Analysing Preposition Errors Made by Jordanian University Students ()
1. Introduction
Writing skills help students with a wide range of academic and business tasks, such as writing essays, theses, business letters, presentations, and so on. The Department of Education made writing a part of the basic education curriculum, especially in English, because it is so important. Teachers can help students master language the right way. According to Chen (2022) students need instruction to develop into competent authors. They need to practice converting their understanding of grammatical ideas from spoken to written form. That points out that students’ grammatical choices can affect their writing styles.
The process of acquiring proficiency in writing poses significant challenges within the realm of language acquisition the difficulty in question was encountered by a significant majority of students (Putri et al., 2022) . Because of this, knowing how to use grammar correctly is one of the most crucial abilities a student can have. Prepositions are an integral part of proper grammatical usage. One of its purposes is to characterize connections between things. Relationships in directions, locations, times, and states of mind and feeling are all included.
Numerous prior investigations have indicated deficiencies in English writing proficiency, particularly in the area of preposition usage among the student population, this observation was made by Anjayani and Suprapto (2016) in their research, and the present writer has also observed instances where students continue to struggle with letter selection, further highlighting this issue. Selection of appropriate prepositions. Certain individuals possessed knowledge regarding the purpose of prepositions, although they exhibited a tendency to apply information derived from the target language to all linguistic structures encountered.
The use of prepositions in English is subject to a wide variety of regulations. Prepositions are words used in English grammar that demonstrate the relationship of a noun or pronoun to other words in the same sentence. The tiny pieces that are used to connect words in a phrase are sometimes referred to as “widgets” for this reason. Where, when, and why terms, as well as more generic descriptors, are introduced as part of this process (Tulabut et al., 2018) . Prepositional errors are the most frequent type of error made by English learners of all backgrounds, according to researchers in the field of second language acquisition (Catalán, 1996) .
Many scholarly publications have examined the deficiencies in English writing abilities among students, particularly in the context of English as a second language. Additionally, a significant issue has been identified with the misuse of prepositions in the written work of postgraduate students. The prevalence of excessive preposition usage and preposition omissions has been identified as prevalent challenges among English as Second Language (ESL) learners. Furthermore, students often encounter challenges when attempting to employ prepositions effectively in their writing skills (Akhtar & Rizwan, 2017) .
All of the participants in the Mohaghegh et al. (2011) survey on grammatical errors made mistakes with prepositions, making them the most frequently occurring grammatical error in English. Articles and relative pronouns come in a close second. The situation flips for those who aren’t fluent in the language. Writing errors involving prepositions are prevalent among non-native speakers, according to research by (Arjan et al., 2013) . Prepositional errors are a common issue for Filipino students when writing. Mistakes in spelling, word order, prepositions, and subjects and verbs have been previously noted among Jordanian students. According to the data, pupils frequently made basic grammatical mistakes in their writing. Those findings can be found in (Obeidat & Sheik, 2021) . This strain has been an issue for quite some time, as has been recorded by various researchers. In order to help direct this study toward its desired outcomes, we developed a set of research goals. Academics at Jordanian universities have suggested a number of ideas to help EFL teachers alleviate their students’ paragraph-writing struggles. Error detection has significant teaching and educational implications in Jordan. Following the establishment of research goals, a series of research queries are formulated. Teaching English in a foreign setting can be challenging for ESL instructors and English language students in schools and universities (ELLs). In some classrooms in foreign environments, the current teaching techniques and skills are comparable to those of the past. Students who wait for the teacher to talk about English sit, listen, and wait for the teacher to explain everything related to the class and nothing else about the book; consequently, the result of such a teaching method is not always satisfactory for students, as teachers forget that students have different learning preferences and cultural backgrounds.
