Abstract: Mother tongue transfer has always been a focus of research in second language acquisition. It is classified into positive transfer and negative transfer. Positive transfer facilitates L2 learning while negative transfer hinders L2 learning. Most research has been about negative transfer which has traditionally thought to be a major source of learner’s error, and positive transfer has attracted relatively less attention and interest. However, the concept has changed recently. It is thought that mother tongue is the knowledge learners cannot avoid in the process of L2 learning, and the proper use of it can well facilitate the learning and speed up the process. This paper reviews some definition of language transfer, and analyses the similarities between English and Chinese in some aspects of phonetics and phonology, lexis, syntax and writing to help learners better understand the connections between the two languages in order to achieve better learning effects, which is also important to foreign language teaching.

Key words: second language acquisition; mother tongue; positive transfer; English teaching 

摘要：在第二语言习得研究中，母语迁移现象一直是众多学者关注的重点问题，母语迁移包括正迁移和负迁移。正迁移促进二语习得，负迁移妨碍二语习得。大多数学者侧重于母语负迁移的研究，而正迁移研究则不多。近年来，人们开始逐渐改变原有观念，认为二语习得过程中母语是不可能回避的现象，而且对母语的适当利用可以利用促进二语习得。本研究回顾母语迁移的相关定义，通过对比母语与第二语言在语音、词汇、句法、写作等方面的研究，讨论在二语教学中引领英语学习者，特别是初学者，正确利用母语正迁移来更深刻地理解两种语言之间的联系，进而取得更好的学习效果。这对于外语教学具有重要的意义。

关键词：第二语言习得; 母语; 正迁移; 英语教学