VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES
  
HÀ VĂN MINH THE INTERFERENCE OF THE MOTHER TONGUE IN
THE WRITING SKILLS OF THE GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT
TINH GIA 2 UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL
(ẢNH HƯỞNG CỦA TIẾNG MẸ ĐỐI VỚI KỸ NĂNG VIẾT CỦA HỌC SINH
LỚP 10 TẠI TRƯỜNG THPT TĨNH GIA 2) M.A. Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60. 14. 10
Hanoi, 2011
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

DECLARATION………………………………………………………………………
i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………….
ii
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………….
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………
iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS……………………………………….
vi
LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………
vii
PART A: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………
1
1. Rationale for the study……………………………………………………………
1
2. Aims of the study ………………………………………………………………
2
3. Research questions of the study…………………………………………………
2
4. Scope of the study ………………………………………………………………
2
5. Significance of the study …………………………………………………………
2
6. Organization of the study ………………………………………………………
3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT…………………………………………………………
4
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………….
4

2.3.1. Introduction to a test in general and description of the final test used in

the study……………………………………………………………………
20
2.3.2. Data collection procedures………………………………………………
21
2.4. Coding the writtings…………………………………………………………
22
CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION……………………………………
23
3.1. Data Analysis and discussion…………………………………………………
23
3.1.1. Data Analysis and discussion on the errors from the test papers…………
23
3.1.1.1. Identification……………………………………………………………
23
3.1.1.2. Description and discussion on the five most frequent types of errors….
23
3.1.2. Discussion and explanation on the grammatical errors……………………
29
3.2. Major findings…………………………………………………………………
38
3.2.1. Major findings on how much MT interference in students’ errors…………
38
3.2.2. Major findings on the most frequent grammatical errors…………………
39
3.3. Suggestions for further teaching strategies…………………………………….
39
PART C: CONCLUSION …………………………………………………………….
40

EFL
: English as a Foreign Language
E S
: Error Sentence
L1
: First Language
L2
: Second Language
MT
: Mother Tongue
SLA
: Second Language Acquisition
TL
: Target Language
TG2USS
: Tinh Gia 2 Upper Secondary School
Ø
: Missing word vii

LIST OF TABLES


All the above-mentioned reasons have inspired the researcher to carry out a study entitled
“The Interference of the Mother Tongue in the Writing Skills of the Grade 10 Students
at Tinh Gia 2 Upper Secondary School”. 2
2. Aims of the study
This study is primarily targeted at helping to improve the grade 10 students‟ writing skills
by reducing the negative interference of the L1 (Vietnamese) on their writing. To achieve
this aim, the researcher attempts:
- To find out the most frequent L1 interference errors students committed when doing
paragraph writing.
- To identify causes of the students‟ writing errors – the interference of the L1.
- To give practical recommendations.
3. Research questions of the study
The study just focuses on writing errors caused by MT interference, the following research
questions are proposed:
1. How much does L1 interfere with the students‟ writing?
2. What are the most common L1- related grammatical errors committed by the
students in their writing?
4. Scope of the study
The study was carried out with four classes (10C1, 10C6, 10C7 and 10C11) consisting of
182 students of TG2USS in their second term, the academic year 2010-2011. Due to the
fixed curriculum and limited time, the study only centred on the L1- related grammatical
errors committed by students in their final writing test papers and based on the analysis of
their writing papers, some suggested solutions were provided.
5. Significance of the study
The study attempts to bring about some benefits theoretically and practically to the readers
and researchers, especially to the secondary school teachers of English.
In terms of theoretical benefits, the study could provide the information on the students‟

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
This part, literature review, presents a review of related literature that provides the
theoretical background of the study. It includes the main sections: section 1 dicusses the
written English vs spoken English, section 2 addresses the L1 interference on L2, section 3
examines errors in foreign language learning process, section 4 mentions contrastive
analysis (CA) and section 5, the last section, discusses error analysis (EA).
1.1. Written language versus spoken language
A commonly held belief is that the nature of written language will be most clearly seen
when being contrasted with that of the spoken language. Many famous linguists have
followed this approach such as Brown & Yule, Byrne, Ellis & Sinclair, etc. Brown & Yule
(1983) suggest that information is packed very much more densely in the written language
than in the spoken form, which also explains its brevity and results from the presence of
heavy premodified noun phrases, heavy adverbial modification and complex subordinating
phrases. In other words, the written language provides much more information than the
spoken language with a more complicated set of vocabulary and grammar rules.
Ellis & Sinclair (1989) make a clear distinction between spoken and written language.
They point out that written language is formal and stable while spoken language is
informal and variable. Therefore, it appears much easier to provide a model of written
language than that of spoken one. Done Byrne (1997) also agrees with the view that
writing is different from speech in a number of ways. Speech takes place against the
background of a situation and much of what we say can be understood from the situation;
speech is addressed to a person who is present at that time and there is continuous
interaction and feedback, which may be in verbal or non-verbal form. That is not to
mention the considerable amount of resources possible to be drawn from speech through
the use of prosodic features, facial expressions, gestures. Writing, in contrast, creates

