THE INFLUENCE OF MOTHER TONGUE ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Uzbekistan State University of World Languages

English language and literature faculty 

Group-2406 student Abdurahimova Anora 

https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8510-8065

Email: anoraxonabdurahimova@gmail.com                                                                    

+998 33 316 47 17

ANNOTATION: The article will scientifically analyze the mastery of English and the influence of the native language on this process. The mother tongue is one of the most important aspects that affect the acquisition of English, and it determines how perfectly we master this language. The advantages or disadvantages that the native language creates during the process of learning a second language are also clearly illustrated with several examples. The result of the study provides a comprehensive statement of the advantages of the native language and the disadvantages of the learners’ language learning process for English learners.

KEYWORDS: mother tonguage, second language acquisition, foreign language teaching, pronunciation difficulties, grammatical interference, bilingualism, positive and negative development, learning strategies, English language learning. 

ANNOTATSIYA: Maqolada ingliz tilini o’zlashtirish va ona tilining bu jarayonga bo’lgan ta’siri ilmiy jihatdan tahlil qilinadi. Ona tili ingliz tilini o’zlashtirishga ta’sir qiluvchi eng muhim jihatlardan biri bo’lib, u qanchalik bu tilni mukammal o’zlashtirishimizni belgilab beradi. Shuningdek, ikkinchi tilni o’rganish jarayonida ona tili yaratadigan qulayliklar yoki qiyinchiliklar bir qancha misollar bilan aniq yoritiladi. Tadqiqot natijasi ingliz tili o’rganuvchilarga ona tilining afzalliklari va o’rganuvchilarning til o’rganish jarayonidagi kamchiliklari haqida to’liq bayonot beradi.

KALIT SO’ZLAR: ona tili, ikkinchi tilni o’zlashtirish, chet tillarini o’qitish, talaffuzdagi qiyinchiliklar, grammatik aralashuv, ikki tilli, ijobiy va salbiy rivojlanish, o’rganish strategiyalari, ingliz tilini o’rganish.

АННОТАЦИЯ: В статье будет проведен научный анализ овладения английским языком и влияния родного языка на этот процесс. Родной язык является одним из важнейших аспектов, влияющих на овладение английским языком, и от него зависит, насколько в совершенстве мы овладеваем этим языком. Преимущества или недостатки, которые создает родной язык в процессе изучения второго языка, также наглядно иллюстрируются несколькими примерами. Результат исследования дает исчерпывающее представление о преимуществах родного языка и недостатках процесса изучения языка учащимися, изучающими английский язык.

КЛЮЧЕВЫЕ СЛОВА: родной язык, овладение вторым языком, обучение иностранному языку, трудности с произношением, грамматические помехи, двуязычие, позитивное и негативное развитие, стратегии обучения, изучение английского языка.

INTRODUCTION

Today, the desire to learn a language is growing, one of which is English. There are many problems that learners face on this path. For example, pronunciation problems, grammatical errors, difficulty understanding listening, low self-confidence, and inability to communicate freely. All of these problems are inherent in the native language of each learner, which means that the native language can have a positive effect on the process of mastering the English language and can help solve problems. It is clear that this article proves how effective the mother tongue is in teaching English and provides useful suggestions.

Nowadays, there are many opportunities for language learners, especially English learners. An example of this is that linguists who have achieved 7.0 and a high score in the IELTS exam in Uzbekistan have been reimbursed for the cost of the exam, and the opportunity for foreign universities to win a full grand can also open this very English. As our president explained: “it’s time to establish a new environment in which the future will be the foundation for teaching foreign languages.” Therefore, this article presents the results of effective, useful, and beneficial research towards creating this environment.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: The extent to which the native language affects the process of second language learning during this introduction has been determined through several methods:

1. Theoretical analysis: with the help of this method, an analysis of scientific works and articles, tutorials on the role and importance of the native language in mastering English was studied in depth. The research of researchers such as David Nunan, the valuable information they gave, the concepts were analyzed one by one.
2. Observational and applied research: the shortcomings or achievements of young people whose native language is other in the learning process of English have been meticulously observed, and the difference between the two has been clearly demonstrated.
3. Experimental group and control group: two other groups with the first language were selected and approaches and guidelines in their language learning process were established. The results shown were compared in each group.
4. Survey and evaluation: questionnaires were distributed and the results were compared to those who were knowledgeable and received about the impact of their native language on the second language learning process.

