APPENDIX A: SAMPLE RESEARCH ON LEARNER LANGUAGE

Contrastive Analysis of Some Errors Committed by Second Language Learners

of English at the English Department, Faculty of Education Aljoufra,
Sirte University

Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Gaddafi

Waddan faculty of education
Sirte University

Abstract

The main concern of this paper is to focus on the errors committed by second language
learners of English at the English department faculty of education. The study is of a
descriptive nature. The errors located are classified and then described in order to know the
reasons behind them. The approach adopted in this research paper is a contrastive
approach. The results of analysis gave a clue about the strategies adopted by Learners when
confronted with a writing task. Analyzing the errors located is of vital importance for
syllabus and material designers as well as classroom teachers and contributes substantially
in improving language learning and teaching processes.

Keywords: interlanguage, transfer errors, contrastive analysis, linguistic system,

linguistic competence, performance errors, false conceptions,
overgeneralization

Abbreviations: L1- First language L2- Second language

Introduction

As a teacher of English, I noticed that a lot of students learning English as a second

language commit errors of various types. This is one of the reasons that derive me to write
this paper on error analysis. The fact that Arabic is entirely different from English in many
respects it is not surprising that Arab learners of English face difficulty when learning English
and consequently commit errors when confronted with a writing task.
At one point in time when the field of language teaching was dominated by grammar
translation method, and the audio-lingual method, errors were viewed by teaches as a sign
of failure on the part of the learner and are not permitted by all means. Such a trend,
however, does not last longer. The emergence of transformational generative theory in
linguistics has led to a major shift in the field of error analysis as well as in the field of
language teaching methodology as Chiang pointed (1981) out.

1
Richards (1974) states that in the process of second language learning errors can be
considered as strategies the learner uses in order to learn. Error analysis then can be utilized
to help the learner how to learn the language effectively. In relation to this context Corder
(1974) states that errors can tell us a lot about the learner's state of mastering a second
language. Errors then are better be analyzed to help the learner to overcome the problems
that face him in the process of language learning and encourage him to get a good
command of the target language. This paper deals with the following issues; a brief review
of the literature on error analysis, outlines and description of the methodological guidelines
adopted, data analysis and discussion of the findings.

Definition of Errors
First of all a distinction between errors and mistakes must be made clear. Errors
normally cause communication breakdown at the level of both spoken and written
discourse and are likely to lead to misunderstanding. The occurrence of errors is often
understood as a clear indication of lack of command of the language on the part of the
learner. Mistakes, however, do not cause communication breakdown and can be corrected
by the learner himself in most cases, in the process of learning the target language.
Ellis (1996) draws a distinction between two types of errors i.e. covert and overt. He
defines covert errors as grammatically correct but not interpretable within the context of
communication whereas overt errors are obviously ungrammatical utterances that will lead
to misunderstanding. In relation to this context, Norrish (1987) emphasizes that an error is a
systematic deviation occurs when the learner has not learned a language item, such as a
certain linguistic structure, and consistently gets it wrong. An error is also defined by
Richard, J. C & Schmidt (2002: 184) as "the use of a language in a way which a native
speaker of the language regards as faulty or incomplete learning". Having presented some
definitions of errors, we will move on to discuss some of the advantages of errors for those
involved in language teaching and learning.

The Importance of Error Analysis

Error analysis is of vital importance for second language teaching and learning. One
reason is that the errors committed by second language learners can be considered an
indication that shows how well the learner masters the language items taught. The errors

2
and mistakes committed also give us an idea about the strategies the learner uses in order
to learn the target language. The errors committed can also reflect the difficult aspects of
the language taught and accordingly the teacher can put emphasis upon such aspects and
think of ways to help the learners to overcome them. The teacher can also improve the
techniques and the strategies he exploits in language teaching. By focusing on the errors
committed, language teachers can suggest techniques of dealing with errors inside the
classroom environment. Crystal as cited in Hasyim (2002:43) suggests that "error analysis is
a technique for identifying, classifying, and systematically interpreting the unacceptable
forms produced by someone learning a foreign language". According to Kroll and Schafer
(1987) error analysis can be considered one of the means of improving writing skill. That is,
when identifying the points of failure, those involved in language teaching can focus on
them and consider them as means to help them to solve the learner's problems in writing.
Consequently, remedial programs can be designed to help learners to overcome the
problems they face in a writing task. One more advantage of error analysis is that it gives
the learner a feedback that serves as an indicator showing him how close he is from the
target language system. Error analysis then can be considered the mirror that reflects the
learner's ability of mastering the target language. The errors committed by learners are one
of the means that help to trigger feedback from the teacher which can be either positive or
negative depending on the learner's contribution. The teacher's positive feedback directed
to the learner is likely to encourage him to produce language and this is vital as far as the
process of language learning is concerned. One of the merits of error analysis according to
Corder (1967) is that it could provide evidence on how language is learned. It also gives
access to specialists involved in learning and teaching language to be aware of the strategies
exploited by the learner in the process of language learning.

Classification of Errors
In order to deal with errors, specialists in error analysis classify errors into various
types. For example, one type of errors is termed as interlingual. This type occurs as a result
of the influence of the learner's first language on the target language in the course of
learning. Second language learner in such case generalizes his first language rule system,
and pragmatics to the target language. Such generalization as we will see later can be

3
considered one of the main reasons that contribute substantially in the occurrence of
various types of errors.
Determining a model of error classification does not seem to be an easy task for a
researcher dealing with error analysis. One reason is that various models of error
classification have been suggested by specialists in the field. It is the task of the researcher
then to decide upon the appropriate model that suits his topic of research. One more
problem that may face the researcher is that there is always an overlap of categories under
which errors can be classified.
Not all the errors committed by second language learners, however, are attributed
to the lack of competence. Errors may occur, particularly in writing, as a result of fatigue and
carelessness as Norrish (1987) stressed. Such type of errors is likely to cause problems as far
as classification of errors is concerned. Errors that occur as a result of lack of competence,
however, can be easily classified and this in turn could help to facilitate the task of analysis.
Whatever the source of errors committed, some teachers believe that ignoring them may
result in undesirable consequences upon the learners. Such a view is based on the audio-
lingual methodological approach of language teaching. Correcting every error committed by
the learner, however, is likely to hinder his progress in language learning. As far as spoken
language is concerned, discourse analysts recommend that mistakes that do not cause
breakdown of communication better be ignored for the sake of developing the learner's oral
skills.

Sources of Error Occurrence

The language system represented by grammar differs from one language to another.
Similar to any human being, a second language learner has a built in linguistic system which
enables him to produce and understand language unconsciously as Chomsky (1965)
stressed. When the learner is confronted with the task of learning a second language his L1
linguistic system as pointed out earlier in this research paper is likely to interfere with the L2
linguistic system and this interference normally has an impact upon learning a second
language and can be the reason behind the occurrence of some systematic errors. Sl
learners normally form a hypothesis when they learn a second language and in doing so
they depend on their built in linguistic system. This can also be considered a reason behind
the errors that crop up when learning a second language. When the learner is involved in

4
learning a second language as Dulay et al (1982) state, he constructs a system and exploits it
to produce and understand the target language. This system differs from the system of his
first language and that of the language he is learning. The system formed by the learner can
be considered a fertile area of error analysis. In relation to this context, Chiang (1981)
stresses that the occurrence of errors in the process of second language learning indicates
that the learner is involved in constructing his own system to learn the target language. This
system is used, by the learner as a bridge to cross to the system of the target language.
Another reason behind the occurrence of some errors is the complexity of the target
language system. The learner in such case may find it difficult to cope with this system and
overcome the problems that face him. This in turn makes him commit errors of various
types. One more source of errors can be attributed to the strategies adopted by sl learners.
In this connection, Richards and Schmidt (2002) state that some of sl learners' errors can be
attributed to the patterns browed from the learner's L1. Nunan (2001) also holds the view
that the difference between sl and L1 grammatical structures can be considered one of the
sources of error occurrence.
Richards (1974) identifies various types of errors committed by sl learners. For
instance, over generalization where the learner considers the past tense forms of regular
and irregular verb are the same. Another source, in his view, is the ignorance of restrictions
where the second language learner does not abide by sl rules and consequently commit
errors because of his attempts to resort to simplification. Lack of command of the cohesive
ties can also be another source of error occurrence. Such a problem is likely to make the
learner unable to write meaningful cohesive paragraph that can be understood by the
reader.
As far as writing tasks are concerned, whatever type of error occurs in the process of
SI learning must be taken into consideration by classroom teachers. One reason is that
correcting errors is likely to place the learner on the right track and enhance the learner's
progress in language learning. According to Corder (1967) when errors are dealt with in the
class by the teacher, the feedback the learner gets could be either positive or negative.
Positive feedback is likely to encourage the learner and encourage him to proceed. Negative
feedback on the other hand is likely to discourage learners and may lead them to quit
learning all together. In view of this, when correcting errors in class, the teacher should be