2. Related Works
2.1. Prepositions
Prepositions are relatively short words that play a significant role in the overall sense of a sentence. They reveal connections between things, people, and locations. They’re also crucial for establishing the flow of the phrase. In a sentence, prepositions are used to link nouns to one another or to other elements of speech. Even though prepositions don’t always stand on their own, they’re crucial to the dialogue process. Prepositions are an important class of function words that signal various connections between their complements and the parts of speech that come before them in a phrase. Prepositions can indicate a variety of functional relations, including temporal, spatial, and directional ones. Downing provides a thorough examination of the semantic roles and syntactic properties of prepositions. As Abdelghani & Ibrahim (2017) explains function words like prepositions “delineate larger phrases into which NP’s, VP’s, and AP’s fit, thereby giving scaffolding for the sentence”. Further, “Function words also capture much of what makes one language grammatically distinct from another,” he says. There is a lack of research into how non-native speakers learn English prepositions in comparison to other areas of language study, such as phonology and syntax. Several studies have examined the problems Arab students of English have grasping prepositions. The majority of these analyses attempted to evaluate the similarity or dissimilarity between particular English prepositions and their Arabic equivalents, previous studies have sought to identify the predominant errors committed by Palestinian English language learners in their usage of prepositions. The study conducted by Hamdallah & Tushyeh (1998) had two primary objectives: firstly, to conduct a comparative analysis of a limited number of English and Arabic prepositions; and secondly, to determine the primary sources of inaccuracy and the most common challenges encountered by Arab learners of English.
2.2. The Preposition Problem
In most languages, prepositions account for 14 percent of all words (Abolhassani & Mehmandust, 2015) . It has been stated that their error class rates are some of the highest of all languages. Preposition choice accounted for 17.2% of all mistakes in a small corpus of advanced-intermediate French as a Second Language (FSL) learners analyzed by (Abolhassani & Mehmandust, 2015) . Because they are both functions https://www.druide.com/fr and https://www.stylewriter-usa.com/ words, prepositions, and determiners are often processed similarly by automatic error detection and correction techniques. Prepositional errors, on the other hand, are often more semantically driven, so they may require a more nuanced approach. Determiners, on the other hand, only differ in the register of quantity and are not driven by semantics. Two main factors contribute to prepositional mistakes made by SLLs. The first type arises from word ambiguity in the target language itself. An L2 writer working in English, for instance, might make the mistake of using the place preposition “at” when “in” would have been more accurate. Second-language (L2) prepositions can cause confusion with their native (L1) counterparts (Zetterholm & Lindström, 2022) . When translating “I go to Montreal” and “I go to Argentina”, a student of French as a second language may mistakenly use the word “à” for “to” when the correct forms are “à Montréal” and “en Argentine”, respectively. Keep in mind that the scenario is very different from one language to the next.
2.3. Errors Made by EFL Learners
Teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) are not expected to become perfect at the language on the first try. There are essentially two of these: first, structural intrusion from languages other than the mother dialect. English prepositions continue to be a major obstacle for any EFL student because he or she frequently makes comparisons to the prepositional system in his or her native language. The barrier is compounded by the fact that prepositions vary in quantity, meaning, and application between Arabic and English as a foreign language. The student’s ability to convey the meaning of what they mean in English is hindered when they fail to use, add, or choose the correct word. Moreover, prepositions are notoriously challenging to learn, even for native speakers, due to their widespread idiomatic use. Misuse occurs because of a discrepancy between English and other languages, as demonstrated by (Assadi & Shehab, 2015) . The study of English is facilitated by the discovery of cognates in the student’s first language. For a non-native user of English, prepositions can be difficult because their forms are always the same (Tulabut et al., 2018) . While this approach to translation is effective for content terms, it falls short when it comes to function words like prepositions. There are many English prepositions that indicate connections between words, but only eight Arabic prepositions (min, ilaa, an, alaa, fi, bi, ka, li). Arabic speakers often make grammar mistakes when switching to the corresponding English preposition due to the discrepancy in numbers between the two languages (Nurul, 2015) . The same situation was studied in Iranian EFL students in their fourth year of English (Koosha & Jafarpour, 2006) , the analysis of errors made with prepositional collocations revealed that the learners had transferred their L1 collocation patterns into their L2 output, according to Al-nasrawi (1994) it is hypothesized that the majority of prepositional phrase errors made by EFL university