentioned
will be explained. The mother language is the language which is dominant for the speaker and
which is most used1, so in the further research it will be marked with L1. A foreign language is
that language that is taught beyond the environment in which it is spoken.2 The English language
in our country is studied as a first foreign language, so in the further research it will be marked as
L2. While studying English as a foreign language (the same also goes for studying each foreign
language), there are certain influences that come from the mother language. Language transfer is
a major and a very important feature when adopting a foreign language. For a very long time,
linguistic transfer was the topic of discussion between linguists, some of which admit that it
exists, but some neglect the fact of its existence during the process of learning any foreign
language among students. There are many researches about the existence of a language transfer
and many linguists today disagree about its existence and importance.

However, there are also several terms in this paper that are used to explain the language
transfer. The term "interference" was first used by Weinreich, who used it for any kind of a
language transfer that can cause different language consequences, according to Odlin.3 The term
“меѓујазик“ can be presented as the Macedonian equivalent of the English "interlanguage",
which was first used by Selincker, who named it as a separate linguistic system that is different
from the mother tongue and the foreign language (L1 and L2), but also sufficiently connected
with both languages from the viewpoint of the scholar.

1.2 Positive and negative transfer

In this paper the term transfer will be used. There are two types of transfer, positive and
negative. While the positive transfer indicates that L1 affects faster and better acquisition and
learning of L2, the negative has a completely opposite meaning, i.e L1 affects L2 so that more
mistakes originating from L1 are generated in the acquisition of L2.

1
Лилјана Митковска Кусевска, Елени Бужаровска, 2013, Корпусни истражувањана англискиот меѓујазикна
македонските изучувачи, ФОН, Скопје, стр.8
2
Митковска, Кусевска, Бужаровска, стр 8
3
Terence Odlin, Language Transfer:Cross-linguistic influence in language learning, Cambridge University Press,
1953,p. 12
4
 Another explanation for a transfer is when those who are in the phase of adopting a second
language as foreign, often make the transfer of certain elements of their mother tongue to the
foreign language they adopt. This is already known and often proven by many theorists and
teachers. In the study of a language as foreign, there is often a negative transfer among students
of almost all ages.

1.3 Robert Lado’s Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis

There are individuals who tend to transfer the forms, meanings and distribution of words,
affixes etc. from their mother tongue and culture to a foreign language and culture when they
attempt to speak a foreign language and fit into their culture (productively); as well as when
trying to understand a foreign language and culture from the perspective of the natives
(receptively).4

Robert Lado, with his statement on language transfer, influenced the beginning of
numerous researches in later years. This statement is a deepening of linguistics and the problems
many linguists encounter in their fields. Although the linguistic transfer was initially not
recognized in the world by most linguists, however, enough of them recognized it and separated
to produce and to develop a branch called contrastive analysis. The various researches in that
area, which were actually the starting point for Lado's work, helped develop the branch in order
to predict the mistakes that an individual can make during the process of studying a second or
foreign language. Lado is a significant founder of the contrast analysis hypothesis, CAH.5

Contrastive analysis is defined as a separate linguistic branch that compares the similarities
and differences in two different languages in order to better identify the problems and mistakes
that arise in the study of a second language. The term contrastive analysis was first used by
Benjamin Whorf in 1941. Although at that time many of the already acclaimed linguists felt that
contrastive analysis was not important for linguistics as a science, there were also many who
opposed those claims and devoted a lot of time in the efforts for numerous researches to be made
on this branch.

4
“Individuals tend to transfer the forms and the meanings and the distribution of forms and meanings of their native
language and culture to the foreign language and culture-both produltively and when attempting to speak the
language and to act in the culture and receptively when attempting to grasp and unerstand the language and culture
as praciticed by natives”, Robert Lado, 1957, Linguistic across cultures, University of Michigan Press, in Gass and
Selinker, 1983, p.1
5
CAH-Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis
5
 The contrastive analysis hypothesis is based on a behavioral theory of language acquisition
and represents learning by trial, error, and reward. It also refers to the fact that previous language
or mother tongue learning can either greatly help or disable the study of a second language. In
languages where similarities occur in words, pronunciation, etc., the mother tongue can facilitate
the study of the second language, but where significant differences occur between languages, the
mother language stops the progress in the study, that is, it is said that a negative transfer has
occurred.

