ANALYSING STUDENT ERRORS: A CONTRASTIVE APPROACH TO ARABIC AND ROMANIAN NOUNS

Rezumat

This research, part of an ongoing PhD thesis, focuses on the noun in both Arabic and Romanian language, aiming to identify and analyse the most common errors made by Romanian students learning Arabic. By examining the theoretical framework and linguistic rules governing noun usage in both languages – particularly aspects such as gender, definiteness, case and number – the study employs a contrastive analysis to uncover key linguistic differences that may contribute to learning difficulties. Through an analysis of several noun groups in Romanian and how they were translated into Arabic by Romanian students, the research seeks to pinpoint specific challenges faced by learners. The study not only highlights the influence of Romanian, as the native language, on students’ acquisition of Arabic but also shows recurrent patterns of error in their writing. This contrastive approach is critical for understanding the underlying difficulties Romanian students meet in learning Arabic, providing them with a clearer understanding of why these errors occur. Overall, this research aims to add to the broader discourse on effective language pedagogy, shedding light on learner needs in multilingual educational settings.