THE INFLUENCE OF FIRST LANGUAGE (MALAY LANGUAGE) ON ENGLISH WRITING AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS: AN ANALYSIS OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE TRANSFER

First language (L1) interruption is a serious difficulty for Malay students writing in English as a second language (L2). This study looks at the positive and negative transfer of language structures from Bahasa Melayu to English among undergraduates at a private institution in Ipoh. The study, which used qualitative methods such as document analysis of student essays and semi-structured interviews, discovered that positive transfer promotes certain aspects of writing while negative transfer leads to common errors, particularly in tense usage, subject-verb agreement, and direct translation. These findings emphasise the need for tailored teaching strategies and the use of supportive technologies to improve L2 writing skills.