5
aware of the side effects inflected by the type of feedback and think of the appropriate
strategies of correcting errors.
As stated above errors have various sources. Selinker (1974) reports the following
sources of errors; language transfer, strategies of second language communication, and
strategies of second language learning. Corder (1974) also stressed that there are three
sources of errors. The first is language transfer which is normally results from the
interference of L!. The learner in such case resorts to his mother tongue linguistic system
whenever he encounters a problem in the course of SL learning. The second is interlingual
interference which normally results in over generalizations, ignorance of restrictions as well
as incomplete application of rules. One more source of error occurrence results from the
false conceptions formed by second language learners which can be attributed to the lack of
command of the target language on the part of the learner. James (1998) also identifies two
sources for errors. The first is termed as Interlingual interference and the second as
intralingual interference. The former takes place when there is similarity or difference
between the learner's L1 and the target language. Meanwhile the latter is closely related to
the learning strategies adopted by the learner such as false analogy and incomplete rule
application.

Advantages of Error Analysis

Errors committed by SL learners seem to have pedagogical implications which can be
utilized by those involved in the field of language teaching and learning. For instance,
positive transfer errors that occur as a result of similarities between the learner's L1 and the
SL are likely to help SL learners to overcome problems related to language learning. A case
in point is the linguistic aspects of similarity between French and Spanish help French
learners of Spanish as a second language to learn this language effectively. The aspects of
similarity between German and English also help German learners of English as a second
language to overcome problems related learning this language.
Error analysis is also advantageous to syllabus as well as material designers as it
serves as an indicator to help them to determine the appropriate needs of learners and
accordingly can set the basis for individualized instruction and self-learning. Moreover, the
errors committed by SL learners could give specialists in the field of language teaching a clue
about the strategies utilized by learners to learn Sl.

6
Methodology and Data
Methodology
The methodological approach adopted in this research paper is based on Corder
(1967) views on error analysis. In order to describe and analyze learners' errors, erroneous
sentences will be copied and reconstructed in view of their correct counterparts in the
target language. The two sentences then are compared so that the errors committed will be
identified. Having identified the error, the following stage of our model of analysis is
classifying the errors located and finally the error will be analyzed and the reasons for their
occurrence will be stated.
Before starting the stage of description and analysis, the type of sentence in which
the error crops up will be categorized either covert or overt. An overt sentence is
completely ungrammatical because the restrictions of word order are violated. Meanwhile
an overt sentence is well-formed in grammatical terms but ill-formed in semantic terms. It is
meaningless in the context in which it occurs.
The error categories that are dealt with in this paper are grammatical, lexical, errors related
to word order and overgeneralizations as well as misuse of articles and prepositions.

Data
Thirty students volunteer to take part as participants in this study. They are second
semester students of English department in the faculty of education. Participants are asked
to write a composition about the college building. Seven pieces of compositions are chosen
randomly out of thirty for analysis. The time allowed to complete the writing task is 45
minutes. Factors like age, academic standard and background knowledge in English are
taken into consideration. One reason is that we believe that such factors influence the
participant's ability of performance. Because of this, the subjects chosen study English as
second language as one of the school subjects right from grade five in primary school.

Data Analysis
This section of the research paper deals with the analysis and description of the
sample of data selected. As pointed out in the section of our methodological guidelines, the
original sentence in which the error occurs is cited, reconstructed correctly and finally
described and analyzed.

7
Original sentence 1:
'The college divided in to three sections'.
Reconstructed sentence:
The college is divided into three sections.

