Analyse on Second Language Learners Learn English Without Native Language: A Case Study of Chinese Learners

Abstract

Second language acquisition is a common phenomenon around the world. People around the world started to learn English after it became the universal language. Language transfer occurs between the target language and the mother tongue. In order to reduce the negative transfer between the different languages, the argument of how to deal with native language and target language is an intense discussion among linguistics. This paper focused on the relationship between the native language and target language among different ages, with a case study of Chinese learners who study English as a second language. The research was done by questionnaire and collected 126 responses. After collecting and analyse the data through chi-square, the result shows that there is no strong evidence to prove there has a significant relationship between language transfer with the different ages. But it shows an interesting point that it is necessary to promote the target language environment and mindset among the different ages no matter what motivation persuades the learners to study English.