The Interference of Arabic Prepositions in Emirati English

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Article The Interference of Arabic Prepositions in Emirati English

Jean Pierre Ribeiro Daquila 1,2

1 ESERP Business and Law School, 08010 Barcelona, Spain; [email protected] or [email protected] 2 Department of Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Philology, University Complutense of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Abstract: The bond between England and the UAE date back to over 220 years ago. This article explored the interference of Arabic prepositions in the English used in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and their occurrences in light of gender and level of education, two important social variables related to linguistic behavior. To do so, participants translated 20 sentences in Arabic into English as well as ﬁlled in 30 gaps in sentences in English with the missing prepositions. We also experimented how musical intelligence improved the Emiratis’ performance regarding prepositions. An experiment was carried out to verify if participants from the experimental group, who received training on prepositions through music, obtained better results compared to the control group, who received training through a more traditional way (by listening to the instructor and repeating).

Keywords: multiple intelligences; musical intelligence; grammar; prepositions; contrastive; comparative; linguistics; L2 acquisition; training; Emirati English; Arabic dialects; autism; savant syndrome

1. Introduction This study aims to analyze the utilization of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) Citation: Ribeiro Daquila, J.P. The as an instrument to enhance learning. MI was presented by the American developmental Interference of Arabic Prepositions in psychologist and research professor Howard Gardner in 1983 in his notable book Frames of Emirati English. Sci 2021, 3, 19. Mind [1], in which he claims that individuals possess eight intelligences (bodily-kinesthetic, https://doi.org/10.3390/sci3020019 musical, linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and natural- ist [2]) and not only one as most psychologists prior to his theory advocated. The focus of Academic Editors: Claus Jacob and this paper will be on musical intelligence. Leo Depuydt Musical intelligence is the capacity to perceive the meter, tone, and melody. This intelligence enables us to perceive, create, reproduce, appreciate music patterns, and Received: 17 February 2021 identify differences between musical pitches, among other abilities. Composers, pianists, Accepted: 25 March 2021 instrument makers, musicians in general, vocalists, and sensitive listeners [1] are examples Published: 1 April 2021 of musically intelligent people. This study uses musical intelligence to improve Emirati participants’ use of prepo- Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral sitions in English. According to Campbell, L., Campbell, D. and Dickinson, D. [3], there with regard to jurisdictional claims in are two main ways to implement musical intelligence in the classrooms: The multimodal published maps and institutional afﬁl- and the arts-based models. The multimodal model is more pragmatic and uses the mul- iations. tiple intelligences as entry points (i.e., the utilization of learners’ strengths—one of the eight Multiple Intelligences—to learn and understand academic content. In the case of our study we will use musical intelligence as an entry point to understand and improve prepositions) into disciplinary content. Our study makes use of the multimodal model, Copyright: © 2021 by the author. not because we believe this is the best and most important aspect of musical intelligence, Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. but because we are not policy makers, therefore we cannot implement music classes in This article is an open access article schools, which leads us to the other model of schools, the arts-based one, in which Multiple distributed under the terms and Intelligences are dealt as sound reasons for learning in and through the arts, as legitimate conditions of the Creative Commons disciplines. The fact that the study was carried out in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) also Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ contributes to this multimodal model as this country has only recently been adapting to 4.0/). new methodologies and international schools; moreover, 20 years ago, over 90% of schools

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in the UAE were koranic-based and there were no institutes with music class or music schools available in the country [4]. Research on individuals whose brains have been damaged as a result of a stroke or other sorts of trauma confirm the distinctiveness of musical perception. Some aphasic individuals (a condition in which a person partially or totally loses the ability to com- municate or understand language, due to a brain damage) have additionally displayed lessened musical ability while others can suffer significant aphasia and keep intact musical competences, even as one can become musically impaired while still retaining one’s principal linguistic abilities. This is because linguistic competences are concentrated in the left hemisphere while musical capacities are located in the right hemisphere. Disease in the right hemisphere may compromise music appreciation. Amusia, for instance, prevents individuals from perceiving or reproducing musical sounds [1,5,6]. Because of these evidences, we believe that activating one more portion of the brain to learn, in the case of this study the right temporal lobe in which musical intelligence is located, will provide better results than just learning using linguistic intelligence (repetition, reading, and listening to the prepositions), which activates the left hemisphere, more precisely, the left temporal and frontal lobes. Each intelligence is located in a different part of the brain, so the more intelligences we involve in one activity the more parts of the brain will be activated [1] Unlike language syndromes, musical syndromes are not uniform, and a great variety can be found even inside the same population. Musical breakdown is not systematically connected with other faculties, such as linguistic, numerical, or spatial processing; music seems unique in this respect, just like natural language [1]. Perhaps once musical compe- tence has been more accurately analyzed, we may find that it is even more lateralized and localized than human language. Astonishing musical and acoustical feats performed by autistic youngsters have been reported in the literature. The most outstanding musical savant may be Eddie Bonafe, who was the focus of many articles as well as a whole book [7–12]. Eddie was born in 1980. By the age of ten, he had begun to display the ability to play works at the level of famous composers like Mozart, a good long-term musical memory, and an outstand ability to play music after hearing it just once or twice [7]. This study will carry out an experiment regarding MI. Twenty Emirati participants in the experimental group will be trained through music in the domain of prepositions—to examine whether there is a significant improvement in this domain compared to the control group (a group of 20 Emirati participants, who will be trained in a more traditional way: by reading and repeating out loud). The experimental group will be trained with the aid of music, as they will practice the prepositions by singing a song dealing mostly with three problematic prepositions for Emiratis: on, at, and by. It is essential to be aware of the social and linguistic characteristics in the UAE to understand the interinfluence of English and Arabic in the region. Dubai and Abu Dhabi suffered a massive immigration after oil was found in the region in the late 1950s. Currently, more than 89 percent of the population in the UAE is foreign-born [13–16]. There was an obvious need for international schools, and as a consequence English began being used in most services and public places, such as bars, shopping malls, taxis, gas stations, restaurants, cinemas, and grocery stores. The Dialect is the first language (L1) [17] in the Arab world, more precisely regarding this study, the Emirati Dialect is the L1 in the UAE. The UAE government has invested significantly in the education system in order to keep up with the globalization, changing from instruction in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)—which is the Arabs’ second language (L2) [16,17]—to a bilingual curriculum where Arabic and English are equally important [18]. Since the 1990s, English lessons begin in the first year of primary in public schools [19]. This study seeks to find out the influence of Arabic on Emirati English throughout the two centuries of British presence in the region, as well to discuss the effectiveness of teaching content through music. To do so, the following research questions were discussed: Sci 2021, 3, 19 3 of 28

1. Are there inﬂuences of MSA (L2) and Emirati Dialect (L1) in the acquisitions of prepositions in English? 2. Is there a meaningful difference in the result among the participants of the control group, who learn through music and the control group, whose participants learn through a traditional method (reading and repetition of the content)? 3. Are there differences in the results obtained by the participants regarding their educational background and gender? 4. Are the results similar to the ones obtained in our previous study [20], in which the content taught through dance (experimental groups 1 and 2, composed of ballet and ﬂamenco dancers respectively) obtained a statistically meaningful difference compared to the control group (group of participants trained in a traditional way, by reading and repeating the content)?

2. Historical Overview The following historical analysis is intended to explain the three periods of linguistic change in the UAE. According to Schneider’s [21] ‘dynamic model’ of postcolonial English, three significant phases of language change can be identified in the UAE. Initially, the ‘foundation phase’ (1809–1966), when English was introduced; a second period of ‘exonormative stabilization’ (1966–2004); and the period of ‘normalization’ (2004 till the present moment). This theoretical framework looks into the structure of the Modern Standard Arabic and Emirati Dialect and their influence on Emirati English.

2.1. The Foundation Period: The Introduction of English (1809–1966) The bond between the UAE and Britain date back over 220 years. British Indian shipping was threatened by Arabs of the lower Gulf. The British Governments of Bombay and India considered the maritime toll-levying and raiding as coercion and piracy. The Qasimi, the ruling family of Sharjah, Ras al-Khaimah (nowadays these are two of the Emirates that constitute the UAE), and Lingah were believed to be behind these raids [22]. In 1809 and 1819, the British sent expeditions to several Qasimi ports; this can be considered the first linguistic phase [21], the ‘foundation phase’ when locals had the first contacts with English. In 1820, the British imposed the General Treaty, which were agreements with individual Emirates resulting in an area known as “The Trucial States” (nowadays the UAE). Britain accepted the role of protector and the rulers honored their duties and commitments as protégés. Two further treaties in 1888 and in 1892 devolved external relations to the British in return for protectorate status. In the early 1930s, the first oil company teams carried out geological surveys in the UAE, after they had discovered oil in Iran (1908) and Bahrain (1932). Such discoveries contributed to Britain’s decision to continue in the Gulf. All the oil companies established in the Trucial States were British-owned. They also made the use of aircraft to connect Britain to the Gulf, as well as to protect the latter. The RAF (Royal Air Force) and Imperial Airways, now British Airways, had their bases in Sharjah (UAE). In 1941, the British post agency opened its first agency in Dubai. From 1948 on, all mail posted from the Trucial States used British stamps portraying the British monarch. Rules and British officials were heavily criticized by anti-colonialists around the world, including the UN General Assembly. To avoid that, the British government granted more freedom to the rulers. The rulers, however, feared the vulnerability that independence would bring.

2.2. The Exonormative Stabilization: English as the Language of Administration and Education (1966–2004) In 1966, Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan assumed authority in Abu Dhabi and started ruling the Trucial States. As the Gulf cities grew, all the facilities, bridges and buildings were designed by British architects and engineers. The British Council was in charge of developing secondary education in most Gulf shaikhdoms and granted university scholarships for hundreds of Gulf students to study in Britain. Sci 2021, 3, 19 4 of 28

In 1966, the British decided not to be involved in the Trucial States anymore, which led the rulers of six Emirates (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Umm al-Quwain, Fujairah, and Ajman) to establish a Federation. They signed an agreement, and on 2 December 1971 the United Arab Emirates was formally established. The British political agent in the Emirates was promoted to ambassador. Hundreds of British nationals stayed in the Emirates as officers and civil servants, administrating the police, airports, hospitals, and newly-formed militaries. Many remain there today. In 1988, there were 172 British loan service officers employed by the UAE Government [22] (p. 24). According to Boyle [23] (p. 319), at the time of independence, the British community comprised a few thousand and nowadays are about one hundred thousand. English became the lingua franca of the country: it was present in the oil and gas industry, aviation, shipping, and commerce; it also was the language of the South Asian migrant worker, who comprised a large section of the community. English was regarded as the language of new era for the autochthonous community [24]. The sharp rise in the number of foreigners made that the Emiratis themselves became a linguistic and ethnic minority in their own country. Prior to the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the non-gulf Arab population, which provided the professional workforce in fields such as education, engineering, and medicine throughout the Gulf, fell from 72% in 1975 to 29% in 2002 [25]. From 1990, these non-Gulf Arabs were replaced by professionals from Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, who eventually comprised 50% of the Gulf workforce [25], increasing the number of English speakers in the UAE. Over one century of treaties with England has left traces in the Emirati Dialect. All the new technology and objects that were introduced by the Englishmen were unknown by the Emiratis, so they adopted many words from English, such as lift, light, glass, cycle (for bicycle), class, finish (meaning to quit the job or to be dismissed from work), and many others.

2.3. The Nativization Period (2004 Until Present) ‘Nativization’ is Schneider’s [21] contemporary period according to his ‘dynamic model’ relevant to the UAE. This period is ongoing and, therefore, not yet well deﬁned. As per Boyle [23], this third period of Schneider’s ‘dynamic model’ started in 2004 when the Abu Dhabi government launched a diversity of economic plans: high-technology and heavy industry, nuclear power plants, and expansion of luxury and cultural tourism. Such projects activated a speedy increase in the number of immigrants from 3.3 million in 2005 to 7.24 million in 2010 [26], i.e., over 89 percent of the present population in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is foreign-born [13–16].

2.4. English as Lingua Franca English is essential in the present situation in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is applied in a vast range of social interactions in most public places and services, such as restaurants, theaters, supermarkets, taxis, gas stations, shopping malls, and private healthcare centers [16,27], where Arabic is seldom spoken by the staff. Randall and Samimi [28] (pp. 43–44) consider Dubai a relevant city for the analysis of English as a ‘Lingua Franca’. In addition, children started learning English in both public and private schools, as early as Kindergarten, and is the main language at the university level [16,29]. Some research has described the characteristics of English as spoken in Dubai [23,27,30,31]— which is subsumed under either ‘Emirati English’ or ‘Gulf English’—to substantial lexical borrowings from different areas, such as religion (eid, ‘religious festival’; Alhamdulillah, ‘God be praised’; Wallah, ‘I swear to God’; Inshallah, ‘God willing’; and Mashallah, ‘What God wishes’), food (biriyani, ‘spiced rice’; Luqaimat, ‘doughnut’; and Machboos, ‘rice with cardamom, cinnamon, and dried lemon), geographical features (jabal, ‘mountain’; and albar, ‘the desert’), and clothing (dishdasha, ‘long white robe for men’; ghetra, ‘headscarf for men’; and abaya, ‘black cloak for women’). Sci 2021, 3, 19 5 of 28

3. Theoretical Framework The following literature shows how MI theory, and more speciﬁcally, musical intelligence, have been dealt with throughout the years, its implementation in the UAE, and how these theories support this and similar studies.

3.1. A Contrastive Linguistic Analysis on the Arabic Prepositional System This study makes use of a contrastive linguistic analysis (CA), which is a synchronic comparison of two languages [32], as we analyze languages belonging to the same period and focus more on dissimilarities than similarities. The beginning of Contrastive Linguistic dates back to 1957 when Robert Lado published his book Linguistics Across Culture. Although CA has been heavily criticized by scholars all over the globe, we cannot deny the merits of such an analysis when it comes to the Arabic situation. Due to the fact that English and Arabic belong to different language families, Germanic and Semantic families, respectively, they have distinct prepositional systems. There are fewer prepositions in Arabic than in English [32]: while English contain more than a hundred, Arabic has only twenty prepositions, but only six of them are commonly used (min, ila, 3la, bi, li, and fi) [33]. Regarding the usages of prepositions, in English, they can be attached to an adjective, for instance, fond of, tired of, and similar to. In English, the prepositions “of” and “to” connect an adjective to a noun. Nevertheless, in Arabic, a preposition does not connect these two elements. Let us see two examples with prepositions as a complement of an adjective: 1. I am extremely sorry for your results. 2. The email I got is full of mistakes. In Examples (1) and (2), the prepositions and object of the prepositions act as a complement of an adjective. In Arabic, this does not occur. However, the preposition and object of the preposition act as an adjective for the object of the sentence in Arabic, as in the following sentence: 3. . Raiatu Maria fi saiaratiha. AîEPAJ ú ¯ AK PAÓ IK @P * Saw I Maria in car her. I saw Maria in her car. Another difference is that, in English, a preposition may occur before verbs in the gerund form: 4. She left the party without saying anything. 5. I am not used to traveling so much. However, in Arabic, a preposition does not occur before verbs. In English it is also possible to find prepositions at the end of a sentence: 6. Where is he from? 7. I have the results the director asked for. In Arabic, however, prepositions do not occur at the end of a sentence. The final difference we would like to point out is the fact that, in English, there exist some prepositions that occur as conjunctions, such as before, after, and since: 8. She went home before she finished her task. 9. I haven’t met Dan since he returned from Tangier. But in Arabic, prepositions cannot function as conjunctions. All these differences between Arabic and English may result in negative transfers, as the learner will apply the rules existing in his L1 to produce sentences in the L2. This study analyzes to which extent negative transfers are present when Emiratis speak English.