students are the result of intralingual transfer and that students’ abilities at the recognition level are higher than those at the production level, errors made by language students can be broken down into four distinct groups, as outlined by (Corder, 1971) : interlanguage transfer, intralanguage transfer, learning context, and communication strategies. The mother language is the focus of interlingual transfer to make up for gaps in his understanding of the target language a student may borrow patterns from his native tongue and use them to communicate more effectively in the target language. In addition, Ferdian (2022) argues that misinterpretation of prepositions is at the important of the English as a Second Language problem, it was discovered that spatial prepositions, in contrast to locative prepositions allow access to distinct semantic concepts. Acquired prepositions do not rely on the learner’s age, native language, or exposure to formal language instruction. An additional discussion discusses the inquiry into (Islami, 2015) . He analyzed what led ELL students astray and how they can better prepare themselves for the future. The research also looked at how first-year Economics students at Kosovo’s AAB private college and first-year Education students at Kosovo’s Public University of Prishtina misapplied prepositions. There were 364 pupils picked at random (182 from each institution), the essays students wrote for their first-semester exams served as the research tool for this study, the results showed that time prepositions (in, on, and at) are the most commonly misused due to the influence of the original language is argued that expanding the purview of preposition assimilation could be achieved through the use of the Prototype and the collaborative approach. However, in Chua et al. (2015) showed a different result was observed, their confirmed that native language influences on prepositional usage are minimal, the respondents’ errors were not due to a translation problem between the two languages rather, they were grammatical in nature.
3. Methodology
English is considered a foreign language in the country of Jordan, where it is mandated as a compulsory subject for the initial two years of education. Participants in this study were recruited from a diverse range of academic disciplines, including students in their first and second years. This research employed a quantitative approach in which error analysis was conducted, the author employed a recommended random sampling technique due to the homogeneity of the population, the research model is intended to test the causal effects of prepositions and teaching the English language (C3) and prepositions and Transfer (C4) on Poor Writing Skills in Using Prepositions (C1) and Writing Prepositions with Part of Speech (C2).
3.1. Participants
The respondents of the study were 384 respondents 128 students. The data for the present study were gathered using self-administration participants, and face-to-face communications from three different public universities in Jordan AL-Albait university (north of Jordan), university of Jordan (middle of Jordan) and Muatah university (south of Jordan), the participants were chosen randomly from the English department (first-year level 1) and (second-year level 2). The scientific literature extensively discusses the issue of sample size, and researchers face significant challenges in determining the optimal sample size (Vasileiou et al., 2018) . The selection of an adequate sample size is crucial as it significantly impacts methodological approaches. The focus of this study pertains to the cohort of students enrolled in the English as a Special Intent (ESP) program during the academic year 2020/2021 at three public universities in Jordan. In the first year of study, denoted as level 1, students are introduced to foundational concepts and skills within their chosen field of study. This initial year serves as a basis for further academic development and exploration. In the second year, referred to as level 2, students build upon the knowledge and competencies acquired in the first year, delving deeper into more advanced topics and engaging in more specialized coursework according to the Ministry of Higher Education, a total of 88,149 Jordanian postgraduate students (JPS) were enrolled in the postgraduate programs offered by Al-Bayt University (located in the North), Jordan University (located in the middle region), and Mutah University (located in the South) during the academic year 2020-2021. In this study, it is crucial to adhere to the most relevant principle that has been cited and debated in the scientific literature.
3.2. Materials and Design
This investigation makes use of a quasi-experimental design in order to complete a study, researchers must acquire information from the people who will be affected by it weak Prepositional Grasp (C1) and Preposition-Part-of-Speech Writing (C2) are hypothesized to be the result of the study’s focus on prepositions and English language instruction (C3) and transfer (C4) (C2).
3.3. Data Analysis
Using the program Smart-PLS 2.0, we performed a causal-relationship analysis between terms using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method. Since this study was designed to be experimental, the PLS method was chosen), the data analyzed in two stages: first, the measurement model is analyzed, and then the structural connections among the latent constructs are tested. The two-stage method first determines the reliability and validity of the measures, then evaluates the model’s structural connection.
