1 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGỤY VÂN THÙY

AN INVESTIGATION INTO COMMON WRITTEN
ERRORS COMMITTED BY FIRST YEAR STUDENTS AT
NGHE AN ECONOMICS AND TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE

Khảo sát lỗi viết sinh viên năm thứ nhất trường cao đẳng
Kinh tế – Kỹ thuật Nghệ An thường mắc phải

M.A Minor Programme Thesis

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60.14.10 HANOI – 2010
2


Table of contents iv
List of Abbreviations vii
List of tables viii
Part A: Introduction 1
1. Rationale of the study. 1
2. Aim of the study 2
3. Scope of the study 2
4. Research questions 3
5. Structure of the study 3
Part B: Development 4
Chapter I: Liturature review 4
1.1 Writing 4
1.2 Paragraph 5
1.3 Errors and Mistakes 5
1.4 Classification of errors 6
1.4.1 Interlingual Errors 7
1.4.2 Intralingual Errors 8
1.5 Sources of errors 8
1.5.1 Interlingual interference 9
1.5.2 Intralingual Interference 10
1.5.2.1 Overgeneralization 10
1.5.2.2 Ignorance of rule restriction 10
1.5.2.3 Incomplete application of rules 11
1.5.2.4 False concepts hypothesized 11
1.6 Error analysis 11
1.7 Significance of error analysis 12
1.8 Error Frequency 13 7

Chapter IV: Pedagogical Implications and recommendations 35
4.1 Pedagogical Implications 35
4.1.1 Implications for teachers 35 8
4.1.2 Implications for syllabus designers 35
4.2 Recommendations 36
4.2.1 Peer-correction 37
4.2.2 Teacher correction 37
Part C: Conclusions 38
1. Conclusions 38
2. Limitations of the study 38
3. Suggestions for further study 39
References 40
10
List of tables

Table 1: Collected data about errors made by students in their free writings 21
Table 2: Collected data about errors made by students in their final writing tests 22
Table 3: Comparative data about errors made by students 22
Table 4: Frequency of each types of errors 23

have emphasized the significance of EFL/ESL learners‟ errors which have been considered
as “a way of learning” (Olsson,1974), as “strategy the learner uses in order to learn”
(Corder,1981), as “a natural and unavoidable part” of their language learning process
(Doff, 1988), and as the learners‟ “learning steps” (Edge,1989). Nunan (2001) believed
that “linguists and educators began studying the specific language learners used as they
attempted to communicate in the target language” and that “errors were seen not as
evidence of pathology on the part of learners, but as normal and healthy part of learning
process ”.They are not problems to be overcome or evils to be eradicated. They, in fact, are
part of learning and reveal the strategies that learners use to learn a language. They provide
valuable insight into the language learning process. 12
Being a teacher of English at Nghe An Economics and Technology college for five
years, I have marked many students‟ final written tests. I found that, students made a lot of
mistakes and errors in their writings. The errors they have made were grammatical errors,
vocabulary errors, semantics errors, or errors of coherence and cohesion ect… As teachers,
how should we treat those errors? how to make their writing better? Having realized the
significance of focusing on learners‟ errors in learning and teaching a language, I do this
research to investigate into the most common errors committed in the process of foreign
language acquisition by first year students at Nghe An Economics and Technology college
to find and draw out the best possible solutions to solve the problems mentioned above.
This research attempts to overview the background theories of learners‟ errors
analysis, investigate and find out the causes of those errors. More importantly, this study
tries to give some suggestions on how to treat students‟ errors in the process of foreign
language acquisition.
2. Aims of the study
This study tries to:
- investigate the errors made by first year students of Nghe An Economics and
Technology college in their written work.