Studies on Prepositions in Emirati Dialect and Gulf English The literature lacks studies on the prepositions in Emirati Dialect and Gulf English. We did, however, ﬁnd Ghwaileh’s study [34], which focused on errors made due to the Sci 2021, 3, 19 6 of 28

negative transfer from Emirati Dialect and MSA while writing in English, revealing that, when translating from L1 (Emirati Arabic) into L2 (English), most students encountered difﬁculties in translating prepositions. For instance, Emiratis literally say in English: ‘I eat from the restaurant’ when they mean ‘I eat at a restaurant’. This happens because, in Arabic, the preposition min (from) is used:

Ñª¢ÖÏ@ áÓ É¿ @. Akil min almat3m. This phenomenon occurs because there is a colossal mistake in most English books for Arabs regarding prepositions: the most frequent prepositions in Arabic are translated into their main meaning in English. Table1 shows these prepositions:

Table 1. Prepositions in Arabic, transliteration, and the usual translation into English.

Arabic Transliteration English ﬁ in ú ¯ úÍ@ ila¯ to/towards úÎ« 3la¯ on áÓ min from H. bi in/with li for/to È

However, these prepositions do not always correspond to these translations. Therefore, it is common to find Emiratis and Arabs in general who have difficulties using the correct prepositions in English. Let us take a look at some other examples: Emiratis usually say: ‘I am in my way’ when they mean: ‘I am on my way’. This happens due to the fact that the preposition fi is usually translated as in: . Ana fi darb, I am in my way. H. PYË@ ú ¯ AK@ There are also cases in which one preposition is absent in English and present in Arabic: Emiratis usually say in English: ‘The library is near from the university’, but they mean: ‘the library is near the university’. éªÓAm.Ì'@ áÓ éJ. KQ¯ éJ.JºÖ Ï@Almaktabat qariban min aljam3a. The literal translation is: The library is near from the university. There are some prepositions that are different in Modern Standard Arabic and Emirati Dialect. Ghwaileh’s study [34] revealed that, when translating from L1 (Emirati Arabic) into L2 (English), most students encountered difficulties in translating the preposition until, 7ata in MSA, many times substituted by the preposition á Ë liin in Emirati: I stayed on the farm until the sunrise. Qj. ®Ë@ á Ë éK.QªËAK . IJ ÖßTamit bial3izba liin alfajir. In the dialect version, most secondary students translated this sentence as follows: I stayed in the farm to the sunrise. Next, the same students were given on a different day the same sentence to be translated, but now in MSA version: Qj. ®Ë@ úæk éK.QªËAK . IJ Öß. Tamit biall3izba 7ata alfajir. Participants in Ghwaileh’s study [34] made the same mistake they had made previously in the dialect-version sentence. This means that these Emiratis misuse prepositions when translating both from colloquial and standard Arabic into English; this due to the lack of instruction and insufficient knowledge/input in the use of prepositions, as well as due to the fact that English and Arabic belong to two very different language families [32]. Sci 2021, 3, 19 7 of 28

3.2. Multiple Intelligences: The Brain and Language Albert Einstein is reported to have started to speak extremely late; however, his initial silence may have made him see the world in a more detailed way. Numerous normal or close to normal children show particular difficulties in the learning of language. In some cases, the difficulty seems to be found mainly in auditory discrimination, causing them to misarticulate [1]. The capacity to decode linguistic messages fast—a prerequisite for the understanding of normal speech—seems to rely on an intact left temporal lobe; thus, injuries to, or the abnormal development of, this neural zone generally are sufficient to produce language disabilities. However, if the damage occurs during the first year of life, even if it affects the entire hemisphere of the brain, the child will be able to speak quite well. Early in life brain plasticity enables language to develop in the right hemisphere, even at the cost of compromising other functions, such as visual and spatial, that would normally be localized there. Attentive examination of such children’s linguistic strategies reveal that they are unique in relation to those individuals who employ the normal language areas in the left hemisphere. In particular, individuals dependent upon the analytic mechanisms of the right hemisphere proceed almost entirely from semantic information: they decode sentences in the light of meanings of the principal lexical items, while proving unable to utilize cues of syntax. Only those children whose language exploits left hemisphere structures prove able to pay attention to syntactic cues, such as word order. Both left and right hemidecorticates are able to understand sentences whose meaning can be inferred simply from knowledge of the meaning of substantives: The dog was struck by the jeep. But only the individual with an intact left hemisphere can decode sentences where the critical difference in meaning inheres wholly in syntactic cues [1]: The jeep was hit by the bus. Howard Gardner takes care not to term this capacity as an auditory-oral form of intelligence, given that deaf individuals can acquire natural language. Many retarded children show and outstanding capacity to master language—mainly the phonological and syntactic aspects—though they may have relatively little of signifi- cance to utter. Other rare children, in spite of retardation or autism, prove able to read when they are only two or three. These “hyperlexic” children show, therefore, high linguistic intelligence. The reading is so compulsive that it is hard to stop. Regarding mathematical intelligence, one hyperlexic child studied by Fritz Dreifuss and Charles C. Mehegan could immediately tell the day of the week of remote historical dates, while another showed an excellent memory for numbers.

3.2.1. Musical Intelligence Musical intelligence is the ability to compose, play, remember, feel, and understand music [1]. People with musical intelligence are extremely sensitive to rhythm and sound. For instance, they can easily distinguish the sound of a Spanish guitar from that of an acoustic one. They think in terms of musical patterns. Individuals who possess high musical intelligence look for patterns in new information in order to increase learning. They also look for patterns in speech and language. They remember things by turning them into lyrics or rhymes [1]. This study is based on using music to make participants remember the right prepositions in English.

3.2.2. Musical Intelligence and Autism We have also mentioned the most outstanding musical savant in the professional literature, Eddie Bonafe [8–12], who by the age of ten had begun to display the ability to play works at the level of the Mozart sonatas. Not only does the literature address Eddie’s case, but also of many talented musical savants. Another music talent was a child called Harriet, who could play “Happy Birthday” in the style of famous composers, such as Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, and Schubert. Harriet applied her musical intelligence in other Sci 2021, 3, 19 8 of 28

ways—she knew, for instance, the personal history of the members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. At the age of three, her mother called her by playing incomplete melodies, which the child would then complete with the appropriate tone in the proper octave [1]. Thomas Wiggins, widely known as “Blind Tom” [35–37], was a famous musician in nineteenth- century America. Wiggins was born in Georgia and was apparently autistic, blind, and probably cognitively impaired. Wiggins was a skilled improviser and composer and, to judge from his performance repertoire, a highly accomplished pianist. His performances expressed his remarkable talents. Not only would he play famous works that posed significant technical challenges, but also works composed by himself, all from a repertoire of several thousand works played by heart upon request. His performances were extremely popular, and Wiggins displayed unusual verbal and physical behavior: walking and spinning around and making uncommon facial expressions [38–40]. Wiggins possessed tremendous musical memory and coordination, he would play back any work upon hearing it for the first time, simultaneously playing two different works (one with each hand) while singing a song, and perceiving all of the notes in complex harmonies. Another example of a blind person with developmental disability and extraordinary music talent is Leslie Lemke. Despite having a good memory, the pieces Lemke performs are always short [7]. Autism is nowadays considered a comprehensive disorder, rather than a medical problem or developmental disorder as it was classified in the 1940s.

3.2.3. Musical Therapy The literature is filled with research that suggest that listening to or singing songs may provide benefits for people with Alzheimer’s disease as well as other sorts of dementia [41,42]. A study suggests that people with dementia with sessions of a music-based therapeutic intervention probably relieves depression and improves overall behavioral problems at the end of treatment, apart from improving emotional well-being and quality of life and relieve anxiety [43]. There are some clinics in the world that use music therapy to treat patients with Alzheimer and other dementia [44,45]. Música para despertar became extremely famous when one of its videos went viral on social and traditional media [46,47] in 2020. The video shows the former ballerina Marta Gonzalez listening to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. As she listens, she recalls the choreography and dances to Tchaikovsky’s beat. The literature is also ﬁlled with research of music being used during and after interventions [48,49] to alleviate pain, and preceding medical interventions to relieve uneasiness and discomfort. Not only does musical therapy help human beings, but it may also be beneﬁcial for animals. Kaavan, an elephant in a zoo in Pakistan, was kept 35 years in captivity, being completely alone in the last 8 years. The chief veterinarian at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin, explained that Kaavan had developed “stereotypical behavior where he swooshes his head and trunk from side to side for hours.” In order to prepare him for his release in December 2020, which comprised a 4000-km journey in a steel cage, he underwent music therapy in an attempt to tranquilize and motivate him [50,51]. This method is reportedly working. Several songs and genres were played to Kaavan, but Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ was his favorite; it reduced his anxiety and damaging behavior.

4. Participants Twenty participants—10 male and 10 female—were randomly chosen to be the control group. Ten of them have only ﬁnished secondary public school. The other 10 have graduated from university or hold a master’s degree as well. Twenty participants—11 male and 9 female participants—who have answered in the questionnaire (AppendixA) that they have music proclivities (i.e., they listen to music at least three times per week, they enjoy singing along with music) were chosen to be the experimental group. We would have preferably chosen any musicians, such as viola players, pianists, and violinists; however, we could not ﬁnd any to comprise the experimental group. Sci 2021, 3, 19 9 of 28

Regarding their level of education, 10 of them have completed secondary public school while the remaining participants hold a university or a master’s degree. Participants in both groups were aged from 29 to 38.

5. Method It was investigated if there are any differences in performances between Emirati with music proclivities versus regular participants (students and alumni) when receiving training concerning prepositions. To demonstrate that learning through an individual’s strength or proclivities is more efficient than learning in the traditional way, participants were trained in two separate groups. The data for this part were obtained from six different training sessions, and each session lasted 10 min. There was a pretest some minutes before the first session (see AppendicesB andC). Participants had to translate the sentences in AppendixB into English (participants’ sheets were black and white, in order to facilitate readers’ understanding). AppendixB shows the prepositions that occur only in Arabic in green; that is, there is a preposition in Arabic while there is none in English; the prepositions that occur both in Arabic and in English are shown in red. AppendixC is composed of 30 sentences in English with gaps that the participants must fill in using the correct preposition. Posttest 1 was administered after session three and Posttest 2 was administered after session six (see AppendicesB andC). The training sessions for the control group was developed as follows: firstly, the instructor read the rules regarding prepositions (see AppendixD). Next, participants repeated all the sentences out loud. Thirdly, participants in the control group read the lyrics of the song made exclusively for this study (see AppendixE). This song deals with the prepositions in context. The lyrics were read without listening to any music. The objective of reading the lyrics is to make sure that both groups receive the same amount of input. Regarding the training sessions for the experimental group, the first two steps were identical to the training session for the control group: the instructor read the sentences in AppendixD and then the participants repeated them. Then, participants sang the song made exclusively for this study (see AppendixE). The melody used was a karaoke version of the song Like a virgin, performed by the singer Madonna. A video on YouTube was exclusively created for this training (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_yVbr6kLhw, accessed on 30 March 2021).

6. Results and Discussion As we mentioned in Table1 (Section 3.1), the most frequent prepositions in Arabic are translated into their main meaning in English. However, these prepositions do not always correspond to these translations. Therefore, it is common to find Emiratis and Arabs in general who have difficulties using the correct prepositions in English. Let us take a look at some examples from our sentences from the pretest and Posttest 1 and 2 (see AppendixB). Let us start by analyzing the negative transfer of the preposition “from” (min in Arabic): 10. 7 (I finish work at 7) ú ¯ ÉÒªË@ áÓ ú æîDK@ In the case of Sentence 1, more than 90% answered I finish from work, as the verb in Arabic is antahi min (I finish from). 3. ‘He is married from her’, instead of saying ‘I am married to her’. Hwa mitazawij minha. Our study is in line with Ghwaileh’s findings [34], as we could confirm the same mistakes shown in his study as well as mistakes regarding other prepositions, which will be discussed below and more in depth in the Results and Discussion section.

11. (I’ve been wanting this for a long time.) ú æËAë AK.@AK@ð àAÓP áÓ As the preposition áÓ (min) is generally translated as from, 92% of participants translated this sentence as I wait/I am waiting from a long time. No participants used the present perfect progressive to translate this sentence, but present continuous or simple present, instead. Sci 2021, 3, 19 10 of 28

12. . (wait for me) ú æJ KQK@ As for Sentence 12, most students translated it as “wait me”, as there is no preposition in its Arabic version. The other cases of negative transfer into English will be discussed in the following section.

6.1. Pretest In order to carry out the pretest, participants had to translate the sentences in Ap- pendixB and complete the text with the correct preposition in AppendixC. The following Table2 shows all the on prepositions extracted from AppendicesB andC. There are twenty participants in each group and ten phrases containing the preposition on. Therefore, each phrase can have a maximum of twenty correct answers. Let us analyze the first phrase: on a farm, extracted from AppendixC, Sentence 1. We find under the grid on a farm the number 0 for the control group, which means that no participants completed the gap with the preposition on. The same result was found in the experimental group, which also means that no participants completed the gap with the correct preposition. Regarding the next phrase on the island—extracted from AppendixC, Sentence 2—only one participant in the control group filled in the gap with the preposition on. There was a clear preference for the preposition in, as all participants completed the form by using in YouTube, in the bus, in the farm, and in an island (there was also one contestant who wrote Pat is from an island and it was considered correct). Regarding on the weekend (American English), we decided to include it on this list in the British version as at the weekend. Actually, seven participants answered at the weekend. However, the remaining 33 participants answered in the weekend. In first of December was also by far the most used preposition, while 3 participants did not use any preposition: see you the first of December. Regarding on sale, the participants either translated it as: this jeans has a discount or this jeans on sale. Although in Arabic the word jeans appeared also in plural

“H@ QJ m.Ì'Aë/haljeanzat”—the sufﬁx -at indicates plural—the demonstrative pronoun hal is used for both singular and plural in Emirati Arabic, meaning this or these. Most contestants also omitted the verb to be (these jeans are), as the verb to be in the present tense is absent in both MSA and in all the dialects of Arabic. Two contestants also answered for sale, instead. Regarding the level of education, 49 out of the 53 correct answers were given by participants who hold either a university or a master’s degree. In addition, 29 correct answers were performed by females and 24 by males. Let us now analyze Table3, which deals with the preposition in. Both in and on Khair Street were considered correct answers. However, 36 participants opted for the preposition in. As we can see, Emiratis tend to simplify the prepositions in, on, and at by using only in when speaking Emirati English. In the case of in different colors, which is the least usual collocation on this list, three participants completed the sentence with the preposition at. In the case of the translation for the sentence You can see it in the picture, 5 participants translated it as You can see the picture instead. Because we could not encounter problems concerning the preposition in, we decided to disregard it in the following two posttests. Regarding the level of education from the participants, the only eight mistakes were made by participants that do not hold a university degree. Five mistakes were made by males while four were made by female participants. As we can see, Emiratis tend to simplify the prepositions in, on, and at by using only in when speaking Emirati English. In the case of in different colors, which is the least usual collocation on this list, three participants completed the sentence with the preposition at. In the case of the translation for the sentence You can see it in the picture, 5 participants translated it as You can see the picture instead. Because we could not encounter problems concerning the preposition in, we decided to disregard it in the following two posttests. Regarding the level of education from the participants, the only eight mistakes were made by participants that do not hold a university degree. Five mistakes were made by males while four were made by female participants. Sci 2021Sci, 3 2021, x FOR, 3, xPEER FOR REVIEWPEER REVIEW 12 of 2912 of 29

RegardingRegarding the level the oflevel education, of education, 49 out 49 of out the of 53 the correct 53 correct answers answers were weregiven given by par- by par- ticipantsticipants who holdwho eitherhold either a university a university or a ma orster’s a ma ster’sdegree. degree. In additi In addition, 29on, correct 29 correct answers answers were wereperformed performed by females by females and 24 and by 24males. by males. Let usLet now us analyze now analyze Table Table 3, wh ich3, wh dealsich dealswith thewith preposition the preposition in. Both in. inBoth and in on and Khair on Khair StreetStreet were wereconsidered considered correct correct answers. answers. However, However, 36 participants 36 participants opted opted for the for preposi- the preposition intion. in.