4. Findings
Smart-PLS 2.0 was used to test this research’s theories. The second part introduces latent constructs and their measurement items. After this, the third section shows data screening. Checking missing values, outliers, and data distribution normality purifies the data in this part. Survey respondents and sample profiles are explained in the fourth part. Common method variance is tested in the fifth part. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) is used in the sixth part to evaluate the measurement models’ uni-dimensionality, reliability, and validity. Construct descriptive data are in the seventh section. This research’s causal and moderation effects are tested using structural models in the eighth part. In the ninth part, an ANOVA analysis compares the constructs’ mean differences across the three universities. Finally, the tenth part summarizes the data analysis results and findings. Construct Measures and Variables. The principal construct measures were based on existing instruments. Table 1 summarizes the latent constructs together with their relative measurement items.
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Table 1. List of constructs and measurement items.
In this analysis, covariance matrix method was used to calculate the descriptive function so that all of the variables could be included in the analysis. The composite scores of the variables were computed by average of the original measurement item scores. Table 2 displays the means and standard deviation of the constructs, assessed on a 5-point Likert scale:
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Table 2. Results of descriptive statistic for variables.
Weak Writing Skills in Using Prepositions (C1), Preposition and Teaching the English Language (C3), and Preposition and Transfer (C4) had mean values of 3.030, 3.244, and 3.112, respectively. All values were above their midpoint of 3, suggesting that consensus respondents’ perception of these constructs was above average. Writing Prepositions with Part of Speech (C2) had a mean value of 2.956, below the mid-point level of 3, showing that consensus respondents thought this construct was above average. Preposition and teaching English (C3) had the best mean rating, 3.244, followed by Preposition and Transfer (C4) 3.112. Writing Prepositions with Part of Speech (C2) had the lowest mean grade of 2.956. As a dispersion gauge, the standard deviation showed how much each variable’s individuals differed from the mean. Prepositions and teaching English (C3) deviated the most from the norm (SD = 0.985). This standard deviation indicated wide variability in respondents’ perceptions of prepositions and teaching English (C3). Thus, this variable differed most among poll respondents. Writing Prepositions with Part of Speech (C2) had the lowest standard variation (0.836).
Teaching prepositions in English class (C3) can greatly improve students’ prepositional phrase writing (C1). This lends credence to H1. There was a favorable correlation, as measured by the path coefficient of 0.378. This implies that a one-standard-deviation increase in prepositions and teaching the English language (C3) correlates with a 0.378-standard-deviation increase in Poor Writing Skills in Using Prepositions (C1). Prepositions and teaching the English language (C3) have a significant positive effect on Writing Prepositions with parts of Speech (C2). Preposition and Transfer (C4) have a significant positive impact on Prepositional Writing Capabilities (C1). It indicates that when Preposition and Transfer (C4) increases by one standard deviation, Inadequate Writing Skills in Using Prepositions (C1) increases by 0.254%. Preposition and Transfer (C4) has a significant positive effect on Writing Prepositions with Part of Speech (C2). Therefore, H4 was supported. The path coefficient was 0.319, indicating a positive relationship. Preposition and Transfer (C4) has a significant positive effect on Writing Prepositions with Part of Speech (C2). Educational Level (EL) positively moderates the relationship between prepositions and teaching the English language (C3) and Poor Writing Skills in Using Prepositions (C1). This finding suggested that EL moderates the connection between preposition and English language instruction (C3) and prepositional error in writing (C1). This means that H5 is correct. The graph in Figure 1 depicts the moderating impact of EL on the connection between C3: Prepositions in English Language Teaching and C1: Inadequate Prepositional Competence in Written Expression.
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Figure 1. Moderation effect of educational level (EL) on the Relationship between preposition and teaching the English language (C3) and poor writing skills in using prepositions (C1).
