Learning spatial prepositions by Iranian EFL learners

The aim of the present study is threefold. The first is that whether there is any difference betweendifferent proficiency level language learners 'use of spatial prepositions. The Second aim is toreveal that if the native language of the participants has any effect on applying the appropriateprepositions and also to find which spatial preposition is difficult to acquire. The present paperexamines the usage of English spatial prepositions by selected Persian- speaking English learnersin Mehr Aein institute in Ghorveh, Kurdistan. To do the study, 100 Persian-speaking learners ofEnglish language from different classes in Mehr Aein Institution, Ghorveh were randomly Chosen.The participants were female and male EFL learners. Their ages were ranging from 10 to 27 yearsold. In order to determine their level of proficiency, the participants were asked to answer anEnglish placement test. Based on the results of the placement test they were classified into threelevels, Elementary (n=13), intermediate (n=49) and advanced (38). Then considering their levels,they were given a questionnaire assessing their knowledge of English spatial prepositions and theywere asked to answer it. Finally the errors on preposition usage were extracted and analyzed. Theresults of the study indicate that there is a significance difference among different proficiency levellanguage learners' use of spatial prepositions. Findings indicate that most Iranian learners ofEnglish had difficulty in finding appropriate preposition. It was also found that a large number oferrors were due to the interference of the learners native language (Persian). The results show theprominence of inter-lingual errors compared to the intra-lingual errors. The paper is written on theidea that the Persian language as the native language interferes with using English prepositions byIranian EFL learners and leads to lots of prepositional difficulties. After the data were collectedand analyzed, L1 interference was proved. The implications of the present research can be usedfor researchers, teachers and learners.