Which hypothesis states that learners have less difficulty acquiring target language patterns similar to their first language?

Which hypothesis states that learners have less difficulty acquiring target language patterns similar to their first language?

• A. Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH)
• B. Corpus
• C. Corrective Feedback
• D. Correlation

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that how easy learners find new language patterns depends on how similar those patterns are to their native language. When a target-language pattern closely resembles something in the learner’s L1, it tends to transfer positively, making it easier to learn. When there are differences, learners have to override their L1 habits, which often leads to more difficulty and systematic errors. This idea is captured by the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, which directly links L1–L2 similarities to ease of acquisition and L1–L2 differences to potential problems. It’s the best answer because it specifically names a hypothesis that predicts easier learning for patterns that mirror the learner’s first language. The other options refer to different concepts: a corpus is a collection of real language data, corrective feedback concerns how learners are guided on errors, and correlation is a statistical measure of relationship between variables, none of which focus on the effect of L1 similarity on acquiring L2 patterns.