slower to produce, but
quicker to read
quicker to produce but listening
speed is decided by the speed of
speaker
Standard language
standard
may be in regional, or limited-
context dialect
A learnt skill
must be taught and learnt
mother tongue is acquired
Sheer amount and
importance
used less
used more in life
(Source: Adapted from Ur, P. 1996: 159-161)
Table 1: Comparing spoken language and written language.
According to the data, the different features between spoken and written language suggest
some cautions in teaching writing. Because written texts are permanent and can be referred
many times, they must be written with careful choice of vocabulary and structures.
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1.2. The interference of L1 in L2
Many language teachers and linguists have considered L1 interference as an barrier of L2
learning. Lightbown and Spada (1993:54) found that in the 1960‟s various studies
indicated that most of mistakes L2 learners made due to their L1 interference. As a result,
numerous researchers have paid attention to errors which demonstrate the influence of

"When learning a foreign language an individual already knows his mother tongue,
and it is this which he attempts to transfer. The transfer may prove to be justified
because the structure of the two languages is similar - in that case we get 'positive
transfer' or 'facilitation' - or it may prove unjustified because the structure of the
two languages are different - in that case we get 'negative transfer' - or
'interference'.
In other words, the influence of MT on L2 learning is manifested by the positive or
negative transference.This study does not explore the positive impact of the Vietnamese
language (MT) in learning a foreign language (English). It only concentrates on
investigating the negative effects of the MT in learning writing skills.
1.3. Error in foreign language learning process
1.3.1. Definition of error
In the history of English language teaching, numerous definitions of errors have been
proposed by many linguists and reseachers in terms of their differences. Corder (1973:259)
refers to errors as breaches of the code. Errors deviate from what is regarded as the norm.
In his research in 1998, James defines a languge error as an successful bit of language.
Dulay, et. al (1982:138) stress that errors are seen as “the flawed side of the learner speech
or writing, they are parts of conversation or composition that deviates from selected
norms”. Rechards, et al share the view that:
“ An erros in the speech or writing of a second or foreign language learners is the
use of a language item (e.g. a word, a grammatical item, a speech act, etc.) in a
way which a fluent or native speaker of the language regards as showing faulty or
incomplete learning”
Chun, A et. al (1982:538) also adorse this point that “an error is the use of a linguistic item
in a way which, according to fluent users of the language, indicates faulty or incomplete
learning”.

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Similarily, other linguists have said that “an error occurs where the speakers fail to follow
the pattern or the manner of speech of educated people in English speaking countries

which occur in a L2. According to Corder (1974: 29), errors are typically produced by
people who do not yet fully command some institutionalized language system. A mistake
is also a deviation of the norms of the language but is not systematic. It means that the use
of the norm of the language in the sentences is sometimes right and sometimes wrong.
Norrish (1983:7) also says that a mistake is an inconsistent deviation that is sometimes the
learner „gets it right‟ but sometimes wrong. For example, if a learner has not yet been
taught a certain correct form and he uses one form sometimes and another at other times
quite inconsistently, „the inconsistent deviation‟ is called mistake. According to Richards,
et al. (1992:127), a difference between an error and mistake is that error results from
incomplete knowledge, whereas a mistake made by a learner when writing or speaking and
which is caused by lack of attention, fatigue, carelessness, or some other aspect of
performance.
From the linguists‟ opinions above, it can be concluded that a mistake is a non systematic
deviation from the norms of language. A mistake refers to the failures to use the language
system correctly caused by some factors such as carelessness, memory lapses, and physical
condition while error refers to the failure to use the system correctly caused by the lack of
the learners‟ competence, ignorance of appropriate rule and interference of the learners‟
MT and the general characteristics of the rule learning.
Error is a complicated concept by nature. However, for the purpose of this study, the
definitions by Norrish and Cunning Worth are adopted because these two definitions are
adequate to reveal the errors showing up in the written texts.
1.3.3. Classification of errors
According to James (1998:129), errors can be classified based on three criteria: modality,
medium and level.
Modality indicates whether the learners‟ behaviour is receptive or productive. By this
reference, there are receptive errors in listening and reading and productive errors in
speaking and writing.
Medium refers to whether the language received or produced is spoken or written. This
refers to errors made when the learner is operating with speech sounds (involving listening
and speaking or with written symbols (reading and writing). Taking modality and medium

preposition). Below are the examples of morphology errors.

