Essay on Pride and Prejudice: Theme Essay

In this novel, the title describes the underlying theme to the book. Pride and prejudice were both influences on the characters and their relationships. Darcy alienated himself from the others at first because of his intense pride. His prejudice against the Bennet’s because of their poverty was also something that he would have to overcome. For Elizabeth, her prejudice against Darcy came from his snobbery. It caused her to not see his feelings for her and to believe whatever Wickman said. Darcy’s fierce pride often alienated him from others. For example, he acted so snobby and superior at the first ball with the Bennet’s that they were all turned off by him. His eventual love, Elizabeth, was disgusted at his behavior and formed a prejudice against him. Even after he fell in love with her and proposed to Elizabeth, he completely debased her family. Darcy realized eventually that he was going to have to change. He tried to look at his behavior and analyze why he acted as he did. In the end, he fought his intense pride so that he and Elizabeth could be happy together. Prejudice was also an issue for Darcy in that he disliked Elizabeth in the beginning because of her low social status, poverty, and socially inept family. Darcy was forced to deal with his prejudice when he fell in love with Elizabeth. This was not easy for him to do but it was necessary. His snobbery was countered by his love for Elizabeth. In the end, he overcame his pride and gave in to his feelings by marrying her in spite of her and her family’s shortcomings. Elizabeth had her own issues with prejudice with which to deal. Darcy’s cold arrogance and snobbery prejudiced her from him from the beginning and it took Elizabeth a lot longer time to overcome her prejudices than it did Darcy. This was because Elizabeth was a very caring person and did not like the things that Darcy had said about her and her family. When given the chance, Elizabeth loved to hear about how awful Darcy was, such as when she met Wickman, who was eager to slander Darcy. However, Elizabeth gradually came around and began to fall in love with Darcy, but it was difficult for her to overcome the prejudices that had been imposed on her by both herself and Darcy. This novel’s theme was tied up in the title of the book, Pride and Prejudice. The pride that Darcy felt and his initial prejudice against all of the Bennet family was eventually overwhelmed by his love for Elizabeth. For Elizabeth, she needed to overcome her prejudices about Darcy and see through his snobbery. In the end, all the pride and prejudice was dealt with and Darcy and Elizabeth were left in love.

Kingshaw’s Misery in I’m the King of the Castle Essay

Throughout the novel I’m the King of the Castle by Susan Hill, we are constantly aware of the misery felt by twelve-year-old Charles Kingshaw. This, and the way it is shown, is very important in really understanding his character, and what eventually leads him to his own death. Charles Kingshaw has a series of irrational fears. Although this is normal for most children, his fears are so crippling that they go far beyond the typical childish nightmare. An example of one of these fears is swimming pools. Early on in the book, Kingshaw recalls being taken to an open-air swimming pool by his father as a much younger child. He remembers how he had feared the water, not only because he couldn’t swim, but also because of its â€Å"glassy, artificial blueness† and how â€Å"people’s limbs looked huge and pale and swollen underneath.† He also fears the â€Å"terrible† moths in the Red Room at Warings, and is afraid of touching their â€Å"furry bodies†. Another fear he has is of crows. Even before he is attacked by the crow in the cornfield outside Warings, Kingshaw notes that it has â€Å"ragged black wings† and â€Å"small, glinting eyes†. He has to tell himself that it is â€Å"stupid to be scared of a rotten bird†. Later on, when Hooper puts the stuffed crow on his bed, he is â€Å"faint with fear† and wishes for his own death – even though he knows immediately that it is not real. This is just one example of the way Hooper exploits Kingshaw’s fears during the novel. When he brings Kingshaw to the Red Room to show him the moths, it seems he just wants to show off. But he immediately recognises that Kingshaw is afraid when, upon seeing the moths, when he â€Å"sharply† draws his breath. Hooper mocks him and orders him to touch one, and Kingshaw’s instinct is to fight as hard as he can – anything to avoid having to feel them. Hooper watches him and sees this, and runs out of the room, locking the door behind him. Later on, Hooper locks Kingshaw in the dark shed, leaving him to fantasize about murderers lurking in the shadows. Kingshaw thinks of Hooper as â€Å"clever† and â€Å"cunning† and thinks he will never be able to escape his endless persecution. He is â€Å"unbalanced† by the open hostility Hooper treats him with, and doesn’t know how to beat him. However, it would be possible for Kingshaw to beat Hooper. Physically, he is taller and is strong enough to give Hooper a bruise when they have their only fistfight, on their very first meeting, and bites him hard enough to make him withdraw when Hooper tries to intimidate Kingshaw on the stairs. Kingshaw would also have the capacity to beat Hooper in his mind games, if he only knew it; Hooper finds Kingshaw â€Å"frustrating†, and is â€Å"at a loss† to get past his â€Å"dull, steady stare†. His insults are very childish (â€Å"stupid head†; â€Å"scaredy-baby†), and Kingshaw even recognises that Hooper is â€Å"not very used to being a bully†. Yet Kingshaw is too and fatalistic, to see his own potential. Kingshaw’s fatalism is important in understanding his misery. His description of himself is very telling of his outlook on life: â€Å"He had no good opinion of his own chances, against Hooper. Or against anyone. He was not cowardly. Just realistic, hopeless. He did not give into people, just went, from the beginning, with the assurance that he would be beaten. It meant that there was no surprise, and no disappointment, about anything†. At many points in the novel, Kingshaw has moments of genuine happiness, in which he feels untouchable and in control. This is reflected in the title of the book itself, and in a later chapter in the book in which he actually climbs to the top of an ancient ruin of a castle. However, this euphoria never lasts, and he falls from his â€Å"castle† every time- all because of his own refusal to fight against what he feels is inevitability; Hooper will always beat him, he will never win. We see these moments of happiness and his sudden snap back to reality multiple times: when he discovers his secret room in Warings and Hooper finds it, so he decided to just let him in; when he ventures on his own into the woods and Hooper follows him; when he climbs up onto the tractor in the cornfield, feeling on top of the world, and gets stuck when dismounting it so he fears it will roll back an crush him. In the chapter in which he fearlessly climbs the castle whilst Hooper begs for help on a wall below him, Kingshaw feels that surge of power again: â€Å"I am the King†¦I could kill him.† But Kingshaw knows that he will not, knowing that â€Å"any power he acquired would only be temporary†. So he tries to help Hooper, and we, as readers, feel frustrated with his helplessness. Kingshaw’s mother does nothing to save her son from Hooper, or from his own fear. In fact, she contributes to his misery by determinedly trying to satisfy her own needs for money and companionship, and ignoring Kingshaw’s declarations of his hate for Hooper along the way. She asks him to â€Å"tell Mummy† if he is upset about anything, but when he tells her how much he dislikes Hooper she tells him it is â€Å"wicked† to say such things. Kingshaw is deeply ashamed of his mother, of her airs and pretences and the fact that she behaves â€Å"altogether without pride†. He knows he â€Å"ought to care about†¦his mother† but doesn’t. This is quite disturbing for a child to say, but it is understandable, as â€Å"she had never known anything about him†. This is proved by her remark to Mr Hooper about how â€Å"Charles is settling down so happily† at Warings. Charles is disgusted but is in no way surprised at her complete l ack of understanding. Susan Hill is very particular in the way she uses language to show Charles Kingshaw’s misery. The book is in third person narrative, mostly told from Kingshaw’s point of view, and often uses slightly naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve, childish language: â€Å"He felt absolutely alone, there might be no other person in the whole world.† There is also some informal language which pulls the reader into this child’s world, and endears us to him. An example of this is his thought that, â€Å"It always took longer than you expected, walking.† This makes us feel Kingshaw’s misery more during his moments of extreme terror. During these times the sentences get longer, punctuated by a series of commas, indicating a panicked, frantic train of thought: â€Å"He sweated a little, twisting this way and that, and reaching his left arm round behind him, to try and unhitch the string.† This clearly shows us his raw, desperate fear. Rather than using lots of emotive, descriptive narration, which could detract focus from Kingshaw’s character, the writer has us experience I’m the King of the Castle through Charles Kingshaw’s feelings, experiences and memories. This is very effective as it lets us become more and more involved in Kingshaw’s character; our attachment to him builds up into a climax throughout the novel until he ultimately commits suicide. When this happens our hopes fall as Kingshaw did so many times before and does now, one final time.