Table Table3. Pretest 3. Pretest pf the pfpreposition the preposition in. in.

PercentagePercentage ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﺼﻮﺭﺓﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﺼﻮﺭﺓ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺷﺎﺭﻉ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﺨﻴﺮﺷﺎﺭﻉ ﺍﻟﺨﻴﺮ the inin the the in the ﻓﻲ in ﺩﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮﻓﻲ ﺩﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮ ﻓﻲ ﺃﻣﻴﺮﻛﺎﻓﻲ ﺃﻣﻴﺮﻛﺎ PrepositionPreposition in Different in Different in the in the in Springin Spring in London in London in/on Khairin/on Khair (in the (inPic- the Pic- of Correctof Correct in in ColorsColors MorningMorning in Americain America (in Dec.)(in Dec.)Car CarTaxi Taxi St. St. ture) ture) AnswersAnswers X = X = ControlControl 1818 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 17 17 20 20 20 2020 19,500/20020 19,500/200 = = group group 97.5% 97.5% X= X= ExperimentalExperimental 1919 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 18 18 20 20 20 2020 19,700/20020 19,700/200 = = group group 98.5% 98.5%

As weAs can we see, can Emiratis see, Emiratis tend totend simplify to simplify the prepositions the prepositions in, on in, ,and on , atand by at using by using only inonly when in when speaking speaking Emirati Emirati English. English. In the In case the ofcase in differentof in different colors ,colors which, which is the isleast the least usualusual collocation collocation on this on list, this three list, three participants participants completed completed the sentence the sentence with with the the prepositionpreposition at. In at the. In case the caseof the of translation the translation for the for sentence the sentence You canYou see can it see in it the in the picturepicture, 5 participants, 5 participants translated translated it as Youit as canYou see can the see picture the picture instead. instead. Because Because we could we could not encounternot encounter problems problems concerning concerning the preposition the preposition in, we in decided, we decided to disregard to disregard it in the it in the followingfollowing two posttests. two posttests. Sci 2021, 3, 19 11 of 28 RegardingRegarding the level the level of education of education from from the participants, the participants, the only the only eight eight mista mistakes kes were weremade made by participants by participants that dothat not do hold not holda university a university degree. degree. Five Fivemista mistakes kes werewere made made by males by males while while four werefour weremade made by female by female participants. participants. With Wrespectith respect to the to preposition the preposition at in Tableat inWith Table 4, again respect 4, again Emiratis to theEmiratis prepositionused usedthe p repositiontheat in preposition Table in4, again in Emiratis used the preposition in in in mostin most cases cases instead. instead. At Christmas At Christmas was most also was casessubstituted also substitutedinstead. byAt the Christmas by preposition the prepositionwas alsoon by substituted on two by two by the preposition on by two partici- par-ticipants,par-ticipants, maybe maybe becaus because of thee of collocation thepants, collocation maybe on Christmas becauseon Christmas of day the. With collocation day. With regard regardon toChristmas the to the day . With regard to the sentence I live sentencesentence I live Iat live 234 at Oxford 234 Oxford street ,street most, mostparticipantsat 234 participants Oxford chose street chose ,the most preposition the participants preposition in and chose in some and the prepositionsome in and some did not add any did notdid add not any add preposition any preposition (I live ( I234 liv eOx preposition234ford Ox streetford ).street ( IMaybe live). 234 Maybe because Oxford because street many). many Maybe participants part becauseicipants many participants were businesspeople were were business- business-peoplepeople and they and theyconstantly constantlyand exchange they exchange constantly emails, emails, exchange the sentence the sentenceemails, Email the Email me sentence at me at Email me at [email protected] was [email protected]@email.com was was correctly correctly answered answeredcorrectly by more answered by more than by than half more ofhalf than the of half respondents. the of respondents. the respondents. Although only one participant AlthoughAlthough only oneonly partici- one partici-pant omittedpant omitted theomitted preposition the thepreposition preposition at in theat in sentenceat thein thesentence sentenceI finish I finishworkI finish atwork work at at 7, 32 participants translated the 7, 32 participants7, 32 participants translated translated the sentence the sentence sentenceliterary: literary: I literary: finish I finish from I finish workfromfrom workat 7work, as at in7 at, Arabicas 7, in as Arabic in the Arabic the the verb finish takes the preposition verb finishverb finishtakes takesthe preposi- the preposi-tion fromtion. fromHowever,from. However,. However, it is clear it is it clearthat is clear this that thatcommon this this common common collocation collocation collocation at + hour is common in Emirati at + hourat + ishour common is common in Emirati in Emirati English. English. TheEnglish. blank The Theblank laugh blank laughat waslaugh at mostly was at was mostly filled mostly filledin filledby inlaugh by in by laughlaugh on, because in Emirati Arabic the yaD7ak yaD7akyaD7ak 3lay, 3lay,which 3lay,which which literally literally literally means laugh on me; some participants ﯾﻀﺤﻚ ﻋﻠﻲﯾﻀﺤﻚ.. is is ﻋﻠﻲ.. on, becauseon, because in Emirati in Emirati Arabic Ara thebic expression the expressionexpression is meansmeans laugh laughon me on; some me; someparticipants participants alsoalso filled also filled filledin with in within thewith the preposition the preposition preposition from from fromlaughlaugh laughfrom from from me . The sentence My mom yells at me me. Theme . sentenceThe sentence My mom My momyells atyells me at obtained obtainedme obtained a a similar similar a similar performance performance performance to to laugh to laugh at at me me ; at; again, me; the preposition in Emirati Arabic Nevertheless, most most mostparticipants participants participants left it blank: My mom yells me. While, 3 .ﻋﻠﻰ,on). Nevertheless, Nevertheless)ﻋﻠﻰ again,a gain,the preposition the preposition in Emirati in Emirati Arabic Arabic is 3la is (on) 3la left itLet leftblank: us itLet blank:now My us analyzemomnow My yellsanalyzemom the meyells preposition. theWhile, me preposition. While, 3 an- atanswered sweredin3 an- Tableat sweredin yTable 4:yellsells ony on4:ells me me on, ,translating translating me, translating it it literally literally it literally from from from Arabic. Arabic.Arabic. Let us now analyze the preposition at in Table4: With respect to the preposition at in Table4, again Emiratis used the preposition “in” in most cases, instead. At Christmas was also substituted by the preposition on by two participants, maybe because of the collocation on Christmas day. With regard to the sentence “I live at 234 Oxford street”, most participants chose the preposition in and some did not add any preposition (I live 234 Oxford street). Maybe because many participants were businesspeople and they constantly exchange emails, the sentence “Email me at [email protected]” was correct by more than half of the respondents. Although only one participant omitted the preposition at in the sentence “I finish work at 7”, 32 participants translated the sentence literary: I finish from work at 7, as in Arabic the verb finish takes the preposition from. However, it is clear that this common collocation at + hour is common in Emirati English. The blank “laugh at” was mostly filled in by “laugh on”, because in Emirati Arabic the expression is /yaD7ak 3lay, which literally means laugh on me; some participants also filled in with the preposition from, “laugh from me”. The sentence “My mom yells at me” obtained a similar performance to “laugh at me”; again, the preposition in Emirati Arabic is 3la (on) . Nevertheless, most participants left it blank: “My mom yells me.” While 3 answered Yells on me, translating it literally from Arabic. With regard to the collocation good at, all contestants filled in this gap with the preposition in, as in Emirati Arabic they would use the preposition fi. From the total of 100 right answer questions obtained in the training of the preposition at, 69 were given by participants holding a university or master’s degree, and 62 of the correct answers were given by female participants. As it is shown in Table5, there are some phrases that were known by more than half of the participants while others were little known or unknown at all. Regarding Sentence 11 (see AppendixC), you can pass the exam by preparing for it, most contestants left it blank. Five completed it with the preposition from, four with the preposition since and three with the preposition at. Go by metro was the preferred answer although many opted for the phrase go in metro. Sci 2021, 3, xSci FOR 2021 PEER, 3, x REVIEW FOR PEER REVIEW 16 of 29 16 of 29 Sci 2021 , 3, x FOR PEER REVIEW 16 of 29

PercentagePercentagePercentage according according according to genderto togender gender and and and education:education:education: Pretest Pretest Pretest 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 80.00% 80.00% 80.00% 78.50% 78.50% 60.00% 60.00% 78.50% 60.00% 59.30% 59.30% 59.30% 40.00% 40.00% 40.00% 40.70% 40.70% 40.70% 20.00% 20.00% 20.00% 21.50% 21.50% 21.50% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% male femalemale femalesecondary schoolsecondary higherschool educationhigher education male female secondary school higher education

