The impact of mother tongue on grammar and sentence structure on students in secondary schools in Busia district

Abstract

When learning English language, learners’ mother tongue greatly influences their correct use of grammar and sentence structure (Kambala, 2021). Learners often tend to transfer knowledge from their mother tongues into English language. According to the behaviorist approach to language transfer, learners often transfer linguistic elements from their mother tongues into English. However, in Ugandan schools today, learners are guided differently in the use of language. In government schools, there is unlimited access to their mother tongues, while some private schools restrict the use of mother tongues (Natukunda, 2013). As such, children who often use their mother tongues alongside English exhibit difficulties in the use of English language grammar and proper sentences. Therefore, the proposed research aspired to assess the impact of the mother tongue on grammar and sentence structure of learners in secondary schools in Busia district, and will use Luma Eastern College, Busia Secondary School and Busia Trust Secondary School.