Lexical aspect and the L2 acquisition of English past tense morphology by Saudi EFL learners

This study examines the effect of the lexical aspect on the use of the English simple past temporal morphology by Saudi learners of English as a foreign language (EFL), with a particular reference to the Aspect Hypothesis (AH). Data were gathered from 54 Saudi undergraduate EFL learners from five levels (L3- L7), using a production task and a comprehension task. The results of the study suggest that the lexical aspect may not have a primary influence on the use of the English past morphology. Findings of the production task showed that learners are sensitive to the lexical aspect in that they first associated the past markers with achievements and accomplishments and then with activities and statives. Findings of the comprehension task, by contrast, did not support the AH whereby learners’ comprehension of the simple past marker spread from accomplishment to achievement verbs. Similarly, among atelics, the learners’ association of the simple past marker spread from stative to activity verbs, which is not in line with the AH, too. Remarkably, learners’ first language (L1) and task variation may have an impact on the learners’ use of the English past marking because their realizations of the English past marker in the production and comprehension tasks were inconsistent.