Part B is the development of the study in which 3 three chapters are presented.
Chapter I consists of the literature review in which various perspectives on error and error
analysis which have been documented in the literature are reviewed to provide a theoretical
background of the study. Chapter II is about the research methods in which the research
questions, research approach, research instrument, data collection, participants and context
of the study and procedure of investigation are given. Chapter III is about findings and
discussion. Some pedagogical implications and recommendation are included in chapter IV
of this part.
Part C is the conclusions which deal with the main summary of the study. Limitations
and suggestions for further study are presented in this part as well. 14
Part B: Development
Chapter I: Literature Review
This chapter, Literature Review, will present the previous studies related to the
errors analysis in the context of second language teaching. The pertinent literature will be
reviewed and analyzed with the intention of providing a theoretical foundation to the
current study. The literature review will initially look at the terms concerned in the study.
It will then concentrate on the issues related to errors analysis in second language
acquisition. Classification and sources of errors are two main issues which will be carefully

five stages of development which students need to go through in acquiring competence in
writing, i.e.: copying, reproduction, recombination, guided writing, and free writing.
In short, writing is the most complex skill to show the relationship of ideas which
needs the willingness to write and some practices done step by step to pass on knowledge
or messages. So, writing is one way to speak what is on our mind. It involves more than
just producing words and sentences. To produce a piece of writing, we should be able to
write a connected series of words and sentences which are grammatically and logically
linked.
1.2 Paragraph
According to Hornby (1989:895), paragraph is distinct section of a written or
printed text, usually consisting of several sentences dealing with a single theme and
starting on a new line. In tone with it, Tidyman (1987:10) says that a paragraph is a group
of sentences that develop a point on an idea. Further he explains that the important feature
of paragraph is that it has unity when all of its sentences are related to the main point. So, a
paragraph is a group of sentences dealing with a single theme that develop the main point
on an idea.
The form of paragraph can be written into 12 kinds of genre. Those genres are
recount, report, discussion, explanation, analytical exposition, hortatory exposition, news
item, anecdote, narrative, procedure, description, and review. Each of them has different
social function and characteristics.
1.3 Errors and Mistakes
Making errors is the most natural thing in the world and it is evidently attached to
the human being. But, how do we define error? A number of experts in linguistics have
presented various definitions of error. Among them, Norrish (1987) considers error a
systematic deviation, when a learner has not learnt something and consistently gets it
wrong. Cunning Worth (1987) defines error as systematic deviations from the norms of
language being learned. It seems that the phrase “systematic deviation” in these two
definitions is a key word which can be interpreted as the deviation which happens
When a learner develops his second or foreign language system, he makes errors.
In first language learning, these errors are “lapses” or “slips of the tongue” due to physical
or psychological reasons (Brown, 1980). However, in second language and foreign 17
language learning, these errors are reviewed carefully. Corder (1973) introduces the
distinction between systematic and non-systematic errors. Non-systematic errors occur in
one‟s native language, Corder calls these "mistakes" and states that they are not significant
to the process of language learning. They can be self-corrected when attention is called. He
keeps the term "errors" for the systematic ones, which occur in a second language. He
believes that errors are the evidence of the language system that the learner is using at a
particular point in the course. Corder (1973) refers to three types of errors. These are : 1)
transfer errors; 2) analogical errors and 3) teaching-induced errors. Chomsky classifies
learners‟ errors into: 1) performance error and 2) competence error. Competence is the
„speaker-hearer‟s knowledge of his language‟, while performance is the actual use of
language in concrete situations. Heaton (1998) and Littlewood (1984) divide errors into
two main types: global and local errors. Richard (1974) and some other researchers
distinguish between interlingual errors and intralingual errors.
Obviously, errors are classified differently according to perspectives. On the whole,
the most popular classification of written errors that earns scholars' consensus prevailingly
is the division of errors into interlingual errors and intralingual errors. Because, two major
factors that contributed to the presence of errors in students‟ written work are interlingual
transfer and intralingual transfer. The elaboration of these categories is illustrated as
below:
1.4.1. Interlingual Errors
According to Brown (1980:173) the beginning stages of learning a second language
are characterized by a good deal of interlingual transfer from the native language. Richard
(1974:35) says that interlingual errors are errors due to transferring rules from the mother
tongue. They are the incorrect elements under the influence of learners' native language.

