L1‑Driven Interference Patterns in EFL Academic Writing: Evidence from Azerbaijani–English Contact

This study examines L1‑driven interference in the academic English writing of Azerbaijani EFL learners, asking how typological distance shapes morphosyntactic error distributions across proficiency levels. Using a learner‑corpus, error‑analysis framework grounded in interlanguage theory, we coded article use, prepositions, word order (SOV→SVO), and verb morphology, and modelled patterns by proficiency. Results show systematic, proficiency‑sensitive shifts: lower‑level writers overproduce morphological deviations (articles, agreement), whereas higher‑level writers increasingly display syntactic misalignment (clause‑level word order, auxiliary sequencing). Error loci reflect the co‑operation of interlingual and intralingual forces, not random lapses. Pedagogically, three high‑yield levers emerge: (i) contrastive NP‑grammar for definiteness, (ii) pattern‑based preposition teaching to replace case/postposition mappings, and (iii) SVO+auxiliary scaffolds for complex clauses. The findings refine accounts of cross‑linguistic influence in an agglutinative‑to‑analytic pairing and offer actionable targets to raise EFL writing accuracy.