Error Analysis of English Essays written by Students of Southern Punjab


Master's Thesis, 2017

127 Pages, Grade: 1.5


Excerpt


Table of Contents

I INTRODUCTION
1.1 Statement of the Problem
1.2 Significance of the Study
1.3 Delimitations
1.4 Contrastive Analysis
1.5 Objective (s) of the Study
1.6 Research Methodology
1.7 Research Questions
1.8 Structure of Dissertation

II LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Target Language
2.2 Language Interference
2.3 Second Language Acquisition
2.4 Similar Research Works
2.5 Errors in Language
2.6 Theoretical Framework
2.7 Key Terms
2.7.1 Mistake
2.7.2 Error
2.7.3 Error Analysis
2.7.4 Narrative Essay
2.7.5 Descriptive Essay
2.8 The acquisition of articles and determiners: some basis hypotheses
2.8.1 Feature-based Discourse Models
2.8.2 Functional Morphology: Data Errors and Analysis
2.9 Articles: Literature review and theoretical understanding
2.9.1 Article-based theory: 1. Discourse Rule Transfer (DRT)
2.9.2 Article- The second theory: ARC and the Fluctuation Hypothesis

III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design of the Present study
3.2 Research Questions
3.3 Data Collection Procedure
3.4 Data Analysis
3.5 Ethical Considerations

IV ANALYSIS
4.1 Verb Tense
4.2 Word Order
4.3 Subject-Verb Disagreement
4.4 Capitalization
4.5 Spelling
4.6 Articles
4.7 Prepositions
4.8 Sentence Fragment
4.9 Double Negative
4.10 Pronouns

V CONCLUSION AND FINDINGS
5.1 Findings
5.2 Suggestions for future researchers
5.3 Recommendations
5.4 Future Research

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

Abstract

It is a descriptive study based on the analysis of essays written by male and female students in two different schools of Multan, Southern Punjab. In the present research, the researcher has collected data from two different schools i.e. one government and one private. The participants for the present research are the students (boys and girls) of secondary level. The data for the present research has been collected from hundred students in the form of essays on My Favourite Personality and My Autobiography. The researcher has employed Pit Corder’s (1967) model for the analysis of data. The data has been analysed, and the researcher has categorized errors committed by the students into different types i.e. verb tense, subject verb disagreement, inappropriate use of article, wrong use of preposition etc. The data is also represented in the form of pie-chart. Furthermore, the frequency of occurrence of different types of errors is also discussed along with some of the possible causes of errors. The findings of the present research highlight that students of government school commit more errors than that of private. Moreover, the findings also suggest that students commit errors not only due to their mother tongue influence, but because of other reasons which are explained in the analysis section. These findings are valuable for academia to devise policies accordingly.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The completion of this study would have been not possible if not dependent on the steadfast support and encouragement of parents and brothers. They hence paid equal contribution to the study for which I always feel profound gratitude in my heart.

I would like to express here the very thanks to my dissertation supervisor, Dr. Zia Ahmed, who provided me the opportunity to do such a research under his kind supervision, ushered me in to the discipline of linguistics, and instructed me the delicate linguistic methodologies.

I also owe my special thanks to Dr. Akbar Sajid, for sharing his experienced thoughts at the every level of the research and to my colleague Zammad Aslam for his kind cooperation during the research.

DEDICATION

This work is nicely dedicated to my parents;

Mr. Javed Iqbal and

Ms. Shaista Rehana for their encouragement and love.

CHAPTER 1

I INTRODUCTION

It is an undeniable reality that English language, being an international language, poses certain challenges and difficulties in its usage especially by non-native learners. It is also worth-mentioning that English language is one of the most significant languages across the globe. So, a person needs to understand English language in order to be competent in this language. It has a long history behind it and slowly and gradually, it has attained a privileged status in the world. Therefore, now it has almost become a survival kit for an individual to learn English as a foreign language and especially for the third world countries. Keeping in view this present scenario, it would not be an exaggeration to say that proficiency in English language must be acquired to keep pace with the changing world. Therefore, the present research attempts to analyse the errors committed by Pakistani learners in their essays (descriptive and narrative). It is an attempt on one hand to count the frequency of occurrence of the errors committed by the participants in their written essays and on the other to locate the possible causes at work behind this process. But before heading forward it is pertinent to mention a brief historical background of English language in the subcontinent to know through what phases the history of language has been. This brief survey can enable us to know its significance and moreover how to learn it with minimum errors to be proficient in English language which at present enjoys the status of an international language. There is, in fact, a detailed background of English language due to which this language is considered to be an important language in the world.

The progress and expansion of this language in Pakistan has been divided into three parts. The first section of this development took place in the pre-partition era of the subcontinent. This was the period of 1579 – 1834, when the European languages entered the subcontinent by means of trade and business. The languages mostly used at that time were Portuguese, Dutch, French, and, most importantly, English. English language arrived in the region with the help of Stephen (1785) who prepared British merchants to start taking different steps in subcontinent which resulted in the entry of the East India Company into the country and took a major step towards the expansion of business whilst introducing the language to the common people. The people of the subcontinent including the Muslims, Hindus, Christians and all other minorities started learning English language. With the passage of time, soldiers also started learning this language to be able to communicate with each other. Soldiers were trained not only in the weapons. but also in their linguistic skills.

The next phase of the development of English language was the period of 1834 – 1947. The British started giving opportunities to the people of India; they opened ways for entrance and admission in British Indian universities, so that the Indians could learn the language in India or could go to England for their studies. In this way, English was made the official language in India by the Englishmen who were ruling in the subcontinent. However, some people in the subcontinent believed that Muslims were not part of this culture and they wanted a separate state. It was also believed that the Muslim leaders were not in favour of learning English. Therefore, they did their best to keep Muslims away from learning English language. According to them, learning a language means acquiring its culture. This is how politics was done in the name of religion basing on language differences.

The third period of the development of the English language started when Pakistan came into being and it was accepted as a separate nation and sovereign state by other countries. The English language has a lot of significance across the world. It is a valid point that a lot of knowledge about different fields in this world has been established in this language. In order to understand the information and to cope up with the ever-changing trends, it is necessary to comprehend this global language. It might have been assumed that it has links with the rest of the languages of the Europe, the capability to define a great variety of the concepts and ideas along with the enhancement of opinions that allow communication in our contemporary progress.

The present research is not just for the theoretical application, but it can also be used for practical application. Academic application is that the result of this research is intended to be one consideration that how the different students from different schools commit grammatical errors in their English writing. The practical approach of the research is that the teachers of the students will help improve the techniques of writing skills and the quality of the students’ skills in improving the grammatical errors. The research can be used by the other teachers to improve the process of English writing and also the competency of the learners. The research can help a researcher go through the problems that students face while writing. This can encourage the students and motivate them to learn and write composition in English language. It is a very good chance for the students to learn and open their mind towards foreign language.

Pakistan is a developing country, and the comparative standard of writing English comes from the developed countries; consequently, for the growth and evolution in each zone of the world, people need to track the presiding language. Devoid of this rational, an individual might not be able to explore different grammatical variations. Correspondingly, the individual having no expertise in the field of the English language has to face different issues on different points for example, in different school systems, the learners cannot be compared to others; particularly they cannot compete with those who have been studying in the English Medium school or those who have been studying in the private schools. In addition, in a particular environment where English is the priority, it has made people able to excel, and it certainly helps to improve expertise in English Language. The importance of the foreign language does not end here: the actual difficulty jolts when an individual comes in practical field and tries to find a job.