The following assumptions are thought to be the ones on which the CAH is based:

1. Learning a language is creating a habit

2. When learning a foreign language, students transfer the categories and structures from
their mother tongue to the second language. This means that their old teaching habits in
their mother tongue can hinder successful learning in the second language
3. Interference (negative transfer) reflects on all linguistic structures (phonological,
syntactic and semantic)
4. Comparing the two languages will also reveal the differences and similarities that occur
between native L1 and foreign L2.
5. The systematic comparison depends on the availability of sufficient scientific research in
both languages. The findings must be based on the same theoretical concept.
6. Comparison of languages as whole systems is not possible; only equivalent subsystems
are compared.
7. The differences between the mother tongue and the second language will create problems
in the acquisition, but the similarities do not. What the student actually learns is the sum
of the differences in both languages.
8. If based on the differences between linguistic systems, contrastive analysis can predict
the difficulties that students will encounter when learning the second language.
9. Difficulties can be arranged hierarchically according to the degree of performance of both
systems.
10. The main task of the linguist is to discover the differences, although the main task of the
textbook author is to succeed in putting the necessary and accurate teaching materials. 6

6
Flor Aarts, 1982, The contrastive analysis debate: problems and solutions, University of Nijmegen, p. 48-49
6
1.4 Krashen’s of Language Acquisition
Stephen Krashen is an expert scholar in the field of linguistics that deals with theories of
language acquisition. One of his theories is the theory of the acquisition of a second language,
which consists of five hypotheses:

 Acquisition-learning hypothesis
 Natural order hypothesis
 Monitor hypothesis
 Input hypothesis
 Affective filter

1.4.1 Aqusition-Learning Hypothesis7

This hypothesis is one of the essentials for acquisition and learning a second language
and presents the two ways in which one can acquire knowledge of a second language, that is,
adopt and learn it. In this hypothesis, Krashen presents and compares the acquisition of a
language just as young children develop the competencies of understanding and speaking their
mother tongue. Acquisition of a language is an unconscious or subconscious process where
individuals are not actually aware that with certain exercises and activities they "collect" the
rules for that language while developing some interesting subject to communicate in the second
language

Individuals do not develop a sense of memorizing and using rules, but when using
language in speech or writing, they refer to their logic. They use grammatical structures not
according to strictly stated rules, but because it is logical and it sounds correctly to them. On the
other hand, the second way of developing competencies in a second language is by consciously
learning it. It differs from the acquisition because the of fact that individuals who learn the
language consciously study its rules, its structures and, through various constructing exercises,
put into use what they have learned after a certain period according to all the rules of the
language. For learning the foreign language, according to this hypothesis, the structure of the
language itself that is taught is decisive, not the mother language.8

7
The Acquisition –Learning Hypothesis
8
Даринка Веселинова, Теоретски дискусии за учењето странски јазици, Воспитание-списание за образовна
теорија и практика бр. 11, Штип, стр. 176
7
1.4.2 Natural order hypothesis9
This hypothesis presents the similarities between acquisition and learning. According to
Krashen, the children who adopt the mother tongue and the individuals who learn the second or
the foreign language "absorb" grammatical structures in a natural, predictable order. Although
some structures are adopted earlier and some later, depending on the exposure, those
grammatical structures, however, are ‘absorbed’ by both those who adopt it and those who learn
the language.

1.4.3 Monitor hypothesis10

This hypothesis explains the connection between adopting and learning a second language.
According to Krashen, acquisition is the initiator of the expression, while learning plays the role
of a monitor, that is, an observer. The monitor has the function to plan, edit and overwrite the
initiator, but only when all three conditions are met: the first one - when the individual has
enough time, the second one - when he focuses on accuracy, and the third one - when he knows
the rules. Krashen divides the "monitors" into three types: above average, optimal and below the
average. The above average monitors use an excessive monitor model to develop only
grammatically correct sentences. The optimal use this model, only when it does not interfere
with communication, which means they use it moderately. The sub-average (below average) do
not use the monitor enough to develop their abilities without any problems.

