Common errors in the use of the definite article the made by the students in grade 11 at yen lac high school

For the reasons above, this thesis is conducted, which focuses on errors in the use of the definite article “the” among the students of English in grade 11 at Yen Lac High School.. 2 Wha

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to take this chance to express my greatest gratitude to Mr Dang Ngoc Nam, my supervisor, for his patience in providing continuous and careful guidance as well as encouragement, indispensable suggestions and advice

I am greatly indebted to the teachers of English at Yen Lac High School, especially Mr Pham Minh Thang for his help and guidance while I was carrying out the survey

I wish to thank all the lecturers at Hanoi Pedagogical University Number 2, especially the lecturers in the Foreign Language Faculty for their dedicated instructions during my years of university work

I am particularly grateful to my close friends for their enthusiasm and kindness is helping me collect valuable reference documents and data for my research

Last but not least, I owe a debt of gratitude to my beloved family, for their whole-hearted encouragement and endless support

ABSTRACT

The definite article “the” is an interesting category of English grammar As a part of speech, it is considered an adjective because it modifies a noun It can play the different functions However, the uses of the definite article “the” referred to in some books have not been deal with in full and sometimes cause confusion to learners of English

As a result, students of English often make errors when they use the definite article “the” Therefore, this research work entails studying the uses of the definite article “the” and conducting a survey for error analysis

Base on the results of the survey, the type of errors and causes have been found Solutions to the problems have been suggested

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

Title:

Common Errors in the Use of the Definite Article “The”

(Graduation paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Bachelor of

Arts in English)

I certify that no part of the above report has been copied from any other person’s work without acknowledgements and that the report is originally written

by me under instructions of my supervisor

Date submitted: May 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

PART ONE INTRODUCTION I- Rationale 1

II- Research presupposition 2

III- Research objectives 3

IV- Research scope 3

V- Research tasks 3

VI- Research methods 4

VII- Significance of the proposed research 4

VIII- Design of the research work 5

PART TWO DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND I.1 Literature review in brief 6

I.2 The articles 7

I.2.1 Definition 7

I.2.2 Classification 8

I.3 The definite article “the” 8

I.3.1 Definition 8

I.3.2 Functions 9

I.3.2.1 As a demonstrative adjective 9

I.3.2.2 As a possessive adjective 9

I.3.2.3 As a quantifier 9

I.3.2.4 As a pre-determiner 10

I.3.3 Uses 10

I.3.3.1 The use of “the” for classifying 10

I.3.3.1.1 The group as a whole: “the” + nationality adjective 10

I.3.3.1.2 The group as a whole: “the” + plural names 11

I.3.3.1.3 Specified group: “the” + collective noun or plural countable 11

I.3.3.2 The use of “the” for specifying 11

I.3.3.2.1 Specifying by means of back- reference 11

I.3.3.2.2 Specifying by means of “the” + noun + “of” 11

I.3.3.2.3 Specifying by means of clauses and phrases 11

I.3.3.2.4 Specifying within a limited context 12

I.3.3.3 The use of “the” in time expressions 12

I.3.3.3.1 The use of “the” in time sequences 12

I.3.3.3.2 The use of “the” with parts of the day 13

I.3.3.3.3 The use of “the” with the seasons 13

I.3.3.3.4 The use of “the” in dates 13

I.3.3.3.5 The use of “the” in fixed time expressions 13

I.3.3.4 The use of “the” with unique items other than place names 13

I.3.3.5 Other references with “the” 14

I.3.4 Differences between “the” and other articles 14

I.3.4.1 Differences between “a/ an” and “the” 14

I.3.4.2 Differences between zero article and “the” 15

CHAPTER TWO: COMMON ERRORS IN THE USE OF ARTICLE “THE” II.1 Survey 16

II.1.1 Purpose of the survey 16

II.1.2 Population of the survey 16

II.1.3 Type of the survey 17

II.1.4 Construction of the survey 17

II.1.5 Preparation of the survey 17

II.1.5.1 Test items 17

II.1.5.2 Arrangement of the test items 18

II.1.6 Administration of the try-out 18

II.1.6.1 Preparation of the try-out 18

II.1.6.2 Try-out 19

II.1.7 Method of data analysis 19

II.1.8 Results of the survey 19

II.2 Common errors and causes 21

II.2.1 Errors in the use of the definite article “the” and the indefinite article “a” 21 II.2.2 Errors in the use of the definite article “the” and the indefinite article “an”.21 II.2.3 Errors in the use of the article “the” and the zero article 22

