Error Analysis of the Written English Essays of Pakistani Undergraduate Students: A Case Study docx

Error Analysis of the Written English Essays of Pakistani Undergraduate Students: A Case Study Summaira Sarfraz, Assistant Professor, Email sumaira.sarfraz@nu.edu.pk Department of Scien

Error Analysis of the Written English Essays of Pakistani

Undergraduate Students: A Case Study

Summaira Sarfraz, Assistant Professor, Email sumaira.sarfraz@nu.edu.pk Department of Sciences and Humanities FAST-National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences Lahore Campus, Pakistan

Abstract

The study aims to examine the errors in a

corpus of 50 English essays written by 50

participants (undergraduate Pakistani

students) These participants are non native

speakers of English language and hail from

Intermediate background with weak English

writing skills The instrument used for the

study is students‟ written essays in English

language I followed Rod Ellis‟s (1994)

procedural analysis of errors; collection of

sample of learner language, identification of

errors, description of errors, explanation of

errors, and evaluation of errors in analyzing

50 English essays The occurrences of two

types of errors; Interlanguage errors and

mother tongue (MT) interference errors have

been compared and the results show that the

percentage of the occurrences of

Interlanguage errors is higher than those of

errors resulting from the interference of

mother tongue (MT) The study has

provided an insight into language learning

problems which occur when L2 learners

internalize the rules of target language (TL)

in its production at a particular point resulting into errors in an unknown and a more natural way These errors serve as a useful guide for English teachers to design

an effective curriculum for teaching and learning of English as a second language

Keywords: Non-native English speakers‟

essays, Rod Ellis‟s procedural analysis of errors, inter-language, target language, mother tongue, learning and teaching curriculum

1 Introduction

There is no known research conducted on the error analysis of English writing of Pakistani undergraduate students This area holds significant importance to English language teachers for providing students‟ learning feedback along with the learning complexities that manifest the developmental process of L2 Therefore, the study examines the common errors that students commit in their English writing

Writing is a highly complex task and writing

in second language makes the task further

complicated as it requires sufficient

command over the second language to fulfill

all the formalities; composing, developing

logical ideas, which are essential for a

written text to be comprehensible While

writing, a writer engages into the cognitive

process of formulating ideas in MT and then

translating them into TL

The current curriculum of English courses

being taught at Pakistani schools and

colleges are inadequate to equip students

with the proficiency to write

comprehensible, error free English language

texts Students writing in a second language

are also faced with challenges related to

second language acquisition such as

language proficiency in TL and competence

which underlies the ability to write in the

L2

The English text books which are followed

at our schools and colleges are mostly

literature based and lack activities which can

develop the linguistic competence of L2

learners Since occurring of errors is a

natural phenomenon which can occur in

even L1 production, but it is more easily

corrected by L1 user as he/she can quickly

identify it as an error and knows its correction Unlike L1 situation of error correction, L2 learner needs an effective feedback about his/her errors along with the appropriate remedial process to correct the errors and monitor the recurring process as a conscious process to minimize errors

English carries the status of L2 in our schools and colleges Despite having spent 14-16 years in these education institutions, the level of English language proficiency of our students is far from satisfactory The teaching emphasis of English courses in these institutions is more on imparting literature based knowledge, and that also of

a literature of L2, rather developing four basic skills namely listening, speaking, reading and writing, therefore, the standard

of English among Pakistani students of these institutions is on the decline

The students being weak in English, especially in their writing skills, commit multiple errors as they have been inadequately exposed to learning of L2 Committing errors is a reflection of a cognitive activity of a learner and tells us a great deal about the internalize process of language production Therefore, error

analysis has given a positive dimension to

examine errors, as

“all language learning is based on continual

exposure, hypothesizing and, even with the

correct hypothesis, testing and reinforcing

the ideas behind them” (Bartholomae, 1980:

97)[8]

2 Literature Review

Error Analysis(EA) is one of the most

influential theories of second language

acquisition (SLA) which replaced the

Contrastive Analysis(CA) theory, whose

major concern was “the comparison of two

or more languages or subsystems of

languages in order to determine both the

differences and similarities between them”

