The Role of English (L۲) Education in Third Language (Arabic) Learning: A Comparative Examination

This study investigated the influence of prior English (L۲) instruction on Arabic (L۳) acquisition among Persian-speaking adolescents, specifically comparing sequential (L۲ before L۳) and concurrent (L۲ and L۳ simultaneously) learning approaches. Participants included a convenience sample of ۶۴ ninth-grade students (aged ۱۴-۱۵; ۳۲ per group, gender-balanced) from a private school complex in Yazd, Iran. The sequential group had pre-intermediate English proficiency while the concurrent group were English beginners; all participants were Arabic beginners. Using a mixed-methods design, the study employed an English proficiency test and three Arabic tasks: Grammatical Judgment, Gap-Filling, and Scrambled Sentences. Quantitative analysis used Mann-Whitney U tests for group comparisons and two-way ANOVA to examine gender and gender-by-group interaction effects. Qualitative data addressed proficiency gains and cross-linguistic transfer. Results showed no significant differences in Arabic acquisition between the sequential and concurrent learning groups. Furthermore, no significant effects of gender or gender-by-group interaction were observed. These findings suggest that prior L۲ exposure offered minimal discernible advantage in L۳ acquisition. This research contributes to multilingualism studies by providing empirical evidence on the role of prior language experience in L۳ acquisition, challenging assumptions about the universal benefits of sequential learning. The findings highlight the need to further investigate factors like language typology, instructional methods, and L۲ proficiency levels across educational settings.

کلیدواژه ها:

Concurrent Learning ، Cross-linguistic Transfer ، L۲ proficiency ، Multilingualism ، Sequential Learning