II.2.4 Errors in the use of the definite article “the” and the quantifiers 22

II.2.5 Errors in the use of the definite article “the” and the pre-determiners 23

II.2.6 Other common errors 23

II.3 Suggested solutions and suggested exercises 24

II.3.1 Suggested solutions 24

II.3.2 Suggested exercises 26

PART THREE CONCLUSION CONCLUSION 27

REFERRENCES 29

APPENDICES 31

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE 31

SUGGESTED EXERCISES 36

ZERO ARTICLE OR “THE” WITH PLACE NAMES 41

PART ONE INTRODUCTION

I RATIONALE

English is an international language and it’s used in many fields such as finance and banking; commerce; politics; etc As a result, people are rushing to acquire this language and in Vietnam the learning and teaching English are now mushrooming However, to acquire this language is not easy at all To some extends, English is easier than other languages like Chinese, French, etc For instance, it is said that English words are much easier to write and memorize than Chinese ones But some aspects in English like its grammar and phonology are complicated In Vietnam, learners are facing some difficulties In terms of language, they find English difficult because beside its general rules, English contains many exceptions like irregular verbs Especially, Vietnamese learners find English intonation is really complicated In term of methodology, the teaching English in Vietnam is not very good and not unified In some parts of the country, the teachers apply the traditional method In other parts, they apply the CLT Furthermore, some teachers especially those who are in the countryside are not qualified, which is sometimes the barrier preventing the progress of learners In short, though Vietnamese learners are trying to study English, the result doesn’t come up to our expectations due to both subjective and objective causes

In fact, for the language itself, many things should be mentioned like the grammar, phonology, semantics, etc Beginners of foreign language always meet difficulties from the outset The definite article “the” is one of the language categories which is proved that English grammar is complex and often causes embarrassment to students Due to its various uses, it is assumed that there are many errors which may be made Therefore, students of English are always faced with many obstacles in using the definite article “the” They do not know how to use the definite article “the” correctly and they often confuse between the indefinite, the zero and the definite article For example:

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

He is a man for a job! None other can do it so well

With the aims of helping students of English to overcome these difficulties

as well as a prospective teacher, I would like to make a contribution to the English teaching in Vietnam For the reasons above, this thesis is conducted, which focuses

on errors in the use of the definite article “the” among the students of English in grade 11 at Yen Lac High School

II RESEARCH PRESUPPOSITION

With regard to the errors quoted above, the correct version could be:

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations

He is the man for the job! None other can do it so well

Some questions are raised:

1) What kinds of errors are made by the students of English in grade 11 at Yen Lac High School in the academic year of 2012/2013?

2) What kinds of errors in the use of the definite article “the” is the most often made by the eleventh-grade students of English at Yen Lac High School in the academic year of 2012/2013?

3) What are the causes of the errors in the use of the definite article “the” made by the students in grade 11 at Yen Lac High School in the academic year of 2012/2013?

4) What are some effective ways that help the students in grade 11 at Yen Lac High School in the academic year of 2012/2013 overcome these difficulties in the use of the definite article “the”?