(Fisiak, 1981, p 1) in 1970 CA regarded the

influence of mother tongue (MT) on all the

levels language; phonological,

morphological, lexical and syntactic, in

second language acquisition Due to the

weaknesses of CA in its pedagogical

implications, EA emerged as a more

effective tool for in the study of second

language acquisition According to James,

EA is “the study of linguistic ignorance, the

investigation of what people do not know

and how they attempt to cope with their

ignorance” (James, 2001, p 62) [14]

The advocates of EA considered it important

to draw a distinction between mistake and error, which are “technically two very different phenomena” (Brown, 1994, p 205) Corder (1967) [7] took notion of Chomsky‟s “competence versus performance” distinction relating errors to failures in competence and mistakes to failures in performance According to this notion a mistake occurs not because of lack

of competence but because of processing limitations which indicates learner‟s inability in utilizing knowledge of TL An error results an infringement of the rules of

TL language and hence experience deviation

in grammaticality of TL Errors arise because of lack of competence Native speaker can recognize and correct mistakes, but l2 learner need the linguistic competency

in TL to identify errors and correct them accordingly

Error analysis focuses on the errors learners make by drawing a comparison between the errors made in (TL) and that TL itself Pit Corder in his article, “The significance of Learner Errors” (1967) [17] has given Error Analysis a new dimension by answering to the question of L1 and L2 acquisition process being the same or not

Corder‟s Proposal:

“The same process is used for L1 and L2

acquisition:

 Humans are born with an innate

predisposition to acquire language

 If we don‟t use the mechanism by

puberty (Lenneberg), we lose the

ability

 If we do use the mechanism for L1

acquisition, it will be available for

L2 acquisition

 Main difference is one of motivation

“I propose therefore as a working

hypothesis that some at least of the

strategies adopted by the learner of a

second language are substantially the

same as those by which a first

language is acquired Such a

proposal does not imply that the

course or sequence of learning is the

same in both cases.” (p.166)

Being exposed to TL, L2 learners get into a

gradual process of trial and error in

achieving the native like command over TL

In this process a learner gets into a language

system which is independent of both MT

and TL Corder (1967) introduced the notion

of Interlanguage (IL) which refers to the

intermediate state of language learning as

having a third language system based on its

own unique grammar; lexicon morphology, syntax and so on According to Interlanguage theory the intermediate learning state is a platform where a learner integrates the new knowledge (TL) systematically with the previous knowledge (MT) and restructure and reorganize the 2

Researchers have been suggesting alternative terms while referring to IL Corder (1971) suggested the notions of

“idiosyncratic dialects” (also see Ellis, 1985,

p 47 [10]; Brown, 1994, pp 203-204; Freeman & Long, 1994, pp 60-61) to determine if the language of a learner is eccentric and “transitional competence” to ascertain the dynamic nature of the developing system of the learners (Selinker, 1972) [24] Considered IL as an adaptive strategy which uses simplification, reduction, overgeneralization, transfer, formulaic language, omissions, substitutions and restructurings Learners follow these procedures which Corder (1967) called the learner‟s “built-in syllabus” (i.e the interlanguage continuum) as they move from their MT to TL to achieve the required level of proficiency in TL Nemser (1971) [19] gave the notion of “approximative system”, through which learner moves in the acquisition of TL

In 1972, Selinker (in Richards, 1974, p 37)

[24] put forward the following five sources

Researchers have been attaching a great

importance to the social and cognitive

factors in the studies of sources of errors

Investigating social factors provide evidence

as to why some learners have better writing

ability than the others and vise versa This

puts emphasis on the motivational aspect on

language learning The goals, attitude and

motivation can why some learners prefer

practice in their oral skills more than

developing writing skills

“Gardner‟s (1985) [11] socio-educational

model is designed to account for the role of

social factors in language acquisition It

interrelates four aspects of L2 learning: the

social and cultural milieu (which determines

beliefs about language and culture), individual learner differences (related to motivation and language aptitude), the setting (formal and/or informal learning contexts), and learning outcomes.” (Myles, 2002) The model emphasized that the motivational factors “probably do not make much difference on their own, but they can create a more positive context in which language learning is likely to flourish" (Bialystok & Hakuta, 1994, p 140)

Information processing, in language acquisition, is essentially a cognitive activity Perceiving, input of new information, formulating, reorganizing, all become a part of information processing One of the important cognitive factors in second language acquisition is language transfer

Myles in her article “Second Language Writing and Research: The Writing Process and Error Analysis in Student Texts” gave the following views of different researchers

on the Language Transfer:

“Transfer is defined as the influence resulting from similarities and differences between the target language and any other language that has been previously acquired (Odlin, 1989)

“The study of transfer involves the study of

errors (negative transfer), facilitation

(positive transfer), avoidance of target

language forms, and their over-use (Ellis,

1994).”