REVIEW OF USED LITERATURE

This topic is much more relevant now that the passion for learning a language is high. Also, the work of all the researchers who worked within the framework of this topic was analyzed one by one Also, the work of all the researchers who worked within the framework of this topic was analyzed one by one. Obviously, the problems of several language learners have also been solved in a positive way, but to this day no new ideas for the distribution of new methods, a separate group or teachers have been developed, depending on the native language of the students and to what extent they know the grammar of this language. It is very easy to find out from their result that the work of the researchers mentioned earlier was also thorough, consistent and negative.

Focusing on foreign sources Do Quoc Khanh, on the other hand, shares his experience with 100 readers in his article and touches on their origins, problems in pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary. Another researcher Kuldashev Rustambek Avezmurodovich mentions that the native language plays an important role not only in language learning, but also in teaching, and focuses more on the useful aspects of the native language that the English language gives to the learning process. 

RESULTS

This section introduces the outcome of the above-mentioned experiences and compares young people with two different native languages. The results show that students who know languages whose grammar, position in the sentence structure English is the same, have a 20% higher language acquisition process efficiency than other learners. The role and significance of the first language is also felt when working with the group is given in this study. In addition, the results of a survey from teachers and students show that 80% of people have assessed that the learning process of English is influenced by the first language of the learner. The result of the study:

A total of 80% of people shown in blue and they consider their native language important in the language learning process. The people shown in yellow consider effort and exploration important in the process of learning a language. The percentage of people who prioritize motivation is in gray.

CONCLUSION

It is clear that the learner’s first language has an impact on their language acquisition process. The grammar, pronunciation, and word order of a learner’s native language can make learning a new language easier. It is clear that along with a passion for language learning, motivation, and relentless efforts, first language is important for language learning. The results of research, scientific works, and studies show that language is a social phenomenon, and the first language a learner acquires determines their subsequent language acquisition process.

We can say that the first language of the learner brings with it opportunities or challenges, depending on what it is. It is undeniable that each language has its own opportunities or challenges. If I offer suggestions and recommendations, the method of grouping learners based on their first language can facilitate the language acquisition process and provide several opportunities.

REFERENCES

1. Nguyen, M. T., & Do, Q. K. (2025). The influence of mother tongue on English language acquisition: A case study at Nguyen Tat Thanh University. American Journal of Psychiatric Rehabilitation, 28(1). https://doi.org/10.69980/ajpr.v28i1.38
2. Kuldashev, R. A., & Shabonova, S. B. (2024). The role of mother tongue in teaching foreign languages. Excellencia: International Multi-disciplinary Journal of Education. https://doi.org/10.5281/
3. Nguyen, D. T. T. (2020). The roles of mother tongue in enhancing English language acquisition in English-policy classes. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 6(4), 109–115. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20200604.11
4. Raut, B. B. (2024). Influence of mother tongue on English language learning in the EFL context of Nepal. GS WOW: Wisdom of Worthy Research Journal, 3(2), 33–44. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14542586
5. Kotipalli, N. D. (2025). A study on the role of mother tongue in English language acquisition among rural learners. International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, 6(8), 1499–1502. https://doi.org/10.55248/gengpi.6.0825.2914
6. Asad, M. (2025). The impact of mother tongue interference on English syntax: A case study of EFL students at Technical College, Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Language, Linguistics, Literature and Culture, 4(3), 13-30. https://doi.org/10.59690/ijlllc.v4i03.018

To My Beloved Wife

By Bai Gengsheng

About the Author: Vice Chairman of the China Writers Association, Member of the Standing Committee of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Honorary Dean of the China Yulong Wenbi Dongba Culture Academy

Translator: Lan Xin (Lanxin Samei)

About the Translator: Internationally renowned writer and poet, the only female inheritor of the World Memory Heritage Dongba Culture, Dean of the China Yulong Wenbi Dongba Culture Academy, Winner of International Literary Awards

Thirty-three years ago,

I met you,

And set you on a lifetime of giving.

Back then,

I said I was an ethnic minority,

You said you had long yearned for that;

I said I was born in the great southwest,

You said you had always dreamed of its wonderful customs and scenery;

I said I was a man from the mountains,

You said you loved my calm and kindness;

I said I was just a worker-peasant student,

You said it was because the college entrance exam had not yet resumed;

I said my work would keep me in the fields,

You said that was the most down-to-earth;

I said I was penniless and had no luck with wealth,

You said having knowledge made me the richest man;

I said my profession had once seen many “rightists”,

You said that era was gone forever;

I said my Mandarin was not fluent,

You said your skill would help me speak with a Beijing accent.