1.4.4 Input hypothesis11

According to this hypothesis, individuals are adopting the second language so that they
can understand the language of higher input, that is, at a higher level than their current
competencies in a language (i + 1). The individuals understand the higher level according to the
defined context in the sentence, i.e the text. Perhaps they will not understand the full meaning of
the sentence, but according to a certain context they will understand at least a part or they will
uncover the essence of that sentence. Speakers can determine the level of competence of other
individuals, i.e listeners. According to Krashen, this phenomenon is the so-called teacher's
speech, when adults (teachers) speak to the children, i.e students in a sort of a simplified
(simpler) language.

9
The Naural Order Hypothesis
10
The Monitor Hypothesis
11
The Input Hypothesis
8
 After some time, speakers adjust to the development of the competencies of the listeners ,
which means that as the listeners adopt more knowledge and their level of competence in the
language increases, so do the speakers use a more complex language for mutual communication,
unlike at the beginning when their communication comes down to a simpler language.

1.4.5 Affective filter12

In this hypothesis, Krasen claims that many of the factors that influence the acquisition
of a foreign language are external. These factors are divided into three categories: motivation,
self-esteem and anxiety. Individuals who possess high motivation, self-confidence and have a
low level of anxiety are more likely to adopt language faster and better. Low motivation, low
self-esteem and high level of anxiety represent the so-called blocking of the brain that prevents
the acquisition of language.

1.5 Macedonian-English Transfer

Since English is taught as a foreign language in Macedonia, this paper draws attention to
the transfer of Macedonian-English. With English, students meet in their earliest years. Although
they begin studying English in the first grade, English language exposure is higher due to the
development of technology and children's exposure to technology from an earlier age. Although
many assume that due to early exposure to language children will not make mistakes in the
process of learning the language, it is still normal to make mistakes in studying any language.
This is most commonly the case when students first start comparing certain words from the
mother language and from the English language, and then they use the similarities and
differences that they have discovered in the process of learning the foreign language and this is
how a transfer takes place. As well as the positive transfer, so is the negative transfer of the
Macedonian-English language present in the study of English as a foreign language. While
positive transfer has a positive impact on language, negative transfer is what is considered to be
problematic. With the negative transfer, students give "a Macedonian character" to the English
language. This happens when the influence of the mother i.e Macedonian language is so strong
that certain students use Macedonian rules in the process of studying and using the English
language.

12
The Affective Filter Hypothesis
9
 If not enough attention is paid when students start showing a negative transfer at an
earlier age, this negative transfer will continue to manifest itself during the further development
and the language competence which is required for a certain level cannot be fully achieved.
Therefore, more attention should be paid to detecting and overcoming the negative transfer for
students to be able to learn English better.

1.6 Verbs in Macedonian and English language

One of the reasons for the occurrence of a negative transfer in the study of English is the
verbs. It usually happens when students begin to study Present Simple Tense. In the Present
simple tense, the conjugation of verbs and the use of suffixes is different in both languages. On
one hand, in the Macedonian language in the present time, in first and second person singular
suffixes are added to the verbs, while in the third person singular no such suffix is added (јас
гледам, ти гледаш, тој/таа/тоа гледа). In the form for a third person singular, present simple
tense is represented by the base of the verb. On the other hand, in the English language, to form
Present Simple Tense no suffixes are added to first and second person singular, but only in third
person singular the verb has the suffix –s (I see, you see, he/she/it sees). Due to these similarities
and the differences in the distribution of the suffixes, the negative transfer occurs among the
students. When students are studying the verbs, they are mostly confused when it comes to the
use of the suffixes. This in the study of the English language manifests itself by the omission of
the –s suffix in third person singular in Present Simple Tense because the students are often
guided by the conjugation of Present Simple Tense in the mother language, i.e the Macedonian
language, where in the third person singular a suffix is not added. This is one of the mistakes that
the students make because of the influence of the Macedonian on the English language, i.e due to
the negative transfer.

1.6.1 Mechanical and systematic errors and self-correction

However, it cannot always be determined whether the student made this mistake because
of not knowing or not learning the rule or the material correctly, i.e whether the error is made
because of ignorance. The error can be mechanical and systematic. A mechanical error occurs
when the student by inattention or perhaps by writing the exercise in a rush makes a mistake
when he actually knows and has learned the rule or the material.

