Coursework for Empirical Methods of Economic Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

For Empirical Methods of Economic - Coursework Example Figure (1) Ignoring the age variable will result in direct relationship of number of years of education completed with the amount of wage earned in a month. Therefore, the direct relationship is shown as follows: Figure (2) ii) Referring to equation (1) specifying a linear function of wage, with respect to age and education, if Ey is kept constant, i.e. number of years of education remain same, then the direct relationship of wage (Wt) and age (At) will be determined. The specific organizational principle will be applied here, i.e. the experienced workers will be enjoying more wages than those who have lesser experience, and the variable for counting the experience is the age of the workers. The more the age, the more will be experience of the workers, and hence they will enjoy larger amount in terms of their monthly wage. Keeping the education years (Ey) constant, and allowing the wages to change at a different rate, with respect to change in the age of the workers, the graph would still show a direct relationship between Wt and Ay, as follows: Figure (3) As shown above, the education variable is kept constant, and even then the wage will increase as the worker’s age increases. ... In this case, the figure (1) can again be considered, where the wages will increase depending upon the increase on the wage as well as the age. The only exception in this section and the previous one is the dependability of age of the worker on his age, whereas both were independent in the former approach, but the results will be the same whether the age factor is going to depend on education years or not, because the wage factor is going to change depending upon the change in age as well as education years altogether. Q (b). For the equation used in question a(i), the data is put in the EViews, and the estimates have been made about the relationship between the wage, age, and education years. The following graph will be showing a relationship of the three variables provided in the equation 1 given above. Figure (4) The figure shows that the data given in the excel sheet provides a direct relationship between the wage that is calculated on the basis of the ages and educational years of each of the workers working in the company. The blue lines highlight wages, red age, and green lines show educational years in case of first model discussed above. The wage will rise whenever the educational years, or age, or bother together will rise. Concerning the second model made in an answer to the question (a) above, the changes in wage were made as a direct function of the changes made in the age of the workers, and it was supposed that the educational experiences were either kept constant or had been ignored, and a direct function was applied on the age and its change on the wage of each of the worker. The graph given in figure (5) below will

Case Study in Human resource management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Case Study in Human resource management - Essay Example This is why human resources should not be treated like physical, financial and technological resources. Every worker has needs, aspirations and expectations which he likes to be fulfilled at the place of work. It is the duty of management to provide opportunities to the workers to satisfy their needs and aspirations. The worker does not merely sell his services. He is a human being and wants good human relations at the work place where he spends between seven to eight hours every day. Good human relations are not created automatically. Deliberate efforts are required by the management to build and maintain good relations in industry. â€Å"Management must recognize the right of expression of the workers and give them adequate opportunity to have a say in the management of affairs, directly affecting their lives.† (Dr. Balu, V. R. 2002. (P.1-2, 5-10, 343, 346)). Thus, management of personnel or human resources encompasses not only the process of employment, training and development, communication, appraisal etc., but also achieving good industrial relations, which is a pre-requi site to sustain, which are higher productivity. Here, Grimshawls Quality Textiles, the clothing company has a reasonable reputation as a local employer. Their rates of pay are good for the area and they maintain an unproblematic industrial relations record through a most scientific and modern HRM practices because all these issues have to do with personal and industrial relations. In the textile company, the affairs were managed by the Managing Director and his Personal Assistant. The PA keeps the personal records of all employees in the company and the MD has published a number of personal policies to cover absence, discipline and regulation in the workplace. â€Å"The employees work behaviour, to great extent, will be affected by the work environment and the working conditions, such as working environment of

