Universidad técnica particular de loja la universidad Técnica Particular de Loja

comparative analysis section has provided us with significant 
statistical data which would determine how often language interference 
occurs according to each indicator. Using both analyses we have 
proceeded to establish the conclusions showed in the following section. 

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CONCLUSIONS
After performing the investigation we have found that the level of 
language interference found is considerably acceptable. We also found 
that the most frequent syntactic error was the use of the subject 
pronoun (37 errors in 4 activities; and the highest percentages in all the 
activities).
The most frequent semantic error was the use of inflexions (28 
errors in 4 compositions). 
The amount of grammar errors decreased when the students were 
told to write an essay at their homes. This can be explained by the fact
that the sample had more time to write their essays. They also could 
have been helped by some friend, relative or dictionary and they 
certainly did not have to deal with the pressure of the teacher.
In the English quiz, some typical grammar errors increased their 
values (use of subject pronoun and prepositions) and some did not even 
appear (e.g. passive voice). In this case, students had less time to work 
on a test with 20 short essay questions so they felt almost obliged to use 
the same “easy” structures over and over again. 
On the other hand, the semantic errors decreased when it comes 
to the result of the English Quiz. This may be explained by the fact that 
they learned new semantic structures (vocabulary) during their regular 
class period so they avoided making some mistakes.

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Most errors were found in the second class activity (36 grammar 
errors; 19 semantic errors). In this case, students had to use their 
imagination to tell stories and tales. We conclude that the freer the 
writing is the more interference would appear. 
Grammar indicators affect the meaning of sentences in a less 
“dangerous” way than lexicon indicators. Errors concerning the use of 
subject pronouns or prepositions would not change significantly the 
meaning of sentences. On the other hand, the use of false cognates will 
definitely affect the meaning of the idea. 
We believe that language interference is definitely caused by 
several reasons:
o
The obvious differences between both languages’ structures
o
Students’ knowledge Gaps concerning L2 (target language; 
English) grammar and lexicon structures.
o
Deficiencies in the teaching program. 
Teachers who participated on the research showed a lot of interest 
in its development. They want to implement some parts of the proposal 
to their teaching program in order to “battle” language interference. 
As authors of this work we have to remark that our knowledge 
about language interference and its importance has increased and 
reached to a point where it represents a serious issue in the 
communication process. We have learned that interference could be a 

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serious obstacle not only in the process of expressing ideas in a second 
language but also in the social development of an individual.

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