10
 While the systematic error occurs when the student did not correctly learn the rule or the
material when he was supposed to, so the process of adopting and studying this particular rule
has been stuck and he can no longer use it correctly in the language. While the mechanical error
is a consequence of negligence, the systematic error is a consequence of ignorance. However, in
some cases the student can self-correct. Self-correction of errors occurs when mechanical errors
occur, i.e when the student errors out of carelessness, but later corrects the word or sentence. It
can be easily seen in the written form, when the student has crossed a certain word i.e a mistake,
so that the correct word or sentence stands in place of that crossed error. In crossed words it is
easy to see if it is a mechanical or system error. For example, if the teacher is aware that the
student has the necessary language competence required for a certain level, but has made several
such mistakes in writing and has self-corrected by crossing the letter, word or sentence and
writing the correct form next to or above the crossed, then it can be assumed that it is a
mechanical error. For example, when it comes to the third person singular suffix or the spelling
of words, it can be assumed that a mechanical error has been made. If the error is in the syntax or
the order of the words in the sentence, etc. then one can assume that the error is systemic. It is
crucial to detect these errors in time so that it can be pointed out to the students where they have
made a mistake and how to fix it so that a negative transfer cannot consequently occur from
these errors.

1.6.2 Verb-groups in the Macedonian language versus the suffix -s in the English
language
All verbs in the standard Macedonian language in the third person singular in Present
Simple Tense end in one of the following three vocals: a, i, e (basic vocals). According to these
endings, the verbs are divided into three major groups: a-group, i-group and e-group.13 Although
there are other divisions and groupings of the verbs in the Macedonian language, with this
division it can clearly be seen why the negative transfer occurs.

13
Стојка Бојковска, Димитар Пандев, Лилјана Минова-Ѓуракова, Живко Цветковски, 1999, Македонски јазик
за средно образование, Просветно Дело, Скопје, стр. 116
11
Verbs from the a-group in a third-person singular end with the a-vocal, such as: игра, чита,
гледа, etc. In the example below the verb игра (play) is conjugated in singular:

Singular:

1 p.играм

2 р. играш

3 р. игра

Verbs from the i-group in third-person singular end with i-vocal, for example: прави,
носи, брои, etc. In the example below the verb is прави (do) in conjugated in singular:

Singular:

1 p. правам

2 p. правиш

3 p. прави

Verbs from the e-group in the third person singular end with the e-vocal such as пече,
јаде, сече. In the example below the verb is јаде (eat) is in conjugated in singular:

Singular:

1p. јадам

1р. Јадеш

2 р. Јаде

As it can be seen in the Macedonian language in the third person singular, no suffix is
added to the verb, unlike in the English language. On the other hand, in contrast to Macedonian,
in English there are no divisions of verb-groups, because at the end of the verb in the third
person singular only the suffix -s is added. In example below the verb play is conjugated in
singular:

Singular:
12
1p. I play

2 p you play

3p he / she / it plays

Because of these similarities and differences in verbs and suffixes in both languages, a
negative transfer occurs. Namely, the pupils are most confused about the use of the suffix in the
third person singular, because starting from the Macedonian language they know that there is no
use of the suffix for third person singular, so they transfer the knowledge of the mother language
into the English language, which in turn results in the non-use of the suffix -s for a third person
singular. The differences in the verb- groups in the Macedonian language and the fact that there
are no such divisions in the English language has little contribution to the negative transfer. Thus
the students, starting from the rules for the three groups, that is, the divisions of the verbs that
end with certain vocals and the fact that they do not take any suffixes for third person singular in
any of the groups, has a great influence on the non-use of the suffix for third person singular and
in the English language.

1.7 Connecting the –s suffix for third person singular with the suffixes for plural and
genitive
The negative transfer of the –s suffix in third person singular is oftentimes confused and
connected it with the suffixes for plural and genitive. Because the –s suffix is used to denote both
plural and genitive, even though it has different meaning, students sometimes make mistakes or
completely forget to put the suffix needed i.e the correct suffix in the sentence. Usually this is
manifested by omitting the plural suffix or attaching a plural suffix where one is not needed or
omitting the genitive suffix. It is assumed that because of the negative transfer in third person
singular, students think of the non-use of suffixes for plural and genitive as negative transfer as
well i.e they confuse these three categories (Present Simple Tense, plural, genitive) which leads
to the incorrect distribution and use of the –s suffix. Namely, if they make a negative transfer
with third person singular and don’t use the suffix, they also transfer this into the use of plural
and genitive.

13
 They often confuse the uses of the suffix and it so happens that they put a third person
singular suffix where one is not needed instead of putting a plural suffix, or they put both a third-
person singular suffix and a plural suffix, as some the examples stated further in this paper will
show. Most of these mistakes in the use of the suffixes for the third-person singular, plural and
genitive suffix can be classified as systematic.

2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2.1 Subject of research

The subject of research in this graduate paper is the use of the –s suffix and the negative
transfer which occurs in the process of studying the English language as a foreign language.

2.2 The purpose of the research

The purpose of the research conducted in this paper is to discover if and how often the
negative transfer occurs in the use of the –s suffix among students.

2.3 Hypotheses
The general hypothesis is that in Macedonia in the process of studying the English
language as a foreign language there is a negative transfer in the use of the –s suffix among
significant part of the students from different grades and ages. Negative transfer as in third-
person singular, which is the most widespread, occurs also in the use of the plural and genitive
suffix. The incorrect use of the suffixes originates from the mother language in which there are
differences in the use of the suffixes. According to this, the hypothesis is that the negative
transfer of the –s suffix occurs because of the influence of the mother language.

2.4 Methods and techniques of research

For the research part of this paper the methods of theoretical and historical analysis were
used i.e planned observation of students and their answers during the conducted pedagogical and
methodical practice as a part of the studies on the Faculty of Pedagogy, English language and
literature course; and analysis of content i.e analysis of written texts.

14
2.5 Research sample
This research mainly covers written texts of students in secondary education (high-school
students) as well as spoken answers (sentences) of seventh and ninth grade students and second,
third and fourth year gymnasium students.

3 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH

The respondents were part of a detailed observation during the conducted pedagogical
and methodical practice as part of the fourth year studies on the Faculty of Pedagogy, English
Language and Literature course. A detailed analysis of sentences of written texts was conducted
as well. The research gave the following results which are accompanied by an analysis and
interpretation.

3.1 Negative transfer of the –s suffix in third person singular

During the observation of classes in the seventh grade no negative transfer by the
students was detected. In all of the observed classes a correct use od the –s suffix in third person
singular was noted.

During the observation of classes in the ninth grade, a sentence used by a student who studies
English language as a foreign language was detected in which the negative transfer was noticed:

1. Maria like to go shopping.

In this example it can be noticed that in the sentence the –s suffix for third person
singular has been omitted. In this case it is assumed that the negative transfer comes from the
facts that in L1 no suffix is used for third person singular, while in L2 the –s suffix has to be used
to denote third person singular. This negative transfer occurs precisely because of the fact that
students oftentimes connect their mother language with the foreign language they are studying i.e
they compare the similarities and differences that occur between the languages. According to the
context of this sentence the error can only be categorized as a systematic one. The correct form
of the sentence is: Maria likes to go shopping.

15
 In second year of high school (gymnasium), during the observation of classes, there was a
sentence detected in which negative transfer was noticed:

2. What does basic means?

In this example it can be noticed that the suffix for third person singular is not correctly
used. Namely, because the sentence is in interrogative form an inversion is used, therefore the
auxiliary verb do in third person singular is added (does), while the main verb is supposed to
remain in its base form. In this example it can be noticed that the suffix for third person singular
of the verb mean is incorrectly used i.e a suffix has been added despite the fact that is shouldn’t
be added. This mistake can be categorized both as a systematic and mechanical error. The correct
form of the sentence is: What does basic mean?

In third year, based upon a detailed review and analysis of the written texts (school year
2016/2017) a negative transfer was detected in the following sentences:

3. When the teacher come in the classroom, all pupils feel the warm relationship
between them.
This example indicates that the suffix for third person singular has been omitted in the verb
come. In this case it is assumed that because there is no suffix for third person singular in L1, the
same is transferred into L2 which results in the omission of the –s suffix. This mistake can be
categorized both as systematic and mechanical. The correct form of the sentence is: When the
teacher comes into the classroom, all pupils feel the warm relationship between them.