Examination of a Journal Article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Examination of a Journal Article - Essay Example Finally, a comparison of the Packman et al study shall be made with two other research articles that have investigated the psychology of personality in regards to ethnic groups. Packman et al (2005) undertook their research in light of the lack of literature investigating personality difference between ethnic groups in New Zealand, especially in regards to employment selection procedures. They stipulate that empirical study of personality traits has been ignored as compared to cognitive differences between ethnicities. It is of concern to Packman et al that personality assessment data pertaining to ethnic differences has been ignored because: A personality assessment is considered to produce an adverse impact when the individuals of a specific demographic group are less likely to be selected for employment than individuals of other demographic groups (Cook, 1998 as cited in Packman et al., 2005 p. ). Further, Packman et al. state that personality differences can add to findings of cognitive differences and so provide more depth of information of potential employee's suitability for job performance. The article of Packman et al. had several main points. ... At present, theories, models and assessment procedures of personality tend to be ethnocentric, in that they are based on the English language and oriented for a Western culture. Hence, there may be a lack in the ability to generalise personality assessment across ethnic groups.A dominant theory of personality within psychology is the Five Factor Model (FFM), commonly referred to as "The Big Five". The five factors are Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. The two global personality traits of Conscientiousness and Neuroticism have been consistently identified as strong predictor of occupational performance (i.e., a high score on the Conscientiousness trait and a corresponding low score on the Neuroticism trait). Hence, significant ethnic differences on these two traits may increase the likelihood of adverse impact during the employment selection process.Cross-culturally, analyses of descriptions of personality in languages other t han English have identified five factors similar to that of the FFM. However, cross-cultural factors rarely correspond to the original English five factors, and this is likely due to socio-environmental influences during lifespan development, and subsequent differences in language semantics. So that even though a five-factor personality structure can be replicated across ethnic groups, it does not support or negate that various personality traits are equivalent across cultures. Bearing this in mine, research has found that there are significant differences across ethnic groups on personality traits. Packman et al. hypothesised that significant differences would be found across ethnic groups of New

Telemarketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Telemarketing - Essay Example Through the store image the retailers can force customers to buy their products. Store image is necessary to persuade and create a special image in the consumers' minds. Store image helps the retailer to differentiate itself from competitors. Customers integrate all their experiences of observing, using, or consuming a product with everything they hear and read about it. Information about stores comes from a variety of sources, including advertising, publicity, sales personnel, and packaging. Perceptions of service after the sale, price, and distribution are also taken into account. The sum of impressions is a store image, a unified image about both the products and the store that markets them. Store image attracts customers to both the store and the branded merchandise (McDonald, Christopher 2003). Merchandize assortment helps to attract wider target audience of potential consumers. The buyer orientation includes such categories as convenience, preference, shopping, and specialty goods. However, different assortments and quantities of products may be desired and purchased in various countries. Merchandize assortment makes selling more rewarding. It makes easier for customer to select a product they need and reduce time required for everyday purchases.

Voices of Freedom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Voices of Freedom - Essay Example As the discussion highlights strong believed that the minor races did not have any option but to conform to the views of the superior race. Document 112 presents Emilio Aguinaldo on American imperialism in the Philippines. Aguinaldo was of the opinion that Americans needed to give the Philippines the right to self-governance and independence. In his view, it was ironical that America represented particular ideals of freedom, yet they denied the Philippines their right to independence.This essay discusses that the events in Memphis changed Ida Wells’ attitude towards lynching after her first hand witnessed the events that unfolded. Many of the lynchings had been based on lies and false accusations of black people. In the Memphis lynching, three black men were shot dead. Before the men were killed, it had been declared that their grocery store would be destroyed. To prevent the attack, the three partners hired men to protect their grocery store. Some white men who stole goods fr om the store were shot by the black men and wounded. Such events led to many colored men imprisoned. The following day, the three black men were killed. After witnessing such events and reading the newspapers published the following day, Wells realized that the lynchings were staged to eliminate black people. In her view, it was an evident demonstration of racial segregation. The Memphis lynching led to the destruction of her newspaper, an aspect that motivated her to begin an anti-lynching movement.