In this contemporary and current period of time, when the electronic media has an extensive influence all across the globe, it is very important to make sure that the understanding of this language occurs at every level because English language has now become a way of communication among different individuals at different levels, and those who are deficient in linguistic skills of English cannot get awareness regarding the widespread and universal knowledge of the language. As it is understandable and clear that most studies are carried out and reported in this language, it is worthwhile studying. The modern world is developing very fast and is entering into a period of technical and systematic development along with different scientific inventions. In this modern era, it is worth-mentioning and worth-praising that English language, consequently, is an indispensable requirement for people. English has demonstrated the aforementioned, as a powerful and strong means of communication of most of the people of the world. It is said to be the source of an intellectual change. On the other hand, English language has a lot of influence on the people of Pakistan since the creation of this country. Obviously the importance and significance of this language in our life cannot be denied. Above all these years, English language has turned out to be one of the basic assets of this modern and technological world. The English language is one of the most significant tools to discuss different things related to different contexts. With the help of this language, others’ perceptions can be learned and understood in relation to different things. People can observe and evaluate, for example, the experiences of foreign people in contradiction to our experiences and can discard the indefensible so as to admit the reasonable. However, our experiences and concepts related to foreign language can be correspondingly criticized amongst worldwide spectators and readers. A lot of help from this language can be taken to endorse our worldwide view and religious heritage all the way through the world. Certainly, some other languages are important too, but not for the same reasons for which English is vital and significant. Derrida (1983) says, when we speak of English language we usually mean a particular bound and covered unity which makes this language universal in its own way. Learning English is imperative because it is, perhaps, the lone dialect that actually associates the entire world together. If there were not any English language, the entire world might not be as unified as it is in the present day. Other languages possibly would be essential for their native values and literature.

As a result, when learners want to increase their mental horizon about English language, they need to read books and learn this language. The eventual purpose of teaching English language in Pakistan is to facilitate students learning process and make them able to interconnect with speakers of English both verbally as well as in the written English language. English language is not an exception. It consists of four skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing. Brown (2000) describes that in order to learn English language, students have to be wide-open towards all of the four elementary abilities. When different scholars or learners make an attempt to learn writing which is a very important skill of English language, most of the times they will face many problems which create a lot of grammatical deviations in their written structures. In reality, writing is the ability in which learners create and make verdicts that are put in a specific instruction in addition to being connected together by different strategies. But then again, writing and writing essays are the utmost problematic, exhausting, and demanding activity. Raimes (1983) described that the skill of writing is one in which learners are prone to commit errors plus it is difficult and time consuming for the students and their learning process for these reasons. Leadingly, it strengthens the grammatical arrangements and configurations, the idioms, as well as the vocabulary of the students. Subsequently, when the learners write, they correspondingly get an opportunity to be daring and exploratory with the dialect or the language. Moving on, when the learners write, they unconsciously and unknowingly engage themselves in innovative linguistic environments, which include the continuous use of different senses (particularly the eyes, hands and also the brain that is an exceptional mode to strengthen the learning of a specific language). There is also another explanation which states that errors are important in three diverse ways: First, learners convey to the teachers when they carry out a logical examination considering the direction of their goals and objectives, so in this way teachers are able to know if the learner has advanced and what has been left behind for him to be experienced and learnt. Additionally, they provide investigators with indications of how writing skills can be improved. Lastly, what are the methods through which teacher can engage students in order to learn writing skills. As a discussion, there is a technique of analysing the theories regarding the nature of the dialect or the language students experience and learn. Error analysis (EA) comes to be a favoured tool of reviewing the foreign or the second language. It is simply understood as the best kind of technique that lays an emphasis on the learners' errors and how these errors can be categorized and corrected.

Corder is considered to be one of the most significant researchers in the field of error analysis. Error Analysis deals with different types of errors that students commit while writing different items in English language. Corder has explained that the error analysis consists of two substances: One theoretical as well as practical. The theoretical substance is to comprehend and recognize in what way a student absorbs when he learns the foreign language. The practical substance enables the student to acquire the language more competently by making use of understanding the information of the language. The examination and analysis of mistakes or errors might help in two determinations: problem-solving activities (to resolve the problematic issue) and predictive (to create strategies to resolve a problematic issue). In sum, the scholar states that it is problem-solving for the reason that it might give us the student's hold of a linguistic skill at any particular point in the course of the learning development. It is as well predictive for the reason that it might explain to the instructor how to adjust the learning resources to encounter and address the learners' difficulties and issues.

Sercombe (2000) laid an emphasis on the matter that error analysis has been studied for three main reasons: leadingly, it be used in discovering out the scale and rank of linguistic skill that the beginner has accomplished. Furthermore, it might be used in gaining knowledge and information regarding the common and general issues in learning the skills of a language, and in the last, it might be applied when discovering out how people study a linguistic skill and learn it. Candling (2001) deliberated and reflected about error analysis as the observing as well as the examination of a student’s language. He also reflected that students of foreign or second languages are liable to make mistakes and commit errors that are quite significant for the development of the procedures of language learning of foreign background. Olasehinde (2002) clarified that beginners or students cannot avoid committing errors, since they are inevitable as well as essential in the procedure of education. Mitchell and Myles (2004) exposed and indicated that the mistakes and errors made when learning will disclose an emerging arrangement of the learner’s foreign or second language.

Error analysis is one of the domains of Applied Linguistics which investigates causes and remedies of the errors committed by the learners. It is a kind of linguistic analysis that is related to the errors that a learner makes. Corder (1997) is considered to be one of the main figures in the field of error analysis. He describes the significance of the errors that learners make at three different levels. Firstly, errors help teachers analyze the progress of students and assess what type of errors they make and how to identify them. Secondly, they provide researchers with proof and confirmation of the procedures through which a language is learned and acquired, what strategies and processes learners are using during their language acquisition. Thirdly, they are significant to students, since through these errors students are able to recognize their weaknesses in writing skills. Therefore, teachers can use the analysis and research to find out ways to check the errors and find solutions to the problems that are identified. This quantitative research and study tries to examine the English prepositional and grammatical errors exhibited in the written specimen of secondary school students of Pakistan while learning English as their second language.

A mistake refers to a performance error that is either a random guess or a “slip” in that it is a failure to use the known system correctly. Mistake s are what researchers have referred as ‘performance errors’. In making a mistake, learner knows the system but fails to use it. An error is the noticeable deviation from the adult grammar of native speaker, reflects the competence of the learner. Anerroris a deviation from accepted rules of a language made by a learner of a second language. Such errors result from the learner's lack of knowledge of correct rules of the target language.

Ferris (2002) revealed and explained the process of investigation that the error analysis and remedial methods might support and help in effectual learning as well as in the teaching of English as a foreign or second language, which is a slow and steady procedure, in the course of which errors and blunders that might be anticipated and predicted in all stages of language learning. It is also pointed out by the writer that errors will not disappear or vanish merely when they are found out and revealed to the student, conflicting to what certain linguistic skill students as well as tutors have faith in. In reality, he claimed that errors or mistakes are a usual procedure of education. Consequently, mistakes should be observed constructively. Vahdatinejad (2008) talked about the error analysis that it is productive in what a student desires to be skilled in for the reason that it makes available the essential data and knowledge regarding what is deficient and absent in the language capability. He ended up with a creation of difference amid the errors besides lapses. In reality, the writer saw that the lapses are being created by natural narrators and speakers, besides might be altered and fixed by their own. In the opinion of the specified assessment of the errors plus its error analysis, the investigator makes use of it to look out for the written linguistic and dialect errors of students of different schools and colleges in the Southern Punjab of Pakistan. The investigators are looking up to provide the clarifications to evade these errors and mistakes for the reason that it is actually significant for the instructors to give a demonstration to their students that how to cope up with different types of errors and in what ways to remove these errors by examining the inaccuracies they conduct in their essays.