How does the opening scene prepare the reader for the rest of the novel? Essay

In opening passage of Of Mice and Men it seems as though Steinbeck takes great pains to familiarize us with the setting, and the descriptions of nature that he uses though-out , are very poetic and stand apart from the rest of the novel, which is composed primarily of dialogue. An example â€Å"Evening of a hot day started the little wind to moving among the leaves. The shade climbed up the hills toward the top. On the sand banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little gray, sculptured stones.†(2) Steinbeck however still uses simple descriptions of the landscape; a secluded river taking refuge in a valley. To forehadow to the reader future events. This is apparent though his carefully chosen language, imagery, symbolism, character description and narration all of which forebodes the reader for many of the themes they will encounter in the novel; friendship, dreams, loneliness, and despair to tragedy. The scene opens with a vivid and evocative description of the landscape and natural beauty of the Salinas River a few moles from Soledad. Steinbeck goes on to describe the sometimes harsh, sometimes caring physical and emotional landscape; all an element of life that is already witnessed. The evocative description begins by highlighting a theme that is present thought-out the novel. ‘On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve to the strong and rock Gambian mountains’ This quote identifies a contrast and the first half of the quote totally counteracts the second half. The first half allows the audience to envisage a desert like setting with a hot climate ‘twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight’. Yet the second half allows the reader to envisage a forest like setting with a tropical climate, ‘the water is lined with trees- willows fresh and green with every spring.’ There are many other contrasts within the first scene, ‘on the sandy bank under the trees the leaves lie deep and so crisp that a lizard makes a great skittering’ ‘Rabbits come out of the brush to sit on the sand’ Once again these two quotes contrast each other immensely, as Lizards are thought of as predators that hunt, and rabbits are thought as innocent herbivores. These to creatures lead the reader to picture a division within there habitat one being so vicious and ruthless the other being soft and kind hearted. The use of this contrast is important as it’s similar to the two main characters. The clearing by the river could be contrasted with the ranch: one is a place of relaxation, safety and peace; the other is a work place where George warns Lennie he will have to be careful what he says and does. The ranch is harsh and cruel: for example men only have a box for their possessions, and living is hard and competitive. The two main characters Lennie and George are contrasted strongly in their physical appearance and the way they behave: Lennie is tall, bulky and shambling – he is innocent and gentle, slow (in every sense of the word) and in need of reassurance and guidance; George is small, sharp-featured, ‘street-wise’ and brisk. Of which both characters relate back to the earlier contrast between the lizard and rabbit, the lizard being George and the rabbit being similar to Lennie. Although the contrasts in the opening sequence are to do with nature or animals, and the ones throughout the novel are to do with characters and humans links they still have the same effect. A majority of the contrasts are based solely on Strength vs. Weakness. Another contrast on the ranch is between the people with power: Slim who is respected for his wisdom and competence; Curley who has power, but only because he has inherited it from his father who owns the ranch and employs the men. This agrees with the fact that the majority of contrast consist of Strength vs. Weakness. The pattern of calm and disorder in the opening scene mirrors the pattern of events in the novel as a whole. in the first paragraph in which Steinbeck uses evocative and vivid language, a sense of calm and undisturbed silence is felt, this mirrors the beginning of Lennie and Georges adventures when they rest in a campsite for the night. Steinbeck then describes a slight disturbance, ‘the leaves lie deep and so crisp that a lizard makes a great skittering.’ This also mirrors the situation further on in the novel when George and Lennie about constantly asking for ketchup, and George finally losing his temper ‘I got you! You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get’. However this could also mirror when Carlson tries to kill Lennie’s dog. The slight disturbance is lost again and the calm is restored again as ‘the rabbits brush to sit on the sand’ this reflects the fact that George and Lennie restore silence and stop arguing because Lennie is warned not to say anything by George. The silence is lost once again as a slight disturbance that slowly builds ‘little wind moving trees’ this is mirrored by the fact that Curley’s wife makes frequent visits to the ranch, or this could mirror the fact that Lennie kills his puppy. Steinbeck then goes on to describe ‘loud footsteps break silence’ in the beginning sequence which is mirrored by Lennie killing Curley’s wife. Steinbeck describes what seems like a final rupture when he describes ‘humans arrive in the clearing’ the sense of calm and tranquillity is lost which mirrors the main event in the novel. When Lennie is shot by George, inevitably putting an end to their friendship and dreams. Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men about where he was born Salinas, California. During the Great Depression of the 1930s. His books often dealt with the lives and problems of working people. Many of the characters he included were immigrants looking for work or a better life. He narrowed his focus when composing ‘Of Mice and Men’ (1937), creating an intimate portrait of two men facing a world marked by petty tyranny, misunderstanding, jealousy, and callousness. But though the scope is narrow, the theme is universal; a friendship and a shared dream that makes an individual’s existence meaningful. Steinbeck based his book around the following Migrant Farm Workers; this is evident within the first chapter as their physical descriptions ‘Both dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats with brass buttons’. Also Lennie and George were two of many migrant farmers tying to find work in the countryside. Another event in the text that allows the audience to understand Lennie and George’s struggle is, during the 1930s, when there was very bad unemployment in the United States, agencies were set up under the New Deal to send farmworkers to where they were needed. George and Lennie got their work cards from Murray and Rody’s, one of these agencies. We hear of this in the text when Lennie tells George he lost it; ‘George†¦..I aint got mine. I musta lost it.’ The opening sequence also indicates that it was based on the American Dream, because immigrants dreamed of a better life in America. People went there to escape from persecution or poverty, and to make a new life for themselves, precisely why Lennie and George left Weed to go there. Another way that the opening scene of the story prepares the reader for the events of the rest of the story is through the subtle, yet significant introduction to the main characters George and Lennie. Within the first paragraph we learn of Lennie’s fascination with animals ‘I remember about the rabbits, George.’ We also learn that they left Weed to escape prosecution, as previously through George’s anger, the audience learns that one of the ‘bad things’ occurred at their last job, in Weed, when Lennie wanted to pet a women’s dress. We learn a great deal of background information through the first sequence subtly yet detailed. The opening sequence prepares the reader for future events in many different ways. The use of language, imagery, symbolism, character description and narration all of which forebodes the reader for many of the themes they will encounter in the novel; friendship, dreams, loneliness, and despair to tragedy. All of these techniques foreshadow events and help the audience understand the characters, their environment and era they lived in without experiencing it themselves. So a combination of historical and social facts, with a range of contrasts help the audience understand and sympathise with the assorted chara

Jealous Nature of Othello Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Jealous Nature of Othello - Essay Example The seed of jealously can destroy a perfectly healthy relationship and the same happened in Othello. Jealously does not remain jealously, it turns into anger and brutality which leads to unprecedented trouble in a tragedy. Jealous nature of Othello The tragic hero or the protagonist in this tragedy, Othello, suffers from the tragic flaw of jealously in the tragedy. Other characters are well aware that he is a very jealous man and they exploit his weakness to the fullest. Iago is the mastermind in the tragedy who tries to dethrone Othello; he exploits the jealous nature of Othello to turn his people against him. He creates several misunderstandings to put Othello in a fix and he succeeds in doing so on numerous occasions. Othello is very possessive of his wife Desdemona and he often says â€Å"My Desdemona† in the tragedy. He believes that he has won her; possessiveness is also a very big sign of jealously. This again goes to show the jealous nature of Othello, a major reason f or his downfall was his jealous nature and there are no two ways about it. He is also an extremist and his behavior is also violent in the tragedy at times. He loses his head when the handkerchief goes missing; his impulsive nature leads to his destructions. He is of swaying nature; he thinks that his wife has been unfaithful to him, which again goes to show how other people who he considers his well-wishers can easily influence him. His jealous nature comes to the forefront after the intervention of Iago, before his intervention there are no evidences of his jealous nature. Iago is a very sagacious man in the tragedy, he is astute and extremely manipulative. This powerful emotion of jealously in the tragedy affects Iago, Emilia, Bianca, Roderigo and Othello. They do things that one hardly expects them to do, their persona gets changed after this feeling grips them. The characters find a resolution which differs and they deal with their problem in a different way. They adopt differe nt methods when it comes to dealing with this powerful emotion. Iago is a character who develops jealously from the very first time in the tragedy, as discussed earlier, the jealously quickly transforms into anger and then into revenge against those who he thinks have done wrong. Iago, from the very beginning of the tragedy expresses his jealously towards two main characters namely Cassio and Othello. Cassio becomes the lieutenant in the tragedy and the same makes Iago jealous of him. Iago firmly believed that he was more deserving than Cassio and he should have been made the lieutenant instead of Cassio. Iago was furious with Othello for two reasons; the first one was because Othello promoted Cassio as the lieutenant and the other being his intimate relationship with Emilia. â€Å"It is thought abroad that 'twixt my sheets / He has done my office.† (Othello, 369-370) Iago is a very insecure character in the tragedy; he decides to take revenge against Othello and Cassio. He s aid he will only be satisfied after getting his due revenge. â€Å"Till I am evend with him, wife for wife, /Or failing so, yet that I put the Moor / At least into a jealousy so strong / That judgment cannot cure.† (Othello, 299-302) Conclusion Othello is a great tragedy; the traits of several important characters have already been discussed in the paper. Iago, Emilia, Bia

How to Take a Blood Pressure Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

How to Take a Blood Pressure - Coursework Example Introduction Teaching how to take blood pressure is a matter of serious concern. There are many studies suggesting various ways to teach blood pressure measurement. Still, it is painful to note that blood pressure measurement is one of the most inaccurately performed tasks in the medical field. It becomes evident from studies that most medical students feel incompetent to perform the task successfully due to poor understanding of the underlying theories and also due to limited practical sessions. Considering the connection of blood pressure with various chronic and acute illnesses, it is necessary to ensure that medical professionals are able to measure blood pressure accurately. Studies have proved that computer simulation and video can be enormously helpful in improving the blood pressure measurement. So, this study intends to develop a methodology that will incorporate video and computer simulation to make students able to learn the theory and practice of taking blood pressure. Pr oposal Context Accurate measurement of blood pressure is essential to classify individuals, to evaluate blood-pressure related risk, and to devise management. However, according to AHA Recommendations for Blood Pressure Measurement in Humans and Experimental Animals, â€Å"it is still one of the most inaccurately performed.† (Pickering, Hall, Appel, Falkner, Graves, Hill, Jones, Kurtz, Sheps, and roccella,, 2005). It has been observed that blood pressure measurement has become a very important need these days. As Ako Aotearoa Report (prepared by Bland & Ousey) dated 30 March 2010 observes, variations in blood pressure can be indicators of chronic diseases like coronary heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease and acute conditions like hypovolemic shock. As it has been associated with various diseases, people are in increasing need of regularly monitoring their blood pressure. However, it seems from studies that in nursing schools, students get relatively less skills and con fidence in blood pressure monitoring. Here, it seems useful to think about a computer program that functions as a bank of knowledge and on-line video learning. In a study conducted by Cannon, Kelly, Lyng, and McGrath (2009), it was found that videos along with large scale deployment of skills videos could offer a useful tool to aid teaching. From the study, it became evident that when students were allowed to watch related videos before practical sessions, their performance improved significantly. However, at present, learning BPM means to attend long term courses at a nursing school learning human anatomy. Again, there comes the study that using online exercises and patient simulation is very useful in improving the students’ clinical decision-making ability. In addition, online learning allows discussion groups where students can discuss their issues and find solutions (the Free Library). It seems that effective use of video and computer simulation will help describe the th eory of blood pressure monitoring and human anatomy. So, this proposal suggests that there is the need for a computer program that provides all these relevant information together, in a step-by-step way that starts from basic human anatomy, blood pressure and various diseases, measurement of blood pressure using equipments, videos of taking blood pressure, links to various books and articles, and finally, a computer