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Errors
Correct form
- Noun
six book
six books

abolishment
abolition
- Verb
bringed
brought

was drinken
was drinking
- Adjective
colorfuller scene
colorful scene

These errors are basic but persistent, regularly resurfacing even in the EFL writing of PhD
students (James, 1998:155).
The most popular are third singular “s”, plural “s”, past tense “ed”, and progressive “ing”.
About adjective morphology errors, eg: using colourfuller (instead of colourful) scene or
visit me soonly (soon) is an example of adverb morphology errors
(ii) Syntax errors
Syntax errors are errors that affect texts larger than the word, namely phrase, clause,
sentence and ultimately paragraph. Below are the examples of syntax errors.

Explanation of errors
He shaved himself the
beard.
He shaved himself.
The phrase in question is
superfluous.
Give ø to the dog!
Give it to the dog!
Omission of noun phrase.
Watson sent to him the
letter.
Watson sent him the letter/
Watson sent the letter to him.
Misording.
He seems crying.
He seems to cry.
Misselection.
You would be most likely
get first prize.
You would be likely to get
first prize.
A blend or hybrid

Sentence errors: These involve the selection and combination of clauses into larger units.
Other sentence errors are consolidation errors, comprising the two sub-types coordinate
and subordination errors ( Shaughenessy, 1977:55)
They believe [they can become leaders in their field
1
] and [a good secure
2

Schmidt (2002), CA focuses on the comparison of the linguistic systems of the two
languages, especially the sound and grammar systems of L1 and L2, to find solutions to L2
instruction problems. CA was developed and practiced in the 1950s and 1960s, as an
application of structural linguistics to language teaching. It is based on the following
assumptions: (i) the main difficulties in learning a new language are caused by
interference from the L1 or „language transfer‟, (ii) such difficulties can be identified by
CA, and (iii) teaching materials can make use of CA to eliminate the interference effects.
CA stressed the native language as the main factor affecting L2 learners‟ errors. In other
words, CA emphasizes the interference of the MT in learning a L2 in phonological,
morphological, lexical and syntactic level. It holds that L2 would be affected by L1. Here,
language is taken as a set of habits and learning as establishment of new habits, a view
sprung from behaviorism, under which language is essentially a system of habits. In the
course of language learning, L1 learning habits will be transferred into L2 learning habits.
Therefore, in the case of L1 transfer into L2, if structures in the MT have their
corresponding structures in the TL and L1 habits can be successfully used in the L2,
learners would transfer similar properties successfully and would result in positive transfer.
Contrastingly, in the case of negative transfer or interference, certain elements of the MT

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have no corresponding counterparts in the TL, L1 habits would cause errors in the L2, and
learners would transfer inappropriate properties of L1.
1.5. Error analysis
1.5.1. Concepts of error analysis
Error analysis (EA) is a type of linguistic analysis that focuses on the errors committed by
learners. According to Richards, et al. (1992:127), the study an analysis of errors made by
the L2 learners is called EA, which is carried out in order to identify strategies learners use
in language learning, try to identify the cause of learners‟ errors, and obtain information on
common difficulties in language learning, as an aid to teaching or in the preparation of
teaching materials.
James (1998:1) says that EA is the process of determining the incidence, nature, causes,