The errors committed are deleting verb to be 'is' and splitting the preposition 'into'
to become two words instead of one.
The first error can be attributed to the fact that the learner's L1 system is different
from that of the target language. If the sentence in question is translated into Arabic, we
can notice that verb to be does not exist in the translated sentence. The second mistake
committed by the learner is splitting the preposition 'into' into two parts which implies that
the learner is not aware of the fact that this preposition in English is one word. This error
can also be attributed to the learner's L1 interference, because such form of the preposition
has no equivalent in Arabic.

Original sentence 2:
'The second section consists the classes, and cafeteria, and recording office and
English top'.
Reconstructed sentence:
The second section consists of the classrooms, the cafeteria, the registration office,
and English department at the top.

The errors committed are deleting the preposition 'of', wrong insertion of the
coordinating conjunction 'and' and improper use of lexical items.
Deleting the preposition 'of' might be attributed to the fact that the preposition in
the learner's L1 that can be used in the same context is entirely different from the
preposition 'of' in form and function. This can be considered the reason of deleting it all
together. The wrong insertion of the coordinating conjunction 'and' can be attributed to the
fact that in the learner's L1 the coordinating conjunction 'wa' 'and' is inserted whenever a
lexical item is added to the sentence. In English, however, the comma is used to function as
a conjunction and the coordinating conjunction 'and' appears before the final lexical item
added to fulfill a syntactic function in the sentence in which it occurs. The final error

8
committed by the learner, in the sentence in question is a lexical error. He using the phrase
'recording office' instead of 'registration office' which can be attributed to the poor
background of the learner in this respect.

Original sentence 3:
'The third section is the hostel where the students can stay in it while they are
studying at the college'.
Reconstructed sentence:
The third section is the hostel where the students stay throughout the period of
study.

The errors committed are unnecessary use of the phrase 'in it', misuse of the word
'while' and improper use of the auxiliary verb 'can'.
The learner uses the phrase 'in it' assuming that it has an important role in the
sentence. But the fact of the matter is that the meaning of the sentence is clear and so the
learner can do without. The reason behind this error is that the learner seems to resorts to
his L1 linguistic background and accordingly adopts a planning strategy based on his
background to use the phrase assuming that it is essential in this context as the case in
Arabic. The second error committed by the learner is misusing the adverb of time 'while'.
Such an error can also be attributed to the planning strategy of the learner to overgeneralize
L2 rule for the sake of simplification. The third error committed by the learner is the use of
the auxiliary verb 'can' in the wrong context. This verb has no obvious grammatical role in
the sentence as shown in the reconstructed sentence. Such an error might be attributed to
the limited background of the learner concerning the linguistic system of the target
language.

Original sentence 4:
'University sirte it have two buildings comprises many of departments'.
Reconstructed sentence:
The college has two buildings which include many departments.

Errors committed are misuse of verb 'to have', deleting the definite article 'the' and
misuse of the preposition 'of'.

9
The first error committed by the learner is that the word 'college' is substituted by the word
university which implies the poor command of lexical items on the part of the learner. The
limited background of the learner concerning 'verb to have' has led him to use 'have' instead
of 'has'. Deleting the article 'the' is a grammatical error indicates the ignorance of the
learner of the target language rule system. Due to the fact that the functional roles played
by prepositions overlap in the target language, it is not surprising that the learner uses the
preposition 'of' in the wrong context.

Original sentence 5:
'I come at 9:00, because take lectures with my friends thiere are student very a
morning and them treatment nice'.
Reconstructed sentence:
I come at 9:00, to attend classes with my friends every morning. Students in the
college behave well.

The errors committed are in appropriate use of the word 'because', inappropriate
use of the lexical items 'take' and 'lecture', and misuse of the possessive pronoun 'their' as
well as the object pronoun 'them'.
The first error committed by the learner, in the sentence in question, can be
considered a transfer error as the equivalent of the word 'because' in the learner's l1 can be
used in this context. The learner seems to use the word 'because' in this context as a
strategy to simplify language production. Both the words 'take' and 'lecture' are used
inappropriately which reflects the poor background of the learner in this respect. Both the
possessive pronoun 'their' and the objet pronoun 'them' are wrongly used by the learner in
the sentence, in question, which indicates that the learner is not aware of such grammatical
categories and the functional role they play in sentence structure.