Project as an Intern at a Design Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Project as an Intern at a Design Film - Essay Example This all depended on appropriate time scale, enough budget allocation and good client communication, since the work of a designer is turning a concept into reality. In the long run the design processes included experimental, routine and fashion designs. Another key is the assembly of the client team which gave an outline of factors to be considered when hiring personnel in the business, which resulted in overcoming the cultural and operational differences experienced. The last key is the briefing process, which defined the project objectives, specific business opportunities to be realized and the scope for creating opportunities for the firm. Shortlisting of qualified design consultants was paramount as their main function in the business was to provide professional design solutions so that the client needs are met. Appointed design consultants were to specifically give shape to responses made by the clients. They provided polished design criteria for projects which comprised of gene ral overview of the project, intellectual, functional, technical and accommodation design criteria’s. ... Introduction to Finance Every business is formed on a strong financial base for it to properly carry out its operations of making profits. Most of the spheres affected by the financial principles of the design firm were contract management, administration of contracts, resourcing, budget and cost planning. The module, introduction to finance introduced the basic corporate and personal finance concepts, the time value for money, financial markets, shares and bonds, financial risk and return, ways of raising money and elements of investment. In addition the major components of finance included institutions and markets under which there were banks and other financial institutions, and the Federal Reserve System fell (Melicher and Norton 115). Finally, financial management comprised of business organization, financial analysis and long term financial planning, managing working capital and capital budgeting analysis. These principles served as the foundation of finance relating to the des ign business during my internship. Through financial analysis: the differences between manager and stakeholders are identified, time value of money, and higher returns were realized by taking more risks as the diversification of interests reduced risks. The design business had a financial system where the financial capital flowed with the aid of markets, intermediaries and regulation from savings to investments in the economy (Melicher and Norton 328). Melicher and Norton (251) argue that money markets are where the debt securities maturing within one year or less are traded while the capital markets are debt securities that mature longer than one year are traded. The major types of financial

Composition with Twelve Tones Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Composition with Twelve Tones - Essay Example The researcher states that it was in the early 19th century (between 1911 and 1922) that Schoenberg was searching for something new, something that may replace the traditional and old scheme of composition of music pieces. He believed that the old music was using just one or two tones as the core elements of its compositions. These two elements according to him were the tone / tonality and dissonance. According to Schoenberg these elements were stretched and used throughout the composition which he did not appreciate. As a result Schoenberg came up with a new idea that all the twelve tones must be utilized while composing music. Through it he was assure of the fact that no single tone will get the significance and all tones will be heard and balance each other in any composition. If we try to understand ‘The method of composing with twelve tones grew out of necessity†¦such a change became necessary when there occurred simultaneously, a development which ended in what I cal l the emancipation of the dissonance’, Schoenberg actually pointed out towards the surplus use of dissonance in the late 19th century by the composers like Strauss, Debussy and Wagner. These composers used dissonance freely as the basic element of music. This was indeed a thorough change in the techniques of compositions and thus it ended in what Schoenberg’s has stated as ‘Emancipation of the dissonance’. It has been noticed that the majority of the Schoenberg’s twelve tone composition portrays some characteristics which summons the forms of large scale tones. The music composition included all the major and minor keys from A to G. However his prediction regarding the popularity of the twelve tone composition did not come to reality. He thought that with the formation of the twelve tone composition he can spread and sustain the Germanic Music for the coming ten decades. Actually it did not happen. Schoenberg’s twelve tone system gained popul arity in the 20th century only. However at present musicians are unaware of the system and does not even aware of what twelve tone composition (Taylor & Melchior, 1993). With the formation of the twelve tones composition there was a simultaneous development in the music composition which was called the emancipation of dissonance. Emancipation of dissonance is also a concept in music composition which was formulated by Arnold Schoenberg  and some other composers. In this emancipation he declared no difference or change in dissonance or consonance. According to Schoenberg, just like any other feature of life, music is also historically foreseeable. With this assumption and his establishment of the twelve tone composition he thought that he can hold German music for the coming 100 years. His representation was classical and portrayed a sequence in which principle of evolution was symbolized by chromatic scale. He further assumed the twelve tone composition as a replacement for functi onal tonality. The development of twelve tone composition was considered to bring a change in music style whereas the change was brought to an end with the development of emancipation of dissonance. However for the use of twelve tone composition he emphasized on not using or avoiding traditional dissonance or simple consonance (Encyclop?dia Britannica, 2013). It is evidenced from Music literature that Schoenberg was very

How does stigma and discrimation hinder recovery of patients with Essay

How does stigma and discrimation hinder recovery of patients with schizophrenia - Essay Example Research Method: Qualitative research will be done on this study and a thematic approach will be used as the study seeks to examine, investigate, locate and record patterns. A survey will be conducted. Sample: Non probability sampling method. A total of 60 sample units will be used, 40 being schizophrenic patients and 20 nurses or family members. Data collection: Interviews and focus groups will be used as tool of data collection. Data analysis: Data analysis will be conducted through SPSS software and the Burnard model of coding, which provides a model for data organisation. Findings and Result: Stigma and discrimination were observed to affect the schizophrenic patients through hindering recovery and even exacerbating the illness. Conclusion: Without the stigma and discrimination, schizophrenic people would recover fast and easily thus contributing to the society. The stigma and discrimination that follows a person after being diagnosed with schizophrenia is usually what leads them to an early grave. Schizophrenic patients have been misunderstood by many people for a long time How does Stigma and Discrimination hinder Recovery of Patients with Schizophrenia? Introduction Many individuals with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia have confirmed that the stigma they face from other people usually leads to more pain than the disease itself. Stigma reduces the patient’s self-esteem and denies them many social opportunities stigma. Stigma can be explained as the negative attitudes that people have towards others while discrimination is explained as unfair treatment of people due to their social grouping (Parle, 2012:2). Schizophrenia refers to a mental condition that extends over a long period of time, and causes numerous distinct psychological symptoms such as, hallucinations, delusions, and unusual behaviours (Sachdev and Keshavan, 2010:4). It is a psychotic condition where patients are incapable of discerning reality from their own thoughts and imagina tion (Chan and Sireling, 2010:107). The people suffering from this condition are pre-judged, therefore, finding it hard to maintain and sustain relationships, friendships and employment. Stereotype portrayed by the media have been blamed for the fear and ignorance about schizophrenic people (Bos, 2009:510). Background I came across a report at the beginning of the year, which suggested that out of every six workers in the United Kingdom, one usually suffers from a mental illness at a certain time in their career (Bevan, et al. 2013:5). With the country experiencing tough economic times recently, there was an upsurge in the number of working age people suffering from a variety of mental illnesses. A lot of attention was put on anxiety and depression but the health care sector seemed to forget about some extremely intense mental conditions like schizophrenia. It dawned on me that proper attention should be paid on schizophrenic patients and I decided to look at ways that a patient cou ld recover from such an illness. That was when I got the idea of investigating stigma and its effect on the recovery of schizophrenic patients came into mind. Research question formulation An excellent research question has to be accurate and precise. The research question formulated in this study is:In what ways does stigma and discrimination hind

Marketing Strategy for Hyatt Regency Birmingham Research Paper

Marketing Strategy for Hyatt Regency Birmingham - Research Paper Example There is always a need to understand customers, but luxury hotels need to adapt their brand strategy in order to attract these more cost-conscious customers and look at â€Å"establishing ways of making the same brand more accessible† (Brownsell, 2009). Strategic direction is a challenge faced by all organizations whether there is a recession or not, especially when there exist opportunities or to help overcome major problems (Johnson, 2009: 2).  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Uncertainty is inherent in strategy because nobody can be sure about the future.† (Johnson, 2009: 6) But a strategic direction helps to focus on a course of action and follow an integrated approach based on clear objectives and informed knowledge of the operating environment. This, of course, can affect the organization’s operational decisions, involve a reconsideration of the relationships and networks, and can be complex reorientation requiring considerable change.  Strategic directions at a competitive or bu siness level deal with issues of pricing, competitive advantage, competition, collaboration, game theory etc. Innovation or differentiation, for example, can be done through bettering the quality or an implementing a distinctive distribution channel.  Strategic directions at a corporate level deal with market penetration, consolidation, product development, market development, diversification etc. This includes cost leadership, differentiation, and specialization based on Porter’s generic strategies. It also includes e.g. geographical coverage, diversity of products/services, allocation of resources within the organization, expectations of owners i.e. Shareholders. Portfolio matrices viz. BCG (also known as growth/share), directional policies and other tools were used in the analysis prior to this report.

