Cross-linguistic transfer among Iranian learners of English as a foreign language

Cross-linguistic transfer studies began from linguistic aspects of language learning and moved to non-linguistic aspects. The intriguing question is whether students are aware of the nature of these cross-linguistic interactions in their minds. For this purpose, a semistructured interview was conducted with four Iranian university students. It was found that students' awareness of cross-linguistic transfer did not cover all aspects of crosslinguistic transfer equally, and students had no or very limited awareness of the nonlinguistic aspects of cross-linguistic transfer, the factors causing it, or the way to improve it. It is important to increase cross-linguistic awareness among language learners and help them to overcome the inhibitive influences of the existing languages to facilitate learning. It is recommended that in the Iranian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context learners have a comprehensive view of cross-linguistic transfer in language learning and that teachers teach for transfer.