Figure 3. Pretest:Figure percentage 3. Pretest: percentage of correct answers of correct regarding answers genderregarding and gender education and education Figure 3. Pretest: percentage of correct answers regarding gender and education 6.2. Posttest6.2. 1: PosttestGrammar 1: (Prepositions)Grammar (Prepositions) 6.2. Posttest 1: Grammar (Prepositions) In order toIn carry order out to carryPosttest out 1, Posttest the participants 1, the participants had to follow had exactlyto follow the exactly same pro-the same pro- In order to carry out Posttest 1, the participants had to follow exactly the same procedures describedcedures describedin the pretest in the (see pretest Section (see 6.1). Section 6.1). cedures described in the pretest (see Section 6.1). RegardingRegarding Table 7, we Table would 7, we like would to highlight like to highlightthat the first that two the collocationsfirst two collocations in the in the Regarding Table 7, we would like to highlight that the first two collocations in the song on salesong and on on sale a farm and were on a farmthe two were which the two obtained which most obtained correct most answers. correct These answers. results These results song on sale and on a farm were the two which obtained most correct answers. These results are in keepingare in with keeping the workingwith the memoryworking capacimemoryty [52].capaci Brainty [52]. capacity Brain iscapacity limited isto limited ap- to ap- are in keeping with the working memory capacity [52]. Brain capacity is limited to ap- proximatelyproximately five to seven five pieces to seven of information.pieces of information. Our brain Our tends brain to firstly tends memorizeto firstly memorize the the proximately five to seven pieces of information. Our brain tends to firstly memorize the Sci 2021, 3, 19 seven piecesseven of informationpieces of information on a list or on in a alist text. or Inin athis text. first In posttest,this first weposttest, can observe we can a observe a 12 of 28 seven pieces of information on a list or in a text. In this first posttest, we can observe a better performancebetter performance in the experimental in the experimental group compared group compared with the control with the group. control group. Sci 2021Sci, 3 2021Sci, x FOR2021, 3, x,PEER 3FOR, x FOR REVIEWPEER PEER REVIEW REVIEW better performance in the experimental group compared with the control12 group. of 2912 of12 29 of 29 Sci 2021, 3, x FOR PEER REVIEW 12 of 29 TableTable 2. 7.Pretest PosttestTable for 17. thefor Posttest prepositionthe preposition 1 for theon. preposition on. on. Table 7. Posttest 1 for the preposition on. -of Cor- % of Cor % ﻓﻲ ﻳﻮﺗﻴﻮﺏ ﻓﻲ ﻳﻮﺗﻴﻮﺏ ﻓﻲ ﺃﻭﻝ ﻣﻦ ﺩﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮﻓﻲ ﺃﻭﻝ ﻣﻦ ﺩﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮ on of Cor-Percentage of Correct %ﻋﻠﻴﻬﻢ ﺧﺼﻢ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﻢ ﻓﻲ ﺧﺼﻢ ﻓﻲﻳﻮﺗﻴﻮﺏ ﺍﻟﺘﻠﻔﺰﻳﻮﻥ ﻓﻲ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﺘﻠﻔﺰﻳﻮﻥﺃﻭﻝ ﻣﻦ ﺩﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮon an on A on Anon Is-A onon Independ- An Is- onon Independ-on This the on Thison onthe theonon the This on the -by par-An- par-rect An ﻋﻠﻴﻬﻢpar- rectby ﺧﺼﻢYou- weregiven wereon given You-by given ﻓﻲanswers onanswers were ﺍﻟﺘﻠﻔﺰﻳﻮﻥPreposition on on a Farm Preposition PrepositiononIndependence onon A onRegardingon theAnRegarding Is- BusRegardingon Independ-the level the the levelofon education,level the of education,ofon education, This 49 outon 49 the (onof(on out49 the thethe out of 531st theof correctof of (onthe 53 the correct53 1st answerscorrect of IslandPreposition Farmon RegardinglandFarm theenceland level Day ofence Listeducation,Bus Day List Bus49 Phone out Phone ofList the 53Phone correct(on the answers 1st ofon TV were givenonon TV on You-Tubeby You- par-on sale onon Salesalerect An- Answers Day Farm ticipantslandticipants whoence who holdDay hold either eitherBus a university a universityList Phone or aor ma aDec.) master’s ster’s degree. Dec.)degree.on In TV on additiIn TV additiTube on, on, 29 correct29Tube correcton answers saleswers answers swers ticipantsticipants who hold who either hold aeither university a university or a ma orster’s a ma degree.ster’sDec.) degree. InDec.) additi Inon, additi 29 correcton, 29 correct answersTube answers swers X = 10,400 X = 10,400 Control groupControl group8 were9 8 wereperformedwere performed119 performed by females by119 byfemales femalesand8 24 9and by and 2414 males. 824by bymales. males.14 12 12 11 119 139 13X = 10,400 Control group 0 1Control groupwere 6 performed8 9 0 by females11 and 1 24 9by males. 98 14 2 12 211 09 /20013 = 752% /200 = X 52% = 2800/200 = 14% Let usLet nowLet us analyzenowus now analyze analyzeTable Table 3, Tablewh 3,ich wh 3, deals whichich deals with deals withthe with preposition the the preposition preposition in. Both in. inBothin. andBoth in on andin Khair and on onKhair Khair/200 = 52% Experimental Let us now analyze Table 3, which deals with the preposition in. Both in and on Khair X = 17,100 X = 17,100 0Experimental 0Experimental 4 0 0 10 3 2 0 6X = 17,100 X = 2500/200 = 12.5% group Experimental20 Street1520 Street wereStreet wereconsidered1515 were considered considered1516 correct correct16 answers.correct 16 answers.18 answers. 16 Ho wever, Ho18 However, 17 36 wever, participants 36 36participants 17 17participants opted 1817opted for opted the for preposi-19for 18the the preposi-/200 preposi-19 = /200 = group groupStreet 20were considered15 correct15 answers.16 Ho16wever, 18 36 participants 17 opted for17 the preposi-18 19 /200 = group tion intion. tion in. in. 85.5% 85.5% tion in. 85.5% Table 3. Pretest pf the preposition in. FromTable theTable 3. 275From PretestTable 3.accurate Pretestthe 3. pf Pretest 275the pf answers prepositionaccurate thepf the preposition prepositionregarding answers in. in . regardinginthe. preposition the preposition on, 192 were on, given192 were by par-given by par- Table 3. PretestFrom pf the the 275 preposition accurate in answers. regarding the preposition on, 192 were given by par- ve a degree, master’s and degree, 179Percentage right andPercentage answers179Percentage right answers ﻓﻲ ha ﻓﻲa or master’sﺍﻟﺼﻮﺭﺓ ﺍﻟﺼﻮﺭﺓveﻓﻲ ha ﺍﻟﺼﻮﺭﺓfrom university or ﻋﻠﻰ ﻋﻠﻰ universityﺷﺎﺭﻉ ﺷﺎﺭﻉ ﺍﻟﺨﻴﺮﻋﻠﻰfrom majored ﺍﻟﺨﻴﺮﺷﺎﺭﻉ who ﺍﻟﺨﻴﺮticipants whoticipants majored degree, in inPercentagethein the the inand thein 179 the right answersPercentage of Correctﻓﻲ the ﻓﻲ inﺩﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮ ﺩﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮﻓﻲ a master’s ﺩﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮor have ﻓﻲ ﻓﻲ ﻓﻲ ﺃﻣﻴﺮﻛﺎ in ﺃﻣﻴﺮﻛﺎuniversity ﻓﻲﺍﻟﺼﻮﺭﺓ ﺃﻣﻴﺮﻛﺎthe majored in/on from ﻋﻠﻰ inwho thein ﺷﺎﺭﻉ the ﺍﻟﺨﻴﺮPreposition in DifferentPrepositionPrepositionPreposition inin Different in Differentin Differentin in the ticipantsin thePic- Pic-in the in the in theof Car Correctof inCorrectof the Correct Taxi ﻓﻲ Pic-(in the(in theﺩﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮ Khair Khair (in the(inﻓﻲ females.in/on ﺃﻣﻴﺮﻛﺎPreposition in Different in Springin Spring in in Spring Londonwere inin London the in given London were by females.givenin/on by Khairin/on in Colors in Springin inColors in SpringColorsLondon Colors in London Morning wereMorning in/ongivenMorning KhairMorning by females. in America(inin theAmericain Pic-America (in Dec.)(in Dec.)(in CarDec.) CarofTaxiCar Correct TaxiTaxi Answers in Colors Morning Khair St.St.in America St. St. America ture)(in ture)Dec.)ture) Car (inTaxi Dec.) AnswersAnswers Answers RegardingSt.Regarding Table 8, the Table phrase 8, ture)the at phraseChristmasPicture) at Christmasobtained aobtained slight improvement Answersa slight improvement in both in both Regarding Table 8, the phrase at Christmas obtained a slight improvementX = X = X =in both Control group 18ControlControl Control 20 20groups 20 comparedgroups 20 compared to the pretest; to the 20 this pretest; impr ovementthis 17impr wasovement also 20 homogeneous.was alsoX homogeneous.= 20 This can 20 beThis canX = be 19,500/200 = 97.5% Control 18 18 1820 20 2020 20groups 20 20 compared20 20 20 to20 the 20 pretest;20 20 this20 17 impr 17ovement 17 20 was 20 2020 also 20 homogeneous. 2020 19,500/20020 20 19,500/20019,500/200 =This =can = be Experimental group group18group 20 20 explained20 explained by the20 fact by that the20 thisfact phrase that 17this was phrase not 20present was no 20int present the 20song. in19,500/200 theIn other song. = words, In other both words, both groupSci 2021, 3, x FOR PEER REVIEW explained by the fact that this phrase was not present in the song. In 97.5%other17 of 2997.5% words, 97.5% both 19 20 20 20 20 20 18 2097.5% 20 20 X= 19,700/200 = 98.5% group groups hadgroups the same had typethe same of input; type theyof input; just readthey thisjust phraseread this once phrase on the once trainingX= on theX= sheet trainingX= sheet ExperimentalExperimentalExperimental groups had the same type of input; they just read this phrase onceX= on the training sheet Experimental 19 19 1920 20 20(see20 Appendix20 20(see 20 Appendix D).20 20Concerning 20 D).20 Concerning20 the20 phrase20 20 the at 18 234 phrase 18Oxford 18 at 20234 street Oxford 20, the 2020 experimentalstreet20 2020, the 19,700/20020 experimental 20 group19,700/20019,700/200 = per- = group = per- group group19group 20 20 20(see Appendix20 D). Concerning20 18the phrase 20at 234 Oxford20 street20 , the19,700/200 experimental = group per- group formed slightlyformed better slightly than better the control than the group control as this group phrase as this was phrase present was in present the98.5% song. 98.5%in How-the98.5% song. How- formedTable slightly 4. Pretest better for than the preposition the controlat .group as this phrase was present98.5% in the song. How- ever, Tablethis ever,phrase 8. Posttest this was phrase 1 translatedof the was preposition translated from Arabicat. from in toArabic English, into and English, as in andArabic as inthere Arabic is no there is no ever, this phrase was translated from Arabic into English, and as in Arabic there is no As Aswe we can can see, see, Emiratis Emiratis tend tend to simplifyto simplify the the prepositions prepositions in, inon, ,on and, and at byat byusing using only only at at 234 Oxford Asat al-we Ascanpreposition we see, canat Emiratis the prepositionsee, Endfor Emiratis such oftendat a theto forphrase tendat simplifyEnd such the to ( Iasimplify livephrase the in prepositions Oxford (theI live prepositions Street,in Oxford in ,51 on), Street,, participants andin, on at 51, andby), participants using at translated by only using translated itonly literally. it literally.% of Correct atStreet,Laugh 7 51 LaughYell), participants at Yell% oftranslated atCorrect Good it literally. at ﻓﻲ Preposition at at Christ- at 234 Ox- preposition for such a phraseat theat ( I Night live atin Oxford77 ChristmasPrepositionStreet at [email protected] whenatin [email protected] whenin speaking collocationwhenthe speakingThe Monthspeaking Emirati collocation at Emirati [email protected] EmiratiEnglish.ofWeekend the English. at [email protected]. In the In case the Inhad the ofcase ain case homogenous ofdifferent had inof differentin a differentcolorshomogenous progress; colors, which colorsGood, which is, progress;atwhichboth the is leastgroups the is the bothleastusual leasthad usualgroups theusual had the Answers mas fordin when Street speakingThe Emirati collocation English. at In [email protected] the caseWeekend of in Nightdifferent had atcolors a 7 homogenous, whichat at is the progress; least usualAnswers both groups had the collocationcollocationcollocation on this on list, onthis thisthree list, Monthlist, three participants three participants participants completed completed completed the sentence the the sentence sentence with withthe with preposition the the preposition preposition at. at. at. Control group 3 0collocation 9 onsame this input list,same three 2as this input participants phrase as this 4is notphrase completed present is 7not inthe present the sentence song. 20 in the with song. the 3 preposition 2 at. 0 X = 5000/200 = 25% same input as this phrase is not present in the song. X = 8700/200 = Experimental Control group 4 6 In theIn case Inthe the ofcase 14 thecase of translation theof the translation translation 6 for the for sentence11for the the sentence sentence 8You canYou 20 Yousee can itcan 6 see in seetheit 6 in itpicture thein 6 the picture, 5picture participants, 5 ,participants 5 participants 4 0In the 11case of the translation 2 for the 3sentence You 5 can see it in 19 the picture 4, 5 participants 243.5% 0 X = 5000/200 = 25% group translatedtranslatedtranslated it as Youit as it canYouas Yousee can the can see picture seethe thepicture instead. picture instead. instead.Because Because Because we could we we could not could encounter not not encounter encounter problems problems problems Experimental translated it as You can see the picture instead. Because we could not encounter problemsX = 11,400/200 5 10 concerningconcerningconcerning the 15 preposition the the preposition preposition in 7 , we in decided, inwe, 20we decided decided to disregard8 to disregardto 20disregard it in the8it in itfollowing the7in the following14 following two posttests. two two posttests. posttests. group concerning the preposition in, we decided to disregard it in the following two posttests.= 57% RegardingRegarding the the level level of educationof education from from the the participants, participants, the the only only eight eight mistakes mistakes were were RegardingRegarding the level the of level education of education from the from participants, the participants, the only the eight only mistakes eight mistakes were were mademade by byparticipantsTable participants 5. Pretest that that of do the donot preposition not hold hold a university bya .university degree. degree. Five Five mistakes mistakes were were made made by by made bymade participantsAs by we participants have that previously do that not domentioned,hold not a holduniversity oura university brain degree. tends degree. Five to memorize mistakes Five mistakes thewere first made were seven bymade pieces by malesmales whilemales while four while werefour four weremade were made by made female by byfemale participants. female participants. participants. by Preparing males ofwhile information. four were In made a song, byby apartfemale Credit from participants. the actuby al beginning,by My the chorusby is also considered a by the % of Correct Preposition by go by Metro by Mistake byWith ChanceWith respect respect to theto the preposition preposition at inat Tablein Table 4, again4, again Emiratis Emiratis used usedby the 5the pmpreposition preposition in in for It Withnew respectbeginningWith respect to the as prepositionitto is the repeated prepositionCard at several in TableShakespeare at intime 4,Table agains throughout 4, EmiratisagainSide Emiratis the used song. Myselfthe used prepositionOur the chorus preposition in“on the in Lake Answers in mostin mostincases most cases instead. cases instead. instead.At Christmas At AtChristmas Christmas was also was was substituted also also substituted substituted by the by preposition bythe the preposition preposition on by on two byon par- bytwo two par- par- Control group 0 11in most 13weekend cases instead. in, in 15 theAt ChristmasUSA, at the 6 was weekend also substituted 13in the UK, by theUK”. 12 preposition All participants 13 on by two in the par- 4 experi- 2 X = 8900/200 = 44.5% ticipants,ticipants, maybe maybe becaus because ofe theof the collocation collocation on onChristmas Christmas day day. With. With regard regard to theto the sentence sentence Experimental ticipants,mentalticipants, maybe group maybe becaus translated because of the ethe collocationof sentencethe collocation on“I willChristmas onsee Christmas you day on/at. With day the .regard Withweekend” regardto the correctly. sentenceto the sentence 0 13 13I liveI live at 234at 15 234 Oxford Oxford street street 4, most, most participants participants 14 chose chose the 11 the preposition preposition 14 in andin and some 3some did did not not add 1 add X = 8800/200 = 44% group I live atI 234 liveTable Oxfordat 234 9 Oxfordstreetshows, most streetus the participants, most result participants obtained chose regarding thechose preposition the the preposition preposition in and insome andby, did whichsome not didwas add not inten- add anyany preposition preposition (I live (I live 234 234 Oxford Oxford street street). Maybe). Maybe because because many many part participantsicipants were were business- business- any prepositiontionallyany preposition left (I outlive of234 ( Ithe live Oxford song 234 Oxfordsostreet that). streetMaybewe co).uld Maybe because compare because many if there partmany icipantswas part a homogenousicipants were business- were improve- business- peoplepeople and and they they constantly constantly exchange exchange emails, emails, the the sentence sentence Email Email me meat [email protected] [email protected] peoplementpeople and inthey andboth constantly they the controlconstantly exchange and exchange the emails, experiment emails, the sentenceal thegroups. sentence Email We meobservedEmail at [email protected] me atvery [email protected] similar results waswas correctly correctly answered answered by bymore more than than half half of theof the respondents. respondents. Although Although only only one one partici- partici- was correctlyinwas both correctly groups.answered answered by more by than more half than of halfthe respondents.of the respondents. Although Although only one only partici- one partici- pantpant omitted omitted the the preposition preposition at inat thein the sentence sentence I finish I finish work work at 7at, 327, 32participants participants translated translated pant omittedpant omitted the preposition the preposition at in the at sentencein the sentence I finish Iwork finish at work 7, 32 at participants 7, 32 participants translated translated thethe sentence sentence literary: literary: I finish I finish from from work work at 7,at as7, inas Arabicin Arabic the the verb verb finish finish takes takes the the preposi- preposi- the sentencethe sentence literary:Table literary: I finish9. Posttest I fromfinish 1 work for from the at workpreposition 7, as at in 7, Arabic as by .in Arabicthe verb the finish verb takes finish the takes preposi- the preposition fromtiontion. fromHowever, from. However,. However, it is clear it is it clear thatis clear this that that common this this common common collocation collocation collocation at + hour at + at ishour + common hour is common is common in Emirati in Emiratiin Emirati by Preparingtion fromGo. byHowever, by Mis- it is clearby thatby Credit this common by Shake- collocationby My atby + My- hour byis common5 by the in% ofEmirati Correct An- Preposition by English.English.English. The blank The The blank laugh blank laugh at laughwas at mostly wasat was mostly filledmostly filled in filledby inlaugh byin bylaugh on laugh, because on ,on because, because in Emirati in Emiratiin EmiratiArabic Arabic the Arabic the the for ItEnglish. Metro The blanktake laugh Chance at was mostlyCard filledspeare in by laughSide on , becauseself pmin Emirati Lake Arabicswers the yaD7ak /3lay,yaD7ak which3lay, 3lay, which literally which literally literallymeans means laugh means laugh on laugh me on; some meon ;me some participants; some participants participants/ﻳﻀﺤﻚ yaD7ak/ﻳﻀﺤﻚ ﻋﻠﻲ.. is ﻳﻀﺤﻚﻋﻠﻲ.. is ﻋﻠﻲ.. expressionexpressionexpression is = yaD7ak 3lay, which literally means laugh on me; some participantsX = 11,500/200/ﻳﻀﺤﻚ ﻋﻠﻲ.. expression is Control group 8 also 13 filledalsoalso filled 15in filled with in 17withinthe with preposition the the 7preposition preposition from 15 fromlaugh from laugh from 13 laugh mefrom .from 15The me . me sentenceThe 6. The sentence sentence 6 My mom My My momyells mom atyells meyells at meat me also filled in with the preposition from laugh from me. The sentence My mom yells at57 .me5% obtainedobtainedobtained a similar a similar a performancesimilar performance performance to laugh to laugh toat laughme ;at again, meat ;me again, the; again, preposition the the preposition preposition in Emirati in Emiratiin EmiratiArabic Arabic isArabic is is Experimental obtained a similar performance to laugh at me; again, the preposition in Emirati XArabic = 12,700/200 is = -17Nevertheless,. Nevertheless, 7most mostparticipants most16 participants participants left14 it left blank: left it15 blank:it My blank:6 mom My My 16momyells mom meyells .yells While, me .me While, . 3While, an- 3 an- 3 an .ﻋﻠﻰ ﻋﻠﻰ,on)15 (on) . Nevertheless)ﻋﻠﻰ 3la14 (on)3la 3la 7 Nevertheless, most participants left it blank: My mom yells me. While, 363 an-.5% .ﻋﻠﻰ (group 3la (on sweredswered yells yells on onme ,me translating, translating it literally it literally from from Arabic. Arabic. sweredswered yells on yells me, translatingon me, translating it literally it literally from Arabic. from Arabic. Let usLet nowLet us usanalyzenow now analyze analyzethe preposition the the preposition preposition at in Tableat inat Tablein 4: Table 4: 4: Let usThe now few analyze participants the preposition who did notat in use Table the collocation4: written by Shakespeare, kept using the preposition from instead. Figure 4 shows that the mean of the control group is of 51% of correct answers. This percentage almost doubled when compared to the control group mean in the pretest (Figure 3), which was 27.83%. We can confirm that training contributes to an improved performance in the discrimination and identification of L2 [20,53,54].

POSTTEST 1 PREPOSITIONS CONTROL GROUP 100%

80%

60%

57.50% 52% 51% 40% 43.50%

20%

0% ON AT BY MEAN

Figure 4. Posttest 1 control group, and Posttest 1 prepositions and means.

Sci 2021, 3, 19 13 of 28

As it is shown in Table5, there are some phrases that were known by more than half of the participants while others were little known or unknown at all. Regarding sentence number 11 [see AppendixC] “you can pass the exam by preparing for it”, most contestants left it blank. Five completed it with the preposition from, four with the preposition since and three with the preposition at. “Go by metro” was the preferred answer although many opted for the phrase “go in metro”. Sci 2021, 3, x FOR PEER REVIEW 14 of 29 Sci 2021SciSci 2021 ,2021 3, x, ,3FOR 3, ,x x FOR FORPEER PEER PEER REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW With regard to Sentence 15, by mistake, extracted from AppendixC, in Arabic14 of it1414 29 of of 29 29 is expressed by the preposition bi, which is mainly translated in English as with. One participant instead of filling in the blank added the letter -n to the noun mistake, which resultedin the sentence: in the sentence: she did sheit mistaken did it mistaken. Others. Others filled it filled in either it in either with withthe indefinite the indefinite article in theinin the thesentence: sentence:sentence: sh e sheshe did diddid it ititmistaken mistakenmistaken. .Others . OthersOthers filled filledfilled it itit in inin eithereither withwithwith thethe indefiniteindefiniteindefinite article articlearticle “a” “a” article“a” (She “a” d (idShe it dida mistake it a mistake) or with) or withthe pronoun the pronoun “another” “another” (She (dSheid it did another it another mistake mistake). Two). “a”( (She(SheShe did diddid it it ita a mistake amistake mistake)) or )or or with with with the the the pronoun pronoun pronoun “another” “another” “another” ( (SheShe (She did did didit it another another it another mistake mistake mistake).). Two Two). Two partic- partic- Twopartic- participantsipants completed completed the thegap gap by byusing using thethe preposition preposition for:for She: She made made it for it formistake mistake. The. partic-ipantsipantsipants completedcompleted completed thethe thegap gap gapby by using usingby using thethe preposition thepreposition preposition forfor: : SheShefor: mademadeShe made itit forfor it mistakemistake for mistake. . TheThe . colloca-colloca-The colloca-tion by chance also takes the preposition bi in Arabic: Bi SSidfa , which is is ,is whichpretty ,pretty which close isclose ﺑﺎﻟﺼﺪﻓﺔﺑﺎﻟﺼﺪﻓﺔSSidfaSSidfa, ,which whichﺑﺎﻟﺼﺪﻓﺔ ﺑﺎﻟﺼﺪﻓﺔ Thecolloca-tiontion collocation by tionby chance chance by chanceby also also chance takes takesalsoalso the takesthe takes preposition preposition the the preposition preposition bi bi in in Arabic: Arabic: bi biinin Arabic:Bi Bi Arabic: SSidfa SSidfa Bi Bi pretty close to the MSA variant biSSudfa. It seems that this expression is widespread ispretty prettytoto the the close close MSA MSA to to variant variant the the MSA MSA biSSudfa. biSSudfa. variant variant It It biSSudfa. biSSudfa. seems seems that that It It th seemsth seemsisis expression expression that this this is is expression expression widespread widespread is is among widespreadamong widespread Emiratis Emiratis among Emiratis and maybe because by in English and bi in Arabic are similar, amongamongandand Emiratis maybemaybe Emiratis becausebecause and and maybe maybebyby inin because EnglishEnglish becauseby andandin Englishby bibi in in ArabicArabic English and bi arearein and Arabic similar,similar, bi are in participants participantssimilar, Arabic participants are havehave similar, assimi-assimi- participants have assimi-lated it well. Two participants, however, left it blank. haveparticipantslatedlated assimilated it it well. well. have Two Two it assimi- well. participants, participants, Twolated participants, it well. however, however, Two however, participa left left it it blank. blank. leftnts, it however, blank. left it blank. The phrase pay by credit card was mostly completed with the preposition with. In Ar- TheTheTheThe phrase phrase phrase phrase paypay pay pay byby by credit by cred credit credititcard card card cardwas was was was mostly mostly mostly mostly completed completedcompleted completed with withwith with the thethe preposition preposition prepositionprepositionwith with with.. .In In In Ar- Ar- are ﻣﻊ/and m3 ب/t.luJ”. Both the prepositions bi·· ..ﺑﺒﻄﺎﻗﺔ/abic by credit card would be “bi bitaqa are are ﻣﻊ/ﻣﻊﻣﻊand andand m3/ m3/ m3/m3 بﺏ/ﺏ//Both BothBothBoth the thethe prepositions prepositionsprepositions bi bibi .”.”.”.” • • ﺑﺒﻄﺎﻗﺔﺑﺒﻄﺎﻗﺔﺑﺒﻄﺎﻗﺔArabicAr-abicabicabicby byby credit creditcreditcred cardit cardcardwould wouldwouldwould be be bebe “bi “bi “bi“bi bitaqa/ bitaqa/ bitaqa/bitaqa/4-9 mainly translated into English as with. areare mainlymainly translatedtranslated into into English English as asas with with.. .. Regarding Phrase 19, written by Shakespeare, in MSA no preposition is required, as RegardingRegardingRegardingRegarding PhrasePhrase PhrasePhrase 19,19, written19,written19, writtenwritten byby Shakespeare Shakespearebyby ShakespeareShakespeare,, inin, MSA ,MSA inin MSAMSA nono preposition nopnoreposition prepositionpreposition isis required, required, isis required,required, asas asas verbs in MSA have an exclusive passive form. Arabic dialects, however, do not express verbsverbsverbsverbs inin MSA MSA inin MSAMSA havehave havehave anan exclusive exclusiveanan exclusiveexclusive passivepassive passivepassive form.form formform. ArabicArabic. . ArabicArabic dialects,dialects, dialects,dialects, however,however, however,however, dodo not donotdo notexpress notexpress expressexpress

3n 3n ﻋﻦthethethe the passivepassivethepassive passivepassive inin thethe inin the samesamesamethe samesame way;way; way;way; in in the the inin Emira EmiratitheEmiratithe EmiratiEmiratiti Dialect DialectDialect DialectDialect it itit is isis expressedit expresseditexpressed isis expressedexpressed by byby the the bytheby preposition prepositionthethepreposition prepositionpreposition 3n3n 3 n whichwhich, , usuallywhichwhich usuallyusually usually usuallymeans meansmeans meansaboutmeans aboutabout in aboutabout MSA inin MSA.MSA inin. W MSAMSAhen. WhenW. .hencomparing WhenWhen comparingcomparing comparingcomparing in Emirati inin Emirati Emirati inin Emirati EmiratiDialect, Dialect,Dialect, Dialect,Dialect, I am II amamtaller II talleramamtaller than tallertaller ﻋﻦ ﻋﻦ , whichﻋﻦ thanthanyou,thanthan you,you, for you, you, instaforfor instance,forinstance,fornce, instance,instance, Emirati EmiratiEmirati Emirati Emirati dialects dialectsdialects dialectsdialects allows allowsallows allowsallows two twotwo prepositions;two two prepositions;prepositions; prepositions;prepositions; 3n 3n3n oror or3n3n minmin oror ;min;min minminmin; ; min minis is is the the isis the the the equivalentequivalentequivalentequivalentequivalent ofofof from from from ofof fromfrom in inin both both both inin bothboth Emirati EmiratiEmirati EmiratiEmirati andand and and andMSA.MSA. MSA. MSA.MSA. ThatThat That ThatThat is,is, is, in in is,is,in somesome insomein somesome structures,structures, structures, structures,structures, bothboth both bothboth3n 3n 3nand and 3n 3nand andminand min min min min areareare interchangeable,areinterchangeable,areinterchangeable, interchangeable,interchangeable, min minmin min beingmin beingbeing beingbeing the thethe equivalenttheequiva theequiva equivalentequivalentlentlent ofof of from from offromof fromfromin in inmost most inmostin mostmost cases. cases. cases. cases.cases. AlthoughAlthough Although AlthoughAlthough moremore more moremore than than tha thanthan n thethethe majoritythe themamajority joritymajoritymajority chose chosechose chosechose the thethe correct the thecorrectcorrect correctcorrect preposition prepositionpreposition prepositionpreposition (written (written(written (( bywrittenwritten Shakespeare byby Shakespeare bybySh ShakespeareakespeareShakespeare), the ones),), the ),the), who thetheones ones ones wereones who who who wrongwho were were werewere optedwrongwrongwrongwrong for opted written opted opted for for for from forwrittenwritten written written Shakespeare from from from from Shakespeare Shakespeare Shakespeare ,Shakespeare which, might which, , which,which which have might might might been have have anhavehave been influence been been been an an aninfluence a n ofinfluence influence influence the preposition of of ofthe ofthe the prep- the prep- prep- 3nprep-ositionorositionositionminosition 3nin or3n 3n the 3n minor or Emiratiormin min in min thein in inthe the Dialect.Emirati the Emirati Emirati Emirati Dialect. Dialect. Dialect. Dialect. SentenceSentenceSentenceSentenceSentence 24, 24,24, His 24, 24,HisHis HishouseHis househouse househouse is is byis isbyisby the by bythe the lake thethe lake lake, lakelake was, ,wa, ,was waswas mostlys mostly mostlymostly filled filled filledfilledfilled in as in inin near as asasas near near thenear lake thethe the ; lakelake however,lake;; ; however,however,; however, the thethe prepositionthethepreposition preposition preposition near nearnear hadnear beenhadhad hadhad been been given beenbeen given givengiven asgiven an as example:asas as an ana ann example: example:examp examp24. Hisle:le: 24. 24.2 house24.4. His HisHis His ishouse househouse ____house is is theis ____is______lake____ thethe (thatthe the lakelake lake is,lake (that(that near(that (th is, theatis, is, nearis,near lake)nearnearthe.the Therefore,the thelake)lake) lake). lake) . Therefore,Therefore,. we. Therefore, Therefore, disregarded wewe disregarded disregarded we we the disregardedanswerdisregarded thethenear answeranswer as the correct.the nearnear answeranswer as Sevenas correct.correct. near participantsnear Seven Seven asas correct. correct. participantsparticipants also filled SevenSeven in alsoalso theparticipantsparticipants blankfilledfilled in within the the alsoalso the blankblank filled prepositionfilled withwith inin the the thetheclose blank blankprepositionpreposition: His with with house the the closeclose is preposition closepreposition: : HisHis the househouse lake ;close however,iscloseis closeclose: :His His thethe house nohouse lakelake one ;is ; however,ishowever, filledclose close inthe the with lake no nolake ;one one; thehowever,however,filled alternativefilled in in nono with with oneone preposition the the filledfilled alternative alternative inin withclosewith tothepreposition thepreposition. alternativealternative close close prepositionpreposition to to. . closeclose toto.. TheTheTheTheThe expression expressionexpression expressionexpression in inin Sentence Sentence inSentencein SentenceSentence 21,21, 21, by21,by 21,by my my bybymy sidemysidemy side , side,side which,which which, , whichwhich existsexists exists existsexists inin in MSA, MSA, ininMSA, MSA,MSA, isis is simplifiedsimplified issimplifiedis simplifiedsimplified inin in the the in inthe the the which ”, which ”, ”,which whichwhich literally literally literally literallyliterally means means means meansmeanswith with with withwith me me .me . me However,meHowever,. However,. . However,However, thethe the expressionthe theexpression expression expressionexpressionby by by my myby bymy mymy ,” ,”ﻭﻳﺎﻱ ﻭﻳﺎﻱوﯾﺎي/ /dialectdialectdialectdialectdialect by byby “ by“by wiaai/wiaai “ ““ wiaai/ wiaai sidesidesidesideis side isis recurrentrecurrent recurrentis is recurrent recurrent inin in EnglishEnglish in Englishin English English andand and and and overover over over over 50%50% 50% 50% 50% ofof of participantspa of paofrticipants pa rticipantsparticipantsrticipants chosechose chose chose chose thethe the the correctcorrectthe correct correct correct answer.answer. answer. answer. answer. Yet,Yet, Yet, Yet, theYet, the the the the remainingremainingremainingremainingremaining participants participantsparticipants participantsparticipants chose chosechose chosechose the thethe the collocationthecollocation collocation collocationcollocation onon on mymy ononmy my sidesidemy side side,,side which,which which, , whichwhich isis is alsoalso isalsois alsoalso correctcorrect correct correctcorrect inin in English, English, in inEnglish, English,English, butbutbutbut itbut itit has has has itit ahas has a differenta different different aa differentdifferent meaning—moral meaning—moral meaning—moral meaning—moralmeaning—moral support support suppo supportsupport insteadrt instead instead insteadinstead of beingof of being ofofbeing beingphysicallybeing physically physically physicallyphysically beside beside beside beside someone.beside somesome- some-someone.one.one.one. We have decided to leave out this preposition from the song, so that we can observe if thereWWe iseWe We ahavehave homogenous have have decideddecided decided decided to improvementto to to leaveleave leave outout this this inthis both prepositioprepositio prepositioprepositio groupsnnn throughoutfromn from fromfrom the the the thesong, song, thesong,song, so so training. that that soso that we wethat Only cancanwe we observe observe thecan can collocationobserveobserveifif therethere ifif thereby isthereis aa the homogenoushomogenous isis lake a a homogenous homogenous was present improvementimprovement improvementin improvement the song inin both ofboth thein in groupsgroupsboth experimentalboth groups groups throughoutthroughout throughout group.throughout thethe This training.training. the collocationthe training. tra OnlyOnlyining. thethe isOnlyOnly expectedcollocationcollocation thethe collocationcollocation to obtain by by the the better lake bylakeby the thewas was results lake lake present present was comparedwas in present inpresent the the song tosong in thein theof ofthe remaining the thesong song experimental experimental of of the ninethe experimental experimental collocations. group. group. This This group. group. collocation collocation This This collocationcollocationisisRegarding expected expected isis to expectedthetoexpected obtain obtain level ofbetter better toto education, obtainobtain results results betterfrom comparedbetter compared the resultsresults 177 to to correct thethe comparedcompared remaining remaining answers to obtainedtonine nine thethe collocations. collocations. remaremaining in theining training ninenine ofcollocations.collocations. the prepositionRegardingRegarding by the the, 141 level level were of of education, education, given by participants from from the the 177 177 who correct correct hold answers answers a university obtained obtained or master’s in in the the train- train- degreeingingRegardingRegarding whileof of the the preposition 105preposition the werethe levellevel given by by of,of ,141 by141 education,education, femalewere were given given participants. fromfrom by by participants participantsthethe 117777 correctcorrect who who answershold holdanswers a a university university obtained obtained or or in master’s inmaster’s the the tratrain-degreein-degreeAsinging evidenced of ofwhile while thethe preposition105 preposition105 in Figurewerewere given given1 ,by theby, ,141 by141 prepositionby female were femalewere given givenparticipants. participants.on obtainedby by participants participa the lowestnts who who performance hold hold a auniversity university whereas or or themaster’smaster’s prepositionAs Asdegree degree evidencedevidenced by whilewhileobtained 105105inin Figure wereFigurewere the given highest.given 1,1, thethe byby preposition femaTheprepositionfemale meanle participants.participants. of onon the obtainedobtained control groupthethe lowestlowest for the performanceperformance correct answerswhereaswhereasAsAs was evidencedevidenced the 27.83%.the prepositionpreposition inin Figure Figurebyby obtainedobtained 1,1, thethethe highest. highest. prepositionpreposition TheThe mean mean onon ofof obtained obtainedthethe controlcontrol the the groupgroup lowestlowest forfor the the performanceperformancecorrectcorrect answers answers whereaswhereas was was the the27.83%. 27.83%. prepositionpreposition byby obtained obtained the the highest. highest. The The mean mean of of the the control control groupgroup forfor thethe correctcorrect answersanswers waswas 27.83%.27.83%.

Sci 2021, 3, 19 14 of 28 Sci 2021, 3, x FOR PEER REVIEW 14 of 28 Sci 2021, 3, x FOR PEER REVIEW 14 of 28

PRETEST PREPOSITIONS CONTROL GROUP 100% 100%

80% 80%

60% 60%

40% 44.5% 40% 44.5%

20% 25% 27.83% 20% 25% 27.83% 14% 14% 0% 0% ON AT BY MEAN ON AT BY MEAN

Figure 1. Control group pretest prepositions and mean. Figure 1. ControlControl group pretest prepositions and mean.

AsAs we can observe in Figure 22,, thethe prepositionpreposition on obtained the lowest performance whereas the preposition by obtained the highest. The The mean mean of of the control group for the correctcorrect answers was 27.16%. If If we we contract contract Figures Figures 33 andand4 , 4, we we can can observe observe that that both both groupsgroups obtained similar results.

PRETEST PREPOSITIONS EXPERIMENTAL GROUP 100.00% 100.00%

80.00% 80.00%

60.00% 60.00%

40.00% 40.00% 44% 44%

20.00% 25% 27.16% 20.00% 25% 27.16% 12.50% 12.50% 0.00% 0.00% ON AT BY MEAN ON AT BY MEAN

Figure 2. Experimental group pretest and mean. Figure 2. Experimental group pretest and mean. The results evidenced in Table 6 do not contemplate the results from the preposition TheThe results results evidenced evidenced in in Table Table 66 dodo notnot contemplatecontemplate thethe resultsresults fromfrom thethe prepositionpreposition in, as we have decided to disregard it from the study due to the high number of accurate inin,, as as we we have have decided decided to to disregard disregard it it from from th thee study due to the high number of accurate answers. In order to better understand these figures, let us see them in Figure 3 below: answers.answers. In In order order to to better better understand understand these figures, ﬁgures, let us see them in Figure 3 3 below: below: Table 6. Pretest results regarding gender and level of education. Table 6. Pretest results regarding gender and level of education. Total of Correct Gender: Male Total Num- Gender: Female Total Num- Level of Education: Level of Education: Univer- Total of Correct Gender: Male Total Num- Gender: Female Total Num- Level of Education: Level of Education: Univer- Answers ber of Correct Answers ber of Correct Answers Secondary School sity or Master’s Degree Answers ber of Correct Answers ber of Correct Answers Secondary School sity or Master’s Degree 330 134 196 71 259 330 134 196 71 259

Sci 2021, 3, x FOR PEER REVIEW 16 of 28

Table 8. Posttest 1 of the preposition at.

at the End Laugh Yell % of Correct في at Christ- at 234 Ox- at the at 7 Preposition at at [email protected] of the Good at mas ford Street Weekend Night at 7 at at Answers Month X = 8700/200 = Control group 4 6 14 6 11 8 20 6 6 6 43.5% Experimental X = 11,400/200 5 10 15 7 20 8 20 8 7 14 group = 57%

As we have previously mentioned, our brain tends to memorize the first seven pieces of information. In a song, apart from the actual beginning, the chorus is also considered a new beginning as it is repeated several times throughout the song. Our chorus “on the Sci 2021, 3, 19 15 of 28 Sci 2021, 3, x FOR PEER REVIEW weekend in, in the USA, at the weekend in the UK, UK”. All participants in the experi-15 of 28

mental group translated the sentence “I will see you on/at the weekend” correctly. Table 9 shows us the result obtained regarding the preposition by, which was intentionally left out of the song so that we could compare if there was a homogenous improve- Percentagement in both the control according and the experimental to gender groups. and We observed very similar results in both groups. education: Pretest Table 9. Posttest 1 for the preposition by. 100.00% by Preparing Go by by Mis- by by Credit by Shake- by My by My- by 5 by the % of Correct An- Preposition by 80.00%for It Metro take Chance Card speare Side self pm Lake swers 78.50% X = 11,500/200 = Control group60.00% 8 13 15 17 7 15 13 15 6 6 57.5% 59.30% Experimental X = 12,700/200 = 40.00% 7 14 15 17 7 16 14 15 6 16 group 40.70% 63.5% 20.00% The few participants who did not use the collocation21.50% written by Shakespeare, kept using 0.00% the preposition from instead. Figuremale 4 showsfemale that secondarythe mean schoolof the controlhigher group education is of 51% of correct answers. This percentage almost doubled when compared to the control group mean in the pretest (Figure 3), which was 27.83%. We can confirm that training contributes to an improved performance in Figure 3. Pretest: percentage of correct answers regarding gender and education Figurethe 3. Pretest: discrimi percentagenation and of identification correct answers of regarding L2 [20,53,54] gender. and education 6.2. Posttest 1: Grammar (Prepositions) POSTTESTIn order 1 PREPOSITIONS to carry out Posttest 1, the CONTROL participants had GROUP to follow exactly the same procedures described in the pretest (see Section 6.1). 100% Regarding Table 7, we would like to highlight that the first two collocations in the song on sale and on a farm were the two which obtained most correct answers. These results 80% are in keeping with the working memory capacity [52]. Brain capacity is limited to approximately five to seven pieces of information. Our brain tends to firstly memorize the 60% seven pieces of information on a list or in a text. In this first posttest, we can observe a better performance in the experimental57.50% group compared with the control group. 52% 51% 40% Table 43.50%7. Posttest 1 for the preposition on.

-of Cor % في يوتيوب في أول من ديسمبر عليهم خصم في التلفزيون on A on An Is- on Independ- on the on This on the 20% Preposition on (on the 1st of on You- rect An- Farm land ence Day Bus List Phone on TV on sale Dec.) Tube swers 0% X = 10,400 Control group 8 9 11 9 8 14 12 11 9 13 ON AT BY MEAN /200 = 52% X = 17,100 Experimental 20 15 15 16 16 18 17 17 18 19 /200 = group Figure 4. Posttest 1 control group, and Posttest 1 prepositions and means. Figure 4. Posttest 1 control group, and Posttest 1 prepositions and means. 85.5%

TableFrom 6. Pretest the 275 results accurate regarding answers gender regarding and level the of education. preposition on, 192 were given by par- Gender:ticipants Male Totalwho majoredGender: from university Female Total or have a master’s degree, andLevel 179 of right Education: answers Total of Correct Level of Education: Numberwere of given Correct by females.Number of Correct University or Master’s Answers Secondary School AnswersRegarding Table 8, theAnswers phrase at Christmas obtained a slight improvementDegree in both 330groups 134 compared to the pretest; 196 this improvement was 71 also homogeneous. 259 This can be explained by the fact that this phrase was not present in the song. In other words, both groups had the same type of input; they just read this phrase once on the training sheet (see6.2. Appendix Posttest 1: GrammarD). Concerning (Prepositions) the phrase at 234 Oxford street, the experimental group per- formedIn slightly order to better carry than out the Posttest control 1, group the participants as this phrase had was to present follow in exactly the song. the How- same ever,procedures this phrase described was intranslated the pretest from (see Arabic Section into 6.1 ).English, and as in Arabic there is no prepositionRegarding for such Table a7 ,phrase we would (I live like in toOxford highlight Street, that 51 the), part firsticipants two collocations translated in it theliterally. song Theon sale collocationand on a farmat [email protected] the two which had obtained a homogenous most correct progress; answers. both These groups results had are the in samekeeping input with as thethis working phrase is memory not present capacity in the [52 song.]. Brain capacity is limited to approximately five to seven pieces of information. Our brain tends to firstly memorize the seven pieces of information on a list or in a text. In this first posttest, we can observe a better performance in the experimental group compared with the control group.

Sci 2021, 3, 19 16 of 28

From the 275 accurate answers regarding the preposition on, 192 were given by participants who majored from university or have a master’s degree, and 179 right answers were given by females. Regarding Table8, the phrase at Christmas obtained a slight improvement in both groups compared to the pretest; this improvement was also homogeneous. This can be explained by the fact that this phrase was not present in the song. In other words, both groups had the same type of input; they just read this phrase once on the training sheet (see AppendixD). Concerning the phrase at 234 Oxford street, the experimental group performed slightly better than the control group as this phrase was present in the song. However, this phrase was translated from Arabic into English, and as in Arabic there is no preposition for such a phrase (I live in Oxford Street, 51), participants translated it literally. The collocation at [email protected] had a homogenous progress; both groups had the same input as this phrase is not present in the song. As we have previously mentioned, our brain tends to memorize the first seven pieces of information. In a song, apart from the actual beginning, the chorus is also considered a new beginning as it is repeated several times throughout the song. Our chorus “on the weekend in, in the USA, at the weekend in the UK, UK”. All participants in the experimental group translated the sentence “I will see you on/at the weekend” correctly. Table9 shows us the result obtained regarding the preposition by, which was intentionally left out of the song so that we could compare if there was a homogenous improvement in both the control and the experimental groups. We observed very similar results in both groups. The few participants who did not use the collocation written by Shakespeare, kept using the preposition from instead. Figure4 shows that the mean of the control group is of 51% of correct answers. This Sci 2021, 3, x FOR PEER REVIEW 17 of 28 percentage almost doubled when compared to the control group mean in the pretest (Figure3), which was 27.83%. We can confirm that training contributes to an improved performance in the discrimination and identification of L2 [20,53,54]. FigureFigure 55 evidencesevidences thethe performanceperformance ofof thethe experimentalexperimental groupgroup inin PosttestPosttest 1.1. WeWe cancan alreadyalready observe observe better better results results when compared to to the control group in the same posttest (Figure(Figure 66).).

POSTTEST 1 PREPOSITIONS EXPERIMENTAL GROUP 100.00%

80.00% 85.50%

60.00% 68.6% 63.5% 57% 40.00%

20.00%

0.00% ON AT BY MEAN

Figure 5. Experimental group Posttest 1 prepositions and means.

As we can observe in Table 10, Posttest 1 confirmed the proclivities in the pretest: Female participants and the ones who hold a University or master’s degree obtained better results.

Table 10. Posttest 1 results regarding gender and level of education.

Total of Correct Gender: Male Total Num- Gender: Female Total Num- Level of Education: Level of Education: University Answers ber of Correct Answers ber of Correct Answers Secondary School or Master’s Degree 718 306 412 293 425

Let us visualize these figures in Figure 6 below:

Percentage according to gender and education: Posttest 1 100.00%

80.00%

60.00% 57.30% 59.20% 40.00% 42.70% 40.80%

20.00%

0.00%

male female secondary school higher education

Figure 6. Posttest 1: Percentage of correct answers regarding gender and education.

Sci 2021, 3, xSci FOR 2021 PEER, 3, x REVIEW FOR PEER REVIEW 16 of 29 16 of 29 Sci 2021 , 3, x FOR PEER REVIEW 16 of 29

TableTable 7. Posttest7. PosttestTable 1 for 17. for thePosttest the preposition preposition 1 for theon preposition. on. on. Table 7. Posttest 1 for the preposition on. -of Cor- % of Cor % ﻓﻲ ﻳﻮﺗﻴﻮﺏ ﻓﻲ ﻳﻮﺗﻴﻮﺏ ﻓﻲ ﺃﻭﻝ ﻣﻦ ﺩﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮﻓﻲ ﺃﻭﻝ ﻣﻦ ﺩﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮ on of Cor-Percentage of Correct %ﻋﻠﻴﻬﻢ ﺧﺼﻢ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﻢ ﻓﻲ ﺧﺼﻢ ﻓﻲﻳﻮﺗﻴﻮﺏ ﺍﻟﺘﻠﻔﺰﻳﻮﻥ ﻓﻲ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﺘﻠﻔﺰﻳﻮﻥﺃﻭﻝ ﻣﻦ ﺩﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮon an on A on Anon Is-A onon Independ- An Is- onon Independ-on This the on Thison onthe theonon the This on the -An- rect An ﻋﻠﻴﻬﻢrect ﺧﺼﻢ-You- on You ﻓﻲ on ﺍﻟﺘﻠﻔﺰﻳﻮﻥPreposition on on a Farm Preposition PrepositiononIndependence onon A onon theAn Is- Buson Independ- on the on This on the(on(on thethe 1st of of(on the 1st of IslandPreposition Farmon landFarm enceland Day enceListBus Day ListBus Phone PhoneList Phone(on the 1st ofon TV on TVon You-on sale on salerect An- Answers Farm land ence Day Bus List Phone Dec.) Dec.)on TVon TVTube on You-TubeTubeon saleswerson Sale swers Day Dec.) Dec.) Tube swers X = 10,400 X = 10,400 Control groupControl group8 9 8 119 119 8 9 14 8 14 12 12 11 119 139 13X = 10,400 Control group 8 9Control group 11 8 9 911 89 148 14 12 12 1111 9 /20013 = 13 52% /200 X = =52% 10,400 /200 = 52% Experimental /200 = 52% X = 17,100 /200 = 20 15 15 16 16 18 17 17 18X = 17,100 19 X = 17,100 Sci 2021, Experimental3, x FOR PEERExperimental REVIEW 17 of 29 X = 17,100 group Experimental20 1520 1515 1516 16 16 18 16 18 17 17 17 1817 1918 /20019 = /200 = 85.5% group group 20 15 15 16 16 18 17 17 18 19 /200 = group 85.5% 85.5% 85.5%

FromTable the 275From 8. Posttest accurate the 275 1 of answers accurate the preposition regarding answersat. regarding the preposition the preposition on, 192 were on, given192 were by par-given by par- TableFrom 8. Posttest the 275 1 ofaccurate the preposition answers at regarding. the preposition on, 192 were given by participants whoticipants majored who from majored university from university or have a ormaster’s have a degree, master’s and degree, 179 right and answers179 right answers at at 234 Oxford at al- ticipantsat the End who of majoredat theat theEnd from university or have a master’s degree, and 179 right answers % of Correct Laugh YellLaugh at% Yell of Correct at Good at ﻓﻲ Preposition at at Christ- at 234 Ox- were givenwere by females.given by females.at at the Night at 7 Preposition at at [email protected] given by females.of the 7 at 7 Good at Christmas Street mas [email protected] Street the Month Weekend Weekend Night at 7 at at Answers Answers RegardingRegarding Table Month8, the Table phrase 8, the at phraseChristmas at Christmasobtained aobtained slight improvement a slight improvement in both in both Control group 4 6 14Regarding 6 Table 11 8, the phrase 8 at Christmas 20 obtained a 6 slight improvement 6 6 in both X = 8700/200 = 43.5% groups comparedgroups compared to the pretest; to the this pretest; impr ovementthis impr wasovement also homogeneous.was also homogeneous.X = 8700/200 This =can beThis can be Experimental Control group 4 6 groups 14 compared to 6 the pretest; 11 this 8 improvement 20 6 was 6 also 6homogeneous. This can be 5 10 15explainedexplained by 7 the fact by that the 20 this fact phrase that this 8 was phrase not present was 20 no int present the song. 8in theIn other song.43.5% 7 words, In other both 14 words, Xboth = 11,400/200 = 57% group explained by the fact that this phrase was not present in the song. In other words, both Experimental groups hadgroups the same had typethe same of input; type theyof input; just readthey thisjust phraseread this once phrase on the Xonce = 11,400/200training on the sheet training sheet 5 10 groups 15 had the same 7 type of 20 input; they8 just20 read8 this phrase7 14 once on the training sheet group (see Appendix(see Appendix D). Concerning D). Concerning the phrase the at 234phrase Oxford at 234 street Oxford, the experimentalstreet, the experimental= 57% group per- group per- (see Appendix D). Concerning the phrase at 234 Oxford street, the experimental group performed slightlyformed better slightly than better the control than the group control as this group phrase as this was phrase present was in present the song. in How-the song. How- formedTable slightly 9. Posttest better 1 for than the prepositionthe controlby group. as this phrase was present in the song. How- Asever, we this have ever,phrase previously this was phrase translatedmentioned, was translated from our brainArabic from tends in toArabic to English, memorize into and English, the as firstin andArabic seven as inpiecesthere Arabic is no there is no of information.ever, Inthis a song,phrase apart was from translated the actu fromal beginning, Arabic in theto English,chorus is and also as considered in Arabic athere is no by Preparing Go by prepositionpreposition for suchby Credit a forphrase such ( Ia livephraseby in Oxford (I live by Street,in MyOxford 51), Street, participantsby 51), participants translated translated it byliterally. the it literally. Preposition by by Mistakenew beginning by Chancepreposition as it is forrepeated such a severalphrase (timeI lives in throughout Oxford Street, the 51 song.), participants Ourby chorus 5 pm translated “on the it literally.% of Correct Answers for It Metro The collocationThe collocation atCard [email protected] at [email protected] had a homogenousSide had a homogenousMyself progress; progress;both groups both Lakehad groups the had the The collocation at [email protected] had a homogenous progress; both groups had the weekendsame in, input insame the as thisUSA, input phrase at as the this is weekend notphrase present is in not thin epresent the UK, song. UK”. in the All song. participants in the experi- Control group 8 13 15mental groupsame 17 translated input as 7thethis sentence phrase is “I 15 not will present see you in 13 on/atthe song. the weekend” 15 correctly. 6 6 X = 11,500/200 = 57.5% Experimental 7 14 15Table 179 shows us the 7 result obtained 16 regarding 14 the preposition 15 by, which 6 was inten- 16 X = 12,700/200 = 63.5% group tionally left out of the song so that we could compare if there was a homogenous improvement in both the control and the experimental groups. We observed very similar results in both groups.

Table 9. Posttest 1 for the preposition by.

by Preparing Go by by Mis- by by Credit by Shake- by My by My- by 5 by the % of Correct An- Preposition by for It Metro take Chance Card speare Side self pm Lake swers X = 11,500/200 = Control group 8 13 15 17 7 15 13 15 6 6 57.5% Experimental X = 12,700/200 = 7 14 15 17 7 16 14 15 6 16 group 63.5%

The few participants who did not use the collocation written by Shakespeare, kept using the preposition from instead. Figure 4 shows that the mean of the control group is of 51% of correct answers. This percentage almost doubled when compared to the control group mean in the pretest (Figure 3), which was 27.83%. We can confirm that training contributes to an improved performance in the discrimination and identification of L2 [20,53,54].

POSTTEST 1 PREPOSITIONS CONTROL GROUP 100%

80%

60% 57.50% 52% 51% 40% 43.50%

20%

0% ON AT BY MEAN

Figure 4. Posttest 1 control group, and Posttest 1 prepositions and means.

Sci 2021, 3, x FOR PEER REVIEW 17 of 28

Figure 5 evidences the performance of the experimental group in Posttest 1. We can already observe better results when compared to the control group in the same posttest (Figure 6).

POSTTEST 1 PREPOSITIONS EXPERIMENTAL GROUP 100.00%

80.00% 85.50%

60.00% 68.6% 63.5% 57% 40.00%

20.00%

0.00% ON AT BY MEAN

Figure 5. Experimental group Posttest 1 prepositions and means.

As we can observe in Table 10, Posttest 1 confirmed the proclivities in the pretest: Female participants and the ones who hold a University or master’s degree obtained better results.

Table 10. Posttest 1 results regarding gender and level of education.

Total of Correct Gender: Male Total Num- Gender: Female Total Num- Level of Education: Level of Education: University Sci 2021, 3, 19Answers ber of Correct Answers ber of Correct Answers Secondary School or Master’s Degree 18 of 28 718 306 412 293 425

Let us visualize these figures in Figure 6 below:

Percentage according to gender and education: Posttest 1 100.00%

80.00%

60.00% 57.30% 59.20% 40.00% 42.70% 40.80%

20.00%

0.00%

male female secondary school higher education

FigureFigure 6. Posttest 6. Posttest 1: 1: Percentage Percentage ofof correctcorrect answers regarding regarding gender gender and and education education..

As we can observe in Table 10, Posttest 1 conﬁrmed the proclivities in the pretest: Female participants and the ones who hold a University or master’s degree obtained better results.

Table 10. Posttest 1 results regarding gender and level of education.

Gender: Male Total Gender: Female Total Level of Education: Total of Correct Level of Education: Number of Correct Number of Correct University or Master’s Answers Secondary School Answers Answers Degree 718 306 412 293 425

Let us visualize these ﬁgures in Figure6 below:

6.3. Posttest 2: Grammar (Prepositions) Posttest 2 was administered after the ﬁnal training session, Session 6. Below there are the results obtained by both groups: Table 11 shows us the results regarding the preposition on. It can be seen that the experimental group almost mastered this preposition while the control group also improved its performance but not even one collocation with the preposition on was mastered. It can be observed in Table 12 that the collocations at Christmas, at the end of the month, at night, yell at, which were not present in the song, obtained the same or nearly the same number of correct answers in both groups. The table shows that the phrase good at present in the song stood out in performance when compared to the control group, whose majority kept using good in. Table 13 evidences the results regarding the preposition by, which was intentionally left out of the song. We can observe a homogenous improvement in both the control and the experimental groups. We can observe remarkably similar results in both groups, except for the collocation by the lake, which was present in the song used in the training of the experimental group. It can be seen that the experimental group has mastered this collocation. It is worth remembering that the control group also read the lyrics of the song in each training session, but it seems to be the musical training itself that made participants in the experimental group master this collocation. Sci 2021, 3, xSci FOR 2021 PEER, 3, x REVIEW FOR PEER REVIEW 16 of 29 16 of 29 Sci 2021 , 3, x FOR PEER REVIEW 16 of 29

TableTable 11. 7.Posttest PosttestTable 2 of17. for Posttest the the preposition preposition 1 for theon preposition .on. on. Table 7. Posttest 1 for the preposition on. -of Cor- % of Cor % ﻓﻲ ﻳﻮﺗﻴﻮﺏ ﻓﻲ ﻳﻮﺗﻴﻮﺏ ﻓﻲ ﺃﻭﻝ ﻣﻦ ﺩﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮﻓﻲ ﺃﻭﻝ ﻣﻦ ﺩﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮ on of Cor- % of Correct %ﻋﻠﻴﻬﻢ ﺧﺼﻢ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﻢ ﻓﻲ ﺧﺼﻢ ﻓﻲﻳﻮﺗﻴﻮﺏ ﺍﻟﺘﻠﻔﺰﻳﻮﻥ ﻓﻲ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﺘﻠﻔﺰﻳﻮﻥﺃﻭﻝ ﻣﻦ ﺩﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮon An on A on Anon Is-A onon Independ- An Is- onon Independ-on This the on Thison onthe theonon the This on the -An- rect An ﻋﻠﻴﻬﻢrect ﺧﺼﻢ-You- on You ﻓﻲ on ﺍﻟﺘﻠﻔﺰﻳﻮﻥPreposition on on A Farm Preposition PrepositiononIndependence onon A onon theAn Is- Buson Independ- on the on This on the(on(on thethe 1st of of(on the 1st of IslandPreposition Farmon landFarm enceland Day enceListBus Day ListBus Phone PhoneList Phone(on the 1st ofon TV on TVon You-on sale on salerect An- Answers Farm land ence Day Bus List Phone Dec.) Dec.)on TVon TVTube on You-TubeTubeon sale=onswers Sale swers Day Dec.) Dec.) Tube swers X = 10,400 X = 10,400 Control groupControl group8 9 8 119 119 8 9 14 8 14 12 12 11 119 139 13X = 10,400 Control group 12 14Control group 13 8 9 12 11 99 158 14 14 12 1411 139 /20013 = 14 52% /200 X= =52% 1,3000/200 = 65% /200 = 52% Experimental X = 17,100 X = 17,100 20Experimental 20Experimental 16 20 19 20 18 19 20 20X = 17,100 X = 1,9200/200 = 96% group Experimental20 1520 1515 1516 16 16 18 16 18 17 17 17 1817 1918 /20019 = /200 = group group 20 15 15 16 16 18 17 17 18 19 /200 = group 85.5% 85.5% 85.5%

FromTable the 275From 12. Posttest accurate the 275 2 ofanswers accurate the preposition regarding answersat. regarding the preposition the preposition on, 192 were on, given192 were by par-given by par- From the 275 accurate answers regarding the preposition on, 192 were given by participants whoticipants majored who from majored university from university or have a ormaster’s have a degree, master’s and degree, 179 right and answers179 right answers at at 234 Oxford at al- ticipantsat the End who of majoredat the from university 7or have a master’s degree, and 179 right answers % of Correct Preposition at were givenwere by females.given by females. at Night Laugh at Yell at Good at Christmas Street [email protected] werethe Monthgiven by females.Weekend Answers RegardingRegarding Table 8, the Table phrase 8, the at phraseChristmas at Christmasobtainedat 7 aobtained slight improvement a slight improvement in both in both Regarding Table 8, the phrase at Christmas obtained a slight improvement in both Control group 8 9 16groups comparedgroups 9 compared to the 13pretest; to the this pretest; 9 impr ovementthis impr 20 wasovement also homogeneous.was 9 also homogeneous. 8 This can 8 beThis canX = be 10,900/200 =54.5% Experimental groups compared to the pretest; this improvement was also homogeneous. This can be 8 19 17explainedexplained by 9 the fact by that the 20 this fact phrase that this 9 was phrase not present was 20 no int present the song.11 in theIn other song. 9 words, In other both 20 words, Xboth =14,200/200 = 71% group explained by the fact that this phrase was not present in the song. In other words, both groups hadgroups the same had typethe same of input; type theyof input; just readthey thisjust phraseread this once phrase on the once training on the sheet training sheet groups had the same type of input; they just read this phrase once on the training sheet (see Appendix(see Appendix D). Concerning D). Concerning the phrase the at 234phrase Oxford at 234 street Oxford, the experimentalstreet, the experimental group per- group per- (see Appendix D). Concerning the phrase at 234 Oxford street, the experimental group performed slightlyformed better slightly than better the control than the group control as this group phrase as this was phrase present was in present the song. in How-the song. How- formed slightly better than the control group as this phrase was present in the song. How- ever, thisTable ever,phrase 13.this Posttestwas phrase translated 2 ofwas the translatedpreposition from Arabic fromby. in toArabic English, into and English, as in andArabic as inthere Arabic is no there is no ever, this phrase was translated from Arabic into English, and as in Arabic there is no prepositionpreposition for such a forphrase such ( Ia livephrase in Oxford (I live Street,in Oxford 51), Street, participants 51), participants translated translated it literally. it literally. by Preparing Go by prepositionby for Credit such a phraseby (I live in Oxfordby My Street, 51by), participants translatedby the it literally. Preposition by by MistakeThe by collocation ChanceThe collocation at [email protected] at [email protected] had a homogenous had a homogenous progress; byprogress;both 5 pm groups both had groups the had% of the Correct Answers for It Metro The collocationCard at [email protected] hadSide a homogenousMyself progress; both groupsLake had the same inputsame as this input phrase as this is notphrase present is not in present the song. in the song. Control group 12 16 17same 18 input as 11 this phrase is 17 not present in 16 the song. 17 9 10 X = 14,300/200 = 71.5% Experimental 13 16 18 19 12 17 17 18 10 20 X = 16,000/200 = 80% group

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Figure7 shows that the mean of the control group is of 63.66% of correct answers. This percentage more than doubled when compared to the control group mean in the Sci 2021, 3, x FOR PEER REVIEW 19 of 28 Sci 2021, 3, x FOR PEER REVIEW pretest (Figure3), which was 27.83%. Again, we can conﬁrm that training contributes19 to of an28 improved performance in the discrimination and identiﬁcation of L2 [20,53,54].

POSTTEST 2 PREPOSITIONS CONTROL GROUP 100%

80%

71.5% 60% 65% 65% 63.66% 54.50% 40%

20%

0% ON AT BY MEAN

Figure 7. PosttestPosttest 2 2 control control group prepositions and means.

FigureFigure 88 evidencesevidences thethe performanceperformance ofof thethe experimentalexperimental groupgroup inin PosttestPosttest 2.2. We observedobserved resultsresults of of almost almost 20% 20% higher higher when when compared compared to to the the control control group group mean mean (Figure (Figure 7).7).

POSTTEST 2 PREPOSITIONS EXPERIMENTAL GROUP 100% 96% 80% 96% 80% 82.3% 80% 82.3% 71% 60% 71%

40%

20%

0% ON AT BY MEAN

Figure 8. Posttest 2 experimental group prepositions and means. Figure 8. PosttestPosttest 2 2 experimental experimental group prepositions and means. As we can observe in Table 14, Posttest 2 again confirmed the proclivities in the pre- AsAs we can observe inin TableTable 14 14,, Posttest Posttest 2 2 again again conﬁrmed confirmed the the proclivities proclivities in in the the pretest pretest and posttest 1: Female participants and the ones who hold a University or master’s testand and posttest posttest 1: Female 1: Female participants participants and theand ones the whooneshold who a hold University a University or master’s or master’s degree degreeobtained obtain bettered results. better results.

TableTable 14. Posttest 2 results regarding gender and level of education. Total of Correct Gender: MaleGender: Total MaleNum- TotalGender: Gender:Female Total Female Num- Total Level of Education: Level of LevelEducation: of Education: University TotalTotal of Correct of Correct Gender: Male Total Num- Gender: Female Total Num- LevelLevel of Education: of Education: Level of Education: University Answers ber of CorrectNumber Answers of Correct ber of CorrectNumber Answers of Correct Secondary School orUniversity Master’s Degree or Master’s AnswersAnswers ber of Correct Answers ber of Correct Answers SecondarySecondary School School or Master’s Degree Answers Answers Degree 876 407 469 414 462 876 407 469 414 462 Figure 9 shows us a more homogenous panorama, while there is a seven percent difference between the correct answers between male and female participants, there is a five percent difference between participants who completed secondary school and the ones who pursued higher education. The differences in the level of education in the pretest were over 50%.

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Figure9 shows us a more homogenous panorama, while there is a seven percent difference between the correct answers between male and female participants, there is a ﬁve percent difference between participants who completed secondary school and the ones Sci 2021, 3, x FOR PEER REVIEW 20 of 28 who pursued higher education. The differences in the level of education in the pretest were over 50%.

Percentage according to gender and education: Posttest 2 100.00%

80.00%

60.00%

53.50% 52.70% 40.00% 46.50% 47.30%

20.00%

0.00%

male female secondary school higher education

Figure 9. Posttest 2: Percentage Percentage of correct answers regarding gender and education.education.

6.4. Descriptive Analysis 6.4. Descriptive Analysis In order to make a descriptive analysis, the Mann–Whitney U test was applied (see In order to make a descriptive analysis, the Mann–Whitney U test was applied (see Table 15). Table 15). To test the hypothesis of whether there are differences between the pretest and Post- test 2 regardingTable the control 15. Mann–Whitney and experiment U test. groups, the first thing we have done was to calculate the variable of the difference between the scores of Posttest 2 and the pretest. Then,Control to see if there are differences between Experimental this variable depending on the group (as the Meannormality SD of the difference Median variable Mean was not SD fulfilled in Median both groups), z we havep used-Value the Differences nonparametric Mann–Whitney U test where the hypotheses were as follows: 10.750 1.070 11 16.450 0.759 17 −5.531 <0.001 pre–posttest 2 H0: There are no differences between the means between the control group and the experimental group. To test the hypothesis of whether there are differences between the pretest and H1:Posttest There 2 are regarding differences the between control the andmeans experiment between the groups,control group the firstand the thing experimental we have group. done was to calculate the variable of the difference between the scores of Posttest 2 and the pretest.As Then,demonstrated to see if therein Table are 15, differences a result z between = −5.531 this was variable obtained depending with an associated on the group p- value(as the less normality than 0.001, of the which difference is why variable the null was hypothesis not fulfilled of equality in both groups),of means we was have rejected used andthe nonparametrictherefore we can Mann–Whitney say that the increase U test where in the thescores hypotheses in the experimental were as follows: group (mean =H0: 16.450;There arestandard no differences deviation between (SD) the means = 0.759; between median the control 17) is group significantly and the experimental higher than group. that found in the control group (mean = 10.750; SD = 1.070; median 11). H1: There are differences between the means between the control group and the experimental group. Figure 10 illustrates the differences between the means between the control group and theAs experimental demonstrated group. in Table 15, a result z = −5.531 was obtained with an associated p-value less than 0.001, which is why the null hypothesis of equality of means was rejected and therefore weTable can 15. say Mann that– theWhitney increase U test in. the scores in the experimental group (mean = 16.450; standard deviation (SD) = 0.759; median 17) is significantly higher than that found Control Experimental in the control group (mean = 10.750; SD = 1.070; median 11). Mean SD Median Mean SD Median z p-Value Differences pre–posttest 2 10.750 1.070 11 16.450 0.759 17 −5.531 <0.001

Sci 2021, 3, 19 22 of 28

Sci 2021, 3, x FOR PEER REVIEW 21 of 28 Figure 10 illustrates the differences between the means between the control group and the experimental group.

FigureFigure 10 10.. DifferenceDifference in in means means control control and and experimental experimental groups groups

7.7. Conclusions Conclusions ThisThis study study has has attempted attempted to to demonstrate demonstrate that that students’ students’ proclivities, proclivities, strengths, strengths, and and weaknessesweaknesses should should be be considered considered in in the the learning learning process process and and with with a a simple simple ten ten-minute-minute trainingtraining the the performance performance can can be be considerably considerably improved. improved. We We would would like like to to emphasize emphasize that that grammar,grammar, more more precisely precisely prepositions, prepositions, was was arbitrarily arbitrarily used used in in this this study; study; nevertheless, nevertheless, educatorseducators can can and and should should use use any any subject subject topics topics to to assist assist learners. learners. A A short short session session was was fafavoredvored to to an an extended extended one one due due to to the the fact fact that that this this study study was was designed designed to to be be implemented implemented inin the the classroom classroom where where teachers teachers usually usually work work with with a a tight tight schedule. schedule. TheThe ambition ambition of progress progress led led to to the the non-preservation non-preservation of linguistic of linguistic identity identity in the in UAE. the UAE.There There are daily are daily situations situations in which in which an Emirati an Emirati citizen citizen is unable is unable to speak to speak their owntheir native own nativelanguage, language, i.e., Emirati i.e., Emirati Dialect, Dialect, in their in own their country own country or rather or rather are forced are forced to speak to aspeak second a secondlanguage, language, namely namely English, English, which some which locals some often locals struggle often with struggle [55]. Althoughwith [55]. theAlthough country has a bond of over 220 years with England, not all Emiratis master the language. There are the country has a bond of over 220 years with England, not all Emiratis master the lan- many instances of Arabic influence in Emirati English, one of them is the negative transfer guage. There are many instances of Arabic influence in Emirati English, one of them is the of Arabic prepositions in Emirati English. These negative transfers are due to the fact negative transfer of Arabic prepositions in Emirati English. These negative transfers are that English and Arabic belong to different language families, and therefore, have distinct due to the fact that English and Arabic belong to different language families, and there- prepositional systems [32]. Besides, English contains more than a hundred prepositions, fore, have distinct prepositional systems [32]. Besides, English contains more than a hun- whereas Arabic has only twenty, and only six of them are commonly used [33]. dred prepositions, whereas Arabic has only twenty, and only six of them are commonly As we could read in our theoretical framework, musical intelligence has been proved used [33]. to be an isolated area that can stand out from other areas. The literature is replete with As we could read in our theoretical framework, musical intelligence has been proved accounts of astonishing autistic young people who perform music amazingly [8–12,35–40]. to be an isolated area that can stand out from other areas. The literature is replete with Moreover, studies have suggested that music may provide benefits for people with Alzheimer’s accounts of astonishing autistic young people who perform music amazingly [8–12,35– disease as well as other sorts of dementia [41,44,46,47], as well as release anxiety and promote 40].well-being. Moreover, There studies are alsohave studies suggested regarding that music musicians’ may provide brains, which benefits were for demonstratedpeople with Alzheimer’sto be larger disease in the left as cerebralwell as other hemisphere sorts of whendementia contrasted [41,44,46,47] with other, as well individuals as release [ 1anx-]. iety andConcerning promote ourwell four-being. research There questions,are also studies the first regarding inquired musicians’ whether there brains, were which influ- wereences demonstrated of MSA and Emiratito be larger Dialect in the in theleft acquisitioncerebral hemisphere of prepositions when incontrasted Emirati English.with other We individualscould find evidence[1]. that there is an over usage of the preposition in in Emirati English. This happensConcerning due to our the four fact thatresearch the preposition questions, thefi, usuallyfirst inquired translated whether in English there were as in ,influ- is the encesmost of used MSA preposition and Emirati in Arabic.Dialect in This the negative acquisition transfer of prepositions was encountered in Emirati in all English. the studied We couldprepositions find evidence in this study,that there mainly is an in over the pretest, usage of when the preposition participants in were in Emirati still not English. aware of Thisthe correcthappens usage due ofto prepositions.the fact that the The preposition preposition fiin, usuallyobtained translated the best results—98% in English as correct in, is the most used preposition in Arabic. This negative transfer was encountered in all the studied prepositions in this study, mainly in the pretest, when participants were still not aware of the correct usage of prepositions. The preposition in obtained the best results— 98% correct answers. That is why we decided to discard this preposition from our training.

Sci 2021, 3, 19 23 of 28

answers. That is why we decided to discard this preposition from our training. The preposition on was substituted in the pretest by the preposition in in nine out of ten expressions: on a farm, on an island, on independence day, on the bus, on this list, on the 1st of December, on TV, on YouTube, and on sale. The only expression that was about 50% correct was on the phone. The preposition by, however, has more expressions correctly fossilized in Emirati Arabic. Six out of ten expressions (by metro, by mistake, by chance, by Shakespeare, by my side, and by myself ) obtained more than 50% correct answers. Regarding the preposition at, only the expression at 7 o’clock is fossilized correctly in Emirati English, as it obtained 97.5% correct answers. Concerning the preposition from (min in Arabic), present in AppendixB, three of the four sentences were negatively transferred into English by more than 90%. Our second research question investigated the learning through music and through traditional learning (reading and repeating the content). The null hypothesis of equality of means was rejected (see Table 15) and therefore we could confirm that the increase in the scores in the experimental group was significantly higher than that found in the control group. In other words, learning through music was proved to be statistically more efficient than learning through a more conventional way. The following research question analyzed the educational level and gender, two important social variables related to linguistic behavior [56,57], and it was revealed that the level of education plays a great role in the proficiency of English: in the pretest, 78.5% of the correct answers were among the participants who pursued higher education. Our findings are in keeping with Alnamer S. and Alnamer M.’s study [58], which revealed that educated Emirati speakers are more in contact with English and use English loanwords more than their uneducated counterparts. Conversely, uneducated Emirati speakers prefer to use Persian, Hindi, and Turkish words instead of words in English. Regarding gender, the female participants performed better than the masculine ones: 59.3% of the correct answers in the pretest belonged to women. Again, our study is in line with Alnamer S. and Alnamer M. [58], who also demonstrate that female speakers of UAE use English more than their male counterparts in light of the fact that women pursue prestige even in the linguistic level. Male speakers of UAE, nevertheless, use more Persian and Hindi loanwords and are not usually mindful that these are in fact borrowed. We could also observe that the more training both groups received the smaller was the difference in correct answers concerning the two social variables: gender and educational level. The achievement of superior results when learning through music demonstrated in this present study are similar to the ones obtained in our previous study [20], in which the content taught through dance (experimental group) obtained a statistically meaningful difference compared to the control group (participants were trained in a traditional way, by reading and repeating the content). Therefore, we propose that learning through the MI, be it kinesthetic, musical, or any other intelligence, is worthier than just learning in a traditional way. This has been demonstrated in this study in which we applied musical intelligence to boost learning as well as in our previous study in which kinesthetic intelligence was used during training. This paper presents various limitations as well as proposals to be improved in future studies. The principal restriction is with respect to the quantity of participants. Having groups of twenty members in training may not be sufficient to test for homogeneity. In future research, an expanded number of participants would surely invigorate the outcomes and subsequently the capacity to analyze the findings of the current study more precisely. Our previous study [20] marked a solid beginning for questions regarding MI. This study is a detailed follow-up study applying musical intelligence. The data collection used in this study tracked participants’ responses during the preposition task, responses which can be analyzed and coded in order to study participants’ performance and, specifically, to which extent accuracy improved as the training advanced. Analyzing more participants in this way may shed more light on the findings of the training obtained in the present study. A long-term goal is to explore MI applied in learning. There are other intelligences, such as mathematical, naturalistic, and inter- and intrapersonal, which may be applied Sci 2021, 3, 19 24 of 28

in similar experiments to corroborate our ﬁndings, as well as to seek more factors that facilitate learning. Through such a line of research questions, cognitive skills and learners’ strengths can also be explored. In conclusion, this paper marks the second step in this line of MI research, and we hope for follow-up studies that will keep ﬁnding out the elements that facilitate learning.

Funding: This research received no external funding. Informed Consent Statement: Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. Data Availability Statement: All subjects gave their informed consent for inclusion before they participated in the study. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and the protocol was approved by the Committee of Applied Linguistics, UCM. Conﬂicts of Interest: The author declare no conﬂict of interest.

Appendix A Questionnaire to Select Participants to the Experiment and Control Group Sex: __ male __ female Level of education: __ secondary school __ University degree __ master’s degree __ PhD Do you usually listen to music? Yes, every day. _____ Yes, between 5 to 6 days a week. ____ Yes, 3 to 4 days a week. ____ Yes, one or two days per week. ____ No, never/almost never. ___ Is music important in your life? ______Do you like to sing along when you are listening to music? ______Does music relax you? ______Can music change your mood for the better? In other words, can you feel hap- pier/more motivated when listening to music? ______Do you play any instruments? ___ yes ___ no If yes, which instrument do you play? ______And how long have you been playing it? ______Are your parents or siblings musicians or do they play any instruments? ______If so, which instruments do they play? ______

Appendix B Pretest and Posttests I and II (Arabic to English; Participants Had Neither the Translation nor the Colored Prepositions Shown Below. The Prepositions in Green Means that the Preposition Exists in only One of the Languages) Please, translate the following sentences into English: 7 (I ﬁnish work at 7) ______2. (you can see her in the picture) ______3. (he is married to her) ______Sci 2021, 3, 19 25 of 28

4. (see you on/at the weekend) ______(See you on December 1.) ______(I will see you in December.) ______7. (I saw it on TV.) ______(I saw it on YouTube.) ______9. (long time no see.) ______10. (I am on vacation.) ______11. (I’ve been wanting this for a long time.) ______12. (wait for me) 13. (what do you think about going by metro?) ______14. (These jeans are on sale.) ______15. 51 (I live at 51 Sayed road.) ______16. (I live in a tower on/in Alkhair street.) ______•• 17. " '.1.J-��l (I did it by myself) ______

Appendix C Pretest and Posttests I and II: Prepositions Part II Complete the text with the correct preposition (on, in, at, about, for, since, from, through, to, by, with) when necessary. I live ___ a farm. Pat is __ an island. Let’s have a barbecue ___ Independence Day. I will see you ___ Christmas. Come to my office ___ 234 Oxford street, first floor. I am __ the bus now. I will call you later. Buy everything which is ___ this list. Max is __ the phone now. Email me ___ [email protected]. This shirt comes ___ four different colors. (to indicate a shape, color or size) You can pass the exam ___ preparing for it. Can we go __ metro? Patrick visits us ___ spring. She has been living ____ London since 2007. I am sure she did it ___ mistake. You should send these books ___ mail. You can pay ___ credit card or cash. I met Sheila ___ chance in the shopping mall. Hamlet was written ___ Shakespeare. Sci 2021, 3, 19 26 of 28

___ the end of the month. Stay ___ my side and don’t move, please. I hate it when my mom yells ___ me. You have to ﬁnish the report ___ 5 pm. (that is, no later than 5 pm) His house is ____ the lake. (that is, near the lake). I have English classes ___ the morning. We always go out ___ night. Are you laughing ___ me? Mike is really good ___ playing the guitar. The bag is ___ the car. I forgot my wallet ___ in the taxi.

Appendix D Preposition Training—Part 1 (Both Groups Were Explained How to Use the Following Prepositions and Each Session Started by Reading the List Below) We use on for dates and for holidays that last just one day: On Independence Day/on Halloween/on Saint Patrick’s Day My birthday is on the 22 of March. These shirts are on sale. For big means of transport on which you can walk. I am on the bus, on the train, on the ship. For all the social media: On YouTube, on Instagram, on Facebook. For the expressions on TV, on the radio and on the phone. We use at before the number of an establishment (houses, clinic, pharmacy) + street name. The supermarket is at 27 Oxford Street. I live at 512 Conrad Road. I never go out at night. Before holidays that last longer than one day: I will visit you at Christmas. We went to Malta at Easter. With the verbs yell and laugh at someone: He yells at you. He laughs at you. With the expression be good at: Paul is good at singing. We use in with parts of the day in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening. With months: I was born in March. I will see you in September. With years: He was born in 1997. With small vehicles in which you cannot stand up: I am in the car, in the taxi. We use by to describe how you travel somewhere: I went by car, by bus, by bike, by plane We use by to mean “near”. She lives by the train station. Her house is by the lake. The means we pay something: We pay by credit card pay by check, but we pay in cash (this is not he means but the money itself) To express ‘how to do something’: by + -ing form to describe how to do something: By pressing this button, you turn on the alarm system. Then by entering the code 1256, you can switch it off. To express that you do something without anyone else’s help, or alone: I made the cake by myself. He came all by himself. In the expressions: By mistake and by chance.

Appendix E Preposition Training—Part 2 (Both Experimental and Control Groups Had the Following Text; However, the Experimental Group Sang Along as They Were Drilled) The karaoke for this song is available online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_yVbr6kLhw (accessed on 30 March 2021) On sale, on a farm, on the list . . . on an island and on vacation. On the phone, on the radio and on TV: information Sci 2021, 3, 19 27 of 28

on YouTube on WhatsApp. On MonDAY, on the 1st of March. On the 2 of January, on the third of January but in February. On the WEEKend in, in the USA At the weekEND in the UK, UK On the Street in the USA In the Street in the UK But AT 30 Deira Street, is that ok? By the lake, in July, on a bus here in Dubai At seven o’ clooooooock, yeah, I’m good at walking in this block. On the WEEKend in, in the USA At the weekEND in the UK, UK On the WEEKend . . . in the USA (oh uoh uoh . . . ) At the weekEND in the UK yeah On the Street in the US In the Street: in the UK But AT 30 Deira Street, at 30 Deira street, here in Dubai. On the WEEKend in, in the USA At the weekEND in the UK, UK . . . (fade out)

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