HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE

NGUYEN MINH PHUONG

A STUDY ON COMMON GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN
SPEAKING SKILL OF 11th GRADE STUDENTS
AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN VIETNAM
(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ LỖI NGỮ PHÁP PHỔ BIẾN TRONG KĨ NĂNG NÓI CỦA
HỌC SINH KHỐI 11 TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG CẤP 3, VIỆT NAM)

(Graduation paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Bachelor of
Arts in English)

Major: English Language Teaching Method

Hanoi, 2019


HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

NGUYEN MINH PHUONG

A STUDY ON COMMON GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN SPEAKING
SKILL OF 11th GRADE STUDENTS AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN VIETNAM
(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ LỖI NGỮ PHÁP PHỔ BIẾN TRONG KĨ NĂNG NÓI CỦA
HỌC SINH KHỐI 11 TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG CẤP 3, VIỆT NAM)

Major: English Language Teaching Method
SUPERVISOR: TRẦN THỊ MINH PHƯƠNG, MA.

quantitative and qualitative methods to achieve the desired results. The participants of
the study is a hundred and twenty students of the 11th grade and ten English teachers at
Yen Khanh A High school.
Research results illustrates that most of the 11th grade students in Yen Khanh A High
school suffer from errors related verb form, prepositions, articles, subject-verb
agreement as well. Besides, from teacher's point of view at Yen Khanh A High school,
the main cause of these errors is the direct impact on students 'psychology; the students'
grammatical knowledge is not really deep; the influence of Vietnamese grammar while
speaking. Specially, they strongly emphasize on performance pressure factor, which is
the most common ones. In order to minimize these errors, teachers should apply
suitable and flexible techniques and create opportunities for students to talk as much as
possible. Meanwhile, students should communicate regularly with teachers and friends,
as well as having suitable methods for self-study.
Key words: grammatical errors, speaking skill, 11th grade, Yen Khanh A High School.

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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
Title: A study on grammatical errors in speaking skill of the11th grade students at a
high school in Vietnam.
I certify that no part of this research has been copied or reproduced by me from any
other person‘s work without the proper acknowledgement. And the results are my own
research, all data are collected from the process of survey and data processing,
absolutely no data duplication or fabrication.
Date submitted:
Student

Supervisor


V.Scope of the study .................................................................................................................... 4
VI.Method of study ..................................................................................................................... 5
`VII.Main contents....................................................................................................................... 5

PART B: DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................................... 6
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 6
1.Literature review in brief…………………………………………………………………..6
2.Theories of Speaking ............................................................................................................... 7
2.1.Definition of speaking .......................................................................................................... 7
3.Theories of Grammar ............................................................................................................. 9
3.1.Definition of grammar ......................................................................................................... 9
3.2.Roles of grammar in speaking .......................................................................................... 9
4.Theories of Error .................................................................................................................... 10
4.1.Definitions of Error ............................................................................................................ 10
4.2.Types of error……………………………………………………………………………...11
5.Theories of Error analysis ................................................................................................... 13
5.1.Definition of Error analysis ............................................................................................ 13
5.2.Significance of error analysis .......................................................................................... 14
6.Theories of Grammatical error.......................................................................................... 14
6.1.Definition of Grammatical error ................................................................................... 14
6.2.Grammatical errors classification ................................................................................. 15
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................... 29
2.Participants .............................................................................................................................. 29
3.1.Observation ........................................................................................................................... 30

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3.1.1.Reasons for using observation ..................................................................................... 30
3.1.2.Description of class observation .................................................................................. 30