Strategic Management for a Medium Sized Firm Research Paper

Strategic Management for a Medium Sized Firm - Research Paper Example This can be seen by the fact that customers are getting more educated. The access to the internet also balances the information asymmetry in the market making customers knowledgeable of the price and features of competing products. Customers look for products the way they want it. With this development, essential issues should be addressed by the company as firms are producing more than they can sell which significantly drives down prices. This situation poses more intense rivalry from competitors requiring companies to develop an efficient and sustainable strategy. For a medium-sized firm operating in a hypercompetitive industry which embarked on a follower strategy should seek to have a more effective marketing strategy. Follower strategies or "me too" strategies are only able to compete on price. Thus, followers are deemed to reduce prices forever, squeezing their margins and profitability. Possible strategic alternatives which it can bank on are differentiation and innovation strategies. Differentiation strategy in a hypercompetitive market is imperative and "not discretionary." As customers have higher bargaining leverage, a firm should introduce product features which adds value to its buyers. Instead of simply following the strategies and move of the market leader, a medium size firm should embark on developing innovative products. This is very important taking note of the fact that the market is unstable. Oftentimes, the case is that buyers are dissatisfied with the present alternatives and are looking for new options. Competition through differentiation and innovation are two strategic options which are always more effective than price competition. Â  

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Case Study Example (Troy 2007 pg 158-172). The purpose of conducting such a form of analysis is to assist meet the informational needs of the investors, creditors and management so that they are in the position of making appropriate decisions. The ratios analysis conducted herein is done with the objective of comparing the all the measurements of financial data to aid or facilitate wise investment decision, as well as credit decisions and managerial. A Cross-sectional Analysis will be conducted where- ratios are used and compared between two firms (Goofy’s & Pluto’s) of the same industry(the sporting goods business) in order to draw conclusions about an entitys profitability and financial performance hence the ability to invest in this sector. Inter-firm Analysis will be categorized under Cross-sectional, as the analysis is done by using some basic ratios of the Industry in which the firm under analysis belongs (and specifically, the average of all the firms of the industry) as benchmarks or the basis for our firms overall performance evaluation as compared to the whole industry (Troy 2007 pg 113-17). In the analysis, we will use the return ratios, financial leverage ratios, activity ratios, profitability ratios and liquidity ratios to make our decision on whether to invest in the sporting goods business. The decision to invest the $5,000 will be on the criteria of the company that shows good financial shape and hence able to provide the investor with a return on investment. My analysis and decision will be based on the ratios from the table above which can be grouped into return ratios (rates of return on assets and Rate of return on equity); financial leverage ratios (debt ratio, debt to equity ratio). In addition, Activity ratios (Inventory turnover, receivable turnover and asset turnover ratios); profitability ratios (Gross profit margin, net profit margin

Save Our Environment Essay Example for Free

Save Our Environment Essay A very good morning to my teachers and my fellow students. I am here today to give a speech about our role to ‘save our environment’. Today, when environment is being polluted so vigorously, everyone has only one question on their mind that is how to save environment from being polluted. The strongest way to protect environment is save trees. Trees play an important role to keep air clean. If there will be no fresh air available then how will human beings, animal, and birds survive? Therefore, a clean environment is the need for every living object on this earth. Many big organizations, schools, colleges, and NGOs are taking initiatives to save trees for a better future, clean air, and unpolluted environment, in short healthy life for living objects. Nowadays, trees are being cut with a great speed for full filling daily needs of human beings. You might have noticed that as the number of trees is reducing disasters are being continuously increasing, which is ultimately leading into high death rate. A big part of the trees is cut to make paper to help us do our personal and official works. If the use of paper will be minimized then we can save a large number of trees from being cut, which leads into healthy and clean environment that is fresh air and healthy life. One of the biggest initiatives to save trees is to promoting the use of paper less media like mobile phones. It is really a great idea to use paperless media to minimize the use of paper. Another initiative, which has been taken by schools, colleges, and universities in the increase in online examinations. Finally, i hope that one day we could be a responsible human being, we all need to take some initiatives to protect environment and to save trees to live a better life. That is all, thanks for listening.