1.1 Statement of the Problem

Learners of English language of Pakistan commit different grammatical errors while writing or speaking English language, and these errors create a lot of problems for these learners in order to understand this language completely. There are two types of schools in Pakistan; government and private. The students of both the schools study English, but the difference is that the language skills gained by the students are dissimilar and the students make different type of errors that are directly related to the base of their skills. It is usually perceived that the students learning in private schools do less errors and mistakes in the use of this language than the ones that are studying in the government schools.

English is taught as second language in Pakistan, and to write this language is a difficult task for the students of secondary classes. The problem is that students of Pakistan make different grammatical errors while writing or speaking the language. The purpose of this study is to assess and examine the writing skills of the students of same age but different teaching background. English has been the second highest language being taught in the schools, colleges and universities. The first one is Urdu, which is the national language of Pakistan. To deal on national and international forums, individuals must not only know how to speak or understand English, but they must be equally able to write. The people of Pakistan have always found this language difficult to understand and to write as well. Students of Pakistan enrolled in the lower or high schools are not capable and skilful enough to have a hold on the language. The problem begins when students start committing errors and remain unable to develop error free use of language in their writing skills. These problems and difficulties keep on increasing with the passage of time because most of the students are unable to identify their errors in their writing skills. Particularly in Pakistan, there are two kinds of school systems: government and private schools and the same case occurs with colleges and universities. The government schools have been teaching English and Urdu as a medium for education, and this causes conflict among students. This has been the major concern among the school systems and the education that they have been providing to the students. Both types of the systems operating in the society have been the source of learning and the difference comes out in the way and the language skills students gain. The students of different set ups conduct different types of errors and mistakes depending on their background.

The research has been conducted to evaluate and to inspect foreign language written abilities of the students of southern Punjab. Students of the same age but different schools, background or systems have been investigated. This research has been conducted as an attempt to explore the grammatical errors committed by male and female students in their written essays of two different schools in Southern Punjab of Pakistan. Correspondingly, this work is an effort to offer reasonable clarifications to the bases of these mistakes and errors. The grammatical errors are categorized into different types such as those of subject verb disagreement, wrong use of pronoun, word arrangement, function words, inappropriate use of articles along with verb tense errors. The investigator contemplates that this work increases its position of existing works, for the reason that a lot of the studies pour the light on a particular area of mistakes; one took a look at the mistakes of grammars, others, at the mistakes of grammar, and another one pondered on the mistakes of morphology. Quite the reverse, this research has been made to investigate all the sections of writing that contain errors; including particularly grammar, composition, errors of capitalization, mistakes of word arrangement as well as errors of different categories. In addition, it is the principal source of learning about different types of errors committed by the students of the tenth grade pupils in the two different schools of Multan region.

1.2 Significance of the Study

The present research is significant as it intends to investigate the errors that have both analytic and predictive aspects. It is analytic because it discloses the learners’ state of the language at a specific level. It is predictive because it can tell lesson organizers to restructure foreign language learning resources in the beam of the learners’ present problems. There are many problems, but perhaps the most important one is the failure of native language speakers who cannot judge the errors in the second language.

This study examines the grammatical errors of Pakistani students from two different types of schools in Multan region. The research is based on students as participants who are studying in secondary classes of the schools; both private and government schools. The students have the same type of knowledge and information and the same number of years of education in schools. The researcher has analyzed the essays written by students of two different schools of Multan region. The grammatical errors are identified and then categorized into different types along with their frequency of occurrence. The researcher has also discussed some of the possible causes due to which students commit different types of errors.

This descriptive study focuses on the errors committed by students of 10th class in the region of Multan (Southern Punjab of Pakistan). The present research has been carried out in a scholarly way, so this work could be used for further research and studies as well. The academic implementation will be a consequence of this work, which has considered how different students, their different schools as well as their backgrounds can lead them to conduct errors they can never observe. The practical implementation of the research will lead to the outcome that the teachers and the educators will know what type of students are deficient in writing skills and how they can help them to improve and amend the quality of the instruction given in the schools. The instructors are able to play a vital role that can help students improve their skills and reduce the chances of grammatical errors. The problematic situations will be reduced, and this could help the researcher to know what kind of mistakes a student does without knowing it well. It would be a good opportunity for the students to study and develop their mind in the direction of the foreign language.

1.3 Delimitations

Delimitations are the unexpected and unanticipated aspects that possibly have an impact on the outcomes as well as the consequences of the research. The researcher or the investigator might not have thought about these factors before conducting the research but they are the facts that can be overcome by including details in the work. Despite the fact that going through the research, the investigator may have come across some of those factors that were outside the control. The present study is delimited to the level of two schools i.e. one private and one Government school. A test in the form of essay writing on the following topics has been held, My Autobiography and My Favorite Personality. The tests were conducted among the fifty students of tenth class from each institution. Furthermore, the tests were marked keeping in mind the following types of errors: sentence structure, use of tenses, sentence fragments, capitalization, wrong use of article and pronoun and others. The researcher also discusses some of the possible causes of these errors. While conducting the research work and various studies, the research can possibly be challenging because of the limitations as well as the difficulties that can occur in the research. The work that has been possibly going in a particular direction must not lead astray, so the limitations as well as the delimitations have been discussed and observed to know what possible ways are that can reduce the effect on the study and its conclusion. The significance of these must be considered, so no negative impact can be placed on the work that has been conducted with a purpose.

There has been increased individuality being produced by the attempt of individuals when learning a language. The error analysis is the procedure to analyse the occurrence, nature, reasons of errors and how to overcome these errors. The extent and scope of the error examination in order to find out the concept of the errors is wide. The researcher has laid an emphasis on the errors and their analysis in the circumstance of the first language and the foreign language. There has been an attempt to contextualize the error examination in the development of improvement viewing the concepts of the student’s advancement. Regarding the study of the human error conducting in the realm of writing skills of English language, error analysis is the most significant technique in order to analyse different types of errors committed by students in their writings. It can be compared with all the types of languages, such as the foreign language as well as the native language.

The error analysis is the attainment of knowledge and information of uncertainty. No work, however carefully completed, can be completely free of the mistakes and errors. In the technical terms, errors are unavoidable as they are not mistakenly done and these errors are also different from mistakes. The maximum a person can do is to make it certain that these errors should be as minute as possibly imaginable.

1.4 Contrastive Analysis

A contrastive analysis of the language is made up of an arrangement of statements regarding the dissimilarities in addition to the similarities among two languages. There has always been a fragment of contrastive analysis in foreign language learning. A number of years (thirty to forty years in the past) it was understood that foreign or second language schooling comprised mainly, if not entirely, in learning of the difference among First Language and Second Language. In contemporary times, contrastive analysis is being investigated; in addition to its applicability to the linguistic skills, its use in language education is being observed in a diverse enlightenment. All the way through these last decades, a planned and systematized contrastive analysis has been understood as a means of approximating the difficulties in getting the education of a foreign or diverse language. It is at present that contrastive analysis ought to be used to mark clear problems. In other expressions, contrastive analysisought to be used as a share of expressive point in the error analysis.

There have been various significant attempts to organize and plan the methodology of data collection for the analysis; there is an alteration in the middle of the observational as well as experimental research works. The experimental approaches are completed by means of the superseding as they take students of this foreign language apart, in addition to giving them the task to the only determination of examining the grammatical errors that are committed by the learners regarding what the Error Analysis is intensely concerned. The data collected in the form of different types of errors are from the schools; both government as well as private.

