Errors
and error analysis
1. Identifying
errors
To identify errors we have to compare the sentences learners
produce with what seem to be the correct sentences in the target language which
correspond with them. Errors reflect gaps in a learner’s knowledge; they occur
because learner doesn’t know what is correct. Whereas, mistakes reflect
occasional lapses in performance; they occur because, in a particular instance,
the learner is unable to perform what he or she knows.
2. Describing
errors
There are several ways of describing errors. One way is to classify
errors into grammatical categories by gathering all
the errors relating to verbs and identifying the different kinds of verb errors
in our sample. Also,
we can try to identify general ways in which the learners’ utterances differ
from the reconstructed target-language utterances, including ‘omission‘(i.e. leaving out an item that is required for an
utterance to be considered grammatical), ‘misinformation‘(i.e. using one
grammatical form instead of another grammatical form), and ‘misordering‘(i.e. putting
the words in an utterance in the wrong order).
3. Explaining
errors
Errors can have different sources. Some errors seem to be
universal, reflecting learners’ attempts to make the task of learning and using
the L2 simpler. Learners commit errors of omission. They also
overgeneralize forms that they find easy to learn and process. Overgeneralization
means the oversuppliance of an interlanguage feature in contexts in which it
does not occur in target language. Other errors known as transfer errors
reflect learners’ attempts to make use of their L1 knowledge.
4. Error
evaluation
Where the purpose of the error analysis is to help learners
learn an L2, there is a need to evaluate errors. Some errors, known as global
errors, affect overall structure of a sentence, so it will be difficult to
process. Whereas, local errors, affect only a single constituent in the
sentence and are, perhaps, less likely to create any processing problems.
Developmental
patterns
1. The
early stages of L2 acquisition
In a silent period, learners make no attempt to say anything
to begin with. They may learn language just through listening to or reading it.
When learners
do begin to speak in the L2 their speech is likely to manifest two particular
characteristics. One is the kind of formulaic chunks. Fixed expressions
like ‘I don’t know‘ figure very prominently in early L2 learning. The second
characteristic of early L2 speech is propositional simplification. Here, learners
find it difficult to speak in full sentences so they frequently leave words out.
2. The
order of acquisition
Do learners acquire the
grammatical structures of an L2 in a definite order? To investigate the order of
acquisition, researchers choose number of grammatical structure to study. Then,
they collect samples of learner language and identify how accurately each
feature is used by different learners. This enables them to arrive at an
accuracy order.
3. Sequence
of acquisition
Do learners learn such structures in a single step or do
they proceed a number of interim stages before they master the target
structure? When learners acquire a grammatical
structure they do so gradually, moving through a series of stages en route to acquiring the native-speaker
rule. The acquisition of a particular grammatical structure must be seen as a process involving transitional
constructions.
4. Some
implication
The work on developmental patterns is crucial. Linguistic
features are inherently easier to learn than others. Learners naturally learn
one feature before another they must necessarily do so. Moreover, sequence of
acquisition can be altered through formal instruction.
Variability
in learner language
We have seen that learner language, that is variable, is systematic. Thus, we may be able to explain, and even to predict when learners use one form and when another. Learners vary in their use of the L2 according to linguistic context; vary the linguistic forms they use in accordance with the situational context. Another important factor that accounts for systematic nature of variability is the psycholinguistic context—whether learners have opportunity to plan their production.
We have seen that learner language, that is variable, is systematic. Thus, we may be able to explain, and even to predict when learners use one form and when another. Learners vary in their use of the L2 according to linguistic context; vary the linguistic forms they use in accordance with the situational context. Another important factor that accounts for systematic nature of variability is the psycholinguistic context—whether learners have opportunity to plan their production.
Questions:
- Please could you explain; is there any difference in the error evaluation made by native speaker and non-native speaker? How do they make the error evaluation for their class?
- Please could you explain; what criteria do judges use in evaluating learners’ errors?