Dan Marino and Joe Montana Essay Example for Free

Dan Marino and Joe Montana Essay There I was, a three-year-old little girl watching a football game on TV with my grandfather. The game on TV was the 1985 super bowl, and the teams playing are the San Francisco 49ers and the Miami Dolphins. My grandfather was a big 49ers fan and Joe Montana was the big time star quarterback at the time. My grandfather asked me, â€Å"Well little girl, what team do you want to win? † The response he got was not expected, â€Å"The Dolphins, Papa! † His response was, â€Å"why? † I said, â€Å"They have pretty colors and dolphins on their helmets. My love for the Dolphins grew from that day more than anyone in my family could have expected. As the years passed my love for the game and Dan Marino grew deep. Growing up in the era of big time quarterbacks with Joe Montana considered the king with four super bowl rings, being a Marino fan was hard. At the time Marino entered the league in 1983, Montana had already played for four years, and Marino was a rookie in this game. Marino entered the super bowl in 1985, his second year in the NFL to take on Montana who had already won a super bowl. Marino had a lack of rings and a loss in the super bowl to Montana. Even though Marino lost this super bowl, the battle of who the better quarterback was began because Marino’s talent could not be ignored. Dan Marino was the better quarterback on and off the field than Joe Montana, despite the fact that Montana won more super bowls. Sure, Joe Montana had the super bowl rings but, Dan Marino held the record for touchdown passes, completions and yards. Marino is classified to me as the better quarter back because he held more records in his career than Montana did as an individual. Marino held 49 team records with the Miami Dolphins, and broke 24 NFL records (2). Marino also won the NFL MVP once before retiring in 1999 (2). To Marino’s credit he held this title and had never won a super bowl. Montana did win the NFL MVP three times and also won four super bowls in his career, but he only broke a handful of records as an individual (1). While researching Montana, the only supporting information given is pertaining to his career in super bowl wins. Out of all four of his super bowl wins he was crowned MVP three times which is a huge accomplishment. Montana also held 14 team records with the 49ers, which he left in 1992 to play for the Chiefs, but only held 2 NFL records (1). Now, if Marino had a chance at 4 super bowls instead of one, in my opinion he would have broken more records than Montana ever did in the super bowls he played in. A major question asked by NFL experts is, if Marino had played for a better team would he have won a super bowl? Montana had a record breaking and fellow hall of famer Jerry Rice on his team as his wide receiver, and a superior defense. Montana was a part of a great team and organization. Montana also was a great clutch winner and could win a game in the last two minutes of a game. It took the coach of the 49ers at the time to put faith in to his capabilities for him to shine. The Dolphins’ organization failed to supply Marino with the teammates he needed to win the big game. Marino had a great wide receiver, Mark Clayton, at his side to help assist him with achieving his records, and Don Shula as a coach. The Dolphins’ organization lacked a strong defense and this was ultimately the weakness on why they could not clinch the big wins in the playoffs. In the midst of Marino’s career, the Dolphins’ organization changed coaches, and the Dolphins as a team struggled toward the end of his career. If Marino had played with the 49ers, there is no doubt he would have gone to the super bowl multiple times and achieved his individual greatness as well. Marino’s greatness not only reflected on the field but also off-the-field as well. Off-the-field, Marino and Montana always have been family men first but Marino and his family are very supportive of charity. Marino is married to his wife, Claire, and they have six children. Three of these children, all boys, are biological and the other three children are adopted girls (2). Montana is married to his wife, Jennifer, and they have four children three girls and one boy (1). Montana’s son currently is playing college football as a quarter back (1). Since retiring in 1994, Montana and his family live in northern California wine country and are raising horses (1). Marino, on the other hand since retiring is working as a sports analysis for the show â€Å"Inside NFL. † Marino and his wife also created The Dan Marino Foundation prior to retirement, after their son Michael was diagnosed with autism (2). Even after Dan retired, they are still actively involved with their charity. The charity has donated more than 22 million to research (2). Both men are great role models for people to look up to, but Marino, in my eye’s, has the edge. Dan Marino and Joe Montana were both great athletes and accomplished a great amount of goals as athletes. There were records broken, trophies won and titles given, but as an individual quarterback, Marino is the best. Marino broke more records and even without winning the big game, took his team into the playoffs 10 times in his career (2). Montana as a team player went to the playoffs 16 times and won the super bowl four times (1). This in people’s eyes classifies him as the best quarter back in history. Montana did lead his team into victory four times but this makes him a great team player and a great leader. When it comes to being better than Marino at the quarterback position he is not. When concerning life after football it depends on how you view it but Marino is more successful as well. Marino is still involved with the sport and leads a charity in his own name. While Montana leads a life of solitude with his family out of the spot light which is a respectable life. Like I have stated before, both men are great role models and were both among the greats in football but Marino is still the better quarter back, both on and off the field.