Figure 1 shows a positive correlation between prepositions and teaching English (C3) and Weak Writing Skills when Using Prepositions (P) (C1). Moderation was shown by the non-parallel lines. The high Educational Level (EL) (second year) had a steeper line and a stronger association than the low level (i.e., first year). Thus, Educational Level (EL) strengthens the positive association between prepositions and Teaching the English Language (C3) and Poor Writing Skills in Using Prepositions (C1). The effect of Preposition and Teaching the English Language (C3) as IV on Poor Writing Skills in Using Prepositions (C1) as DV will rise as Educational Level (EL) increases as moderator. Educational Level (EL) positively moderates the relationship between prepositions and teaching the English language (C3) and Poor Writing Skills in Using Prepositions (C1). the effect of Educational Level (EL) interaction with prepositions and teaching the English language (C3) on Poor Writing Skills in Using Prepositions (C1). Prepositions and teaching English (C3) are favorably moderated by Educational Level (EL) (C2). Educational Level (EL) interaction with prepositions and training the English language (C3) on Writing Prepositions with parts of Speech (C2) was not significant; Coefficient Path = 0.062, T-value = 0.990, p-value = 0.323. Educational Level (EL) did not moderate the link between prepositions and teaching English (C3) or Writing Prepositions with parts of Speech (C2). Preposition and Transfer (C4) and Poor Writing Skills in Using Prepositions (C1) were greater for a high Educational Level (EL) (i.e., second year) than for a low level (i.e., first year). Thus, Educational Level (EL) strengthens the positive association between Prepositions and Transfer (C4) and Poor Writing Skills in Using Prepositions (C1). The association between Preposition and Transfer (C4) and Writing Prepositions with Part of Speech (C2) was steeper and stronger for high Educational Level (EL) (second year) than low level (i.e., first year). Thus, EL strengthens the positive link between Preposition and Transfer (C4) and Writing Prepositions with parts of Speech (C2).
4.1. Structural Models—Stage of CFA
The inter-correlations between the four latent constructs in the CFA model ranged between 0.505 and 0.684, which were below the threshold of 0.85 as recommended by (Kline, 2010) . As shown in Figure 2, the correlation between these variables was less than the square root of the average variance extracted by the indicators, demonstrating good discriminant validity, after examining the data fit, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of the measurement model, it was determined that the modified measurement scale used to evaluate the constructs and their respective items was reliable and valid, depicts the overall CFA model with standardized factor loadings of the items.
4.2. Structural Models—Stage 2 of SEM
The structural equation model is the second principal procedure of SEM analysis; once the measurement model has been validated, the structural model can be represented by specifying the relationships between the constructs. The structural model details the interrelationships between the variables. It illustrates the specifics of the relationship between exogenous or independent variables and endogenous or dependent variables (Joseph et al., 2010) , evaluation of the structural model concentrates first on the overall model fit and then on the size, direction, and significance of the hypothesized parameter estimates, as indicated by the arrows with one head in the path diagrams. The final section involved the validation of the study’s structural model, which was founded on the proposed relationship between the identified and evaluated variables. In this investigation, a structural model was estimated using the PLS method and 1000 bootstrap replications to test the research hypotheses, the subsequent subsections discuss the creation of structural models to test the hypotheses. Figure 3 is a summary of the structural model for investigating the causal and moderating effects of the hypothesized variables.
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Figure 3. Results of structural model to examine causal & moderation effects hypotheses.
The values of R2 for poor writing skills in using prepositions (C1) and writing prepositions with part of speech (C2) were 0.416 and 0.405 respectively, this indicates, for example, 41.6% of variations in Poor Writing Skills in Using prepositions (C1) are explained by its predictors, (Sukirlan et al., 2020) recommended an R2 cut-off value of 0.10, and overall, the results indicated that the R2 values meet this criterion. The values of Q2 for Poor Writing Skills in Using Prepositions (C1) and Writing prepositions with part of speech (C2) were 0.259 and 0.272 respectively, both numbers were significantly higher than zero, indicating the model’s predictive usefulness as proposed by (Chin, 2010) . Overall, the model has a good fit and good predictive value, the hypothesized causative and moderating effects of the factors showed in Table 3 are next tested using the estimated coefficient parameters.
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Table 3. Examining results of hypothesized causal & direct effects of the constructs.
*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.