Based on the questions above, I am eager to learn about the problems and make an error analysis in the definite article “the” so that the major errors in the use of the definite article may be found

III RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The study is aimed at the following goals:

1) To find out the kinds of errors made by the eleventh-grade students of English at Yen Lac High School in the academic year of 2012/2013 in using the definite article "the"

2) To find out the main errors in the use of the definite article "the" most often made by the students in grade 11 at Yen Lac High School in the academic year of 2012/2013

3) To find out the causes of the errors in the use of the definite article "the" made by the students in grade 11 at Yen Lac High School in the academic year of 2012/2013

4) To find the best solutions to the problems throughout the survey The solutions might be concentrated on both theory and practice, in which some teaching techniques are also introduced with the goal of minimizing students’ errors in Yen Lac High School

IV RESEARCH SCOPE

The general research area of this study is grammar

The phenomenon is errors in the use of the definite article "the" made by the students in grade 11 at Yen Lac High School in the academic year of 2012/2013 Others relating to the definite article "the" are also brief mentioned

The population involved in the study is eighty eleventh-grade students of English (11A4, 11A5) at Yen Lac High School

V RESEARCH TASKS

The study involves fulfilling the following tasks:

1) To study the definition and characteristics of the definite article "the" 2) To research into the functions and uses of the definite article "the"

3) To compare and contrast the definite article "the" and the indefinite article

“a, an”

4) To conduct a survey to find out error types and causes On the basis of the findings, possible solutions to the problems are found to minimize the students’ errors

VI RESEARCH METHODS

To achieve the objectives of the study, the following methods have been applied:

1) Collecting documents from books listed in the references

2) Consulting the supervisor, experienced teachers and friends

3) Synthesizing theoretical documents on English grammar

4) Conducting a survey and analyzing the results

VII SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH

Errors in any language teaching and learning, particularly in English as a foreign language, are sometimes predictable and sometimes unpredictable It is, therefore, essential for teachers to have better treatment to anticipate errors After the research, it is hoped that the results will be helpful to provide:

1) Input for learners of English in order to minimize their errors in the use of the definite article "the"

2) Input for teachers of English with information on error types and solutions to the problems so that they can have good methods of teaching the definite article "the"

This study is also beneficial to anyone who is interested in the definite article "the" in English

VIII DESIGN OF THE RESEARCH WORK

The research work has three main parts, namely: Introduction, Development, and Conclusion The part “Development” consists of two chapters Chapter one is entitled “Theoretical Background” It consists of two sections Section one reviews literature in brief The second one deals with things related to the definite article

"the" such as definition, characteristics, functions, and uses of the definite article

"the" Moreover, the differences between the definite article "the" and the indefinite article “a, an”

Chapter two is named “Common Errors in the Use of the Definite Article

"The"” It has three sections Section one is devoted to the survey The second deals with error types and causes The last one is on solutions to the problems and suggested exercises on the definite article "the"

PART TWO DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER ONE THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

I.1 LITERATURE REVIEW IN BRIEF

The definite article has been described by many grammarians like Martin Hewing (1999), Randolph Quirk (1985), Raymond Murphy (2004), Michael Swan (1984), R A Close (1979) and so on They each have their own way to describe the definite article Generally, they focus their attention on the definition, form, pronunciation and their uses

Martin Hewings (1999) in the book Advanced Grammar in Use pays much

attention to the uses of the definite article “the” in relation to the uses of the indefinite articles “a/ an” and the zero article

Randolph Quirk, et.al (1985) in A Comprehensive Grammar of the English

Language gives the specific and generic uses of the definite article “the”

According to him, the specific uses of “the” can be divided into immediate situation, larger situation, anaphoric reference (direct), anaphoric reference (indirect), anaphoric reference, sporadic reference, the logical use of “the”, the use

of “the” with reference to body parts Besides, he also describes the generic use of the definite article “the” with singular noun phrases and plural noun phrases Moreover, he gives names with the definite article “the”

Raymond Murphy (2004) in the book English Grammar in Use only focuses

his attention on the uses of the definite article “the”

In the book Basic English Usage, Michael Swan (1984) gives a quite

understandable picture of the definite article “the” He gives some cases which can use “the” and some cases which can’t use “the” Besides, he also shows the difference between the indefinite articles “a/ an” and the definite article “the” According to him, the difference is that “a/ an” just means “one of a class” but