Difficulties Arab Students Have Learning English English Language Essay

Difficulties Arab Students Have Learning English English Language Essay Introduction: As a teacher of English to Arabic speaking students I have encountered a number of specific difficulties Arab students have in mastering the English language. In this paper, I would like to focus on a particular grammatical problem they have in the area of verb tenses because, of all the mistakes that my students make, mistakes with verbs and verb tenses impede communication to the greatest degree. The specific problem I will attempt to look at the area of verbs is the problem that Arabic speakers have in using and confusing the present progressive. I will base the evidence for these mistakes on actual writing errors that Arabic students have made. Mistakes such as I am live in Abu Dhabi. come up frequently in my students writing. This paper is basically a contrastive analysis since I feel that the majority of my students problems in this area come from mother tongue interference. However, as will be noted below, this does not mean I rule out other sources of errors such as intralingual errors. The following is the outline of this paper: In the first section of this paper, I will describe the various aspects of the grammatical structure of the present simple and the present progressive in the English language. In the second section of the paper, I will contrast the grammatical structure of the present simple and the present progressive with its Arabic counterparts. I will show how Arabic has structures that vary significantly and radically from their English counterparts. In the third section, I will introduce a number of examples takes from students written work and give an indepth analysis of the possible sources of the errors, mainly with respect to mother tongue interference, but also looking at some possible intralingual sources for these errors as well. Finally, in the last section, I will attempt to suggest a general theoretical approach to dealing with such problems Part One: A grammatical description of the English Present Simple and the Present Progressive: The simple present tense As we already know, the simple present of every verb (with the exception of the verb BE, which I will not be dealing with as a grammatical description since it is not the specific focus of this paper) is identical in every person with the basic unmarked base form of the verb except for the third person forms he, she and it to which we generally add s or es (Quirk 1985, p.98). However, numerous irregularities arise in the spelling and pronunciation of this third person form (Leicester 1998, 12.12)(Thomson 1986, p. 150). Questions are formed by using the auxiliaries do, does, in the present, and did in the past by putting all these before the subject. Negation is formed in the same way using dont (or do not) and doesnt, (or does not) in the present, and didnt (or did not) in the past. These forms go after the subject. In addition, the verb must be changed to the basic form. The simple present is used for statements that are always true, (e.g. The earth revolves around the sun.) (Azar 1989,p.2). The simple present is also used for events, actions or situations which are true in the present period of time and which, for all we know, may continue indefinitely, (e.g. Fatima goes to school at Zayed University.) (Azar 1989, p.2) What we are saying in these expressions is that this is how things stand at the present moment (Huddleston 1984, p.81). A further use of the simple present is for actions that are habitual, things that happen repeatedly, (e.g. We study a lot.) (Alexander 1988, p.163)(Quirke 1985, p.107). Observations and declarations are another use of the present simple, as in the sentence (It says here that there is a new night club opening.)(Alexander 19988, p.163). The present simple can also be used to express the future, especially when we want to express strong certainty, (e.g. When we graduate, we will get jobs.). Swan, Huddleston, Lewis, Thomson and Quirke, et. al. also add eight other functions of the present simple which might come up in other contexts such as: Demonstrations and commentaries (e.g. First, I take a bowl and break two eggs in it, thenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..) The structures here comes and there goes, (e.g. here comes your husband.) Promises and oaths (e.g. I promiseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦., I swear à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, He deniesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..) Formal correspondence (e.g. We write to advise you.) Instructions (e.g. You go left, turn rightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.) Stories (e.g. In act one, Hamlet meets the ghost of his father.), which Huddleston calls the historic present. In expressions of understanding such as hear, see, gather (e.g. I hear youre getting married.) Finally, the simple present can be used in newspaper headlines (e.g. RUSSIANS RAISE OBJECTIONS) Since there are so many instances of when to use the present simple, is there any way to summarize all of these? I concur with Lewis explanation that the present simple: 1-Expresses an event as a total single point in time. 2-Expresses an event as a matter of fact. 3-Expresses an event as immediate rather than remote. The present progressive tense Both the simple and progressive forms usually tell us that an action takes place. But the progressive forms also tell us that an activity is or was, or will be, etc. in progress, or thought of as being in progress. In other words, the present progressive tells us that the speaker sees an action as taking place over a period of time as opposed to a point in time. In addition researchers would add that the speaker sees the period as limited (Lewis 1986; Leech, 1975; Huddleston, 1984; Quirke, 1985). The present progressive tense is formed with the present of be (am/is/are) (which adds aspect and voice), said by Quirke to be the finite verb, plus the ing form (the non-finite form) (Quirke 1985, p. 120). There are no complications with the additional ing form; however the spelling of the ing has some irregularities and needs to be taught to students e.g. write, writing; run, running; begin, beginning; lie, lying). (Alexander 1988; Huddleston 1984; Quirke 1985). Question formation takes place by switching the place of the auxiliary be and the subject. Negation is achieved by inserting not between the subject and the auxiliary or by contracting nt with the auxiliary verb forms (with the exception of the first person singular form am) (Quirke, 1985). In the classroom, the classical reason given for why we use the present progressive is that it shows an uncompleted action in progress at the time of speaking. To emphasise this, we often use adverbials like now, at the moment, just, etc. For example, Hes not home at the moment, hes working. (Quirke 1985). The present progressive can also be used to describe actions which have not been happening for long, or are thought of as being temporary situations, and which are going on around now, e.g. Abdullah is living with his aunt until he can find a place of his own.. A further use of the present progressive is to refer to activities and events planned for the future. We generally use adverbials in such sentences unless the meaning is clear from context, e.g. Were spending next Thursday in Abu Dhabi. (Azar 1989; Huddleston 1984; Quirke 1985). The present progressive can also be used to talk about developing and changing situations, e.g. That child is getting bigger all the time. (Swan 1980). Sometimes the present progressive can be used to talk about feelings, such as I am feeling fine. or My back is hurting me.. The present progressive is used to show repeated actions along with adverbs such as always, constantly, continually, forever, perpetually, and repeatedly, such as He is always helping people.. In this sense it conveys not temporariness, but continuousness. (Leech 1975; Huddleston 1984). The present progressive also is used to show repeated actions that are happening around now, e.g. He is studying a lot of English these days. Why is he going to the library? (Swan 1980). Dynamic versus Stative Verbs in the present simple and the progressive tenses Dynamic/progressive verbs refer to verbs which show actions which are deliberate or voluntary, e.g. Im building a house., or changing situations, e.g. Hes becoming fat.. Dynamic verbs can be used in both the progressive as well as the simple forms e.g. I eat at 5:00 (everyday). as opposed to Im eating now.. Stative verbs (also known as non-progressive verbs) are verbs which indicate a state, condition or experience. Specifically, stative verbs fall into categories such as feelings (like, love), thinking/believing (think, know, realize), wants and preferences (need, want), perception and the senses (smell, see), and being, seeming, having, and owning (seem, look, appear). Stative verbs are generally not used in the progressive forms (Quirke 1985). However some stative verbs can be used in both the present simple and the progressive tenses, which results in a different meaning in each form, e.g. Im thinking of a solution. as opposed to I think he is the best man for the job. or These flowers smell good. as opposed to Latifa is smelling the flowers in the garden.) (Alexander 1988; Azar 1989; Azar 1986; Quirke 1985). The present simple versus the present progressive Swan makes note of a number of areas where students might confuse the present simple with the present continuous. A. We use the simple present to talk about things that are true for the present period of time, or, as was noted above, to say this is how things stand at the present moment for the foreseeable future. However, if the event is temporary and is taking place right now, we use the present progressive. Afrah studies at the Higher Colleges. Afrah is studying her English lesson. B. We use the present progressive to talk about habitual actions if these are happening around the moment of speaking. Fayrouz and Fatima are preparing for the Eid holidays. However, if the habitual action is not closely connected to the moment of speaking, we generally use the present simple. I go to Saudi Arabia once every three years. C. Verbs that refer to physical feelings can sometimes be used in either the simple present or the present progressive. I feel great! or Im feeling great! My head hurts. or My head is hurting. (Swan 1980). PART TWO A grammatical description of the Arabic present simple and the present progressive In this part of the paper, I would like to give readers a very brief background of the Arabic verb system in regard to the simple present and the present progressive. The Arabic verb system is very complicated. However, this does not mean that a teacher has to master the Arabic language before s/he is able to pinpoint errors that may be a result of the interference of Arabic in English. One can study the Arabic language with the goal of simply understanding the structure, rather than with the goal of speaking and writing in the language. Let us first look at the present simple, then the present progressive, and finally the verb to be since all of these grammatical items are specifically relevant to the particular problem at hand. A.The Present Simple In Arabic, the formation of the present simple is radically different from English, since Arabic uses a root system made up of the three most important consonants (though two or four consonant roots do sometimes occur). In Arabic the three basic consonants (the root) stay the same but it is by changes in the vowels, the suffixes and the prefixes that tense and number are indicated. It is vastly more complicated than the way some English verbs change tense by changing vowels, e.g. give, gave. For example, the sentence, he learns could be represented phonetically by ya-droo-soo. The d-r-s is the root, ya is the part that indicates this is a third person singular masculine verb (though this is not the pronoun). The pattern of the vowels and consonants (ya + c1 + c2+ oo + c3 + oo), lets the speaker know that this is the present tense. In contrast, the past could be represented by a different pattern; hence, he learned, dar-ah-sah has the pattern (c1 + ai or ah + c2 + ai or ah + c3 + ah) (and this is just one pattern out of ten!) From a sentence point of view the verb in Arabic is not necessarily treated as the nucleus of a sentence and, in the case of the copula verb BE, can be omitted entirely (as we shall see below). The verb can also be placed at the beginning of the sentence. Like its English counterpart, the present simple tense in Arabic expresses a habitual action. There are other functions, but they are not relevant to this discussion. B.The Present Progressive In general, the present simple form is also used in Arabic to express the idea of a continuous action occurring in the present. Hence, the English sentence He is working now. in Arabic becomes He works now. (represented phonetically by huwwah yaamaloo al eyn.) What is he doing? in Arabic becomes What does he do? (represented phonetically by mehzah yafaaloo al eyn?) Hence, in almost all cases, the present simple form is used to show the idea of continuous action in the present. However, there is a single verb form in Arabic called the ism-ul-fail which is the exact parallel to the idea of continuous action. However, the difference in Arabic is that the ism-ul-fail is used very sparingly compared to English and then only for some very specific verbs of movement, or verbs that indicate changing from one state to another (going up, going in, going down, walking to a place, leaving a place, etc.). Since the ism-ul-fail is radically different in form from the English progressive it is doubtful that any interference in form occurs. C.A Few Points About The Verb BE as a Copula Although BE as a copula is not the focus of this paper, it does deserve mention here for two specific reasons. The first point is that BE in Arabic, when it is the copula in the present tense, is unwritten and unspoken (although this is not true of the copula in the past tense or the future where it is written and spoken). (Kharma, 1989, p. 89). For example, the literal translation of the sentence Ahmed is a student. is Ahmed student.. So it is conceivable that students might leave BE out as a copula OR as the helping verb in the present progressive because it does not exist in the present tense in Arabic (although there are other additional reasons why students might forget to add it to the present progressive as we shall see). The second point is that BE is used so often in English, in so many different