“Behaviorist accounts claim that transfer is

the cause of errors, whereas from a cognitive

perspective, transfer is seen as a resource

that the learner actively draws upon in

interlanguage development (Selinker,

1972).” [3]

“In other words, "the L1 can have a direct

effect on interlanguage development by

influencing the hypotheses that learners

construct" (Ellis, 1994, p 342)

“According to McLaughlin, transfer errors

can occur because:

[L]earners lack the necessary

information in the second language

or the attentional capacity to activate

the appropriate second-language

routine But such an account says

little about why certain linguistic

forms transfer and others do not

(1988, p 50).”

Efforts are being made by non native

English language teachers to study the

patterns in the writing errors of non native

speakers of English language to investigate

the learning problems so to design an

effective teaching material Darus and Subramaniam (2009) in “Error Analysis of the Written English Essays of Secondary School Students in Malaysia: A Case Study,” made an attempt to “identify, describe, categorize, and diagnose the errors

in English essay writing of the Arabic speaking Brevet students,” and concluded that “only one-third of the second language learner‟s errors can be attributed to NL language transfer, this is what this study came up with Most of the errors are caused

by an over application of L2 We do need to incite our students to speak English at home and with their friends in order to reduce the number of mistakes due to Negative L1 transfer, but we also need to try to teach more effectively the rules and conventions

of writing.”

3 Methodology

The procedural analysis of Ellis (1994) of Error Analysis is followed in the study The procedure has the following steps:

1 Collection of sample of learner language: Written sample essays

2 Identification of errors: Actual

3 Description of errors

4 Evaluation of errors

3.1 Participants

The participants of the study are the 50

undergraduate students of FAST National

University They are registered in the

English Writing Composition course which

is the second semester course of their

Computer Science degree program They

have taken the Basic English language

course in their first semester, which has a

seven week of English writing module

All the participants come from the

Intermediate background where English is

taught as a subject course, hence their weak

English language proficiency

3.2 Instrument

The instrument used in the study is essays

written by 50 participants The topic given

in the essays was general but argumentative

in nature The participants were required to

narrow it down to more specific one in order

to develop the argument in 300-350 words

It was a guided activity as the participants

were to follow the proper structure of an

essay; interesting opening, thesis statement,

logically coherent main body and relevant

conclusion The composition and expression

of ideas were expected to be grammatically correct along with correct spellings I checked all the 50 essays and collected the errors for the study

2 Identification of errors: Actual errors

3 Description of errors: Categorization

of errors based on their specific nature

4 Evaluation of errors: Affecting intelligibility of social acceptability

Table1 Error Analysis of 50 Essays (Annexure I)

Identification Description Explanation Evaluation

We people Literal translation We or we as a nation

Exp: Literal translation of the words “hum log” from the Urdu language

Error does not affects intelligibility and social acceptability

Very worse Grammar Worse

Exp: Use of very with worse which itself shows comparative degree

Error does not affects intelligibility and social acceptability

From the starting Word usage From the beginning

Exp: The word beginning will substitute starting

Although both have the same meaning but the art of using the appropriate word is a thing apart

Error does not affects intelligibility and social acceptability

4 Results

Results show that 61 out of 76 errors which

were collected from the essays, resulted

from learners‟ Interlanguage process and 15

errors were those which resulted from

mother tongue (MT) interference (Table 2)

Therefore, the percentage (Annexure II) of Interlanguage errors is 46.36% and the percentage of errors based on MT interference is 11.4% The results show a significant difference between these two types of error occurrences

Table 2 Comparison between Mother Tongue Interference Errors and Interlanguage Errors

(Annexure II)