Therefore, we can not deny the importance of this international language in today's
society.
In fact, enhancing learner‘s communicative capability is one of the main goal of
teaching and learning foreign language. However, to master a new language is not
simple, it requires us to learn all four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. In
those skills, speaking requires learners to practice regularly and have their own
strategies. Besides, a good speaker needs to have good interaction with listeners,
fluency and speed of utterance. Most students find it difficult to speak English at first.
Speaking, however, in view of Competence Based Curriculum speaking is one of the
four fundamental abilities that the students should gain well. It has an essential job in
communication. Speaking can discover in spoken cycle particularly in Joint
Construction of Text arrange (Departmen Pendidikan Nasional, 2004). In other word,
speaking is considered as the most important skill for the purpose of communication
and one of the key helping learners easily conquer this interesting language.
Like writing skill, speaking is production skill. If when writing, learners have time to
think, also correct grammatical structures, then spoken English is uniquely
spontaneous, unplanned and produced in real time with no opportunity for editing
(Cullen and Kuo 2007), Obviously, when speaking English, learners do not have time
to think, but must deal quickly with their instincts.
According to Azar (2007), Grammar can ―help students discover the nature of
language, i.e., that language consists of predictable patterns that make what we say,
read, hear, and write intelligible‖ . It means that without grammar, people would have
only individual words or sounds, pictures, and body language to communicate

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meaning. Brumfit (1984) as well refers to the accuracy of the language content:
grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary.
Also, in any language, grammar makes significant contribution to speaking skill. This


In the past, when Vietnam had not yet renovated its teaching program, teachers
mainly used traditional methods: reading and translating. When teaching English, most
schools focus strongly on the grammar on the written but lack emphasis on speech.
What‘s more, teachers almost control students during class time. In this situation, Viet
Nam‘s education sector today has been renewed, focusing on developing all four skills:
listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Nevertheless, one of the biggest barrier facing Vietnamese students is the lack of
experience. Particularly, most of time students are taught hundreds of grammar rules
but it‘s almost impossible for them to apply these grammar rules accurately and
effectively to speaking skill. Besides, the time spent on practice speaking is too little
for students. Especially, a notable situation is that students learn just for points, the
form of examinations or tests based on reading and writing skill only. Therefore,
students do not seem to focus on speaking skill much, which leads to deviations in
learning English: understand but not applicable. Dr. Nguyen Thi Hao (Deputy Head of
Education Management Department, University of Social Sciences and Humanities,
HCM) supposed that many students until the 12th grade, when meeting tourists, cannot
guide them by using simple directions structures.
Regardless of the changes which should be made in concentrates on grammatical
errors in spoken language, such research would fill an instructive need by indicating
what students have realized and what they have not yet achieved in speaking English.
Such study also would contribute to writing on linguistic properties of spoken language
for materials improvement. Hence, with a reason above, there arises a need of a
research on ―A study on grammatical errors in speaking skill of the11th grade students
at a high school in Vietnam”
II. The significance of the study
Making mistakes in speaking is unavoidable, and it is also as one of the underresearched issues in speaking skill for students in Vietnam. Hopefully, this research
will be helpful for students, teachers and as well as researchers in the related fields:

3

One hundred and twenty students of grade 11 at Yen Khanh A high school were
chosen as subjects of the study. They were both male and female between 17 and 18

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years. All of them have been learning English as a compulsory subject at school for at
least six years. In this thesis proposal, there were three tools used as effective ways to
evaluate the results of the thesis: observation, questionnaire and recording. Observation
and recording were proceeded in the first five weeks with a view to taking note
speeches of students. I observed the whole class and recorded 5 to 6 students ‗speeches
each time. The questionnaires were used in the final week by Yen Khanh A‘s students
and the assistance of some English teachers at Yen Khanh A High School to investigate
the real situation of speaking proficiency of 11th grade students at Yen Khanh A High
School.
VII.Main contents
Part A, Introduction, offers an overview of Rationale, Aims of the study, Research
questions, Scope of the study, Methods of the study and Significance of the study.
Part B, Development, gives information on Literature Review, Methodology, Finding
and Discussion, Implications of the study.
Chapter I, Literature review, presents language acquisition, theoretical frameworks of
language learning factors and research framework.
Chapter II, Methodology, describes in detail the Participants, Research instruments
employed and Procedure of data collection analysis.
Chapter III, Findings and discussion, analyzes gathered data and presents the
discussion of research findings. And then give suggested solution for teachers.
Part C, Conclusion, summary of the study, limitations and suggestion for further study.