kinds of structures, and that it is so irregular, that it might simply add to the confusion of students (Kharma 1989, p. 161). Students who keep on being corrected for leaving out the verb to be when it is necessary, may for example, hypercorrect themselves and start to write it everywhere. Again, we shall explore this issue further below. PART THREE A look at some common written errors made by Arabic speaking students when using the English present simple and present progressive Finding the exact causes of any error can be a difficult and meticulous task. This is partly because there may be multiple reasons as to why students make one particular error and these causes may also overlap at any given time. In addition, it is extremely problematic, even for a native speaker of both Arabic and English, (which I am) to know exactly what is going on linguistically in the mind of a student when s/he makes such an error. However, having said that, even with these obstacles, we can at least make some good hypotheses and lists of possibilities as to why these errors occur with our own students. As a result, we will be able to generate classroom strategies and methods in order to correct and remedy these sorts of mistakes. The following categories of errors are the most common that I have found in students written work with regards to the simple present versus the present progressive. I will look at each category in turn, and offer an analysis of the sources for these types of error. Category One Fatima studies now. Ahmed does his homework now. In these sentences, the intention of the Arabic speaking writer seems to be to convey the meaning of what in English would be a present continuous action, expressed by the present continuous tense. This is clear by the use of the adverb now or in the case of other examples not shown here, from other adverbs or the context of the sentence. In examples one and two, the Arabic speaker seems to be transferring the rules of his native language into English. The Arabic speaker usually uses only the present simple to express events that would be expressed in English by both the present simple and the present continuous. Category Two Mariam cant talk, she eating now. This kind of mistake is a bit more problematic in terms of analysis. It could be that the Arabic speaker, feeling that the full meaning of the action is expressed in the verb with the ing, has decided that the am/are/is forms are redundant and unnecessary. It could also be the case that this mistake is a direct transfer of a particular grammatical form in Arabic. In certain cases Arabic speakers do express the present continuous with a verb and prefix change (called ism-ul-fail), but without the corresponding be form. For example, the literal translation of the sentence Ahmed is running. is Ahmed running. . Category Three Are you knowing the way to Dubai? I am wanting to see my family. In this case, the student has learned the present progressive form, but is over generalizing it to all verbs (or perhaps does not remember or has not been taught the rules for exceptions such as the above). These types of errors could very well be intralingual. This over generalization could also be found in sentences that have the function of explaining, demonstrating teaching or narrating such as: Next I am pouring the oil into the cooking pan. Ali is passing the ball to the goalkeeper. Category Four I am live in Abu Dhabi. We are study English. This category is probably the most difficult to analyze. This is because it is unclear whether the Arabic speaker is making the mistake of adding the additional am/is/are form while trying to use the present tense, or making the mistake of forgetting to use the present participle while trying to use the present progressive tense. That is, did the speaker intend to say I live in Abu Dhabi. and use the extra am form by mistake, or did s/he intend to say I am living in Abu Dhabi. and forget the correct present participle form? Of course, there are other possibilities but these seem like the two most likely. We must obviously look at the context of the paragraph to see if we can get the gist of what the speaker meant. The following is a more detailed analysis of these two possibilities from the standpoint of the students reasoning. 