1.5 Objective (s) of the Study

The main objective of the study is to analyse the grammatical errors in the writings of the students of 10th grade. The grammatical errors in the written essays are identified along with the categorization of these errors which is the most important purpose of the present research work. These objectives of the study are:

- To identify the written errors in the writings of English conducted by the tenth grade students of the two different schools of Southern Punjab in Pakistan.
- To estimate the major errors as well as the minimum ones.
- To estimate the frequency of occurrence of errors in the essays written by students of 10th class.
- To explain some of the possible causes of grammatical errors in the written essays committed by the tenth grade students of the schools of Southern Punjab in Pakistan.
- To provide ideas and recommendations to the instructors, so they can device such policies which are helpful for the learners to reduce the errors in their writing skills.

1.6 Research Methodology

The present research is descriptive. In this research the researcher focusses on the errors committed by the students of 10th class. The researcher also tries to find out the possible causes behind these errors. Here the researcher has used English essay as a research tool for the study. The students were asked to write essays on two different topics i.e. My Autobiography, and My Favourite Personality. The researcher has looked upon the grammatical errors that were committed by the students taking education in the region of Multan (Southern Punjab of Pakistan). There have been some particular research studies in this region of Punjab to find out what are the common errors committed by students and what cause them to do so. The evaluation of the essays on the two mentioned topics was resultant from the model of the academic scholar. Pit Corder's (1967) technique on the analysis of errors was used to make sure that the data which were collected from two different schools could be analysed to fulfil the objectives of the research. This technique has following steps that helped in the evaluation:

1. The collection of errors in the sample,
2. The identification of errors in the sample,
3. The description and categorization of errors

The frequency order is a perfect method to investigate why students commit errors and what is the frequency of occurrence of errors. The detailed tests in the form of essay writing are conducted to form grammatical judgements in an accurate manner. The frequency of data appears from learners' production. The error analysis can be used/illustrated to form a dimension/aspect associated with frequency, in addition to examining the data by native speakers, which constructs several considerations into how learners' input might appear, or against to the way the learners are evaluated by native speakers.

1.7 Research Questions

The following are the main and sub-questions:

Main question:

- What types of grammatical errors do students commit at the matriculation level?

Sub-question:

- What is the frequency of occurrence of errors?
- What are the possible causes of errors?

Linguistics is regarded as a study which includes sounds, language history, conversational implications, grammar, turn taking and others. There are several approaches, that deal with standard structures as well as generative aspects, which are used by human beings as support. However, the focus is on the immense data which is either acceptable or possible within a specific language and all the rest of the languages. On the contrary, computational linguistics, in specific, which is referred to as corpus linguistics, appears based on frequency as well as data. It is important to understand what is valued, either for available basic applications related to the speech recognition as well as automatic parsing, however imply how the language works. As far as language production and language production related errors are concerned, learners perceive that despite the practice they still commit production errors. Learners may perceive problems associated with morphemes as being native like; however, on the basis of production factors, discourse has an impact as well as on semantic presentations when they operate accurately in the actual world, and are successful in it. There is a second possibility which may be due to the real implementation of the language-related knowledge about the habits of learners, and considerations regarding the real production that the language requires. The frequency of data is a medium to evaluate the variations within the articles as well as determiners used through native learner/writer. In the process of evaluating the writing skills of learners, it is worth-knowing that readers' explorations and investigations may be influenced by constructions in comparison with the standards used in native writing.

1.8 Structure of Dissertation

The present study consists of five chapters. The first chapter “INTRODUCTION” gives the detailed background of English language. It also discusses context of the present study along with the significance, problem statement, objectives and research questions.

In second chapter “LITERATURE REVIEW” work of researchers concerning this area, work of some theorists related to ‘Error Analysis’ and definitions of key terms related to present study are discussed in detail.

In third chapter “RESEARCH METHODOLOGY” the researcher discusses the research design of the current study. Furthermore, the data collection procedure, ethical considerations and Pit Corder’s (1967) model of Error Analysis is also discussed.

The fourth chapter deals with the “ANALYSIS” of the data to highlight different types of errors. In this chapter the researcher has categorized data into different types. This has been done to categorize various types of errors found during data analysis, besides the researcher has also attempted to discuss the possible causes behind the occurrence of mentioned categories of errors. Additionally, this chapter also represents various types of errors with their frequency of occurrence in the form of pie-chart.

The fifth chapter consists of “CONCLUSION AND FINDINGS”. On the basis of analysis in the chapter 4, findings of the present study are discussed in this chapter. The significance of the study has been highlighted. The suggestions for the future researches have also been mentioned. Moreover, how the present research can prove significant for academia has also been mentioned because the findings of the present research are significant for the curriculum wing and policy makers to work on the recommendations of the present research to minimise the frequency of different errors mentioned in the research among the participants i.e. boys and girls of government and private schools.

CHAPTER 2

II LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter gives a brief review of the related literature, work already done and definitions of the key terms to be employed in the research.

Error Analysis commonly abbreviated as EA is one of the most significant and important philosophies and concepts of the foreign or second language acquisition. SLA substituted the Contrastive Analysis abbreviated as CA conception and philosophical theory, whose most important consideration and concern was “the contrast of the two or more than two languages or linguistic skills as well as the subsystems of linguistics in arrangement and sort to regulate and understand both about the alterations as well as correspondences among them” Fisiak, in the year of 1970. The contrastive analysis viewed and observed the influence of mother tongue (MT) or the native language at all the stages of the languages; lexical, morphological, phonological, as well as the syntactic, in getting hold of the second or the foreign language achievement. It is because of shortcomings and flaws of Contrastive Analysis in its educational insinuations, Error Analysis arose as an additional influencing and effective instrument and approach for the study of foreign and second language attainment. Conferring to the work of James (2001), Error Analysis is “the study and learning of the linguistic and language ignorance, the examination and study of what people do not recognize in addition to how they make their effort to come up with the linguistic and language ignorance” (James, 2001, p. 62).

The supporters of the Error Analysis deliberated it as significant and vital to draw a difference among the concepts of mistake as well as error, which are “theoretically the two of the most important and dissimilar occurrences” (Brown, 1994, p.205). Corder (1967) has been engraved in the study when he took idea of Chomsky’s “proficiency as opposed to performance” difference concerning the errors to the let downs and failings in capability as well as errors to failures in presentation. In accordance to this concept, a fault or a mistake happens not because of lack of competency, but for the reason that of processing restrictions which points toward learner’s incapability to make the most use of the knowledge of Target Language. Errors occur because of lack of practice along with the unawareness of certain grammatical rules. Native speakers who are used to of their mother tongue can be aware of mistakes, but then again second language learner wants the language skills and linguistic competency in Target Language to recognize errors as well as correct them for that reason.

The error analysis is the attainment of knowledge and information of uncertainty. No work, however carefully completed, can be completely free of the mistakes and errors. In the technical terms, errors are expectable as they are not mistakenly done and these errors are also different from mistakes. The maximum a person can do is to make it certain that these errors should be as minute as possibly imaginable. The error analysis lays an emphasis on the errors students committed by sketching a contrast among the errors of different types that are made in Target Language. Pit Corder has mentioned it in his article, “The consequence, importance and significance of Learner Errors” (1967) has given a provision to Error Analysis a new measurement by replying to the inquiry of first language and second language acquisition procedure being the similar or not. Corder’s Suggestion is that “the identical procedure is used for first language and second language acquisition”

1. Humans and the individuals are born with a distinctive and in-born tendency to obtain the language and get hold of it.
2. If this instrument is not used till puberty, the capability is dropped.
3. If this mechanism is used as the instrument for first language, getting hold of it and would be accessible for second language attainment.
4. The major variance is one of inspiration

“I suggest for that reason as a functioning assumption that certain at minimum of the policies approved by the apprentice of a second or foreign language are considerably the similar as whom by which a first language and native language is developed. Such a suggestion does not suggest and indicate that the sequence or arrangement of knowledge is the similar and equal in both the circumstances.”