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Furthermore, Hervina also analyzed grammatical errors when speaking with title
"Grammatical error in speaking made by the third year English Department students
at STKIP Abdi Pendidikan Payakumbuh "performed on 3rd year students of STKIP
Abdi Pendidikan Payakumbuh, published in 2014. The researcher used the qualitative
method, including: observation, interview and documentation. The writer used 3
activities on data analysis: data reduction, data display, drawing/verification. The
results illustrated that most students could not master the use of verb groups. They also
confused in making the agreement between subject and verb. In addition, prepositions
were one of the obstacles for students when speaking English.
In brief, each of type of error has source of error. Depending on different contexts as
well as different conditions, learners may make different grammatical errors. Thus, it is
essential to have a study on common grammatical errors in speaking English of
students at Yen Khanh A High School.
2.Theories of Speaking
2.1.Definition of speaking
Oxford dictionaries defied speaking is the action of conveying information or
expressing one's feelings in speech or the activity of delivering speeches.
According to Burns & Joyce, 1997, speaking is stated as an intelligent procedure of
developing implying that includes delivering, getting and handling information. Its
form and meaning is based on different factors in different contexts such as
participants, including speakers and listeners, physical environment and goals for
speaking. As Hybel (2001) declared that speaking is any procedure in which
individuals share information, thoughts, and feeling, it includes all of non-verbal
communication and style whatever adds significance to a message. Specially, speaking
is to express our thought to others in oral communication, additionally a handle in
which a speaker passes on data or messages to listeners.

meaningful messages to convey thoughts and feelings to the participants of the
conversation.

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3.Theories of Grammar
3.1.Definition of grammar
Grammar is the whole system and structure of a language or of languages in general,
usually taken as consisting of syntax and morphology (including inflections) and
sometimes also phonology and semantics.
(www.oxforddictionaries.com)
Grammar is the system of a language. Sometimes it is described as the "rules" of a
language; but in fact no language has rules.
Different experts define the term grammar differently and there is no fixed definition of
grammar. Harmer (2004) defined grammar as the description of the ways in which
words can change their forms and can be combined into sentence in that language. As
him stated in communication, it was rules or regulations when building a language and
using that language. Besides, Ur mentioned grammar as the manner in which language
controls and consolidate words or bits of words so as to frame longer units of
implications.
Grammar is the foundation of our own ability. The more we grasp how it works, the
more progress we have and the mastery of that language. It can help encourage
exactness, distinguish equivocalness, and endeavor the lavishness of articulation
accessible in English. What's more, it can support everybody, instructors of English,
yet educators of anything, for all instructing is eventually a matter of getting to grasps
with significance
(David Crystal, ―In World and Deed‖, TES Teacher, April 30, 2004).
3.2.Roles of grammar in speaking
Grammar plays a very important and diverse role, especially in everyday

disrespectful or uneducated.
4.Theories of Error
4.1.Definitions of Error
According to collins dictionary An error is something you have done which is
considered to be incorrect or wrong, or which should not have been done.
Different researchers defined different views. J. Richard et al (2002) described the
error may be the wrong way to use a word, speech act or a grammatical structure in
such a way it seems imperfect and significant of an incomplete learning.

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Meanwhile, Norrish (1983, p.7) considered errors occur according to a system,
learners may not understand or understand but apply wrongly when practicing. This is
really problematic because if it is not edited from the beginning, it can become a habit
and very difficult to overcome later.
As James (1998) considered

an

error

as grammatical correctness and

acceptance. He judges errors according to ignorance, it is the research on linguistic
ignorance, surveys about those mistakes and how people face such ignorance. He
stated that the ignorance of learners of the target language can be shown following as
four categories: grammaticality, acceptability, correctness and strangeness

