Antecedent and Anaphora: A Window into EFL Students' Linguistic Development

Abstract

This study investigates the understanding and challenges of using antecedents and anaphors in sentences made by English as a foreign language (EFL) students at Tadulako University, focusing on nominal antecedent and pronominal antecedent (indefinite pronouns, quantifiers, demonstrative pronouns, and distributive pronoun), pronominal anaphora and adjectival anaphora. The purpose of this study is to identify which element is more difficult between antecedent and anaphora used by EFL students as well as what factors affect their difficulty. This study used a quantitative descriptive approach, with data collected through tests and questionnaires from 148 third-semester students. The results show that antecedent usage is more difficult compared to anaphora, especially in pronominal antecedents, particularly in distributive pronouns, with the mistake rate reaching 93%, while anaphora only recorded 7% mistakes. The main difficulties experienced by students in using antecedents and anaphors are influenced by seven factors, namely: 1) Health Condition, 2) Learning Interest, 3) Motivation, 4) Learning Habits, 5) Teacher Influence, 6) Learning Media, and 7) Classroom Condition. The findings provide important insights for English educators to design more effective teaching strategies in improving students' understanding and writing skills, especially in the use of antecedent and anaphora.