“the” means “you know exactly which one” In addition, he introduces the pronunciation of “the”

In the book A Reference Grammar for Students of English, R A Close

(1979) concentrates on the uses of the definite article “the” Moreover, he points out one of its chief functions which are to indicate that the speaker is referring to a particular example of a class of thing

In short, much research has been done on the definite article “the” but none

of them point out errors in the use of the definite article “the” In fact, there are far more errors that learners of English often make when they use the definite article

“the” Therefore, it is essential to have a comprehensive study of common errors in the use of the definite article “the”

I.2 THE ARTICLES

I.2.1 Definition

In the book The Use of Articles in English, Andrusiak I V defines: “The

articles belong to a syntactic class of words called determiners Determiners are words we use before a noun to show whether the noun is specific or general,

singular or plural, etc Determiners also include possessives like my, demonstratives like this and quantifiers like all”

According to Richards and Schmidt (2002), determiner is “a word which is used with a noun and which limit the meaning of the noun in some way” (p.152) The most common kind of determiner in English is the article And they say that article is “a word which is used with a noun, and which shows whether the noun refers to something definite or something indefinite.” (p.32)

Moreover, Alexander (1998) defines that “articles are determiners which affect the meaning of the noun, and make it clearer by showing which particular thing we are referring to” (p.55)

I.2.2 Classification

English articles, according to Richards and Schmidt (2002: 32) in the book

Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, are classified into two

types: definite article the and indefinite article a/ an However, Alexander (1998) adds one more type, that is zero article Ø So English articles include a/ an, the and

Ø The two categories of the article are traditionally called indefinite and definite

articles Singular count nouns take a or an as indefinite articles Plural nouns and non- count nouns take as their indefinite article All categories of nouns take the as

the definite marker This system is summarized in the following table:

Table 1: Summary of English articles I.3 THE DEFINITE ARTICLE “THE”

I.3.1 Definition

“The definite article the never varies in form whether it refers to people or

things, singular or plural” (Alexander, 1998: 61)

Can you turn off the light, please? (the light in this room)

I took a taxi to the station (the station in that town)

(Raymond Murphy, 2004: 144)

Michael Swan (1984) in Basic English Usage defines: “The means

something like you know which one I mean It is used with uncountable, singular, plural nouns”

The water (uncountable)

The table (singular countable)

The stars (plural countable)

I.3.2 Functions

I.3.2.1 As a demonstrative adjective

In Grammar (A Student’s guide), James R Hurford says that “the” behaves

very much like the demonstratives such as this, that, these, those”, and “The term

“determiner” is used in linguistic to refer to a large class of words including articles, demonstratives and possessives (but not numerals)… All such determiners modify nouns” Therefore, the definite article can function as the demonstrative adjectives For example:

Those three houses

The three houses

I.3.2.2 As a possessive adjective

According to Longman Dictionary of Grammar and Usage, Kam Chuan Aik mentions that “The words a, an, the are articles As a part of speech, articles are

considered adjectives because they modify nouns”, so the articles have the same function as the adjectives in general, and the definite article functions as possessive adjective in particular For example:

The three houses

Our three houses

I.3.2.3 As a quantifier

In A Reference Grammar for Students of English, R A Close (1979) says

“some and any are most frequently used as quantifiers” They are used with plural and uncountable nouns, usually when we are talking about unknown or uncertain amounts or numbers of things Similarly, the definite article “the” can also combine with singular countable, plural countable and uncountable nouns (which are always singular) For example:

Can you pass the sugar, please?

Can I have some sugar in my coffee, please?