Inter-lingual Interference in the Usage of Prepositions

Inter-lingual Interference in the Usage of Prepositions Inter-lingual Interference in the Usage of Prepositions in the English of Syrian Students Abstract In recent years, studies of foreign language acquisition have tended to focus on learners errors since they allow for prediction of the difficulties involved in acquiring a foreign language. In this way, teachers can be made aware of the difficult areas to be encountered by their students and devote special care and emphasis to them. Prepositions, on which this dissertation focuses, are one of these difficult areas. Thus, the main objective is to investigate whether the English preposition errors of the Syrian university students come more from inter-lingual interference or from other sources and whether classical or colloquial Arabic has the dominant influence on this interference. It also investigates which category of error in inter-lingual interference is the most frequent in the students using the prepositions in, on, at, of and to. The data is samples consisting of the answers of a diagnostic test by 38 Syrian first-year students of law. The diagnostic test was designed as a mu ltiple choice test and took by the students online. This investigation showed that preposition errors come mainly from inter-lingual interference, which is attributed more to standard Arabic here. It also showed that the students seem to have a serious problem in first language interference errors, especially substitution errors. This has implications for curriculum change and teachers method of teaching. 1. Introduction 1.1. Background of the study Language difficulty is often determined by how far or close the target and mother languages are. â€Å"Contrastive analysis is one of the areas of linguistics which elude a clear, unequivocal, and simple definition† (Vizmuller-Zocco, 1990:466). Errors in a certain area of grammar in the second language are often compared with an area of grammar in the first language. One of the most challenging things in learning English as a second language is using prepositions, â€Å"Among those who teach or learn the English language, prepositions have earned a reputation for difficulty if not downright unpredictability.† (Pittman, 1966) â€Å"As any English teacher well knows, our prepositions are a particularly troublesome lot to the non-native speaker of English† (McCarthy, 1972). When we, non-native speakers of English, speak English, we usually hesitate over choosing the correct preposition or whether a certain verb needs a preposition or not. This matter has always interested me, as many Arabic-speaking learners of English complain about it. Thahir (1987) indicates that prepositions can cause a problem for Arabic learners of English. For instance, an Arabic speaker would say this sentence *Fast trains can travel at a speed of 300m in hour. This is because per hour is expressed as in hour in Arabic. This transfer from Arabic into English is what makes Arabic learners English seem broken. Moreover, some linguists say that the mastery of prepositions in English is a late stage in native-language learning as well (Scott and Tucker, 1974). Therefore, this dissertation intends to look into the differences of preposition aspects between Arabic and English: are their distributions the same? Do all the Arabic words that need prepositions also need prepositions in English? If the words that need prepositions in Arabic also need prepositions in English, are these prepositions the same or different? From these general questions more specific questions will be formulated in the ‘Methodology chapter. 1.2. Grammar of English and Arabic prepositions â€Å"Arabic has a wealth of prepositions†¦with both verbs and adjectives. Many of these do not coincide with their direct English translations† (Swan and Smith, 1987:152). Nevertheless, Arabic prepositions are more limited in number than those of English. Abbas says that there are only twenty prepositions in Arabic (1961:320), while in English, there are fifty seven (Hayden, 1965:171-176). This, as a matter of fact, makes it harder for Arabic learners of English to have a command of English preposition usage. Grubic says: Non-native speakers of English tend to have three types of problems with prepositions: 1. Using the wrong preposition, e.g.: *My grandfather picked the name on me. (for) 2. Omitting a required preposition, e.g.: *I served the Army until 1964. (in) 3. Using a superfluous prepositions, e.g.: *I studied in Biology for three years. (2004:22) Despite all the efforts made by grammar book writers and teachers, learners of English still make mistakes in the usage of prepositions. So, what makes EFL learners make these errors? There is no doubt that Arabic learners of English translate grammar from Arabic into English, ignoring the rigorous grammatical structures of the English language. However, are all preposition-usage errors related to L1? Prepositions are words or groups of words that typically come before a noun phrase and indicate syntactic relations (Matthews, 1997). v My fathers plane arrives after midnight. v We have got a tree in front of the house. v There are no snakes in Ireland. One important feature of prepositions is that they cannot stand alone, regardless of how many words they are combined with (Downing and Locke, 1992). Since prepositions are not independent, they form meaning when combined with nouns or noun phrases, for example: after midnight, in front of the house, in Ireland. â€Å"Prepositions can be divided into three categories, i.e. basic prepositions, systematic prepositions and idiomatic prepositions: v standing on the table. v come on Friday. v comment on speech.† (Karlsson, 2002) In expressing time, on is used with days, such as on Friday, on Saturday and on January 30th. At, on the other hand, indicates a specific part or time of the day, such as at 12 oclock, at noon and at midnight. While in is used with years, months and seasons or main parts of the day, for example in 2001, in summer, in April. For explains a period of time, and by and within indicate limitation of a period of time, such as for six years, by next year and within two hours (Hewings, 2005). The Arabic preposition fee ( »Ã¢â‚¬Å" »Ã‚ ²), which is equivalent to the English in, is used in almost all of the above cases, but for within Arabic uses khilal ( ºÃ‚ »Ã‚ ¼Ã‚ »Ã‚ ). By and for have no equivalents in Arabic and they are expressed in phrases. As for prepositions of movement and place, in is used when indicating a certain position and on when talking about the surface, as in: v The keys are in the drawer. v The keys are on the table. At is used when pointing at a certain place which is close to the object, for example: v Im waiting for you at the bus stop. Inside is used to indicate the inner place of a certain object, while outside is the opposite. v There is a scorpion inside my room. v Outside the Palace, there were crowds of people waiting for the Queen to show up. Also, from and to are opposite prepositions. From indicates the origin of the movement, but to indicates the target of the movement (ibid), as in: v My plane ticket is from London Heathrow to Damascus International Airport. All of the prepositions of movement and place have their equivalents in Arabic:  § in → fee ( »Ã¢â‚¬Å" »Ã‚ ²)  § on → ala ( »Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‚ »Ã‚  Ã‚ »Ã‚ °)  § at → inda ( »Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‚ »Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ª)  § inside → dakhel ( ºÃ‚ ªÃ‚ ºÃ‚ Ã‚ ºÃ‚ »Ã… ¾)  § outside → kharej ( ºÃ‚ ºÃ‚ Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ®Ã‚ ºÃ‚ )  § from → min ( »Ã‚ £Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥)  § to → ila ( ºÃ¢â‚¬ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  Ã‚ »Ã‚ °) 1.3. Study aims The prepositions in, on, at and to are the most commonly used prepositions in English. Therefore, my research study is going to focus closely on these four prepositions in the English of Syrian university students. I will see whether the first language interference kind of error is more effective than the other kinds. I will identify the errors that have to do with L1 interference and see if the interference comes from classical or colloquial Arabic. I will also look at the categories of L1 interference errors and see which one is the most frequent: substitution, addition or omission. This will, hopefully, help Syrian university students improve their written and spoken English. 2. Literature review 2.1. Error analysis One way for identifying errors in preposition usage is error analysis. First of all, it is important to define the word ‘error. An error is â€Å"an instance of language that is unintentionally deviant and is not self-corrigible by its author† (James, 1998:78). Brown considers the errors as either ‘overt or ‘covert (1994:208). According to Ellis (1987) Error analysis was considered as an alternative to contrastive analysis, and it is considered of value in the classroom research (Brown, 1994: 214). It also predicts the difficulties of acquiring a second language (Richards, 1974: 172). Error analysis shows â€Å"the significance of errors in learners inter-language system† (Brown, 1994:204). Ellis and Richards et al say that error analysis can be conducted for pedagogical purposes (1994:51; 1993:127). At the level of pragmatic classroom experience, error analysis will continue to provide one means by which the teacher can assess learning and teaching and determine priorities for future effort (Richards, 1974:15). When we analyse errors, we should give a detailed explanation for each type of error that corresponds to the different processes that Selinker (1992) reported as central to second language learning: language transfer, transfer of training, strategies of second language learning, strategies of second language communication, and overgeneralization of TL [Target Language] linguistic material. Error analysis helps teachers overcome the difficulties learners of English face in learning the language through figuring out the sources of errors and, consequently, taking some precautions towards them. It can be said that error analysis can be used to determine the learners need in learning. 2.2. Language transfer The â€Å"study of transfer depends greatly on the systematic comparisons of languages provided by contrastive analyses† (Odlin, 1989: 28). Odlin goes on to say that although many contrastive analyses provide useful and sometimes highly perceptive information about languages they compare, none comes close to meeting in full the criteria of descriptive and theoretical adequacy. There is no doubt that interference constitutes a major problem and obstacle in language usage amongst learners of a second language. They cannot help letting their mother tongue interfere in the target language. Therefore, some errors are tolerable to native speakers of English. Even native speakers of English have problems with certain preposition structures. Over-generalisation or intra-lingual transfer is said to have a considerably negative effect on learner English. Learners of a second language sometimes transfer some features of grammar to apply it on other inappropriate features. This certainly results in errors in the target language. Almost all the research that has been done so far indicates that preposition misuse is mainly caused by linguistic interference, inappropriate learning and wrong application of rules. Some views contradict this saying that errors of prepositions are due to the complexity of the English language itself. Others go so far as to say that the misuse or errors of a language could be related to bad teaching and resources, ignorance, lack of practice and carelessness. In fact, attitudes vary considerably. The first attitude represents the feeling that errors are undesirable and, therefore, should be avoided, but the second says that errors are inevitable in an imperfect world (Corder, 1981). In behaviourism, errors are depicted as sins that should be avoided and bad habits that should not be tolerated, while in cognitivism, errors are perceived as part of the learning process. The main focus of behaviourism followers methods is on preventing errors, whereas the focus of the methods of cognitivists is on intellectual analyses of the causes of errors and ways of dealing with them. This supports Frenchs argument (1989) that â€Å"errors are oddities that are not evidence of carelessness or of unwillingness but of growing pains and a desire to learn, not punishable offences because they are accidents† (French, 1989). Actually they are part of the language learning process. Humans cannot learn without making errors to err is human. Krashen and Terrell (1983) argue that the errors made by learners are a natural process in learning, and learners will get over this stage of inter-language interference and develop naturally. L1 interference is one of several types of errors learners of a second language make (ibid, 1988: 64-69). When learners of a second language use this language, they have no way but to submit to the grammar of their first language. In the case of English prepositions, when Arabic learners of English are not sure which preposition to use, they literally translate from Arabic into English. As Arabic and English prepositions seldom have one-to-one correspondence, this results in inter-language interference errors. An Arabic preposition may be translated by several English prepositions, while an English usage may have several Arabic translations (Scott and Tucker, 1974: 85). 