2.1 Target Language

While getting close to the Target Language, the foreign language learners come into a slow and steady procedure of trial as well as error in accomplishing the native like understanding and expertise over Target Language. In this procedure an apprentice and beginner comes into a language or linguistic scheme which is free and liberated from the both of the Mother Language as well as Target Language. Corder (1967) makes known to the concept and idea of Inter-language (abbreviated as IL) that has been referring to the intermediary case of linguistic and verbal learning as devising a third language system that is founded on its particular exclusive syntax and language rules; vocabulary morphology, lexicon, syntax as well as so on. In accordance with the Inter-language philosophy the transitional learning position is a stage where a beginner participates the fresh knowledge of the Target Language methodically with the preceding understanding of the Mother Tongue as well as rearrange and reorder the following language (Corder 1967, p.47).

The investigators of the research have been putting emphasis on substitute expressions despite the fact that mentioning to Inter-Language. Corder (1971) put forward the concepts of “idiosyncratic languages” (furthermore the work of Ellis, 1985, p. 47) to conclude if the language and linguistic skills of a learner is unconventional as well as “transitional capability” to determine the vigorous environment of the emerging scheme of the beginners. (Selinker, 1972) Deliberated that the Inter-Language as an adaptive policy which makes use of the generalization, overgeneralization, transmission, prescribed language, lapses, replacements and rearrangements. Beginners and apprentices track these processes by which Corder (1967) recognized as the beginner’s “integral prospectus” (i.e. the inter-language range) as they transfer and change from their Mother Tongue to Target Language to accomplish the essential level of expertise in Target Language. Nemser (1971) presented the conception of “approximate system”, by means of which beginner changes in the attainment of Target Language. In 1972, Selinker proposes his idea of the attainment of the knowledge (in Richards, 1974, p. 37) putting forward the resulting five causes of errors:

1. Transfer of the Language
2. Transfer of the training
3. Policies of the foreign or second language learning
4. Policies of the foreign or second language communication, in addition to
5. Overgeneralization of Target Language and the linguistic material.

Investigators have been in position to ascribe a great significance to the communal as well as intellectual features in the trainings of causes of the errors. Examining the social factors and aspects deliver indication as to why some of the beginners have improved writing capability other than the learners as well as vice versa. This lays an emphasis on the inspirational feature on the learning of foreign language. The objectives can be like that why particular students prefer practicing more in speaking skills than writing skills. “Gardner’s (1985) has presented as model known as the socio-educational model that has been planned to interpret for the role and responsibility of the social issues that have been influencing in the linguistic and language acquisition. It interconnects the four main aspects of the foreign language learning: the social as well as cultural environment (which defines the views regarding the language plus the culture), distinct learner alterations (associated to inspiration plus the language ability), and the situation (the formal or informal learning settings), in addition to learning results.” (Myles, 2002) The model of Gardner gives emphasis to that the motivational as well as the inspirational influences “almost certainly do not make considerable, on the other hand they can generate an additional constructive framework in which language and the linguistic learning is expected to flourish". Information processing, in the context of the language attainment and verbal acquisition, is fundamentally an intellectual action. Observing, the contribution of the new evidence and knowledge, verbalizing, rearranging, all developed a portion of the processing of information. One of the most significant and important cognitive and intellectual aspects in the foreign or second language acquisition is the transfer of the language.

Myles stated in the article “Foreign Language Writing plus the Investigation: The Writing Procedure as well as Error Analysis in Scholar Texts” provided the resulting opinions of diverse investigators on the Transfer of Language: The language transfer has been explained as the effect consequential from the correspondences as well as the dissimilarities among the target language that is foreign plus any further language that has been formerly learned. “The study of the language transfer consists of the study of errors (negative transfer), simplification (positive transfer), and avoidance of target language procedures, in addition to their overuse (Ellis, 1994).” “Behaviorist interpretations and activists interpret that the transfer of language is the reason of errors, although from an intellectual and reasoning viewpoint, transfer of language is seen as a supply that the beginner of the study enthusiastically draws upon in inter language improvement (Selinker, 1972).” In other words, "the first languages that can have a straight consequence on inter language progress by persuading the suppositions that apprentice’s concept" (Ellis, 1994, p. 342). “Rendering to the work of McLaughlin, transfer of the language errors can take place for the reason that: [L]earners that are lacking the necessary and essential knowledge or information in the second or foreign language or the intentional capability to trigger the suitable second or foreign language culture. On the other hand, such an explanation says diminutive regarding why the definite linguistic skills and language forms transfer in addition to others that do not form it. (1988, p. 50).” The efforts and various attempts are being prepared by non-native English linguistic teachers to learn the outlines in the inscription errors of non-native orators of the English language to examine the learning difficulties consequently to plan an operational and effective education material. Darus and Subramanian states in the work of “Error Analysis of the Written English Papers of Minor School Pupils in Malaysia: A Case Study,” prepared an effort to “recognize, designate, classify, as well as detect the errors in English essay inscription of the Arabic language Brevet scholars,” as well as decided that “simply one-third of the second and foreign language beginner’s errors can be accredited to Native Language and linguistic transfer, this is the way that how this study approached up with. Furthermore, a lot of errors are triggered by an over submission of second language. It is required provoking our scholars to communicate in English at home as well as with their groups in demand to decrease the quantity of mistakes owing to Negative first language transfer; however, it is also required to attempt to demonstrate and teach more efficiently the instructions in addition to conventions of the writing of the linguistics.”

The Error Analysis is the one of the most powerful concepts of the foreign and second language attainment as well as achievement. It is apprehensive that with the error’s analysis conducted by the learners and the beginners of the education by the comparison among the learners developed beliefs with the second as the target language ethnicities in addition to dissipating up the recognized and acknowledged errors (James, 1988). For Crystal in his work, (1999, p 108) the Error Analysis in linguistic teaching as well as knowledge attainment is the work and research study of the unbearable as well as inappropriate forms fashioned by somebody getting hold on the language, in certain the foreign language. According to the work of James (2001, p. 62), Error Analysis mentions that “the lack of information about the different rules of writng skills, the examination of what people do not recognize as well as how they make an effort to cope with their unawareness”. An additional meaning of error examination has been given by the well-known and famous writer Brown (as cited in Ridha, 2012, p. 26). He defined the error analysis as "the development to scrutinize, investigate, and classify the deviances of the rules of the second languages and then to disclose the systems functioned by learner". As recognized in the work of AbiSamara (2003), Error Analysis can be observed as "a type of language analysis that emphases on errors dedicated by the learners". Corder (1967) comprehends and understands the errors as precious evidence for three apprehensive parties: for educators, it provides them evidence on the continuing of the scholars; for investigators, it gives evidence as to how foreign or second language is assimilated or learned; for beginners themselves, it provides them things in order to learn.