I.3.2.4 As a pre- determiner

Determiners are divided into three main groups: central-determiners (the

articles and other words such as my, this, and some that also function as

pronouns); pre-determiners (all, both, twice, such, etc.);

post-determiners (many, few, several, etc.) Moreover, in A Reference Grammar for

Students of English, R A Close (1979) shows that the predetermines can be used with count nouns, plural like the definite article “the” to modify nouns From that, the definite article “the” can function as the pre-determiner

For example: All books or the books

I.3.3 Uses

According to Alexander (1998: 62), in Longman English Grammar, when using “the” we must always bear in mind two basic facts:

1 The normally has a definite reference (i.e the person or thing referred to is

assumed to be known to the speaker and reader)

2 The can combine with singular countable, plural countable and uncountable

nouns (which are always singular)

These two facts underlie all uses of the

I.3.3.1 The use of “the” for classifying

I.3.3.1.1 The group as a whole: “the” + nationality adjective

Some nationality adjectives, particularly those ending in –ch, -sh and –ese are used after the when we wish to refer to “the group as a whole”:

The British = The British people in general

However, we cannot say “many British” or “those two British”, etc

Plural nationality nouns can be used with the or the zero article to refer to the group as a whole: the Americans or Americans; or with numbers or quantifiers like some and many to refer to individuals: two Americans, some Americans:

The British and the Americans have been allies for a long time

The Japanese admire the traditions of the Chinese

For the use of the + adjective (the young, the old, etc)

I.3.3.1.2 The group as a whole: “the” + plural names

The + plural name can refer to “the group as a whole”

Families: The Price sisters have opened a boutique

“Races”: The Europeans are a long way from political unity

Politics: The Liberals want electoral reform

Titles beginning with the are given to particular groups to emphasize their identity: the Beatles, the Jesuits

I.3.3.1.3 Specified groups: “the” + collective noun or plural countable

We can make general statements about specified groups with the + collective nouns, such as the police, the public

This new increase in fares won’t please the public

Many plural countable nouns can be used in a collective sense in the same way when particular groups are picked out from the rest of the human community:

the bosses, the unions

Getting the unions and the bosses to agree isn’t easy

I.3.3.2 The use of “the” for specifying

When we use the, the listener or reader can already identify what we are referring to, therefore the shows that the noun has been specified by the context/

situation or grammatically

I.3.3.2.1 Specifying by means of back- reference

Something that has been mentioned is referred to again:

Singleton is a quite village near Chichester The village has a population of a

few hundred people

I.3.3.2.2 Specifying by means of “the” + noun + “of”

The topics referred to (e.g freedom, life) are specified:

The freedom of the individual is worth fighting for

The life of Napoleon was very stormy

I.3.3.2.3 Specifying by means of clauses and phrases

We can specify a person, thing, etc grammatically by means of the… + clause of the… + phrase:

The Smith you are looking for no longer lives here

The letters on the shelf are for you

I.3.3.2.4 Specifying within a limited context

The can be used in contexts which are limited enough for the listener or

reader to identify who or what is referred to

Reference can be made to:

- People: who’s at the door? - It’s the postman

- Places: Where’s Jenny? - She’s gone to the butcher’s/She’s at the

supermarket

Most references of this kind refer to a single identifiable place

However, in big towns and cities, it is a matter of linguistic convention to

say He’s gone to the cinema/ the doctor’s, etc without referring to any specific one This convention extends to locations like the country, the mountains, and the

seaside Locations which are “one of a kind” always require the: e.g the earth, the sea, the sky, the sun, the moon, the solar system, the galaxy, the universe

- Things: pass me the salt, please

- Parts of a whole When we know what is being referred to (“the whole”)

we can use “the” to name its parts Assuming the listener or reader knows

that we are talking about: e.g

- A human being, we can refer to the body, the brain, the head, the heart,

the lungs, the mind, the stomach, and the veins

- A room, we can refer to the ceiling, the door, and the floor

- An object, we can refer to the back/ the front, the centre, the inside/ the

outside, the top/ the bottom

- A town, we can refer to the shops, the street

- An appliance, we can refer to the on/ off switch

I.3.3.3 The use of “the” in time expressions

I.3.3.3.1 The use of “the” in time sequences

Ex: the beginning The middle, the end; the first/last; the next; the following

day; the present, the past, the future:

In the past, people had fewer expectations

I.3.3.3.2 The use of “the” with parts of the day

Ex: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, etc:

We spent the day at home In the evening, we went out

Note that though many time references require the, many do not:

Ex: next week, on Tuesday, last year

I.3.3.3.3 The use of “the” with the seasons

(The) spring/summer/autumn/winter “The” is optional:

We get a good crop of apples in (the) autumn

I.3.3.3.4 The use of “the” in dates

Ordinal numbers usually require the when they are spoken, but not when

they are written

Compare:

I’ll see you on May 24 th (spoken as May the 24th)

(Ex: on a letter): 24(th) May (spoken as the 24th of May)

I.3.3.3.5 The use of “the” in fixed time expressions

All the while, at the moment, for the time being, in the end, etc.:

I’m afraid Mr Jay can’t speak to you at the moment

I.3.3.4 The use of “the” with unique items other than place names

We often use the with “unique items” (i.e where there is only one of a kind)

A few examples:

Institutions and organizations: the Boy Scouts, the United Nations

Compare items with zero: Congress, Parliament

Historical events, etc.: the French Revolution, the Victorian age

Ships: the Canberra, the Discovery, the Titanic

Documents and official titles: the Great Charter, the Queen

Political parties: the Conservative Party, the Labor Party

Public bodies: the Army, the Government, the Police

The press (The is part of the title): The Economist, The New Yorker, The

Spectator, The Times

Note: the press, the radio, the television

Compare: What’s on (the) television? What’s on TV?

Items with zero: Life, Newsweek, Punch, Time

Titles (books, films, etc.: The is part of the title): The Odyssey, The

Graduate Items with zero: Exiles, Jaws

Beliefs: the angels, the Furies, the gods, the saints

Compare God, Muhammed, etc (proper nouns)

Climate, etc.: the climate, the temperature, the weather

Species: the dinosaurs, the human race, the reptiles

(Compare: Man developed earlier than people think.)

I.3.3.5 Other references with “the”

Examples of items with the:

- With superlatives: It’s the worst play I’ve ever seen

- With musical instruments: Tom plays the piano/the flute/the violin

The is often omitted in references to jazz and rock:

This is a 1979 recording with Ellison on bass guitar

- Fixed phrases with the…the: the sooner the better

- Fixed expressions: do the shopping, make the beds

I.3.4 Differences between “the” and other articles

I.3.4.1 Differences between “a/an” and “the”

According to Michael Swan in the book Basic English Usage, the differences between a/an and the are very simple:

A/an just means “one of a class”

The means “you know exactly which one”

Compare:

A doctor must like people (= any doctor, any one of that profession)

My brother’s a doctor (= one of that profession)

I’m going to see the doctor (= you know which one: my doctor)

I live in a small flat at the top of an old house near the town hall

(a small flat: there might be two or three at the top of the house- it could be

any one of these

an old house: there are lots near the town hall- it could be any one

the top: we know which top: it’s the top of the house where the person lives-

a house only has one top

the town hall: we know exactly which town hall is meant: there’s only one in

the town.)

I.3.4.2 Differences between zero article and “the”

According to Alexander (1998), in Longman English Grammar, “the” can be

used in front of a singular countable, a plural countable and an uncountable noun; and we often use the zero article in front of a plural countable and an uncountable noun For example:

The hat (not hat)

The hats – hats

The water - water

Moreover, in Basic English Usage, Michael Swan shows that we do not use

“the” with uncountable or plural nouns to talk about things in general In these cases, the zero article is used in stead of For example:

Books are expensive (Not The books are expensive We are talking about

books in general – all books.)

Another example:

Life is hard (Not The life is hard This means all life.)

