Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) of College Freshmen Students in Navigating Difficulty of the Target Language

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Published: 2025-12-30
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59652/60bqjd85
Keywords:
contrastive analysis hypothesis (CAH), first language, native tongue, second language, target language

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April Joy Acosta
Iloilo State University of Fisheries Science and Technology image/svg+xml

Abstract

The contrastive analysis hypothesis (CAH) serves as a preliminary principle linked to second language acquisition (SLA) inquiry which conjectures that the crucial challenge in embracing the target language originates from the essential discrepancies between a student’s native language (L1) as well as the target language. This paper explores how L1 intervene with the target language (L2) influencing heavily students’ linguistic proficiency as well as encountered difficulty, principally linguistic challenges along vocabulary stockpile, main idea identification, grammar, making inferences, locating reference, and conveying the detailed information of texts. Leveraging a mixed-method research design, this study highlights how responsiveness of the divergences allows students to manage L2 learning more efficiently, reduce apprehension, and advance overall linguistic competency. It similarly conveys some suggestions for ESL pedagogy, approaches, signifying that CAH helps in planning syllabus and instructional resources that unravels the exclusive trials being confronted by college freshmen students. Taking into account the results, this study on CAH divulges some pedagogical considerations along the variances between learners' native tongue and L2 which, in effect, aids in identifying the learning problems. This understanding fosters a more relevant and contemporary teaching approaches, allowing college freshmen students to traverse linguistic difficulties and improve their expertise in L2.

Article Details

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 4 (2025): Bulletin of Language and Literature Studies

Section

Research Articles
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Acosta, A. J. (2025). Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) of College Freshmen Students in Navigating Difficulty of the Target Language. Bulletin of Language and Literature Studies, 2(4). https://doi.org/10.59652/60bqjd85

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