Original sentence 6:
'My name is Halim, am student in faculty education college, it located in Aljoufra
Waddan'.
Reconstructed sentence:
My name is Hlim, I am a student in the faculty of education. It is in Waddan Aljoufra.

10
Errors committed are deleting the first person singular pronoun 'I', the definite
article 'the', and the preposition 'of'. The words 'faculty and 'college' are used in the same
context.
Deleting the first person singular pronoun 'I' indicates that the learner is not aware
of the syntactic restrictions of the target language and the absence of the definite article
'the', in the sentence in question, can be considered a transfer error. One reason is that
such an article does not exist in the learner's L1 linguistic system in such context. So taking
into consideration his L1 background, the learner ignores the functional role performed by
the definite article 'the' in the sentence. Omitting verb to be 'is' from the sentence can be
attributed to the incomplete application of L2 rule. In relation to this context Richards
(1974) points out that some of L2 learner errors are due to incomplete application of the
target language rule system. Contrary to English, the passive sentence in Arabic does not
include verb to be. This can be one of the reasons behind omitting verb to be from the
sentence in question. The learner also uses the words 'college' and 'faculty' in the same
context which implies that he is unable to distinguish between these two lexical items. This
is likely to lead the learner to experience what Stenson (1974) labels as problems of
performance.

Original sentence 7:
'My college is large and there are a lot of students form other places studies here, it
has different specializations such as physics and math and English language'.
Reconstructed sentence:
My college is large and there are many students from various cities in it. There are
different specializations in the college, such as physics, math, and English language.

The errors committed are wrong verb form of the verb 'to study', the adverb of place
'here' is used improperly to replace the phrase 'in the college' and unnecessary use of the
coordinating conjunction 'and'.
The first error occurs as a result of incomplete application of the target language
rule. Such an error reflects the fact that the learner is unable to apply subject verb
agreement rule that encounters him in the writing task. Lack of command of the target
language grammar is likely to lead the learner to be involved in forming false conceptions
about L2 rules and consequently makes him commit errors of this kind. As indicated above,
the adverb of place 'here' is used by the learner instead of the phrase 'in the college'. Such

11
an error can be classified as a lexical error. In such case the learner seems to resort to what
is known in error analysis as planning strategy in order to simplify language production and
get the message he wants to convey across. The coordinating conjunction 'and' is wrongly
used, in the sentence in question. Such an error can be considered a transfer error as the
coordinating conjunction in the learner's L1 is used whenever a lexical item is added to the
sentence.

Discussion of Results
The analysis of errors show that some of the errors are performance errors and
other are related to the linguistic system of L2 and are known as performance errors. For
instance, verb 'to be' is deleted from some of the passive sentence. Such an error can be
considered an evidence of the lack of the grammatical competence of the learner in the
target language. It reflects incomplete application of the passive rule of the target language.
The fact that the passive sentence structure in Arabic is entirely different from that of
English is likely to be the main reason behind the occurrence of such an error. In some of
the sentences of our data prepositions are used improperly in wrong contexts. As second
language learners, it is likely to be difficult for our subjects to determine the functional role
of prepositions in English. One reason is that such functions depend to a great extent on the
context in which the preposition crops up. Unlike Arabic, the functions of prepositions in
English overlap. That is a preposition may fulfill the same function in different contexts and
more than one preposition could play the same functional role in one particular context.
Our data shows that the learners we are concerned with have some problems in using the
coordinating conjunctions 'and'. The main reason behind this problem as stated earlier is
the difference between the target language and the learners L1 in this respect. In English the
comma plays the grammatical functional role of a coordinating conjunction 'and' but in
Arabic the comma does not play such a role. The coordinating conjunction has to be present
in form whenever the need arises. The analysis of our data indicates that the definite article
'the' is deleted from some sentences. Such an error implies that learners who commit this
error are ignorant of the rule application of such grammatical category. In the learner's L1,
the indefinite article has no formal representation in the sentence. Its grammatical
functional role is implied by the absence of the definite article. In English, however, both the
definite and indefinite articles must be present in form in the context in which they occur.
This can be considered a substantial reason behind the occurrence of errors related to such
a grammatical category.