4. Practice is important for a person who study to become a teacher.

As in the previous sentence (number 3) in this sentence the suffix for third person
singular has been omitted as well. However, because the verb ends in –y the suffix for third
person singular changes into –ies. In the sentence a negative transfer has been made by omitting
the suffix for third person singular because of the non-existence of a suffix in L1. This mistake
can be categorized as a systematic and a mechanical mistake. The correct form of the sentence is:
Practice is important for a person who studies to become a teacher.
16
 In fourth year, based upon a detailed review and analysis of written texts (school year
2016/2017), a negative transfer was detected in the following sentences:

5. Every student need instruction for the content subject.

In this sentence as well, the suffix for third person singular has been omitted in the main
verb need. In this case, too, it is assumed that this has happened because of the fact that there is
no suffix for third person singular in L1 and the same is transferred into L2, which results in the
omission of the required –s suffix. Because the subject of the sentence is every student the verb
needs to be in third person singular. This mistake can be categorized as a systematic and
mechanical mistake. The correct form of the sentence is: Every student needs instruction for the
content subject.

6. The teacher interact with the students.

In this sentence as well, the suffix for third person singular has been omitted. In this case,
too, it is assumed that this has happened because of the fact that there is no suffix for third person
singular in L1 and the same is transferred into L2, which results in the negative transfer i.e the
omission of the required –s suffix. This mistake can be categorized as a systematic and
mechanical mistake. The correct form of the sentence is: The teacher interacts with the students.

7. The teacher sit on her chair when the students write.

In this sentence as well, the suffix for third person singular has been omitted. In this case,
too, as it was in the previous cases, it is assumed that this has happened because of the fact that
there is no suffix for third person singular in L1 and the same is transferred into L2, which
results in the omission of the required –s suffix i.e a negative transfer occurs. This mistake can
be categorized as a systematic and mechanical mistake. The correct form of the sentence is: The
teacher sits on her chair when the students write.

17
 8. Drills takes more time of class.

In this sentence the –s suffix for third person singular has been incorrectly used. Namely,
because the noun (the subject) is in plural (drills), the verb should be put in plural too (take). It is
assumed that this suffix has been incorrectly used because of a mechanical error i.e while writing
the sentence the student didn’t pay enough attention. Being mechanically guided while writing
drills, he also put a suffix to the next word in the sentence where no suffix is supposed to be
added. The correct form of the sentence is without a suffix for third person singular: Drills take
more time of class.

9. If some of the students gives me a wrong answer on the new vocabulary, I correct
them.

In this sentence the –s suffix for third person singular has been incorrectly used as well.
Same as in the previous sentence (number 8) in this one the verb has been wrongly given the –s
suffix too. It is assumed that a mechanical mistake has been made i.e while writing the student
didn’t pay enough attention. Being mechanically guided while writing students, he also put a
suffix to the next word in the sentence where no suffix is supposed to be added at all. The correct
form of the sentence is without a suffix for third person singular: If some of the students give me
a wrong answer on the new vocabulary, I correct them.

10. Some teachers grades what was said, not how well the student has said.

In this sentence, too, an incorrect use of the –s suffix for third person singular can be
noticed. The verb grade has been wrongly given the –s suffix. In the sentence is clear that a
plural form is used (some teachers) but a suffix for singular has been added. According to the
rest of the sentence and the context of the sentence it can be concluded that this is a mechanical
mistake i.e while writing the student didn’t pay enough attention. Being mechanically guided
while writing teachers, he also put a suffix to the next word in the sentence where no suffix is
supposed to be added at all. The correct form of the sentence is: Some teachers grade what was
said, not how well the student has said.

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3.2 Negative transfer of the –s suffix in genitive and plural
In the course of the research i.e the planned observation and analysis of texts no negative
transfer of the –s suffix in genitive was detected. In seventh and ninth grade elementary school as
well as second, third and fourth year secondary school (gymnasium), in the conducted research
so far no negative transfer was observed in the use of the –s suffix in genitive.

