When doing an internship at a German secondary school, I realised English teachers are pointing out many errors to their students. Whether it is grammar, wrong use of a vocabulary word or their pronunciation, no matter their age or grade, the students are corrected whenever they say something wrong, but not once did I notice a teacher point out any prepositional mistakes to their students. But prepositional mistakes seem to be very common, I heard them in loads of sentences students tried to form on their own. As a result of this observation, I want to conduct in this study how many and what kind of prepositional mistakes are being made in the English language acquisition of German native speakers.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1. Hypotheses for this Study
2. Theoretical Background
3. Data Method
3.1. Participants
3.2. Methods of Data Collection
3.3. Data Analysis
4. Result
5. Discussion
5.1. Hypothesis 1
5.2. Hypothesis 2
6. Conclusion
6.1. Synthesis of Current Study
6.2. Shortcoming of this Study
6.3. Outlook
Research Objectives and Focus
The study aims to investigate the frequency and types of prepositional mistakes made by German native speakers during their acquisition of the English language, specifically focusing on how negative transfer and overgeneralization influence these errors.
- Analysis of prepositional usage errors in academic essays written by German learners.
- Categorization of mistakes based on similarity or dissimilarity between German and English prepositions.
- Evaluation of the influence of L1 (German) interference on L2 (English) performance.
- Comparison of error rates across four specific defined categories (SGEP, DGEP, GPEC, EPGC).
Excerpt from the Book
2. Theoretical Background
There are different reasons for prepositional errors, “theoreticians and language teachers have long recognized the important role of a native language (L1) in the acquisition of a second language (L2)” (Gvarishvili, 2013:1565) so “certain elements in the first language hinder second language acquisition through negative interference” (Gvarishvili, 2013:1565). This means that when someone is “learning a new language they are also applying some rules from their first language onto the target language” (Gvarishvili, 2013:1566) i.e., they are transferring the rules of prepositional usage from German onto the English language. This “transfer may be of either positive or negative character” (Gvarishvili, 2013:1566), positive transfer being the correct adaption of German prepositional rules onto English. Negative transfer therefore is the incorrect adaption of rules and can cause different types of mistakes, the two most important kinds are Interlingual errors and Intralingual errors. Interlingual errors happen when there is negative transfer from the L1, so if German prepositional rules are incorrectly applied to the English language. Intralingual errors are the consequence of overgeneralisation, which is the negative transfer from the L2, the “preposition is originally thought as equivalent of a certain native preposition and afterward this knowledge is over generalized and used in inappropriate context” (Gvarishvili, 2013:1570)
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the observation of frequent prepositional errors in German secondary school students and presents the study's hypotheses.
2. Theoretical Background: Examines the role of native language interference (L1) and intralingual factors like overgeneralization in second language acquisition.
3. Data Method: Describes the methodology used, including subject selection, data collection via essays, and the categorization of errors.
4. Result: Presents the quantitative findings, showing a total of 36 errors found in 60 essays and the distribution across four categories.
5. Discussion: Analyzes the findings in relation to the hypotheses, confirming that DGEP is the primary source of errors.
6. Conclusion: Synthesizes the results, discusses study limitations, and suggests future research directions in language teaching.
Keywords
Prepositional mistakes, English language acquisition, German native speakers, negative transfer, Interlingual errors, Intralingual errors, DGEP, SGEP, GPEC, EPGC, overgeneralization, L1 interference, second language acquisition.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this research?
The research examines the prevalence and nature of prepositional errors made by German students when learning English as a second language.
What are the primary thematic fields covered?
The study centers on language interference, specifically the impact of German prepositional rules on English writing tasks.
What is the central research goal?
The goal is to determine which types of prepositional mismatches cause the most difficulty for German learners and how they relate to the learners' native language.
Which scientific method is utilized in this paper?
The author conducted a qualitative and quantitative analysis of 60 essays written by seven students, categorizing errors into four specific groups.
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The main body covers the theoretical basis of language transfer, the methodology of error classification, and a detailed discussion of the findings.
Which keywords define this work?
Key terms include prepositional mistakes, negative transfer, interlingual errors, intralingual errors, and language acquisition.
Why are DGEP mistakes considered the most frequent?
They are the most frequent because learners often overgeneralize English prepositions, mistakenly assuming a direct one-to-one equivalence with German after initial learning.
What is the significance of the "shortcomings" chapter?
It identifies limitations like the small sample size and lack of gender diversity, proposing a broader approach for future studies to improve overall reliability.
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- Fee Koppenburg (Autor), 2021, Prepositional Mistakes in German L2 English Speakers, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1278892