1. If we believe from the context that the student was trying to use the present simple and added the additional am in error, then the following analyses apply: A. The student may be confused by the lack of inflectional endings in English, since Arabic is a highly inflected language, and every personal pronoun has a distinct corresponding inflected verb form. The similarity of the verb forms in I live, you live, etc. may seem very awkward to the Arabic speaker. Hence, they may want to remedy the situation by distinguishing the verb forms in some way by, for example, adding an exceedingly familiar and overused verb form like am, are, or is. B. The student may be over generalising based on what they have learned about the present continuous. That is, they may have learned how to form the present continuous quite easily since there is no mother tongue interference from Arabic, (although they may not have mastered its use). They then may go on to conclude that every verb in the present simple or present continuous in English needs to be preceded by am/is/are. C. Similarly, the student may be hypercorrecting. They may have been corrected so many times for forgetting to use the verb BE in their sentences e.g. Ahmed happy, that they may start to feel that every sentence needs the verb BE. 2. However, if we believe that the student was trying to use the present continuous tense and used the present simple live (instead of the present participle living), then the following analyses apply: A. The student may not have correctly understood how to form the present participle by adding ing to the end of the verb. B. Perhaps students have simply forgotten to add the ing prefix because the structure is so different in their language. This is by no means an exhaustive analysis. However, these are, from my experience and collaboration with other colleagues, both native and non-native speakers, some of the major possibilities. PART FOUR Pedogogical implications of the above research for teaching the present simple and the present progressive to Arabic speaking students From the evidence I have presented here, I believe it is clear that many of the mistakes in using the present simple and the present progressive in form (such as omission of the verb to be in the simple present for Arabic speakers, e.g. I studying), as well as other mistakes in usage (e.g. using the simple present when the present progressive is required) seem to be traceable directly to Arabic mother tongue interference. Based on my analyses, reading and discussion with colleagues, I do feel that in this particular area, teachers of EFL to Arabic speakers must consider mother tongue interference as a major impediment to learning the present tense versus the present progressive. If we know that mother tongue interference is the cause of many errors, what should this imply for our teaching? One thing which I think it does not imply is that we teach English from the point of view of the mother tongue. For example, trying to get students to understand English grammar through word for word translations or using the grammatical structure of Arabic to help students to understand the grammatical structure of English are only useful in certain cases, and then only by someone who is a master of both languages. My experience in reading the research, being bilingual and talking to Arabic speaking students who are at the final stages of their English studies leads me to believe that, at least in the case of Arabic and English, that the two languages are sufficiently different that they are both best looked at in their own respective grammars. Students must be made, not only to think in English, but to understand English grammar in terms of English grammar without constantly switching back and forth to compare it with Arabic. Such practices are ineffective and will cause confusion among students. As Lewis says students should never expect the foreign language to be like their ownà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..the fact that English has verb forms that contain [be] as an auxiliary does not suggest that other languages ought to have a corresponding formà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.students should be positively encouraged to explore the foreign language within itself rather than through the expectations they bring from their own. (Lewis, 1986, pp. 164-165). In addition, I should add that intralingual factors can also be at work when students make such errors (in addition to context specific factors like student motivation, teaching style and competence, etc.). For example, on the intralingual side, we know that students of ESL from many different language groups and even children make common mistakes with the verb to be. Therefore, many such mistakes might be intralingual. (Mattar 1989). Hence, when we try to analyse our students errors we should not be prejudiced to any one theory and we should try to be open to looking at all possible sources of errors. What we as teachers should be doing in the classroom is continually collecting research on student errors and student learning styles in order to form hypotheses about why such errors occur and why such one approach worked and another didnt. We should then be trying to test these hypotheses to see if they are true or not, and afterwards share this information w ith other teachers in similar situations. Only then will we be able to understand why students make errors and what is the most effective way to correct them. Word count: 4,161 words