different perspectives to analyze the causes of errors. Brown (1980:156) states that errors
are caused by the lack of knowledge about the target language. Edge (1989:7) claims that
the source of learner‟s errors is the interference from the speaker‟s first language. In tone
with it, Richards (1974:174) says that the source of errors in studying a language might be
derived from the interference of the learners‟ mother tongue and the general characteristics
of the rule learning.
In summary, errors can be ascribed to many factors. Some of learners' errors are due
to learners' language competence, some due to cultural interference; some are results of
learners' learning strategies, while others are the products of communicative strategies;
some are classroom induced errors, while others are the results of individual variables , and
so on. Diverse as these viewpoints are, there should be an intersection among different
schools of thoughts or a clear-cut justification among them so that these causes are figured 19
out and proper error correction is offered. In general, the very causes of written errors can
be summed up as below:
1.5.1 Interlingual interference
Interlingual interference is the interference of the learner‟s first language or mother
tongue onto the process of learning a second language. Mother tongue interference is one
of the major causes leading to learner‟s committing errors. Norrish (1987) states that
learning a language (a mother tongue or a foreign language) is a matter of habit formation.
When learner strives to learn a new habit, the old ones will interfere with the new ones. In
other words, the term "first language interference" best summarizes this phenomenon.
Besides, being able to express fully one's ideas in another language is always a demanding
task. Thus, when learners' second language is not sufficient in expressing themselves, it is
likely that they will rely on their first language to express their ideas. Edge (1989: 7) is in
line with this thought: "when people do not know how to say something in a foreign
language, one possibility is to use words and structures from their own language and try to
make them fit into the foreign language." Moreover, the interference of mother tongue may

target language structures. Consequently, students automatically apply rules wherein they
are not allowed to. For example:
She will cries aloud.
He can speaks English well.
We are hope to see you.
In the examples, the learners overgeneralize that the simple present tense „s‟ ending
is required by the third person singular. Whereas, the form of English sentences are not
fully the same as they expect. In addition, they may reduce their linguistic burden. To
know their mistakes in constructing sentences, I give the correct sentences as follows:
She will cry aloud.
He can speak English well.
We hope to see you.
1.5.2.2. Ignorance of rule restriction
This types of errors involves the application of rules to contexts where the learner
does not apply. Here the learner fails to observe the restrictions of existing structures. For
example:
He asked to me about my family.
She told to me her big problem yesterday.
He showed to me his new cars.
In this case, they should reduce „to‟ in the sentence “He asked to me” because he
applied the same preposition to different verbs. The following sentences are the correct
forms of the sentences above:
He asked me about my family. 21
She told me her big problem yesterday.
She showed me his new cars
1.5.2.3. Incomplete application of rules
This kind of intralingual error is converse of overgeneralization and represents the

22
in the preparation of teaching materials. This definition stresses the functions of error
analysis.
Another concept of error analysis is given by Crystal (1987:112). He considers
error analysis a 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.
From those explanations it can be concluded that error analysis is a methodology
for dealing with data which can be observed, analyzed and classified to reveal or determine
the incidence, nature, causes and consequences of unsuccessful language learning within
the learners. In other words, error analysis is an activity to identify, classify and interpreted
or describe the errors made by someone in speaking or in writing and it is carried out to
obtain information on common difficulties faced by someone in speaking or in writing
English sentences.
1.7 Significance of error analysis
Many scholars in the field of error analysis have stressed the significance of second
language learners' errors. According to Corder as cited by Richards (1974) noted that errors
“could be significant in three ways: (1) they provided the teacher with information about
how much the learner had learnt. By error analysis, teachers will get an overall knowledge
about the students‟ errors. Foreign language learning is a process of hypothesis and trial
and error occurrence is inevitable. So the teacher should learn to tolerate some errors,
especially some local errors; (2) they provided the researcher with of evidence of how
language was learnt. Errors can tell the teacher how far towards the goal the learner has
progressed and consequently, what remains for him or her to learn. So students‟ errors are
valuable feedbacks. We can do some remedial teaching based on their errors; and (3) they
served as devices by which the learner discovered the rules of the target language. Errors
are indispensable to the learners themselves, for we can regard the making of mistakes as a
device the learner employs in order to learn.
In conclusion, error analysis theory together with other theories have enriched the
second language learning theory in that learning involves in a process in which success