In the work of the Brown (2000, p. 224) one can find that that there are two major resources that have been used for the errors, specifically, inter-lingual errors as well as intra-lingual errors. Inter-lingual is the Interfering Errors in the language that are those errors and faults which can be mapped out towards the first language intervention whilst these errors are attributable to destructive Inter-lingual transfer. This word "Inter-lingual’ was first made utilized by the Selinker in1972. He made use of this term to refer to the systematic knowledge of a linguistic that has been sovereign of both the learner's language in addition to the second language (AbiSamra, 2003, p. 5). In accordance with the work of Kavaliauskiene (2009, p. 4), transfer of the errors and faults may take place for the reason that the student does not have the obligatory and the essential information in the foreign and second or also known as the target language or the planned competence to make dynamic the appropriate second language custom. The transfer and the relocation of the errors are of the two types: positive as well as negative. It may demonstrate to be vindicated for the reason that the preparation of the two languages is comparable, this instance is known as 'positive relocation' or 'facilitation', otherwise it may demonstrate unforgivable for the reason that the preparation of both the languages are dissimilar that expression is known as 'negative transfer' or 'interference' (Wilkins, 1972, p. 199). As the intra-lingual faults and errors are recognized, they effect from damaged or imperfect learning of the foreign or second language somewhat other than the language transfer or relocation. (Keshavarz, 2003, p. 62 and Fang and Jiang, 2007, p. 11) Richards (1972) has cited four most important types of Intra-lingual errors, that is to say: (1) over generalization, (2) lack of knowledge of rule restrictions, (3) partial application of rules, and (4) fake concepts imagined. He also found out the six sources of errors: (1) interfering, (2) over simplification, (3) exhibition of errors, (4) indicators of transitional ability, (5) strategies of announcement and incorporation, and (6) teacher-influenced errors or faults.

Stenson (1974) refers to the three major explanations for the errors, specifically, (1) partial acquirement of the planned grammar, (2) demands of the knowledge or teaching state of affairs, and (3) errors due to normal troubles of language demonstration. Conducting the errors is one of the predominantly inevitable matters in this world. Scholars, in the procedure of learning linguistic, the resulting work from the errors which they make by obtaining response to make new tries that fortunately as well as fairly correct their favoured goals. Weireesh (1991) sees the beginners’ errors and faults to be of precise and important result for the reason that conducting errors is an instrument that the learners’ use to absorb their particular skills. Conferring to him, Error Analysis is a valuable help to be familiar with and give information of complications faced by the learners. He stops on to say that Error Analysis formulates as a reliable reply to plan a counteractive teaching method. Candling (2001, p. 69) views that foreign and second language learners’ errors are meaningfully important for the permissive procedures of the getting hold of the Second Language and its achievement.

Olasehinde (2002) presents an argument that it is predictable that learners do make errors and mistakes while learning other languages. He also recommended that errors are inescapable and an essential component of the learning curve. Sercombe (2000) enlightens in his work that Error Analysis describes three objectives. First, it has to discover the stage of language skill and capability that the learner has got hold of. Second, to get hold of the evidence about ordinary problems in language learning and the third one is to perceive out how people learn a language. Vahdatinejad (2008) keeps that error analysis is an instrument that can be used to decide what a learner still wants to be trained. It gives the essential information about what is disappeared in the learner's experienced and efficient skills and teaching. He also creates dissimilarity among errors and mistakes. Conferring to him, lapses and errors are shaped even by the local speakers, and can be improved by themselves. They refer to for the recent alteration, which is anticipated for errors. Mitchell and Myles (as cited in Keshavarz, 2003) privileges that lapses and errors, if considered, could reveal a promising structure of the student's second or foreign language and this system is lively, active and open to various changes and resetting of set parameters. This opinion of fact is backed up by Stark's (2001, p. 19) learning, who also stated that the teachers want to give up and do not consider the students’ errors as absolutely positive and should not look upon them as the learners’ breakdown to clutch the rules and structures but to some degree should see the lapses as well as errors as a process of learning. He checks the view that errors and mistakes are usual and predictable aspects of learning. He makes an addition that the blunders and errors are essential in order of learning.

Some preceding years ago, there has been a big as well as rising amount of texts in addition to literature on error analysis. In an existing study accompanied to examine the errors made by 50 students of Pakistani schools in the Southern Punjab, by both of the Government and Private schools in written essays, he found that the appealing greater part of errors the students committed were the conclusion of learners inter language process and some mistakes and errors lead to mother tongue interposition. Darus and Subramaniam (2009), using Corder's (1967) form of error analysis and study, investigated errors in a quantity of 72 essays written by 72 Malay students. They originated that the mistakes of the learners and errors were of six types like in singular or plural form, word choice, verb tense, preposition, subject-verb agreement and word order. AbiSamra (2003), in his editorial piece of writing entitled "An analysis of errors in Arabic speakers’ English writing", composed and collected various quantitative samples of written work from 10 students in grade 9. He considered and classified the text errors into five categories, namely, grammatical (prepositions, articles, adjectives, etc.); syntactic (coordination, sentence structure, word order, etc.); lexical (word choice); semantic and substance of punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and commas; and discourse errors. The results exposed that one third of the students’ errors were relocated errors from the local language, and the maximum numbers of errors were in the categories of semantics and vocabulary. The other errors (64.1%) were errors of over-implementation of the English language, the maximum numbers of errors being found in matter mainly spelling and grammar.

In adding up, the work of Ridha (2012) examined several of the English writing samples of 80 EFL college students and then categorized the errors according to the following nomenclature: grammatical, lexical or semantic, mechanics, and word order types of errors. The outcomes of the work stated that most of the students' faults as well as errors can be owing to the local language transfer. Above and beyond, she recognized that most of the learners are dependent on their local language in communicating their skills and ideas. She in addition said that even though the assessment procedures presented that the volunteers' essays combined miscellaneous kinds of errors, the linguistic faults and errors and the methodical errors were the most serious and common ones.

The Error Analysis and the investigation has been one of the most significant and inspiring conceptions when attaining or getting hold of the second and foreign language. It has been concerned to the errors and their analysis and evaluation when it is conducted by the learners of the foreign language. It has been compared with the customs and norms of the student’s first language as well as the second foreign language. This comparison will be identified and explained by marking the errors (James, 1988). For Crystal (1999, p. 108) in his proposed work, the Error Analysis in the learning and education of the target language is the study and research of the intolerable and inappropriate forms formed by somebody that has been engaged in learning a language, particularly a second language other than the mother tongue. Conferring to the work of James (2001, p. 62), Error Analysis mentions to “the training and education of the linguistic skills and ignorance, the examination and study of what people do not recognize and understand as well as they try to overcome with their linguistic ignorance”. An additional explanation of the error analysis has been proposed by Brown (as cited in Ridha, 2012, p. 26). In his work, he has described the error analysis as "the procedure to perceive, examine, and categorize the deviations of rules and regulations within the context of the second and foreign languages in addition to at that time disclose the arrangements functioned by the student or learner". As identified and defined by AbiSamara (2003), the Analysis of the Error might be observed as “a kind of linguistic and language analysis which has to focus on the errors and blunders made by the students".

Corder (1967) has been working on the errors and has observed this issue as the valuable knowledge and information for three receivers to whom it may concern the most: for the educators or teachers, it indicates them about the progress and position of their students; for the academic researchers, it is responsible for the proof or evidence they have been looking for as in what way the language is taught and learned; for the students and the learners themselves, it has been able to provide them the resources in arrangement to educate themselves and learn. Brown (2000, p. 224) has been working in concern of the errors and his work concluded that there are basically two primary errors’ sources that has been named as, Inter-lingual errors in addition to the intra-lingual errors of the language learning. The Inter-lingual is the interference errors that are particular errors which can be traced to the first and primary language interference. The errors of these interference errors can be allocated towards the negative and adverse Inter-lingual transfer. The word "Inter-lingual” was the first word that has been introduced in the work of Selinker (1972). He has been using this expression in reference to the methodical knowledge of foreign and second language that is liberated from both of the learner's first language known as the mother tongue and the second language that is the target language of the apprentice. (AbiSamra, 2003, p. 5) Agreeing to the academic work of the scholar, Kavaliauskiene (2009, p. 4), the errors transfer possibly will take place for the reason that the beginners are short of the essential information and knowledge in the second or foreign language or the intentional capability to stimulate the applicable second or foreign language norm and routine.

2.2 Language Interference

The Language Transfer comprises of the two types: positive as well as negative. The language transfer may possibly will demonstrate to be reasonable for the reason that the configuration of the both linguistics and languages are alike and this instance is known as the 'positive transfer' or 'facilitation', otherwise it may perhaps demonstrate to be inexcusable for the reason that the configuration of the both languages have been different so this instance has been known as the 'negative transfer' otherwise 'interference' (Wilkins, 1972, p. 199). To the extent that the intra-lingual errors and lapses are considered, they come out as from defective learning and the partial knowledge of the foreign and target language other than the transfer of language (Keshavarz, 2003, p. 62; Fang and Jiang, 2007, p. 11). Richards (1972) has cited four key types of the Intra-lingual errors in his work that has been named as overgeneralization, unawareness of rule boundaries, partial submission of the rules and regulations as well as the false perceptions imagined. After that consideration he recognized that the other sources of the errors have been interference, overgeneralization, errors performance, markers of intermediate competency, policies and approaches of the communication as well as integration, and the teacher encouraged errors conducted. Stenson (1974) proposed the ideas of the reason of errors and he concluded that there are three primary causes of the errors, classified as the incomplete attainment of the target syntax and sentence structure, the demands of the learning as well as the teaching circumstances, and the errors due to usual difficulties of the language and linguistic performance.

2.3 Second Language Acquisition

The conducting of the errors has been the most inevitable process in the world when the foreign language has been acquired. The learners and the students who have been in process of this language learning will be benefitted by the errors they have made. This will help them to get the response and feedback on the work they have produced. In various efforts, the learner will get use to and will be able to successfully attain their required goals and objectives. Weireesh (1991) has been in concern that the errors made by the learners are of the significant and specific prominence for the reason that the making of the errors in the work has been regarded as a device that the learners will use in order to make themselves learn from it. Conferring to him, the Error Analysis is a valued help and support to classify and clarify the problems and difficulties confronted by the language learners. He carries on by the same stance that the Error Analysis has been serving as a consistent response to plan and make a corrective coaching manner. Candling (2001, p. 69) in concern states that the second language learner and the errors they made are significantly important for the recognition and understanding of the procedures of getting hold of the foreign language or the Second Language Acquisition as SLA. Olasehinde (2002) has also been arguing that it is expected and certain that the apprentices possibly will make the errors in their work. He recommended that the errors are inevitable as well as an essential portion of the learning curve when applied to a student. In the work of Sercombe (2000), he explained that the Error Analysis works for the three purposes. First of all, it has been able to discover out the level of the proficiency of the language, that a learner has attained. Furthermore, to gain knowledge and info regarding the most common problems in the process of the language learning, and lastly, to discover out how individuals learn a foreign language that is opposite of their mother tongue.

Vahdatinejad (2008) has maintained his perception about the Error Analysis that the error analysis might be utilized to regulate what a learner has to be required and needed to be trained. It gives the essential and necessary knowledge or information regarding about what is deficient in the proficiency and competency of the learner. He was able to make a difference among the concept of the mistakes also known as the lapses and the errors in the language skills. Rendering to his work, lapses or mistakes have been made or committed by speakers of the first language or the mother tongue as well, and it can be altered easily by them. They call it as the spot rectification other than the remediation that has been required in the case of the errors committed by the learners. Mitchell and Myles (as sourced in Keshavarz, 2003) has been able to make a claim that the errors, if recognized and understood possibly will expose a mounting system of the student's second language and linguistic skills as well as this system is self-motivated and exposed to alterations or modifications to the issues. And it could also help in the resetting of the considerations. This view rendering to the linguistic is reinforced by Stark's (2001, p. 19) research work and study, who correspondingly described that the educators and teachers require to observe the errors of the students constructively or positively and it ought not to consider them as the failure of the learners to understand and comprehend the rules and configurations but then again other than should outlook the faults and errors in the language as procedural development of the learning. He contributes to the fact that the conduction of the errors is usual in addition to being expected aspects of the learning process. He also added that the errors are the fundamental and essential condition that must be overcome in the process of learning.

2.4 Similar Research Works

In the previous times, importance of the academic and literature work has been increasing and discussion on various subjects have also been emphasized. The work on error analysis in the linguistic skills and language has been recently increasing with time and there have been a lot of academic solutions to the researches. The recent research study was conducted by Sarfraz (2011) in which he has been able to investigate and examine the errors that were conducted by 40 non-graduated Pakistani pupils in the English language written essays, the results he found were that the overpowering majority of the errors that the learners committed were caused by the inter-language procedural development of the student as well as some of these errors have been caused by the interference of the first language that is mother tongue of the learners. Darus and Subramaniam (2009) made use of the model presented by Corder's (1967) on the basis of the error analysis. He investigated and examined the blunders and errors that were in a quantity of 70 essays written by 70 of the learners in Malay. The research concluded and found that the errors conducted by the students were basically of about six types that were in singular or plural form, verb tenses, the choices of the words, use of the prepositions, agreement of the subject-verb as well as the order of the words.

AbiSamra (2003), has written an article named as "An analysis of errors in Arabic speakers’ English writing", in which he has encountered various conclusions. The collected and the gathered samples of the English written work have been analysed. The sample was taken from 10 of the apprentices and pupils of the 9th grade. He categorized the errors that were identified in the writing. The categories counted up to five that were titled as the grammatical errors (in which the prepositions, adjectives, articles and others were included), syntactic errors (in which the coordination, structure of the sentence, order of the words has been included); lexical errors (in which the choice of the words is being considered); errors of semantic in addition to substance (in which the punctuation, capitalization, as well as spellings are being considered and included); as well as in the end the errors that are known as the discourse errors. The outcomes that were revealed as the findings were that thirty-three percent of the errors conducted by the students were considered as the transfer errors rendered by the mother tongue and the native language of the learner. In addition to the maximum figures of the errors that were classified, were lead to the categories of the semantics as well as the vocabulary. The remaining categories were filled by the errors that were counted up to sixty-four percent. These were the lapses and the errors conducted in a way of the over-application of the foreign language that is the target language of the learner. The maximum statistics and figures of the errors being observed and highlighted among the samples were primarily the spelling mistakes, the sentence structure as well as the grammar.

In addition to the work of Ridha (2012), she observed and investigated the 80 of the English writing samples of the students of the EFL College in addition to it she then classified the errors that were conducted by the students under various titles. She has been able to create categories considering the catalogue: grammatical errors, lexical as well as the semantic errors, errors of structure and mechanics, and order of the words used in the essays. The consequences of the research work have been great. It has been able to reveal that maximum number of the students who commit errors and faults in their work because of the first language transfer. Additionally, she was also able to analyse that the maximum number of the apprentices and students have been consistent in their mother tongue while they use their first language to express their feelings and ideas with others. She also states that even though the rating procedures have been revealing that the essays of the research participants have showed various types of the errors and blunders in the language and linguistic skills. Although there have been various classes of the errors made like the grammatical ones as well as the other errors but the ones that were more severe, grave and conducted continuously was the mechanical errors.