CHAPTER TWO: COMMON ERRORS IN THE USE OF THE DEFINITE

ARTCLE “THE”

This chapter presents the findings of the practical research with the students

of English in grade 11 at Yen Lac High School It falls into three sections Section II.1 deals with the survey questionnaire, which was designed to map out some common errors made by the eleventh-grade students at Yen Lac High School Section II.2 presents commons errors and causes Sections II.3 provide students and teachers with some suggested solutions to minimize the errors in the use of the definite article "the"

II.1 Survey

As it was mentioned in chapter one, the study not only helps students of English have a deep insight into the definite article "the" but also finds out errors in the use of the definite article "the" made by the students in grade 11 at Yen Lac High School Due to the framework of a thesis, to map out all the errors made by the students at all educational levels is impossible Therefore, this thesis only focuses on common errors in the use of the definite article "the" made by the eleventh-grade students at Yen Lac High School To find out the errors made by those students, a survey questionnaire was conducted

II.1.1 Purpose of the survey

The overall objectives of the survey questionnaire are to test students’ understanding of the definite article "the" and find out common errors in the use of the definite article "the" made by the eleventh-grade students at Yen Lac High School in the school year of 2012/2013

II.1.2 Population of the survey

The number of students participating in the survey questionnaire is eighty in grade eleven at Yen Lac High School They have to learn English as a compulsory subject Most of them have been learning English for five years Some have learnt English for seven or eight years Therefore, the expected English level among them

is intermediate Naturally, they have been taught some of the definite article "the"

uses Some of them are really good at grammar but some of them are bad at grammar in general and the definite article "the" in particular

II.1.3 Type of the survey

To collect data, a completion test was used It involves such activities as choosing the correct answers, filling in the blanks, and correcting the sentences where necessary

II.1.4 Construction of the survey

The material in use in the test was taken from grammar books concerned with the definite article "the" The survey is divided into two parts Part A, which consists of five sentences, is designed to get general information about informants and their English competence Part B is conducted to find out how much the students have known and mastered the definite article "the" This part has three exercises

1) Exercise 1: Insert “a”, “an”, “the” where necessary

This exercise consists of ten items

2) Exercise 2: Circle the best answer A, B, C, D to complete each sentence There are twenty items in this exercise

3) Exercise 3: Read these sentences carefully Some are correct, but some need “the” (sometimes more than once) Correct the sentences where necessary

There are ten items in this exercise

II.1.5 Preparation of the survey

II.1.5.1 Test items

There are many possible errors in the use of the definite article "the" that a survey cannot find out Thus, it is necessary to predict possible errors and include them in the survey In this survey, possible errors were classified into the following categories

1) Errors in the use of the definite article "the" and the indefinite article “a” 2) Errors in the use of the definite article "the" and the indefinite article “an” 3) Errors in the use of the definite article "the" and the zero article

4) Errors in the use of the definite article "the" and the quantifiers

5) Errors in the use of the definite article "the" and the pre-determiners

6) Other common errors

II.1.5.2 Arrangement of the survey

After being classified, the test items were arranged into the following numbers:

1 Test on the use of the definite article "the", numbers 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 32, 34,

37, 38, 40

2 Test on the use of the indefinite article "a", numbers 2, 4, 5, 6

3 Test on the use of the indefinite article "an", numbers 1, 3, 6, 10

4 Test on the use of the zero article, numbers 8, 13, 16, 31, 33, 35, 36, 39

5 Test on the use of the quantifiers, numbers 14, 17, 19, 23, 24

6 Test on the use of the pre-determiners, numbers 11, 20, 25, 26, 29

II.1.6 Administration of the try-out

II.1.6.1 Preparation of the try-out

The teachers in charge of the two classes, the students of which were intended to do the survey questionnaire, were asked for permission before the try-out was carried out

II.1.6.2 Try-out

The try-out was conducted on April, 25st, 2013 The students from the two classes were gathered in a room and asked to do the questionnaire as well as possible in compliance with their own ability They were instructed carefully before answering the questionnaire Importantly, they were reminded that the result

of the questionnaire was to serve the research and it had no influence on their study results Hence, they made their real effort to do the questionnaire without copying from the others The allocated time for the forty questions was forty five minutes

II.1.7 Method of data analysis

The data was analyzed in five steps In the first step, the students’ assessment about their English level and their knowledge were analyzed The errors in the use of the definite article "the" were found out in step two In the next step, the average percentage of errors at each level was calculated Then, the error