Your figure was everywhere on the stage back then,

Your beauty was indispensable to the landscape;

Countless eyes were drawn to you,

Many hearts were set ablaze by you.

What did it matter that you were not from the mountains, an ethnic minority, from the great southwest, or a worker-peasant student?

Who made you stay true to your heart,

And walk with me for thirty-three years?

Thirty-three years passed,

You followed me through wind, frost, and toil.

My home expanded from eight square meters,

My salary grew from forty-nine yuan;

My academic career started with short articles,

My steps always measured the land of words,

My spirit always roamed the cosmos.

Yet I bore none of the burden of raising our daughter and caring for our parents;

You raised our daughter and cared for our parents, always shedding tears alone;

You found joy in those tears,

You endured illness and pain in silence,

You never doubted anything I did,

Firmly believing I would always stay true to my original heart:

Upholding one faith,

Cherishing one ideal,

Joining one political party,

Holding one nationality,

Pursuing one profession,

Earning one salary,

Needing one home,

Loving one woman,

Raising one child,

Not envying others’ wealth and many descendants.

Thirty-three years later,

I never took you to watch lanterns,

I rarely went to dances with you;

I never asked about daily chores or social status,

I never knew the hardship of cleaning and sweeping;

You always hoped my writings would outlive me,

You loved my calm and peaceful nature.

Your sweetness was lying down to hear me tell stories of “Wolf Grandma”,

Your comfort was singing a song softly or loudly,

Your encouragement was a sincere and true kiss,

Your love was a gentle smile without many words,

Your promise was to hold my hand as we grow old.

Ah,

My beloved wife,

Thirty-two years is not short,

Thirty-two years is not long;

How many black hairs have turned to white frost,

My beloved wife,

In this life and the next, I owe you more and more,

In this life and the next, I owe you more and more——

Yet I still have a heart full of passion,

Yet I still have a heart full of loyalty,

I can only move forward bravely,

I can only give you all my love.

My beloved wife,

I will never forget your days and nights under the stars and moon for thirty-three years,

I will never forget your hand in mine through wind and snow,

I will never forget your letters when I wandered far and wide,

I will never forget your heartbeat when I rose and fell in officialdom.

Thirty-three years later,

I will also never forget how you warmed me in the bitter cold,

I will never forget how you made soup for our family and stayed by my side;

I will never forget how you remained unstained in a corrupt world,

Like an orchid blooming quietly in an empty valley, exuding a faint fragrance.

The Ark

What’s art to the soul, bees’re to flowers; a wasteland without either?

I’m pushed far off into the river, because the government wants to uproot this slum and develop the land. Land is scarce, and I have been driven out with the rest of slum-dwellers, not once or twice but many, driven out mercilessly, our shacks bulldozed, our spirits broken. But we rise again in a phoenix existence, governments cannot rid of us. 

The sun rises even as we speak, I see lights filtered through the bees of the lush forest around the deep seas where the river and the sea meet, where I make an ark and I sleep in it another type of dwelling made in the seas. An expert in ark-making which I’ve become now from building a long ark, way too long for all the slum dwellers to live. This skill is a lifesaver, I make, mend broken arks and paint over its solid wood, until this becomes an art. Every time a hut on land is bulldozed, tall towers, constructed in its place, I appear before the demolished shacks to take advantage, and elsewhere into the seas until the ark glows at night like a spec on dark sea waves.

Ark dwellers pay me well. I can now build a brick house with it on an isolated island; papers, leases—documents, works for all that’s worth. Even join the builders’ group with such quality skills I’ve learn’t from ark building. They will gladly hire me and I can eventually buy them off. Great transformations lay on the horizon, as I start to lay bricks for a building of development project of a newly vacated slum. Then one day, a few men from the ark come along putting a claim to the land, because this is where their lost shacks were. They are no seafarers.

I look at them, I hide my face for I know these people whom I built strong new arks, my soulful arts on the sea. In my growing distance from the hive, those live off the sea. Oh! Look, look at me! What I have become!  My place isn’t on board the ark is an art I chose, which I choose to opt out. I’m a beyond rich, a brick layer by trade who owns a flat on this island—a wasteland of monstrosity called development, ultimately altruistic, a symbiotic symbolism where bees and beaus disconnect.

