Difficulties Facing English Foreign Language University Students in Using English Prepositions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37376/jofoa.vi54.6533Keywords:
Propositions, EFL students, Foreign LanguageAbstract
Prepositions are one of the most used parts of speech in English. This
study is concerned with the difficulties are facing Libyan higher
education students on the use of English prepositions. More specifically,
this study is an attempt to discover these problems and the misuse of these
prepositions. This study is a quantitative. Seventy-six EFL students were
randomly selected from Libyan English department in Faculty of
Education. The objective test was the main instrument for data collection.
The results showed that Libyan students committed varied kinds of the
errors in the use of prepositions. Analysis of the responses revealed that
errors made were mainly based on the function and replacement of the
prepositions. The difficulties encountered in the use of prepositions are
linked to the nature of English prepositions: polysemy, idiomatic usage
and substitution with first language prepositions. Another strategy to
teaching English prepositions is required to improve students’
performance.
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