2.3. Studies on language transfer The processes of language transfer and over-generalisation receive considerable attention. Jain (in Richards, 1974) and Taylor (1975) reported that over-generalisation errors are an application of the generalisation strategies of the learners second language to produce this same second language. Brown states that inter-lingual transfer is the negative influence of the mother tongue, and that intra-lingual transfer is the negative transfer within the target language (1980:173-181). Swan and Smith give a detailed account of errors made by speakers of nineteen different first language backgrounds (1995:ix). Also, Diab (1996) conducted a research on error analysis showing the interference of the mother language, Arabic, in the English writings of EFL students at the American University of Beirut (1996). The transfer of Arabic structures in the Lebanese students writings resulted in a number of errors. However, they made more errors where they felt English and Arabic were similar (articles, prepositions and choice of diction). James indicates that â€Å"the clearest proof of L1 interference is where L1 nonstandard dialect gets transferred to L2† (1998:179). Dulay et al (1982) defines language interference as the automatic transfer from the surface structure of the first language to the surface structure to the second language, while Lott (1983) defines it as errors in learners foreign language that can be attributed to the mother tongue. Ellis also comments on interference saying that it is â€Å"the influence that the learners L1 exerts over the acquisition of an L2† (1997:51). ‘An Analysis of Interference Errors in the Written English of Sudanese Students is a study made by Tadros (1966) in order to analyse the errors of language interference in the writings of Sudanese students. He looked into 472 scripts written by 236 students in their seventh year of English learning. The students were first given different exercises about relative clauses and had to follow explicit instructions. Then they were asked to write a paragraph about their school, using relative clauses. This research made the writer come up with the conclusion that this is an effective way to apply what they have already learnt. I think the conditions were helpful for the students, so their writings were not an indication of their true proficiency level in English. The students were asked to write paragraphs immediately after they had been taught. Scott et al (1974) also made a study in Beirut called â€Å"Error Analysis and English Language Strategies of Arab Students†. This study examined samples of Arab students speech and writing both at the beginning and the end of the semester in an intensive English course; compared the types of error in speech and writing, the frequency of these errors and the relative frequency of the errors made at the beginning and the end of the semester; identified the sources of errors; considered both inter-language interference and intra-language interference in the English learning strategies of Arab students and identified some rules that represent early and late acquisition of a second language. This researcher made this study on 22 Arab students in the first semester of a lower intermediate intensive English course at the University of Beirut. Those students had already completed their school education, where the medium of instruction was Arabic. They had also studied some English as a foreign language. This study revealed that verbs, prepositions and articles are the areas where the students often made errors. It also showed that the error frequency in the usage of prepositions was similar in writing and speech and that the preposition errors at the beginning and the end of the semester ranked after the number of verb errors. Verb errors Preposition errors Beginning of the semester 80 61 End of the semester 60 51 Half of the errors in writing and speech at the beginning of the semester were due to inter-language interference and the other half due to intra-language interference. About two thirds of the errors at the end of the semester were due to inter-language interference and one third due to intra-language interference. Since the larger number of errors was made due to inter-language interference at the end rather than at the beginning of the semester, this means that the students were making more progress in overcoming intra-language interference confusion than in solving the problem of the first language transfer. The interference of Arabic was most obvious in the frequent omission of auxiliaries and copulas, in preposition and article errors and in the repetition of subjects and objects. However, at the end of the semester, the students made a great progress in almost all areas except in prepositions and articles; the interference of the mother language continued to be a dominant feature in the usage of prepositions and articles. The preposition errors fell into three groups: 1. Interference from Arabic. 2. Interference from English. 3. Errors without identifiable source. The preposition errors were reduced by one third during the semester. Although the larger proportion of these errors was attributed to the interference of the first language, it was thought that the students would make progress in the usage of prepositions since it is a late acquisition in native language learning (Scott et al, 1974:95). The researcher suggested that other studies should investigate the errors made by Arab students at both lower and higher levels of English proficiency and if inter-language interference comes from formal or colloquial Arabic. She suggests that â€Å"interference in writing comes from classical Arabic but interference in speech from colloquial Arabic.† (ibid: 96). Mukattash made a pilot project in common grammatical errors in Jordanian English (1981: 250-291). The broad objective of his research â€Å"Common Grammatical Errors in Jordanian English† is to get a general idea of the areas in English syntax which are problematic to Jordanian students at university. The specific objective of his research was to calculate and analyse the different types of errors in the written English of Jordanian university students. The subject students were 200 first-year students at the University of Jordan. They were graduates of public secondary schools, where they had received eight years of English language teaching. They were also from different parts of Jordan and some of them were from the West Bank in Palestine. The students were given a comprehensive test in comprehension, structure and vocabulary. All the 200 essays contained errors, but the detailed analysis was made on only fifty essays, which were chosen randomly. The errors in the usage of prepositions ranked fourth in the order of the total occurrence of errors. This study disagrees with Scotts study, which ranks preposition usage errors second after verb errors. Here the ranking order is as follows: verbals, articles, nominals and prepositions. The percentage of the preposition errors was 15% of the overall number of errors in the fifty essays. Although we cannot compare the results of the two studies due to the fact that Scott did not state precisely what percentage the preposition usage errors constituted in the writings of her subject students, we can say that preposition errors are still a serious problem for Arabic learners of English. In Scotts study, the percentage of interference from Arabic was 67%, while in this Study, it is 78%. However, the interference of Arabic in the usage of prepositions is still significant in the results of both studies. Also, Kerr (1970) made a study on the common errors in the English writings of a group of Greek learners of English as a foreign language. The research study purpose was to show the teachers of English in Greece the serious problems their students have in writing. Teachers find certain types of errors which they have previously ignored, and so find indications of the kinds of preventive and remedial teaching that would prevent the growth of bad language habits by using clearer explanations and more effective practice at the more elementary stages of learning. The errors also indicate the areas of language on which tests and examinations would be based. (Kerr, 1970: ix). Kerr based his study on over a thousand compositions written by adult students at an advanced level of English proficiency. The causes of the errors found were ignorance of words and constructions to express an idea, carelessness of the students, the interference of the mother language and making false analogies within the target language. Between 20% and 30% of the grammatical errors made by the Greek students involved errors in the usage of prepositions of all types (ibid, 1970: 22). Handrickson (1979) made another research study on error analysis and error correction at Ohio State University called ‘Error Analysis and Error Correction on ESL Learners at Ohio State University. The subject learners were adults of intermediate level studying English as a second language. His study aimed at identifying the most frequent communicative and linguistic errors in the compositions of intermediate ESL learners. It also aimed at determining the effect of the teachers direct correction on the English writing proficiency of students. He found that most of the communicative errors were as a result of inadequate lexical knowledge, incorrect use of prepositions and pronouns or misspelling of lexical items. On the other hand, the linguistic errors were caused by inappropriate lexical choice, lack of subject-verb agreement, the omission and misuse of prepositions, incorrect word order or misspelling of words. The effect of the teachers direct error correction on the students English proficiency in writing came out to be statistically insignificant. Another study was made in the United States on EFL learners, but this time on Iranian students. The research was conducted by Henning (1978) at the University of California and is called ‘A Developmental Analysis of English Errors Made by Iranian Students. He analysed the developmental error patterns of the Iranian learners of English as a second language. The subjects of this study were 22 Iranian women in the second semester of their first year at Damayand College in Tehran, Iran. The students had already had an average of six years of English learning and were, at the time of the research, enrolled in an intensive course where 20 hours of English language teaching was being given to them. The medium of instruction was also English. â€Å"The conclusion reached was that†¦mastery in the usage of English prepositions according to their meanings is one of the most sensitive indicators of the degree of English proficiency† (Henning, 1978:396-397). Zarei (2002) also found that, for Iranian EFL learners, the collocations of prepositions are among the most problematic collocations in English. Khampang (1974) also made a research study at the University of California. This Research study is called ‘The Difficulties in Using English Prepositions, and it focused on the difficulties facing Thai learners of English in using English prepositions. The research was conducted to investigate what the prepositions that Thai learners of English found difficult to learn were and whether there was a big difference between the prepositions that Thai learners of English chose and those chosen by learners of English from other L1 backgrounds. It also investigated whether the problem of using English prepositions was universal, shared with non-Thai learners of English, or Thai learners had specific problems. He wanted to know if this problem was due to first language interference and, consequently, predictable from contrastive analysis. The study was only on 8 simple prepositions of time and place: in, on, at, for, to, from, by and the empty form ∅. ‘The subject students in this research were 169 students from different L1 backgrounds: 40 from Thailand, 48 from Japan, 38 from Spain and 43 from countries of different language backgrounds (Persian, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese and Arabic). The levels of the students were both intermediate and advanced, and they were in adult schools in the area of Los Angeles. The students were tested on the 8 prepositions of time and place by a diagnostic test. This test was in three parts: multiple choice, error correction and close test. Each part consisted of 15 items. The 45 questions included the repetition of each preposition 4 times in random order. The results came up with the fact that: there was no evidence of significant difference between the language groups based on total test scores. Neither was there any evidence found for interaction effects between the language groups and the factors selected. There was only one factor, previous educational level, which showed significant difference between high school and college subjects. (Khampang, 1974: 218). Different language groups did not affect the subject students performance in the usage of English prepositions. Again, age, sex or the number of years or hours per week allotted for learning English were not important factors in mastering the usage of English prepositions. As for the question about whether certain prepositions were more difficult or easier for certain language groups, the writer had to use the criterion of difficulty in order to answer it. If a group had less than 50% of the responses correct, then the test item was considered difficult. 16 out of the 45 items were considered difficult, and the data showed that not all the four groups had the same responses for the test items. Khampang gave some statements that, as he said, are applicable to ESL teaching. He said that of the three test parts, the close test seemed to be more effective than the other parts in testing the usage of English prepositions. He also argues that to teach them English, there is no need to separate students of English by age, sex, or number of years or hours allotted for learning English. Diagnostic and placement tests came out to be more effective than considering the students L1 backgrounds. Moreover, for a heterogeneous language group, the way of teaching English prepositions of time and place should be the same for all students, along with emphasising the areas of difficulty in English language learning for a particular language group. This last statement is the real objective behind error analysis. Im researching Syrian university students preposition errors in order to see if the errors are as a result of the interference of their first language, Arabic. This will help us devel op strategies to teach those students. An investigation on the grammatical errors made by Swedish 16-year-old learners of English was made by Kohlmyr (2003). She analysed errors in around 400 compositions from two national assessment programmes, and she found that preposition errors accounted for 12% of all the grammatical errors. The preposition errors that were mainly found with to, in, at, of and for included substitution, omission and addition. The most frequent type of error was actually substitution. According to this research, the preposition errors were caused by first language transfer, over-generalisation and simplification. About 50% of the errors were caused by over-generalisation, 40% by first language transfer and 10% by simplification. Gabrys-Biskup argues that interference is the prime cause of the learners second language (in Arnauld Benjoint, 1992). All of the above research articles focused on learner English. Some of them also focused on the usage of English prepositions by EFL learners; for instance, the research done by Scott and Khampang. Scott, in her research, found that the usage of English prepositions was a serious problem for Arabic learners of English (1973). While Khampang said that different language groups did not have effect on the students performance in using English prepositions (1974). That suggests that the usage of English prepositions are a serious problem for learners of English as a foreign language. In Scotts research, preposition errors ranked second after verb errors, and in Mukattashs, they ranked fourth. In both cases, preposition errors are problematic for Arabic learners of English. Also, in Kerrs research study, the preposition errors constituted between 20% and 30% of the overall grammatical errors. Some of the above researchers gave some recommendations and suggestions for dealing with errors. Kerr (1970) said that preventive and remedial teaching had a good and positive effect. This can be done by using clearer explanations and more effective practice at the elementary stage. However, Tadros (1979) suggested intensive drilling. On the other hand, Scott suggested that further investigations should be made on the errors that are committed by Arabic learners of English at their lower levels of English proficiency (1973). She also suggested that researches should look into the influence of classical and colloquial Arabic on Arabic students written English. These suggestions, in addition to my interest, have urged me to conduct a research study into this problematic area for Syrian learners of English, especially since there have not been many studies on this topic, as far as I know. Even at more advanced levels of English proficiency, Syrian learners of English still make errors in the usage of prepositions. The kind of error they make is due to the mother tongue, and since Arabic has two varieties (formal and colloquial), it is worth investigating which one the learners take their English grammar structures from. Scott (1974) says that the English production of Arabic learners is affected by both formal and colloquial Arabic. Nevertheless, we do not know which variety is dominant and to what extent. 3. Methodology and research procedures 3.1. Research questions In this research study, I will look into the preposition usage errors made by Syrian university students and try to answer the following questions: 1. Which kind of error is more effective in using the English prepositions in, on, at, of and to: inter-language interference or other kinds of error? 2. Which variety of Arabic has the influence on the usage of English prepositions of Syrian university students and w Inter-lingual Interference in the Usage of Prepositions Inter-lingual Interference in the Usage of Prepositions Inter-lingual Interference in the Usage of Prepositions in the English of Syrian Students Abstract In recent years, studies of foreign language acquisition have tended to focus on learners errors since they allow for prediction of the difficulties involved in acquiring a foreign language. In this way, teachers can be made aware of the difficult areas to be encountered by their students and devote special care and emphasis to them. Prepositions, on which this dissertation focuses, are one of these difficult areas. Thus, the main objective is to investigate whether the English preposition errors of the Syrian university students come more from inter-lingual interference or from other sources and whether classical or colloquial Arabic has the dominant influence on this interference. It also investigates which category of error in inter-lingual interference is the most frequent in the students using the prepositions in, on, at, of and to. The data is samples consisting of the answers of a diagnostic test by 38 Syrian first-year students of law. The diagnostic test was designed as a mu ltiple choice test and took by the students online. This investigation showed that preposition errors come mainly from inter-lingual interference, which is attributed more to standard Arabic here. It also showed that the students seem to have a serious problem in first language interference errors, especially substitution errors. This has implications for curriculum change and teachers method of teaching. 1. Introduction 1.1. Background of the study Language difficulty is often determined by how far or close the target and mother languages are. â€Å"Contrastive analysis is one of the areas of linguistics which elude a clear, unequivocal, and simple definition† (Vizmuller-Zocco, 1990:466). Errors in a certain area of grammar in the second language are often compared with an area of grammar in the first language. One of the most challenging things in learning English as a second language is using prepositions, â€Å"Among those who teach or learn the English language, prepositions have earned a reputation for difficulty if not downright unpredictability.† (Pittman, 1966) â€Å"As any English teacher well knows, our prepositions are a particularly troublesome lot to the non-native speaker of English† (McCarthy, 1972). When we, non-native speakers of English, speak English, we usually hesitate over choosing the correct preposition or whether a certain verb needs a preposition or not. This matter has always interested me, as many Arabic-speaking learners of English complain about it. Thahir (1987) indicates that prepositions can cause a problem for Arabic learners of English. For instance, an Arabic speaker would say this sentence *Fast trains can travel at a speed of 300m in hour. This is because per hour is expressed as in hour in Arabic. This transfer from Arabic into English is what makes Arabic learners English seem broken. Moreover, some linguists say that the mastery of prepositions in English is a late stage in native-language learning as well (Scott and Tucker, 1974). Therefore, this dissertation intends to look into the differences of preposition aspects between Arabic and English: are their distributions the same? Do all the Arabic words that need prepositions also need prepositions in English? If the words that need prepositions in Arabic also need prepositions in English, are these prepositions the same or different? From these general questions more specific questions will be formulated in the ‘Methodology chapter. 1.2. Grammar of English and Arabic prepositions â€Å"Arabic has a wealth of prepositions†¦with both verbs and adjectives. Many of these do not coincide with their direct English translations† (Swan and Smith, 1987:152). Nevertheless, Arabic prepositions are more limited in number than those of English. Abbas says that there are only twenty prepositions in Arabic (1961:320), while in English, there are fifty seven (Hayden, 1965:171-176). This, as a matter of fact, makes it harder for Arabic learners of English to have a command of English preposition usage. Grubic says: Non-native speakers of English tend to have three types of problems with prepositions: 1. Using the wrong preposition, e.g.: *My grandfather picked the name on me. (for) 2. Omitting a required preposition, e.g.: *I served the Army until 1964. (in) 3. Using a superfluous prepositions, e.g.: *I studied in Biology for three years. (2004:22) Despite all the efforts made by grammar book writers and teachers, learners of English still make mistakes in the usage of prepositions. So, what makes EFL learners make these errors? There is no doubt that Arabic learners of English translate grammar from Arabic into English, ignoring the rigorous grammatical structures of the English language. However, are all preposition-usage errors related to L1? Prepositions are words or groups of words that typically come before a noun phrase and indicate syntactic relations (Matthews, 1997). v My fathers plane arrives after midnight. v We have got a tree in front of the house. v There are no snakes in Ireland. One important feature of prepositions is that they cannot stand alone, regardless of how many words they are combined with (Downing and Locke, 1992). Since prepositions are not independent, they form meaning when combined with nouns or noun phrases, for example: after midnight, in front of the house, in Ireland. â€Å"Prepositions can be divided into three categories, i.e. basic prepositions, systematic prepositions and idiomatic prepositions: v standing on the table. v come on Friday. v comment on speech.† (Karlsson, 2002) In expressing time, on is used with days, such as on Friday, on Saturday and on January 30th. At, on the other hand, indicates a specific part or time of the day, such as at 12 oclock, at noon and at midnight. While in is used with years, months and seasons or main parts of the day, for example in 2001, in summer, in April. For explains a period of time, and by and within indicate limitation of a period of time, such as for six years, by next year and within two hours (Hewings, 2005). The Arabic preposition fee ( »Ã¢â‚¬Å" »Ã‚ ²), which is equivalent to the English in, is used in almost all of the above cases, but for within Arabic uses khilal ( ºÃ‚ »Ã‚ ¼Ã‚ »Ã‚ ). By and for have no equivalents in Arabic and they are expressed in phrases. As for prepositions of movement and place, in is used when indicating a certain position and on when talking about the surface, as in: v The keys are in the drawer. v The keys are on the table. At is used when pointing at a certain place which is close to the object, for example: v Im waiting for you at the bus stop. Inside is used to indicate the inner place of a certain object, while outside is the opposite. v There is a scorpion inside my room. v Outside the Palace, there were crowds of people waiting for the Queen to show up. Also, from and to are opposite prepositions. From indicates the origin of the movement, but to indicates the target of the movement (ibid), as in: v My plane ticket is from London Heathrow to Damascus International Airport. All of the prepositions of movement and place have their equivalents in Arabic:  § in → fee ( »Ã¢â‚¬Å" »Ã‚ ²)  § on → ala ( »Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‚ »Ã‚  Ã‚ »Ã‚ °)  § at → inda ( »Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‚ »Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ª)  § inside → dakhel ( ºÃ‚ ªÃ‚ ºÃ‚ Ã‚ ºÃ‚ »Ã… ¾)  § outside → kharej ( ºÃ‚ ºÃ‚ Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ®Ã‚ ºÃ‚ )  § from → min ( »Ã‚ £Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥)  § to → ila ( ºÃ¢â‚¬ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  Ã‚ »Ã‚ °) 1.3. Study aims The prepositions in, on, at and to are the most commonly used prepositions in English. Therefore, my research study is going to focus closely on these four prepositions in the English of Syrian university students. I will see whether the first language interference kind of error is more effective than the other kinds. I will identify the errors that have to do with L1 interference and see if the interference comes from classical or colloquial Arabic. I will also look at the categories of L1 interference errors and see which one is the most frequent: substitution, addition or omission. This will, hopefully, help Syrian university students improve their written and spoken English. 2. Literature review 2.1. Error analysis One way for identifying errors in preposition usage is error analysis. First of all, it is important to define the word ‘error. An error is â€Å"an instance of language that is unintentionally deviant and is not self-corrigible by its author† (James, 1998:78). Brown considers the errors as either ‘overt or ‘covert (1994:208). According to Ellis (1987) Error analysis was considered as an alternative to contrastive analysis, and it is considered of value in the classroom research (Brown, 1994: 214). It also predicts the difficulties of acquiring a second language (Richards, 1974: 172). Error analysis shows â€Å"the significance of errors in learners inter-language system† (Brown, 1994:204). Ellis and Richards et al say that error analysis can be conducted for pedagogical purposes (1994:51; 1993:127). At the level of pragmatic classroom experience, error analysis will continue to provide one means by which the teacher can assess learning and teaching and determine priorities for future effort (Richards, 1974:15). When we analyse errors, we should give a detailed explanation for each type of error that corresponds to the different processes that Selinker (1992) reported as central to second language learning: language transfer, transfer of training, strategies of second language learning, strategies of second language communication, and overgeneralization of TL [Target Language] linguistic material. Error analysis helps teachers overcome the difficulties learners of English face in learning the language through figuring out the sources of errors and, consequently, taking some precautions towards them. It can be said that error analysis can be used to determine the learners need in learning. 2.2. Language transfer The â€Å"study of transfer depends greatly on the systematic comparisons of languages provided by contrastive analyses† (Odlin, 1989: 28). Odlin goes on to say that although many contrastive analyses provide useful and sometimes highly perceptive information about languages they compare, none comes close to meeting in full the criteria of descriptive and theoretical adequacy. There is no doubt that interference constitutes a major problem and obstacle in language usage amongst learners of a second language. They cannot help letting their mother tongue interfere in the target language. Therefore, some errors are tolerable to native speakers of English. Even native speakers of English have problems with certain preposition structures. Over-generalisation or intra-lingual transfer is said to have a considerably negative effect on learner English. Learners of a second language sometimes transfer some features of grammar to apply it on other inappropriate features. This certainly results in errors in the target language. Almost all the research that has been done so far indicates that preposition misuse is mainly caused by linguistic interference, inappropriate learning and wrong application of rules. Some views contradict this saying that errors of prepositions are due to the complexity of the English language itself. Others go so far as to say that the misuse or errors of a language could be related to bad teaching and resources, ignorance, lack of practice and carelessness. In fact, attitudes vary considerably. The first attitude represents the feeling that errors are undesirable and, therefore, should be avoided, but the second says that errors are inevitable in an imperfect world (Corder, 1981). In behaviourism, errors are depicted as sins that should be avoided and bad habits that should not be tolerated, while in cognitivism, errors are perceived as part of the learning process. The main focus of behaviourism followers methods is on preventing errors, whereas the focus of the methods of cognitivists is on intellectual analyses of the causes of errors and ways of dealing with them. This supports Frenchs argument (1989) that â€Å"errors are oddities that are not evidence of carelessness or of unwillingness but of growing pains and a desire to learn, not punishable offences because they are accidents† (French, 1989). Actually they are part of the language learning process. Humans cannot learn without making errors to err is human. Krashen and Terrell (1983) argue that the errors made by learners are a natural process in learning, and learners will get over this stage of inter-language interference and develop naturally. L1 interference is one of several types of errors learners of a second language make (ibid, 1988: 64-69). When learners of a second language use this language, they have no way but to submit to the grammar of their first language. In the case of English prepositions, when Arabic learners of English are not sure which preposition to use, they literally translate from Arabic into English. As Arabic and English prepositions seldom have one-to-one correspondence, this results in inter-language interference errors. An Arabic preposition may be translated by several English prepositions, while an English usage may have several Arabic translations (Scott and Tucker, 1974: 85). 