In ambitious film producer Dianne Angel’s memoir Every Restaurant Tells a Story, old Hollywood glamour is tinged with tragedy and motifs of potential danger. We enter smoky, booze-filled, elegant restaurants, hear old-time clever, and crass, writers’ room dialogue, and revel in the lush descriptions of clothing and accessories. 

Each chapter involves food or drinks at a different restaurant or bar, hence the memoir’s title. These venues range from Hollywood to low-income student neighborhoods in Los Angeles to still-Communist Eastern Europe to South Africa during apartheid. Although sheltered as privileged Americans in the entertainment industry, the characters still get glimpses of the rest of the world’s injustices and traumas. Planes divert their course due to political unrest abroad, Black restaurant servers have to leave to make it out of South African cities before racially based curfews, and intriguing acquaintances have massive gun collections. 

There’s often a dirtier, menacing, or just more ordinary underbelly to the tales. AIDS cuts short vibrant, creative lives, whirlwind engagements turn out to be financial scams, naive aspiring starlets dine unknowingly with armed international spies. This world is also unpredictable: the most hilarious, creative, heartfelt, or meaningful projects can be suddenly canceled on a whim, even after filming has started. The suspense adds mystery and texture to the chapters, as we find ourselves reading some of the short vignettes over to see if we missed any clues to what was really happening. 

Yet, the memoir never becomes a trite, one-dimensional morality play on the vanity of pursuing fame, or money, or beauty. While there’s certainly a class structure and pecking order in this culture and no guarantee of success, these characters enjoy their experiences and can reflect on them with a sense of humor. Also, people find real love and genuine friendship in these pages, as they connect and share food and drinks. While the author’s reconnection with an old acquaintance who becomes her husband is touching (and the incident with her car is tragically hilarious!), the most tender part is how her college study group morphs into lifelong friendships. 

This collection is worth a read: entertaining, heartfelt, and a portrait of an era experienced by intriguing and memorable personalities in various times and places. In a time when people seem to gather in person less often, this book is a call to consider what we might be missing by choosing food delivery or staying at home over going out with friends or co-workers. And, mostly, it’s a charming and elegant set of stories that draws you in with drama, mystery, and grace. 

Every Restaurant Tells a Story is available here from Lost Telegram Press. 

About the author: Dianne’s career is a fascinating journey through the entertainment and technology industries. In the 1970s, driven by an aspiring film producer’s dreams, she began her work as Vice President of Project Development at Zeitman/Townsend Productions at Columbia Pictures. At Z/T Productions she wrote the screenplay, James Barry with Robert Townsend, Executive Producer. She also wrote Berlin with Robert Townsend for Z/T (neither film was produced). She developed Weekend Fathers for CBS Television. (Not produced).

In the early 1990s, Dianne transitioned her skills to Silicon Valley, where she was a Human Resources executive for high-tech companies. She has published numerous poems that highlight human frailty and triumph, in Moonshine Ink. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from UCLA. Dianne is a native of California, born in Palo Alto, California.

Trident Temperament

“Poseidon, god of the earthquake, launched a colossal wave, terrible,

murderous, arching over him, pounding down…, hard as a windstorm

blasting piles of dry parched chaff.”

—from The Odyssey by Homer

Nature’s glass harmonica cries

magnolia blossoms wilt

yet scent the breeze as tree

leaves hit earth then take

flight in renewed gusts,

slicing the liquified soil

like expert wave-riders

dodging foam, hanging five—

surfers’ heads slightly covered

by Poseidon’s curl—creating,

arching, holding magnificence

in abeyance as seagulls hover

above them, leading the way

to the bumpy, slick,  shoreline,

littered with sand dollars, scallops,

periwinkles, abalone shards,

clams, pucca shells, and sea snails

paving dryland with vestiges

of yesteryear’s salty mollusks

and magnolia leaf exoskeletons.

***************************************************************

Video Caretakers

I’ve seen spoken word poets die on stage

Observed pedestrians walk in traffic

Urged on flickering senior flames to rage

Applauded graffiti artist graphics.

Since COVID hit, I’d spent more time on ZOOM

Meeting troubadours from Peru to Perth

Past always prologue informed love and doom

Shared tomes that drew tears or engendered mirth.

Yesterday ICE arrested my neighbor

An army veteran, father of five

Family—citizens—followed out the door

Birthright Americans better dead than alive.

I just witnessed another poet’s death

An ICE agent shot Renee Good— perverse!

I’ll quit Zoom but wonder till my last breath

Why real villains evade a poet’s curse.