Conferring to the work of Santhiram (1999), the institutions or the schools in the previous years have been established on the basis of the ethnic lines in addition to it they were run in diverse and various types of the languages. He explained in his work that, “The British laid over a dialect primary terminal training and learning facilities in the Malay for the native residents and the Malay’s common people in the region of the traditions of the Islam as a procedure of controlling the society of Malay. The education and training of the second language English was provided to the students of Malays on the basis that the user fees for the people who are immigrants as well as the Malay crowds. However, it will be free of cost for the selected and particular royalty as well the nobility that demonstrated the classic and most important aspects of the divide and rule policy among the people of the country. This was the language training given to them in such a way that the language will be popular among the people. (Santhiram 1999:35)

2.5 Errors in Language

Khan (2005) has a conducted a research study on the language issues. He has conducted the research by the help of the 30 of the Form Five learners of the schools that were scrutinized and in addition to that these learners have been weak in their linguistic skills and the grammar. Lim Ho Peng (1976) specified the details about his conduction of the study that there were more than a few common sorts of the recurring errors in the language works of the learners. For instance, these errors are possibly the spelling mistakes, the incorrect usage of the prepositions, bewildering and unclear usage of the structural verbs, and agreement besides tenses. Comparable to the work of the Lim Ho Peng (1976) in the language training, Azimah (1998) was the scholar who conducted a research on the error analysis. He carried his work by the analysis of 30 of the students of Form One. While carrying out his work he deliberated that the students have committed numerous and countless errors in the use of the tenses in addition to the prepositions rather than the agreement of the subject-verb.

Vahdatinejad (2008) has concluded his work that has made him found that the students who were the learners of the second language have committed the errors in the use of the tenses, word selections besides the prepositions. Giving a view to the work of James (1988), he has been able to reveal that the errors in the linguistic skills and the language writing such as the use of tenses in making the sentences, prepositions as well as the weak vocabulary. These have been the most frequent and usual sorts of the errors that have been mostly conducted by the students. The use of the tenses in the essay writing has a great impact while understanding that what the writer is trying to say and by which time of period this story has been related. In the meantime, the use of the grammar is only seen as the leading way towards the end, some of the students of the language learning incline towards highlighting the significance and its importance again. Despite the fact the in the procedural development, the leaners are encountered towards making more errors in their work. The language apprentices mostly face the challenged and problems while they have been learning the grammar used in the linguistics. The variables of the linguistics and language are important and problematic as well and they may find it challenging to understand and comprehend the use of verbs, articles, preposition, subjects, verbs and their agreements. So there are various errors that were seen to be observed in the use of the language by the learners. (Safiah, 1978).

The problems and difficulties faced by the students have been clear as they were expected to conduct the errors and blunders in the use of the tenses, the article, prepositions etc. This has been the reason that the vocabulary of the students has been weak and they are not used to for the use of the grammar in their work. As a consequence, regeneration of the interest and concern in the area of errors made by the learners are to be thought of as a timely transfer. The educators and the instructors that are able to examine as well as treat the errors efficiently are more equipped and have the skills to assist and benefit the students who are aware of their issues and the errors they make. The most important usage of the concept of the Error Analysis (EA) as well as the appropriate corrective methods can help and benefit in the effective learning as well as the teaching of the foreign language that is English in the case. It has been widely recognized that learning the foreign language is a slower procedure. And while this development, the errors by the participants have been expected for sure. It has been anticipated in all the levels of learning. Mistakes will not evaporate solely for the reason that they have been highlighted and explained to the students, conflicting to that some of the learners of the foreign language and the teachers have faith in (Ferris, 2002). In fact, the making of the errors in the linguistics is a natural development of learning and it must be deliberated as portion of the understanding. Therefore, the errors must be observed confidently. The instructors have to be familiar with that “the learning capability shows a discrepancy from an individual to individual”. Into the bargain, “all linguistic learning is established on persistent disclosure, theorizing as well as, in spite of the right supposition, challenging and supporting the concepts on which they are based” (Bartholomae, 1980: 97).

For that reason, Error Analysis is the best tool and instrument that is used for defining and explaining the errors conducted by the learners, those who have other languages as their mother tongue. By studying the behavior and the skills of the learners by means of their written essays, this will offer a source to help the teachers and instructors of the language subject to diagnose the significance of the errors as one of the most interesting and difficult areas in teaching English as second language. In his opinion, the errors are responsible for the response; they communicate the teachers somewhat regarding the efficiency of the teaching skills. In accordance with the work of Ancker (2000), committing the mistakes or errors must be helpful for both the learner and the teacher making it easier for the individuals to come across the development earlier.

A noticeable academic investigator of Error Analysis is one and only Richards (1971). He published his book on the interpretation of the SLA known as the ‘Perspectives on Second Language Acquisition’, he claims an argument that a number of students in the learning comes across a stage where they consistently commit errors. This takes place for the reason that these students have to follow the plan that has been used in the acquisition of the second language. The problematic situation occurs and comprises of the reciprocal interference when getting hold on the second language. This shows the negative influence of their previous understanding about their mother tongue or native language. And they cannot figure it out how to absorb the second language. In these circumstances, Error Analysis would then permit the instructors to find out that on what stages the students and what areas have to be in focus to draw the attention of the students learning the target language. Weireesh (1991) as well takes in the idea that the learners’ errors are of certain prominence for the reason that the committing of these lapses and errors is a development phase in itself. It is the instrument for the learners to learn by their mistakes. As it has been said, that practice makes a man perfect. In the same way the person learns from his mistakes. Putting his concepts and ideas in the study, Error Analysis is a valued assistance to classify as well as clarify about the problems confronted by the students. He also added to his work that the model of Error Analysis functions as a consistent and reliable response to project a remedial teaching technique.

The writers mostly experience difficulties in using articles while using second language, also in case if the structure of their native language is integrated with articles. It is considered extensively troublesome towards learners speaking different languages, as well as because repercussions within the workplace and school, wherein the grammatical accuracy is completely recognized as well as non-native speakers are evaluated and compared with native speaking counterparts. There is a difficulty among adult learners of language regarding the accuracy in the usage of articles, pedagogic techniques, which have restricted success in reducing errors related to production. To improve pedagogic methods, the implication of errors as well as the patterns have been extensively described.

Previous research has been based on a variety of patterns of errors within L2 use of articles in English language. Research has investigated and focused on the learners who frequently delete articles (see White, 203 and Robertson, 2000). There are studies which focus on the use of the (see Huebnet, 1983; Master, 1987, Ionin et al., 2003) and the overuse of article a (see Leung, 2001). The major issue concerning the implications of past research is that it is extensively based on articles. The articles recognize discourse associations, however other morphemes, which include pronouns as well as demonstratives. The articles, demonstratives, along with pronouns, all channelize the way nominal associations in connection to past research on discourse, either associations are old and new, in case they are used in memory as well as other relations.

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Details

Title
Error Analysis of English Essays written by Students of Southern Punjab
College
National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad  (Institute of English Studies)
Course
English Linguistics
Grade
1.5
Author
Year
2017
Pages
127
Catalog Number
V425071
ISBN (eBook)
9783668703186
ISBN (Book)
9783668703193
File size
6431 KB
Language
English
Keywords
Error Analysis
Quote paper
Asad Javaid (Author), 2017, Error Analysis of English Essays written by Students of Southern Punjab, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/425071

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