language requires the use of each only under certain conditions, as in the
random use of he and she regardless of the gender of the person of
interest.
(6) Misordering items in constructions that require a reversal of word-order
rules that had been previously acquired, as in What you are doing?, or
misplacing items that may be correctly placed in more than one place in
the sentence, as in They are all the time late.
(Extracted from Dulay et al., 1982, pp.138-139) 24
In Vann et al.‟s 1984 study that examined university faculty‟s opinion of ESL errors,
they chose the following as common ESL writing errors:
Spelling Tense
Subject-verb Prepositions
Article It-deletion
Relative clauses Pronoun agreement
Comma splice Word order
(Vann et al., 1984, p.431)
There is also a useful checklist developed by Robinett in 1972, which contains the
frequent errors of ESL learners. This checklist consists of 18 areas, and the types of
frequent errors in each area are described in detail, so that the teachers can use them to
evaluate compositions in a more objective way (for more detail, see Walz, 1982).
Agreement Capitalization Article / Determiners
Verbs Punctuation Format
Word division Sentence Paraphrase
Penmanship Vocabulary Nouns
Comparison Content Spelling
Prepositions Double negative Word order
(Robinett, 1972, extracted fromWalz, 1982, p.35)

boundaries (run-on, fragments,
comma splices), word order,
omitted words, or phrases,
unnecessary words or phrases, other
unidiomatic sentence construction.

It‟s obvious that common ESL writing errors are identified and classified
differently according to the reseachers‟ perspectives. However, in order to achieve the
study‟s objective of finding 5 most frequent errors made by students of Nghe An
Economics and Technology college, I have adapted the way Chaney (1999) analyzed
learner‟s errors. This will be discussed carefully in chapter 4 of this current study.
In summary, the literature relevant to the issue of learners‟ errors has been
reviewed carefully by the researcher in this chapter. Learner‟s error is a complicated issue
which is viewed differently from different perspectives. Due to the complexity of the
question under discussion, I have adopted Norrish‟s and Cunning Worth‟s definition of
errors as an operational definition for this study. For the purpose of the study, the term
error is used to refer to the linguistic deviants made within the learners‟ underlying system. 26
Chapter II: Research method

Classification of errors
Grouping the errors that have been found and stating
the classes of the errors
4.
Explanation of errors
Explaining the errors by establishing the source of
the errors and calculating how often the errors appear
5.
Evaluation of errors
Evaluating the errors step involves tabelizing the
errors and drawing conclusion
27
2.3 Context and participants of the study
2.3.1 Context of teaching and learning at Nghe An Economics and
Technology college.
In the context of Nghe An Economics and Technology college, English is a non-
major but a compulsory subject with two sections: 75 periods for General English which is
taught in the first year and another 75 periods for English for Specific Purposes which is
taught in the second year. New Headway Pre-intermediate has been used for General
English. This book consists of fourteen lessons and is designed for a development of four
language skills: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. However, the limitation of the
time and the pressures of the College English Test and the College English curriculum
have prevented teachers from covering all language skills carefully. Only speaking and
reading are introduced and practised at the classroom. Listening and writing are often
practised at home by the students themselves
2.3.2 . Participants and their background
The participants of the study are forty first-year students in the academic year of 2009

of two groups The first one was the participation of 40 final writing tests whose topic was
about their past holiday. These tests were chosen randomly among 400 other writing tests.
The second one was the participation of 40 students in classes K5- 05, K5- 06, K5- 07, K5-
Business Accounting who were chosen randomly by the researcher. In order to get the data
as objectively as possible, the researcher had the teacher of those classes get her students
write free essays in the form of paragraphs. They had already learned English at the high
schools only therefore they were able to write some genres such as: recount, report, letter,
postcard, descriptive and procedure.
The students were asked to write paragraphs choosing one of the following topics:
- a favourite room;
- a person he/she likes best;
- the best holiday;
- living in the city and in the country;
- a letter to the dearest friend
The paragraphs were written in pieces of paper. It was not an exam so students were
allowed to use dictionaries. The paragraphs had to be at least 100 words long. It could be
done in maximum of 60 minutes. The total respondents were 40 students who were chosen
as samples of the study.
These essays were written in the form of paragraphs. These students wrote everything
they wanted using suggested topics, but it must be at least 100 words long. The subject
matter of this research was which types of errors the students made inside their written