***************************************************************

Derelict Inspiration

My life accomplishments

appear before me in moments

unrequested and hang before me

long enough to appreciate

boarders and minute details

that appear in short second impressions

then disappear like footprints embossed

in wet sand—deeply defined

only as long as the blink of an eye

while ground swells rise—swallowed

and erased by the ocean’s tide

advancing like a thin plate glass

window nourishing, destroying

renewing…leaving the Salish Sea

beaches cleansed, nondescript

giving me time to reflect how

flashbacks take on lives of their own

provoked by the sound of an earworm,

the smell of salt water, or flight of a heron

that triggers my flotsam jetsam memories.

***************************************************************

Creation’s Critics Fibonacci

C.

J.

never

insisted

that I shave

my legs, armpits and

chest or to wax my pubic hairs

I didn’t think twice

about her

body

hair

stance

that she

referred to

natural positivity

pure and pristine as

Lilith who

emerged

from

clay

in the

Garden of

Eden contrasting

her to Eve, the body shamed femme

fatal the second

biblical

account

of

life.

***************************************************************

Memory (Hawaii)

Palm trees bend, shake, rustle tunes that

Whisper like tiny whistles through fronds.

Your body like a floral island,

Where eager castaway fingers sink into sands

Inhaling exotic nights, exhaling rabid romance—

Eros entwined, shapes frolic, twist, turn

Faceless days advance without numbers;

Tasks continue devoid of deadlines

Hawaii I long to pierce your lusty wilderness with

Temperate thoughts, plumeria leis commemorating ideals

Perfumed breezes accelerating as

They gust toward north shore.

May the fantastic return with clarity,

Latch onto winners, losers, dreamers

Provide fanciful fodder—enabling those

Who dwell in tropical mists,

Engulfed by naked forest ferns, time for

Jettisoned memories and lost opportunities

Sterling Warner’s Brief Biography

An award-winning author, poet, and former Evergreen Valley College English Professor, Sterling Warner’s works have appeared many literary magazines, journals, and anthologies including  Lothlórien Poetry Journal, Ekphrastic Review, Synchronized Chaos, and Sparks of Calliope. Warner’s collections of poetry/fiction include Rags and Feathers, Without Wheels, ShadowCat, Edges, Memento Mori: A Chapbook Redux, Serpent’s Tooth, Flytraps, Cracks of Light: Pandemic Poetry & Fiction 2019-2022, Halcyon Days: Collected Fibonacci, Abraxas: Poems (2024), and Masques: Flash Fiction & Short Stories. Presently, Warner writes, hosts/participates in “virtual” poetry readings, turns wood, and enjoys retirement in Washington. 

******************************************************************************

Sterling Warner’s Author Website

https://www.amazon.com/author/amazon.com_sterling.warner

Pig Butchering

Our modern world
lacking in humanity
herding them
into secret factories
tricked and trafficked
forced to toil
enslaved to enrich
Chinese crime gangs
with specific scripts
for pig butchering:
romance and crypto
investment scams.

Victims prey on victims
via fake online profiles
via deepfake videos
rich marks lured
by poor workers lured
to fake paying jobs
to real unpaid labor
bad food, packed dorms
beatings as morale boosters
living like farm animals
with 15-hour stints
warehouses of screens
running myriad scams
ruining others’ lives
their own lives ruined
trapped in the system
of ultra-modern slavery
to the vast organizations
that are bilking billions
from the global economy
in the ever-expanding
lawless global zones
in the scam compounds
of the pig butchering industry.

https://www.wired.com/story/he-leaked-the-secrets-southeast-asian-scam-compound-then-had-to-get-out-alive/

a fascist is a fascist is a fascist

Night town
white town
deep snow
deep cold
color white
and here we all are
a hybrid nation of individual
freedoms blackbooted
stomped upon
laws, norms, civility
under hard ice feet
glorifying the crush
the masks and heavy arms
bulked up brutality
colorless cruelty
attack dogs attacking
what stands in the way
of a demented mind
of a bulldozed morality
while the red rose pools
red  red  red
on the soft white snow.

No matter what the Administration might say, in embattled Minneapolis a rose is still a rose is still a rose.

A new life of the season

That haunts the Mayflower gardens

I keep my vigil high

No one is nearer than death

Alaska rides and sky high buildings

The topmost is nearer to me

My garden is full of sweet marvel

As I gazed upon the peonies high

The merry go round of life is at my hand

To know that dream like state

Where pansies grew upon the hedgehog smile.