2.3. Studies on language transfer The processes of language transfer and over-generalisation receive considerable attention. Jain (in Richards, 1974) and Taylor (1975) reported that over-generalisation errors are an application of the generalisation strategies of the learners second language to produce this same second language. Brown states that inter-lingual transfer is the negative influence of the mother tongue, and that intra-lingual transfer is the negative transfer within the target language (1980:173-181). Swan and Smith give a detailed account of errors made by speakers of nineteen different first language backgrounds (1995:ix). Also, Diab (1996) conducted a research on error analysis showing the interference of the mother language, Arabic, in the English writings of EFL students at the American University of Beirut (1996). The transfer of Arabic structures in the Lebanese students writings resulted in a number of errors. However, they made more errors where they felt English and Arabic were similar (articles, prepositions and choice of diction). James indicates that â€Å"the clearest proof of L1 interference is where L1 nonstandard dialect gets transferred to L2† (1998:179). Dulay et al (1982) defines language interference as the automatic transfer from the surface structure of the first language to the surface structure to the second language, while Lott (1983) defines it as errors in learners foreign language that can be attributed to the mother tongue. Ellis also comments on interference saying that it is â€Å"the influence that the learners L1 exerts over the acquisition of an L2† (1997:51). ‘An Analysis of Interference Errors in the Written English of Sudanese Students is a study made by Tadros (1966) in order to analyse the errors of language interference in the writings of Sudanese students. He looked into 472 scripts written by 236 students in their seventh year of English learning. The students were first given different exercises about relative clauses and had to follow explicit instructions. Then they were asked to write a paragraph about their school, using relative clauses. This research made the writer come up with the conclusion that this is an effective way to apply what they have already learnt. I think the conditions were helpful for the students, so their writings were not an indication of their true proficiency level in English. The students were asked to write paragraphs immediately after they had been taught. Scott et al (1974) also made a study in Beirut called â€Å"Error Analysis and English Language Strategies of Arab Students†. This study examined samples of Arab students speech and writing both at the beginning and the end of the semester in an intensive English course; compared the types of error in speech and writing, the frequency of these errors and the relative frequency of the errors made at the beginning and the end of the semester; identified the sources of errors; considered both inter-language interference and intra-language interference in the English learning strategies of Arab students and identified some rules that represent early and late acquisition of a second language. This researcher made this study on 22 Arab students in the first semester of a lower intermediate intensive English course at the University of Beirut. Those students had already completed their school education, where the medium of instruction was Arabic. They had also studied some English as a foreign language. This study revealed that verbs, prepositions and articles are the areas where the students often made errors. It also showed that the error frequency in the usage of prepositions was similar in writing and speech and that the preposition errors at the beginning and the end of the semester ranked after the number of verb errors. Verb errors Preposition errors Beginning of the semester 80 61 End of the semester 60 51 Half of the errors in writing and speech at the beginning of the semester were due to inter-language interference and the other half due to intra-language interference. About two thirds of the errors at the end of the semester were due to inter-language interference and one third due to intra-language interference. Since the larger number of errors was made due to inter-language interference at the end rather than at the beginning of the semester, this means that the students were making more progress in overcoming intra-language interference confusion than in solving the problem of the first language transfer. The interference of Arabic was most obvious in the frequent omission of auxiliaries and copulas, in preposition and article errors and in the repetition of subjects and objects. However, at the end of the semester, the students made a great progress in almost all areas except in prepositions and articles; the interference of the mother language continued to be a dominant feature in the usage of prepositions and articles. The preposition errors fell into three groups: 1. Interference from Arabic. 2. Interference from English. 3. Errors without identifiable source. The preposition errors were reduced by one third during the semester. Although the larger proportion of these errors was attributed to the interference of the first language, it was thought that the students would make progress in the usage of prepositions since it is a late acquisition in native language learning (Scott et al, 1974:95). The researcher suggested that other studies should investigate the errors made by Arab students at both lower and higher levels of English proficiency and if inter-language interference comes from formal or colloquial Arabic. She suggests that â€Å"interference in writing comes from classical Arabic but interference in speech from colloquial Arabic.† (ibid: 96). Mukattash made a pilot project in common grammatical errors in Jordanian English (1981: 250-291). The broad objective of his research â€Å"Common Grammatical Errors in Jordanian English† is to get a general idea of the areas in English syntax which are problematic to Jordanian students at university. The specific objective of his research was to calculate and analyse the different types of errors in the written English of Jordanian university students. The subject students were 200 first-year students at the University of Jordan. They were graduates of public secondary schools, where they had received eight years of English language teaching. They were also from different parts of Jordan and some of them were from the West Bank in Palestine. The students were given a comprehensive test in comprehension, structure and vocabulary. All the 200 essays contained errors, but the detailed analysis was made on only fifty essays, which were chosen randomly. The errors in the usage of prepositions ranked fourth in the order of the total occurrence of errors. This study disagrees with Scotts study, which ranks preposition usage errors second after verb errors. Here the ranking order is as follows: verbals, articles, nominals and prepositions. The percentage of the preposition errors was 15% of the overall number of errors in the fifty essays. Although we cannot compare the results of the two studies due to the fact that Scott did not state precisely what percentage the preposition usage errors constituted in the writings of her subject students, we can say that preposition errors are still a serious problem for Arabic learners of English. In Scotts study, the percentage of interference from Arabic was 67%, while in this Study, it is 78%. However, the interference of Arabic in the usage of prepositions is still significant in the results of both studies. Also, Kerr (1970) made a study on the common errors in the English writings of a group of Greek learners of English as a foreign language. The research study purpose was to show the teachers of English in Greece the serious problems their students have in writing. Teachers find certain types of errors which they have previously ignored, and so find indications of the kinds of preventive and remedial teaching that would prevent the growth of bad language habits by using clearer explanations and more effective practice at the more elementary stages of learning. The errors also indicate the areas of language on which tests and examinations would be based. (Kerr, 1970: ix). Kerr based his study on over a thousand compositions written by adult students at an advanced level of English proficiency. The causes of the errors found were ignorance of words and constructions to express an idea, carelessness of the students, the interference of the mother language and making false analogies within the target language. Between 20% and 30% of the grammatical errors made by the Greek students involved errors in the usage of prepositions of all types (ibid, 1970: 22). Handrickson (1979) made another research study on error analysis and error correction at Ohio State University called ‘Error Analysis and Error Correction on ESL Learners at Ohio State University. The subject learners were adults of intermediate level studying English as a second language. His study aimed at identifying the most frequent communicative and linguistic errors in the compositions of intermediate ESL learners. It also aimed at determining the effect of the teachers direct correction on the English writing proficiency of students. He found that most of the communicative errors were as a result of inadequate lexical knowledge, incorrect use of prepositions and pronouns or misspelling of lexical items. On the other hand, the linguistic errors were caused by inappropriate lexical choice, lack of subject-verb agreement, the omission and misuse of prepositions, incorrect word order or misspelling of words. The effect of the teachers direct error correction on the students English proficiency in writing came out to be statistically insignificant. Another study was made in the United States on EFL learners, but this time on Iranian students. The research was conducted by Henning (1978) at the University of California and is called ‘A Developmental Analysis of English Errors Made by Iranian Students. He analysed the developmental error patterns of the Iranian learners of English as a second language. The subjects of this study were 22 Iranian women in the second semester of their first year at Damayand College in Tehran, Iran. The students had already had an average of six years of English learning and were, at the time of the research, enrolled in an intensive course where 20 hours of English language teaching was being given to them. The medium of instruction was also English. â€Å"The conclusion reached was that†¦mastery in the usage of English prepositions according to their meanings is one of the most sensitive indicators of the degree of English proficiency† (Henning, 1978:396-397). Zarei (2002) also found that, for Iranian EFL learners, the collocations of prepositions are among the most problematic collocations in English. Khampang (1974) also made a research study at the University of California. This Research study is called ‘The Difficulties in Using English Prepositions, and it focused on the difficulties facing Thai learners of English in using English prepositions. The research was conducted to investigate what the prepositions that Thai learners of English found difficult to learn were and whether there was a big difference between the prepositions that Thai learners of English chose and those chosen by learners of English from other L1 backgrounds. It also investigated whether the problem of using English prepositions was universal, shared with non-Thai learners of English, or Thai learners had specific problems. He wanted to know if this problem was due to first language interference and, consequently, predictable from contrastive analysis. The study was only on 8 simple prepositions of time and place: in, on, at, for, to, from, by and the empty form ∅. ‘The subject students in this research were 169 students from different L1 backgrounds: 40 from Thailand, 48 from Japan, 38 from Spain and 43 from countries of different language backgrounds (Persian, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese and Arabic). The levels of the students were both intermediate and advanced, and they were in adult schools in the area of Los Angeles. The students were tested on the 8 prepositions of time and place by a diagnostic test. This test was in three parts: multiple choice, error correction and close test. Each part consisted of 15 items. The 45 questions included the repetition of each preposition 4 times in random order. The results came up with the fact that: there was no evidence of significant difference between the language groups based on total test scores. Neither was there any evidence found for interaction effects between the language groups and the factors selected. There was only one factor, previous educational level, which showed significant difference between high school and college subjects. (Khampang, 1974: 218). Different language groups did not affect the subject students performance in the usage of English prepositions. Again, age, sex or the number of years or hours per week allotted for learning English were not important factors in mastering the usage of English prepositions. As for the question about whether certain prepositions were more difficult or easier for certain language groups, the writer had to use the criterion of difficulty in order to answer it. If a group had less than 50% of the responses correct, then the test item was considered difficult. 16 out of the 45 items were considered difficult, and the data showed that not all the four groups had the same responses for the test items. Khampang gave some statements that, as he said, are applicable to ESL teaching. He said that of the three test parts, the close test seemed to be more effective than the other parts in testing the usage of English prepositions. He also argues that to teach them English, there is no need to separate students of English by age, sex, or number of years or hours allotted for learning English. Diagnostic and placement tests came out to be more effective than considering the students L1 backgrounds. Moreover, for a heterogeneous language group, the way of teaching English prepositions of time and place should be the same for all students, along with emphasising the areas of difficulty in English language learning for a particular language group. This last statement is the real objective behind error analysis. Im researching Syrian university students preposition errors in order to see if the errors are as a result of the interference of their first language, Arabic. This will help us devel op strategies to teach those students. An investigation on the grammatical errors made by Swedish 16-year-old learners of English was made by Kohlmyr (2003). She analysed errors in around 400 compositions from two national assessment programmes, and she found that preposition errors accounted for 12% of all the grammatical errors. The preposition errors that were mainly found with to, in, at, of and for included substitution, omission and addition. The most frequent type of error was actually substitution. According to this research, the preposition errors were caused by first language transfer, over-generalisation and simplification. About 50% of the errors were caused by over-generalisation, 40% by first language transfer and 10% by simplification. Gabrys-Biskup argues that interference is the prime cause of the learners second language (in Arnauld Benjoint, 1992). All of the above research articles focused on learner English. Some of them also focused on the usage of English prepositions by EFL learners; for instance, the research done by Scott and Khampang. Scott, in her research, found that the usage of English prepositions was a serious problem for Arabic learners of English (1973). While Khampang said that different language groups did not have effect on the students performance in using English prepositions (1974). That suggests that the usage of English prepositions are a serious problem for learners of English as a foreign language. In Scotts research, preposition errors ranked second after verb errors, and in Mukattashs, they ranked fourth. In both cases, preposition errors are problematic for Arabic learners of English. Also, in Kerrs research study, the preposition errors constituted between 20% and 30% of the overall grammatical errors. Some of the above researchers gave some recommendations and suggestions for dealing with errors. Kerr (1970) said that preventive and remedial teaching had a good and positive effect. This can be done by using clearer explanations and more effective practice at the elementary stage. However, Tadros (1979) suggested intensive drilling. On the other hand, Scott suggested that further investigations should be made on the errors that are committed by Arabic learners of English at their lower levels of English proficiency (1973). She also suggested that researches should look into the influence of classical and colloquial Arabic on Arabic students written English. These suggestions, in addition to my interest, have urged me to conduct a research study into this problematic area for Syrian learners of English, especially since there have not been many studies on this topic, as far as I know. Even at more advanced levels of English proficiency, Syrian learners of English still make errors in the usage of prepositions. The kind of error they make is due to the mother tongue, and since Arabic has two varieties (formal and colloquial), it is worth investigating which one the learners take their English grammar structures from. Scott (1974) says that the English production of Arabic learners is affected by both formal and colloquial Arabic. Nevertheless, we do not know which variety is dominant and to what extent. 3. Methodology and research procedures 3.1. Research questions In this research study, I will look into the preposition usage errors made by Syrian university students and try to answer the following questions: 1. Which kind of error is more effective in using the English prepositions in, on, at, of and to: inter-language interference or other kinds of error? 2. Which variety of Arabic has the influence on the usage of English prepositions of Syrian university students and w