The present perfect in the English used by L1 Chinese and L1 Malay language learners

Using the functional perspective governing the four functions of the English present perfect (PP) by Leech (2004), this thesis discusses the extent to which Malaysian Chinese and Malay ESL learners know the full range of the English PP functions and can use them in English production. The study also aims to find out the specific PP functions that the participants utilise the best and worst as well as the main factors determining the relative lack of success in the acquisition of the PP in relation to results obtained by the participants. Both 60 Chinese and Malay learners of two different proficiency groups (advanced and intermediate) participated in this study. The instruments used were three elicitation tasks: a cloze task, a Grammaticality Judgement Task and a translation task. Percentages of errors made in the use of the four functions were analysed and explained by identifying the differences between the participants’ mother tongue and the target language and considering the participants’ tendency to use certain verb forms in various situations. The results of the study showed that both groups of participants performed best in the use of the state-up-to-the present function and worst in the use of the habit-leading-to-the present function. The participants also tended to use the simple past verb form instead of the PP verb form in PP environments in spite of contextual markers that signalled the use of the PP. The persistent difficulty in correctly using the PP can be linked to interacting factors such as markedness, there being no equivalent form to express the English PP in Chinese and Malay and the complexity in meaning and ambiguous nature of the English PP itself. Based on the findings, the researcher has come up with recommendations on how the learning of PP may be facilitated for effective teaching and learning.