Contrasting Semantic Structures in English and Arabic: Problem and Promise in Second‐Language Learning

This article argues that language learning may be fostered by research into certain types of learner errors. After outlining related styles of analysis in applied linguistics, it employs several methods to examine semantic errors made by Arabic speakers studying English. Then it shows how the practice of transferring meanings from one language to the other can be made a more useful strategy and can also elucidate semantic organization in both languages.