As opposed to this, beside the negative transfer of the –s suffix in third person singular,
negative transfer was noticed in the use and formation of plural.

In third year, based on a detailed review and analysis of written texts (school year
2016/2017), a negative transfer of the –s suffix in plural was noticed in the following sentence:

11. Nowadays that walls represents the border between Scotland and England.

In this sentence, the –s suffix for plural has been incorrectly used. According to the
context of the full sentence it can be seen that the student possesses knowledge, however an
oversight has been made with the incorrect use of the plural suffix. This mistake can be
categorized as a mechanical mistake i.e while writing the sentence, the student didn’t pay enough
attention and was instead writing mechanically, absorbed in thought while writing the required
answer to the question asked. The correct form of this sentence is: Nowadays that wall represents
the border between Scotland and England.

In fourth year, based on a detailed review and analysis of written texts (school year
2016/2017), a negative transfer of the –s suffix in plural was detected in the following sentences:

12. Some of the student are going to read it aloud by paragraphs.

In this sentence it can be noticed that the plural suffix has been omitted. Although the
rest of the plural form is correctly used (are going), it so happened that the student omitted the
required suffix for denoting plural. This mistake can be categorized as a mechanical mistake. The
correct form of the sentence is: Some of the students are going to read it aloud by paragraphs.

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 13. In the introduction and the beginning of the main part are used technique for pre-
reading activities.

In this sentence it can also be noticed that the plural suffix has been omitted, even though the
form of the remaining part of the sentence is correct. Namely, while writing the sentence the
student didn’t pay enough attention and therefore omitted the –s suffix for denoting plural.
Taking in consideration the form of the rest of the sentence, this mistake can only be categorized
as a mechanical mistake. The correct form of the sentence is: In the introduction and the
beginning of the main part are used techniques for pre-reading activities.

14. They go from one students to another.

There is an incorrect use of the –s suffix for plural in this sentence as well. Although the
form and the context of the sentence indicate that a singular form should be used i.e that students
should have a singular form, the student has put a plural suffix. Considering the rest of the
sentence (the context and the form of it) this mistake can be categorized as a mechanical mistake.
The correct form of the sentence is: They go from one student to another.

3.3 Self-correction
In the course of the research self-correction was noticed when a fourth year student
corrected himself in the following sentence:

15. The teachers moves around while the learners are working in groups.

Namely, in the sentence given the student first wrote teachers, but when he returned to the
sentence to check it he noticed that he had made a mistake and crossed it i.e he crossed the
unnecessary suffix –s for plural in teachers. According to this, it can be concluded that the
student realized that he had made a mechanical mistake due to inattention and negligence,
noticed the mistake by himself and then self-corrected.

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 Crossed words i.e mistakes are of great importance to the teacher because according to those
crossed words the teacher can determine whether the student makes mistakes due to inattention
and distraction or makes mistakes due to his lack of knowledge (ignorance) i.e if the student
makes a mechanical or a systematic mistake. In this case it is clear that the mistake was made
due to inattention and when the student noticed his mistake, he crossed it and wrote the correct
form of the sentence.

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4 CONCLUSION
Based on the conducted research in elementary and secondary school, it can be concluded
that negative transfer of the –s suffix is present among students who study English as a foreign
language. However, based on the research it can also be perceived that the negative transfer of
the –s suffix is gradually decreasing and disappearing with the generations of students. The
majority of the mistakes were made by the older generations rather than the newer generations.
This research provides new insights on the gradual decrease and reduction of the negative
transfer. If the negative transfer is noticed in the earliest years of the process of studying the
English language as a foreign language, efforts can be made to point out to students how and
where they transfer the knowledge from one language to another. According to this, the teacher
and the students should jointly find a way with different activities and exercises to completely
eliminate the occurrence of negative transfer or to reduce it to a lower level. To reduce the
negative transfer, as a future English language professor, I suggest that English language classes
should be held completely in English (both the teacher and the students should converse only in
English) to eradicate the need of using the mother language. When students work in pairs or
groups, the activities they participate in should encourage them to use only English instead of
their mother language. One example of such an activity that can be used is word-play. Through
playing games students will take more interest in speaking the English language. To minimise
the negative transfer a maximum effort is required, as well as cooperation both from the teacher
and the students.

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