Background
Error Analysis is a branch of “Applied
Linguistic”
“A learner’s errors are significant in that they
provide to the researcher evidence of how
language is learned or acquired, what
strategies or procedures the learner is
employing in the discovery of the language.”
Error Analysis?
“Technique for identifying, classifying and
systematically interpreting the unacceptable
forms produced by someone learning a
foreign language ,using any of the principles
and procedures provided by linguistics”.
The importance of EA?
1. EA helps to understand the process
of SLA.
2. EA shows statistically the
troublesome linguistic areas or errors
that L2 learners encounter in
learning.
The importance of EA?
3. The errors give valuable feedback to
both teachers and learners regarding
learner strategies and progress.
4. The errors also provide researchers
with insights into the nature of SLA
process.
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Mistakes
Native speakers sometimes produce ill-formed sentences or utterance,
but not the result of an imperfect knowledge.
The ill-formed sentences or utterances can be readily corrected by the
speakers when they notice them.
They do not commit errors in the use of language code.
The ill-formed are such as:
1. Slips of the tongue (‘We’s…..We’re here’)
2. Slips of the ear (‘great ape’ instead of ‘gray tape’)
3. False starts, lack of subject-verb agreement (‘I am seeing…..I
mean…..I see you there’).
4. Non-linguistic factors such as fatigue, strong emotion, memory
limitations or lapses , lack of concentration. 7
Errors
In contrast, error are made by Non-native Speakers and these are the
result of imperfect knowledge.
The imperfection may be considered as a “breach of language code”,
such as: The use of wrong rules, The misuse of rules, The use of wrong
analogies, etc.)
Two characteristics of errors:
1. The speaker(s) do(es) not realize they have made an error(s)
2. The error(s) they make are regular or consistent
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Classification of Errors
Appropriateness
1. Referential Errors
Errors refer to something or someone, such as:
* a guitar a banjo
* a scottish kilt a skirt
2. Register Errors
Errors in using the correct register, such as:
* a boat a ship
* a house a home
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Classification of Errors
Appropriateness
3. Social Errors
Errors committed due to the wrong choice of terms in
connection with the social relations between the speaker
and hearer, for example: when a child greet his father with
“Hello, old man”
4. Textual Errors
Errors committed because of the wrong structure used, for
example: “Who is he talking to? John is”
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Types of Errors
Productive Errors
Can be readily recognized
Parts of the utterances of TL learners
Can be studied in the level of Phonology,
Morphology, Syntax, Cultural, and Pragmatic.
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Types of Errors
Receptive Errors
Can not be readily recognized
Should make interferences from the learner’s
linguistic responses to stimuli in the TL
(Written)
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Another Classification of Errors (Jack C. Richards)
1. Inter-lingual Errors
Errors refer to the relation between two or more
languages.
2. Intra-lingual Errors
Errors show that the learners of TL is attempting
to build up theories/hypotheses about TL from his
limited experience or knowledge.
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Intra-lingual Errors
1. Over-generalization
The result of the learner reducing of two or more stuctures into
erroneous one. For example:
• He can sings….
• We are lack….
• He come from….
• Yesterday I eat breakfast….etc.
2. Ignorance of rules restriction
The result of the application of rules to context where they do not
apply.
• He goed home… (wrong analogy)
• No what-what… (interference)
• He discussed about something… (wrong learning of rules)
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Intra-lingual Errors
3. Incomplete application of rules
Caused by the use of structures due to the fact that the TL learner has not
mastered the rules required to produce acceptable sentences. For example:
• What is she talking about?
She talking about she will go to the party.
• Do you go to the school on Monday to Friday?
Yes, I go to the school on Monday to Friday
4. False concept hypothesized
Errors attributing to wrong hypotheses formed by these learners about the
target language. Those developmental errors derive from faulty
comprehension of distinctions in the target language because of poor gradation
of teaching items. For example:
• He is talk to the teacher
• I am go to school
• It was happened last night
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• They were played in the street
Errors can be classified according to whether they
cause a native speaker either to misinterpret a
written message or to consider the message
incomprehensible:
Global Errors
Local Errors
Global Errors
Global Lexical Errors:
Cattle ------ Sheep
Global Morphological Errors:
I’m interesting ------ I’m interested
Global Syntactical Errors:
I am lack of knowledge
instead of
I lack of knowledge
Local Errors
Local Lexical Errors:
Before he slept he turned off the curtains
instead of
Before he slept he closed the curtains
Local Morphological Errors:
He look at that girl
instead of
He looks at that girl
Local Syntactical Errors:
They enjoyed highly her cooking
instead of
They highly enjoyed her cooking