5. Discussion of Findings
A survey consisting of four sections was selected to establish a correlation between the theory of second language learning and the manifestation of Interlanguage errors arising from transfer and students’ inadequacies. Furthermore, the survey sought to build a more comprehensive comprehension of the interconnections among these parameters in alignment with the stated hypotheses. The Smart PLS program was used to connect two types of research in terms of building a general theory of research and applied research and knowing the type of relationships and measuring them, as indicated in previous studies where two types of researchers can be identified in SLA (Nitzl, 2020) , those who engage in “fundamental research”, which focuses on tying together linguistic and sociocultural factors, and those who engage in “applied research”, which focuses on pedagogical issues. Khatter (2019) that occurs when researchers attempt to reinforce and strengthen their preferred theories and theories of knowledge rather than their own theories and theories of knowledge. In this research, data analysis was done in two steps. The first phase was a preliminary analysis to make sure the data met SEM’s basic assumptions. The data set of all elements was normally distributed and free of failure, missing values, and univariate outliers. In phase two, SEM’s two phases were used. The first step was creating measurement models for the research’s latent components. After establishing the constructs’ unidimensionality, dependability, and validity, the second stage was creating structural models to evaluate the research hypotheses. Thus, a structural model was created to test four hypothesized causative effects (H1 - H4) and four postulated moderation effects (H5 - H8). SMART-PLS2 was used to examine the significance of each postulated path’s path coefficients. Prepositions and teaching English (C3) and transfer (C4) had substantial favorable effects on Poor Writing Skills in Using Prepositions (C1) and Writing Prepositions with parts of Speech (C2). Thus, causal hypotheses H1 - H4 were supported. Educational Level (EL) positively moderates the link between prepositions and teaching English (C3) and Poor Writing Skills in Using Prepositions (C1). In accordance with (Birkner & Chile, 2015) definition of interlanguage, a distinct linguistic system manifested in the spontaneous expression of meaning in a language being learned by adults, L2 learners use L2 L1 Interlanguage. Educational Level (EL) positively moderates preposition and transfer (C4) on poor writing skills in using prepositions (C1) and writing prepositions with part of speech (C2). Moderation\hypotheses H5, H7, and H8 were supported, whereas H was rejected. The results indicated that Preposition and teaching the English language (C3) and preposition and Transfer (C4) had significant positive effects on poor writing Skills in using prepositions, according to (Magogwe, 2013) . These results are also consistent with an earlier study, and the study also disclosed that the negative conceptual transfer was systematic and repeated, as evidenced by similar results in (Alotaibi & Zeidan, 2023) . Similar findings were found in another study, which concluded that the usage of prepositions by Arabs among university and graduate students learning English as a foreign language is attributable to the transfer from the original language. Interestingly, the results showed that the impact of L1 transfer on L2 learning diminished as students’ linguistic competence increased. In another study, Lysa et al. (2023) also agreed with the results of this research. Therefore, as this study shows, to determine whether there is a correlation between mastery of phrasal verbs and students’ ability to translate verbatim, this research is quantitative in the form of an associative study. His research showed a significant correlation between the mastery of phrasal verbs and the ability of students to translate. In the results of the hypothesis test, the obtained relationships show positive relationships, moderate strength of relationships, and the same direct relationships as in another investigation by (Kamil & Hazem, 2022) . The research agreed with the fact that there are a lot of things to think about. As a result, the real discovery of this work was that a lot of distorted writings about students’ performances in English were written because of different combinations of the two languages of the mother tongue and the target language. This caused students to choose proposals at random when they had to. From the results of testing the moderation hypotheses, it was found that educational level (EL) positively affects the performance of students in English. Educational Level (EL) also positively moderates the effects of Preposition and Transfer (C4) on Poor Writing Skills in Using Prepositions (C1) and Writing Prepositions with Part of Speech (C2). Therefore, the moderation hypotheses H5, H7, and H8 were supported, while the moderation hypothesis (H) was rejected.
6. Conclusion
From the results of examining moderation hypotheses, it was found that Educational Level (EL) positively moderates the relationship between Prepositions and teaching the English language (C3) and Poor Writing Skills in Using Prepositions (C1). Educational Level (EL) also positively moderates the effects of Preposition and Transfer (C4) on Poor Writing Skills in Using Prepositions (C1) and Writing Prepositions with Part of Speech (C2). Analysis indicated that Jordan University had a significantly higher perception toward all the constructs in comparison to the Al-Bayt and Mut’ah universities.