which included three stages: (i) Data collection: Recognition of idiosyncracy; (ii)
Description: Accounting for idiosyncratic dialect; (iii) Explanation (the ultimate object of
EA).
In 1984, Van Els, et. al propose a model for EA procedures including six steps: A corpus
of language is selected, the errors in the corpus are identified, the errors are classified, the
errors are explained, the errors are evaluated, prevention or correction of errors.
James (1998) suggests a more detailed model for EA procedures. Basically, his model
follows the same steps as Van Els, et. al (1984). However, Jame‟s model emphasizes
detailed description of errors. His description of errors in three levels of errors mentioned
in section 1.3.3, namely modality, medium and level. They seem very useful and easy to
understand for many studies, including the researcher.
According to Ellis and Barkhuizen (2005), there are five steps in conducting any EA study:
(i) Collection of a sample of learner language; (ii) Identification of errors; (iii) Description
of errors; (iv) Explanation of errors, and (v) Error evaluation.
The models for EA procedures mentioned above, in which the model by Ellis and
Barkhuizen (2005) is selected for this study because it is described in a very easy way to
follow. Nevertheless, the last step - error evaluation is not carried out due to the limited
time and the scope of the study. The other steps are described and discussed as follows.
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(i) Collection of a sample of learner language.
The first point in EA is the collection of a sample of learner language. Van Els, et al (1984)
states the the sample of learner language ( or corpus of language) should involve deciding
on the size of the sample, the medium to be sampled and the homogeneity of the sample
(by taking into account the learner‟s characteristics: age, stage of development, motivation,
etc). Corder (1974) proposes four points to pay attention to when collecting samples as
follows:
First, it is necessary to identify the size of the sample. Researchers have identified three

seem to be preferable in speaking EA. Therefore, in this study, the researcher decided to
use one of experimental techniques. A test was used to investigate different types of errors
which students at TG2USS made and possible causes of these errors.
Finally, the researcher should decide “whether the samples of learner are collected cross-
sectionally (i.e. at single point in time) or longitually (i.e. at successive points over period
of time)”. Longitudial collection is better but time-consuming than cross-sectional one.
Due to the limited scope and time for this study, a massive sample for this study was
collected cross-sectionally using the techniques mentioned above.
(ii) Error Identification
According to Corder (1974), the second step of EA procedures - identification of errors,
the researchers need to “decide what constitutes an „error‟ and to establish a procedure for
recognizing one”. He suggests four crucial questions that should be clarified when
recognizing an error.
The first question is to set up what TL should be used as the point of evaluation for the
study. Generally, in order to describe writing errors, Corder suggests choosing the
standard written dialect as the norm where classroom learners are concerned. Burt and
Kiparsky (1974) also stated that “we should identify errors by reference to the TL,
according to what person who says them has learnt about English”.
The second is related to the differences between “errors” and “mistakes or slips”. An error
is made when the deviation arises as a result of lack of knowledge while a mistake or slip
occurs when learners fail to perform to their competence in the TL. Normally, a mistake or
slip is immediately corrected by the learner.
The third one is about interpretation. There are two kinds of interpretation: overt and
covert. The former is easy to identify because there is a clear deviation in form (She selled

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her car) and the latter occurs in utterances that are syntactically and semantically well-
formed but pragmatically odd (Where do you go?). James (1998:68) states if an error
touches the grammar, it is overtly error. Whereas touching the acceptability of meaning, it
is covertly error.

linguistic system and also to formulate the process of learning his first foreign language.
The source of an error could be interlanguage or intralanguage (Richards, 1971). In other
words, there are two sources of errors, they are MT interfereces (Interlingual) and TL
causes (Intralingual). However, due to the limited time and the aim of the study, MT
interfereces (Interlingual) will be discussed in this study.
Mother-tongue interference (Interlingual Error)
If the learner of a foreign language makes some mistakes in the TL by the effect of his MT,
that is called as interlanguage errors. According to Brown (1994: 225) the beginning stages
of learning a L2 are characterized by a good deal of interlingual transfer from the native
language. Moreover, Richards (1974:35) says interlingual errors are errors which are
caused by interference from the native language to the TL they learn. In short, the learning
problem is caused by the structure of L1. For instance, in Vietnamese nouns do not
pluralize after a numeral; one says in Vietnamese the equivalent of two pen and not two
pens.
Actually, language transfer is considered to be major among the seven factors that may
influence and characterize the L2 learner systems. The MT interference may result in some
deviant sentences made by L2 learners. Some linguists have been doing CA to predict
errors by comparing the linguistic systems of the MT and the TL.
George (1971) found that one-third of the deviant sentences from L2 learners could be
attributed to language transfer. In other words, the MT interference , which causes
interlingual errors, rooted from the differences of the two languages.
There are four basic factors, which affect the MT interference in L2 learning namely the
performance pressure, limited language environment, manner of eliciting verbal
performance and the monitor use.
In summary, in this chapter, the researcher has reviewed the necessary literature related to
errors, CA and EA. The key procedures of EA are also found out. The reviewed literature
lays a foundation for the CA and EA in the next chapters.