FOSSILIZATION IN THE INTERLANGUAGE OF DUSUN TINDAL TRIBE YOUNGER GENERATION

The majority of Dusun Tindal tribe learners in Sabah failed to achieve competency as native Malay speakers due to the fossilization mechanism which is performance-related. Hence, this research aims to examine the fossilization mechanism in the interlanguage of the young generation from the Dusun Tindal tribe. The case study was conducted at Tenghilan Secondary School, Tuaran, Sabah which involved 69 students. Besides the students, 12 language teachers were interviewed to get detailed information on target language learning strategies that allowed students to cross the interlanguage. Two informants from the Dusun Tindal community have provided a missing link to the Dusun Tindal tribe in Sabah. The first important finding involved trends in existing native language domains within Dusun Tindal communities that show multilingual equivalence. Secondly, most essay writing scores in the Malay language itself was still having interlanguage. Thirdly, the highest factor of fossilization causation was cognitive. The mapping of lexical and syntax elements into the target language domain was affecting students' thoughts. It was obvious sentences accommodate the overgeneralization form in the student interlanguage depicts a temporary plateau and they most often use message omission strategy. Fifthly, the continuum of interlanguage was based on the knowledge of native and the Malay language of the students most at acrolect level, namely one level lower than the native speaker competency. Language teachers suggested a number of strategies to dissolve the fossilization in interlanguage, specifically taking the right attitude towards student language errors.