12
Data analysis shows that one of the major problems that encounter our subjects is the
inability to deal with subject verb agreement rule. Ignorance of such rule is likely to lead the
learner to be involved in forming false conceptions and resorts to simplification for the sake
of facilitating language production. Attempts as such are likely to lead the learner to commit
errors related to subject verb agreement. The analysis also shows that syntactic restrictions
of the target language are violated. Such violation has led the learner to write incoherent
meaningless sentences and phrases that influence the general idea of the text negatively.

Concluding Remarks
Error analysis can be considered an important field in applied linguists. As far as
language teaching is concerned it is vital for both teachers and learners. Course and material
designer alike benefit from error analysis as it can be used as a tool to help them to
determine what are the appropriate needs for the learners? Despite the fact that we have
drawn a distinction between errors and mistakes to show the difference between them, our
main focus in this research paper was on errors for the following reasons. The first is to
restrict the scope of the paper to achieve successful outcome. The second is the substantial
impact errors have upon the teaching and the learning process is far more than that of
mistakes. There are various models of error analysis outlined and discussed in the literature.
The nature of the topic of this paper is the decisive factor in selecting the model adopted.
The results of the study show that the main source of error occurrence is the difference
between Arabic, the participants L1, and English the target language. The common errors
committed by our subjects are misuse of verb 'to be', prepositions, coordinating conjunction
'and' as well as some lexical items. When learning a second language as Ellis (1996) states,
the learner formulates his own linguistic system, which is different from that of the learner's
L1 and the target language. At the stage of applying this system, errors are likely to crop up.
In view of the concluding remarks discussed above, we would like to put forward the
following suggestions that we believe could help overcoming some of the problems that
may encounter L2 learners in writing tasks. Learners might be given enough writing tasks to
do at home. The written work then can be discussed in class so that learners work as a team
to find solutions to the problems they face. Learners also may be asked to write pieces of
composition inside the class and work in groups so that they can learn from each other and
correct errors. Moreover, in order to improve learners' writing skill, writing conventions

13
should be emphasized to improve the learners' writing skills and encourage them to write
meaningful cohesive and coherent pieces of composition. Finally, Teachers involved in
teaching writing skills may meet and work as a team to discuss the errors committed by
learners and suggest ways of eradicating them.

References

1. Corder S. P. (1974) Error Analysis. In J. P.B and S. Pit Corder (ed) Teaching in Applied
Linguistics (The Edinburgh Course in Applied Linguistics) London, Oxford University
Press.
2. Corder, S. P (1967) The significance of learner errors. IRAL 5.No 4, 1967.
3. Chomsky Noam (1965) Aspects of the theory of syntax. Cambridge, MIT,: Mass Press.
4. Chiang, Tai. Hul (1981) Error analysis a study of errors made in written English by
Chinese learners unpublished MA. Thesis NINU.
5. Dulay, H. Burt, M. & Krashen, S. (1982) Language two. Oxford University Press.
6. Ellis, R. (1996) The study of second language acquisition, Oxford University Press.
7. Hasyim, S. (2002) Error analysis in the teaching of English (1). PP 24-50.
8. James, C. (1998) Errors in Language learning and use. Exploring error analysis. Longman
London.
9. Kroll, B.M. and Schafer, J. C (1987) Error analysis and the teaching of composition.
College composition and communication, 29 (3). pp 242- 248.
10. Norrish, J. (1987) Language learners and their errors. pp 7-8 London Macmillan
Publishers LTD.
11. Nemser, W. (1974) Approximative systems of foreign language acquisition. 56 – 63.
Essex University.
12. Nunan, D. (2001) Second language acquisition In Carter, R. & Nunan, D (ed) The
Cambridge guide to teaching English to speakers of other languages [C]. pp 87-92
Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
13. Richard, J. C. (1974) Error analysis. Perspective in second language acquisition. London
Longman.
14. Richards, J.C (1971) "A non-contrastive approach to error analysis". English language
teaching. 25 No,3 june (1971).
15. Richard, J.C & Schmdit, R. (2002) Dictionary of language teaching & applied linguistics.
London longman.
16. Stenson, Nancy, (1974) "Induced errors" New frontiers in language learning, ed, John, H.
Schumann and Nancy Stenson. Rowley, Mass: Newbury house publishers.
17. Selinker, L. (1974) "Interlanguage". In Richards, J (ed) Error analysis perspective in
second language acquisition 31-54 Essex Longman.

14
15