Mother Tongue Interference on Speaking Skills among Sabahan Students

Speakers of second languages may struggle communicating due to interference from the mother tongue. This is especially true among Sabahan students, since Sabah, Malaysia is multilingual. This study seeks to identify the interference of the mother tongue among Sabahan students at Universiti Teknologi MARA, as well as the strategies they employ to reduce the interference. Five respondents were selected via purposive sampling, and data collected from interview sessions was audiotaped and transcribed, and then analysed using content analysis methodology. The study finds that mother tongue interference reduces fluency due to errors in language transfers, and carries phonological effects that hinders pronunciation. Despite this, the efficacy of communication remains stable. The findings suggest ways that Sabahan learners of English can be supported by educators and the education system.

second language learning, mother tongue interference, pronunciation

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