and


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because learners are at the beginning stage or their knowledge are not good.
In addition, the cause of making mistakes is due to the difficulty and complexity
language itself. ( Heydari and Bagheri ,2012,p.10)
Heydari and Bagheri (2012; as cited in Brown, 1994) classified sources of errors into
the following categories: Interference transfer, which is the negative influence of the
learner‘s mother tongue. Secondly is intralingual transfer, the negative transfer of items
within the target language. In other words, the incorrect generalisation of the rules
within the target language. Besides, context of learning, which overlaps both types of
transfers. For example, the context around the classroom includes references to
materials, or teachers themselves may be false models. In a classroom context, the
teacher or the textbook can lead the learner to make a wrong generalisation about the
language. Last but not least, communication strategies, which are the conscious
employment of verbal mechanisms for communicating an idea when linguistic forms
are not available to the learner for various reasons.
Burt and Kiparsky (1972) showed there are four main types of errors based on
surface structure descriptions , including omissions (This is book); additions such as
regularizations (two deers) and double markings (I didn't ate it); misinformation errors
subcategorized into regularization errors (two childs), archi-forms (this dog here, this
dogs here, this dog there, this dogs there), and alternating forms (this dogs, those dog),
and misordering errors (Always I go / Where you are going). These examples can be
found in Burt and Kiparsky (1972).
Furthermore, one of the classification is to base on the type of linguistic
categories. They are phonology /pronunciation, syntax and morphology/grammar,
semantics and lexicon /meaning and vocabulary. In detail, grammar comprises
subject -verb agreement, verb form, preposition, word form, article, pronoun, tense,
plurality , question and negation. Such a classification is useful to educational

grasp how their receiving student, helps detect errors that students have, since then
supports methods for students to overcome.
Crystal (1987) pointed out error analysis is a method for distinguishing, classifying
and deliberately interpreting

the unsatisfactory structures created by somebody

learning a foreign language , using any of the standards and methodology given by
linguistics

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By general, error analysis is a term used by researchers for studying learners‘ errors
in learning a new language.
5.2.Significance of error analysis
Error analysis is principally important and necessary because, as Jack Richards refers
to Corder‘s observation that Error analysis is only done when the learner makes a
mistake, this is really necessary because it is the basis for the teacher to approach the
mistakes that the learner has made. Therefore, both errors and error analysis are
inescapable portion of teaching and learning
Sharma (1980.VI, 74-83.) supposed that error analysis would thus be able to give a
solid help for teaching . Error analysis is really useful in language learning, because it
helps researchers, textbook editors, teachers discover common types of errors from
which to design exercises to focus on error and fix them.
Corder(1974, p.125) described the investigation of errors is a piece of the
examination of the procedure of language learning. In this regard it takes after
methodologically the investigation of the securing of the native language. It provides us
with an image of the semantic improvement of a student and may give us signs with
regards to the learning procedure

syntax, and orthographic errors, while global errors means communicative errors which
shows that language learners misunderstand the message in communication
6.2.Grammatical errors classification
a.Preposition
According to oxford dictionary, preposition is a word governing, and usually
preceding, a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element in
the clause, as in ‗the man on the platform‘, ‗she arrived after dinner‘, ‗what did you do
it for?‘.
Wishon and Burks (1980, p.288) preposition indicates the connection such as
position, place, direction, time, manner, agent, possession, and condition between their
objects and other parts of the sentence. Prepositions are connective words that
demonstrate the connections between the nouns following them and one of the basic
sentence elements S, V, O, C. Below is a list of common prepositions according to
Langen (415).

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Prepositions:
About

before

by

inside

over

Above


beside

from

off

under

At

between

in

on,

onto

with

Table1: Common prepositions according to Langen
The wrong usage of preposition can be as follow :
 Missing preposition
Error: Duy Pinky is really interested Football.
Correction: Duy Pinky is really interested in Football.
 Wrong preposition
Error: I spend a lot of money in clothes
Correction: I spend a lot of money on clothes
 Unnecessary preposition: