“OUR CERTIFICATES ARE BAPTIZED”: LEXICAL MISMATCHING IN ARAB STUDENTS' EFL WRITING

Abstract

This paper presented a lexical problem traced in the interlanguage of Arab  EFL learners. The data were collected from the writing assignments given to Arab university students in their first and second years majoring in English in Sana'a University, Yemen and King Khaled University, KSA. Five outstanding subcategories were identified in these observed lexical errors, based on their parts of speech, i.e., noun, verb, adjective, adverb and preposition mismatches. Each subcategory was exemplified with typical errors, which were further diagnosed briefly. The findings of the study indicated that lexical mismatching in EFL writing results from lexical deficiency, mother tongue interference and the wrong use of bilingual dictionaries. The study recommends the need for revising both the processes of teaching and learning vocabulary.