Interlanguage development among the learners of Indonesian language in Paris

Abstract

This study covers the intricate relationship between inaccuracies observed in the language production of learners and the dynamic evolution of their interlanguage. Interlanguage, in this context, serves as an intermediary linguistic stage that learner’s traverse on their journey towards achieving complete proficiency in the target language. This transitional phase captures the unique linguistic system that learners construct during the course of their language acquisition. Inaccuracies in written expression may lead to misunderstandings, hinder effective communication, and compromise the conveyance of intended ideas. Against the backdrop of language learning dynamics. This study aims to investigate and comprehend language inaccuracies in the written expressions of beginners in Indonesian for Speakers of Other Languages at the Indonesian Embassy in Paris. By scrutinizing these inaccuracies, the research seeks to uncover valuable insights into the learners' interlanguage development—the evolving linguistic system that represents an intermediate stage on their journey toward achieving full proficiency in the Indonesian language. The analysis will shed light on how specific errors in their written expressions serve as indicators of the learners' ongoing interlanguage development, offering a nuanced understanding of the complex interplay between linguistic errors and the progression towards linguistic mastery. During the data analysis stage, the identified inaccuracies were systematically classified into three primary classes: grammatical, syntactic, and lexical errors. These classes were then further scrutinized to understand their distribution and significance in the context of learners' interlanguage development. The outcomes of the analysis revealed that grammatical errors accounted for 12.08%, syntactic errors for 51.55%, and lexical errors for 35.84% of the total errors. Within these overarching categories, the study delved into seven sub-categories that elucidate the nuanced aspects of interlanguage development. These sub-categories included prepositional usage (7.05%), adverbial application (5.03%), word/phrase arrangement (13.83%), vocabulary selection (30.18%), and spelling intricacies (orthography/writing) and capitalization (35.84%). The examination of these sub-categories allowed for a more profound exploration of how learners' interlanguage evolves across various linguistic dimensions, shedding light on the specific areas where learners exhibit challenges or successes on their path toward achieving linguistic proficiency in Indonesian. Consequently, it becomes evident that, of the identified error types, syntactic errors prevail as the most prominent in diagnostic assessments among BIPA learners in Paris. It is possible that the prominence of syntactic errors in diagnostic assessments among Indonesian language learners in Paris underscores the need for targeted instructional interventions and focused curriculum development to address this predominant challenge.