Transfer in the interlanguage of native English speakers in first-year college Spanish

Transfer, or native language interference in the acquisition of a second language, is studied in the developing Spanish interlanguage of English-speaking students enrolled in first-year college Spanish. The study focuses on English language interference in the development of Spanish syntax, lexicon, morphology and orthography. Student compositions are analyzed and transfer errors are identified and categorized by type. The inventory of transfer errors includes all errors found in the student compositions which can be attributed to transfer and explains the interference mechanism involved in the error. Additionally, the frequency of transfer errors is compared horizontally over a four-month period to measure increase or decrease in transfer as the students' language capabilities develop. The study also reviews previous research in transfer, a field which has enjoyed renewed interest among linguists within recent years