Interference Errors

Items Interlanguage Errors

2 Gradually gradually 2 Unsincere

3

4

5

Definately Philosiphy Critaria

5 Discussion

In order to understand the errors committed

by the participants, it is important to first

discuss the errors which resulted from

mother tongue interference first In the

course of L2 production in the essays, the

learners who committed errors of MT

interference seemed to have transferred

some of the L1 structures into L2 but error

occurred when there was no corresponding

structures in the L2 e.g the learner used

“gradually, gradually,” which is a direct translation of a common Urdu phrase

“ahista, ahista,” instead of „slowly and gradually.‟ Since the learner did not find a corresponding counterpart in TL, therefore, he/she transferred inappropriate properties

of L1 into L2 In the case of some of the misspelled words, learners experienced phonological MT influence e.g in the case

of “definately” the L2 learner spelt the

word as spoken in day to day conversation

with influence of [ eI] sound of MT instead

of [I] sound of the underlined phone :

def-i-nite-ly

The Interlanguage errors in the study have

provided evidence of the inner working of

the language learning process, and the

language in use having an intermediate

status between the mother tongue (MT) and

the target language (TL) The application of

the transitional rules has resulted into the

systematic deviation from the TL The

participants‟ previous experience of

exposure to English language was mostly

confined to classroom only where the

English was taught through grammar

translation method The participants were

taught the rules of grammar first and were

provided with insufficient learning

environment to practice those rules The

participants feel a huge gap between the

knowledge of L2 that they have and its

relevant application The errors which show

redundancy e.g “Poor people are becoming

poor and more poor,” and affect

intelligibility indicate lack of vocabulary

and the overgeneralization of rules of TL In

the absence of sufficient practice, the

learners produce the language system which deviates from the system of TL

There are some errors which, although, are errors by all technical definition but still they neither affect the intelligibility nor the social acceptability of an addressee in our culture For example, “we people,” is an error which is very common among L2 learners as it occurs mostly because of MT (Urdu) interference, but the occurrences of such errors are so common in our culture that they tend to be overlooked This tendency of overlooking an error which becomes acceptable due to its ability of being able to convey the intended meaning

in a particular culture, can lead to fossilization Fossilized errors in writing become ingrained and despite correction and remediation they reappear

Among the errors collected from the essays, one unique error has been indentified which will likely to open new areas of research in error analysis of English writing of non native speakers One of the participants wrote “lyfe,” and “fite,” in the essay and later on in the same essay these misspelled words appeared with the correct spellings;

“life,” and “fight.” These days, the reduced spelled words are heavily used in short

message service (SMS) and online chat

This shows the negative influence of theses

technologies especially on L2 learners who

are committing unwanted errors despite

having the right understanding of otherwise

a limited knowledge of rules of TL

Conclusion

The results of the study show that majority

of errors are grammatical resulting from

Interlanguage process Though, the

participants were taught grammatical rules

of TL previously but the lack of practice and

positive feedback hindered the development

of their proficiency in TL Errors projecting

redundancy show the lack of TL lexicon

Some of the errors indicate participants‟

carelessness in the writing which shows lack

of motivation for TL This is a very common

phenomenon that L2 learner often feels

demotivated and develop negative attitude

towards the target language It results from

teachers‟ traditional role of overly correcting

the errors and treating them as an object of

undesirability Another reason for

demoralization is that since acquisition of a

language is a cognitive activity, often L2

learners in our culture feel a psychological

distance between them and the target

culture

In Pakistan, language community of native speakers of English language, people mostly ignore the repeated errors, rather due

non-to lack of linguistic competence, they are sometime unable to identify them as errors This frequently leads to the social acceptance of an error These errors can initiate further research into the error studies about the possibility of fossilization of such errors or at one point of being ceased to be considered as errors at all in the Pakistani English language context

Another area for potential research is to examine the errors caused by the influence

of internet communication and SMS technology and propose mechanism for addressing the issue

Error Analysis can help the English language teachers to identify the problematic areas of language learning by providing a deep insight into learner‟s second language acquisition process By studying the changes that occur in the errors

of L2 learners in their continuous learning process, the teachers can predict the likely errors and can prepare their instructional material accordingly

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