When learning a foreign language errors occur. This is natural and can even help students improve their performances in the target language, which justifies the relevance of error analysis. Only if you are aware of and only if you understand your own errors you can try and avoid them in the future and thus improve your performance. Below I will illustrate different kinds of errors that can occur in the second language acquisition process mainly referring to non-native English speakers learning English as a foreign language in the classroom.
This process is a very individual and idiosyncratic one, i.e. each student develops his or her own interlanguage when learning a new language. An IL is defined as a “language which is between two languages, the learner’s L1 and an L2” (Faerch, Haastrup & Phillipson, 1984, p. 269). An IL typically shows features of both the learner’s L1 and his or her L2. But there can also be found features not seeming to have anything to do with either L1 or L2. According to Yule (2006) an IL is a variable system, i.e. it changes continually. It has its own rules (Yule, 2006).
This hypothesis originally comes from Selinker. According to him, there are processes characteristic of interlanguages, which leads to the interlingual errors (see 3.3 explanation). But first I will take a closer look at the possible causes of errors and after that the ways of dealing with learners’ errors will be examined and in the second part of this paper a learner text containing errors typical of the second language learning process will be analyzed.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Models of error production
2.1 Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis
2.2 Black Box
2.3 Identity Hypothesis
3 Stages of an Error Analysis
3.1 Error Identification
3.2 Error Description and Classification
3.3 Explanation
3.4 Error Correction
4 Analysis of a Learner Text
4.1 Balance
4.2 Analysis
5 Conclusion
6 Bibliography
Research Objectives and Themes
This paper explores the systematic nature of errors in the second language acquisition process, focusing on how learners develop their own unique interlanguage. By examining theoretical models of error production and established stages of error analysis, the study aims to investigate the causes of learner errors and provides a practical analysis of a specific learner text to determine the prevalence of intralingual versus interlingual errors.
- Theoretical models of error production (Contrastive Analysis, Black Box, Identity Hypothesis)
- Methodology of systematic error analysis (Identification, Description, Explanation, Correction)
- Distinction between interlingual and intralingual errors
- Pedagogical principles for effective error correction and remediation
- Empirical analysis of an intermediate learner's written English exercises
Excerpt from the Book
4.2 Analysis
The first exercise was to write down the simple past form of the given verbs as in stop - stopped or in start - started. When it came to stay the pupil wrote down staied. This is a syntactic error as the student violated a principle or rule of how the past verb form is constructed. He probably remembered a rule he had learned about how to build a plural of nouns that end with a “y” as in story – stories. Also he could have been thinking of verbs like to fly that end with –ies in the third person singular. Maybe the student thought oh well, if that is so, the “y” at the end of “stay” needs to be changed into “-ies” as well. He so to speak overgeneralized the rule that says the “y” needs to be changed into “ies”. These are only assumptions as you can never know what is going on in the pupil’s mind, especially if you don’t know him in person and simply analyze his or her exercises. But for sure this is an intralingual error as there is no chance that the student could have transferred this from his mother tongue, which is German, because in German we actually don’t have words that end with “y”. We do use such words, but only nouns, and these are most likely only integrated in our language but originally arise from English. Still we build the plural forms differently, i.e. as German plural forms are built as in City- Citys”. We simply add an “-s” to indicate the plural. The correct version is stay – stayed.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter defines the concept of interlanguage and justifies the relevance of analyzing errors in the second language acquisition process.
2 Models of error production: This section explores theoretical frameworks including the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, the Black Box model, and the Identity Hypothesis to explain why errors occur.
3 Stages of an Error Analysis: This chapter outlines the systematic methodology for handling learner errors, covering identification, description, explanation, and pedagogical correction.
4 Analysis of a Learner Text: This part applies the previously established theories to evaluate specific errors found in a student's class tests.
5 Conclusion: The final chapter summarizes the findings, emphasizing the prevalence of intralingual errors and the challenges teachers face in identifying the mental processes behind learner mistakes.
6 Bibliography: This section lists the academic sources and literature consulted for the research.
Keywords
Error analysis, Interlanguage, Second language acquisition, Contrastive Analysis, Intralingual errors, Interlingual errors, Identity Hypothesis, Black Box model, Error correction, Remediation, Overgeneralization, Linguistics, Learner language, Pedagogical grammar, Syntax.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this work?
The paper focuses on the systematic analysis of errors made by non-native speakers during the process of learning English as a foreign language.
What are the central theoretical themes covered?
The work covers key models of error production, specifically the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, the Black Box model, and the Identity Hypothesis.
What is the main goal of the research?
The goal is to analyze the causes of learner errors and determine whether they are primarily interlingual (stemming from the native language) or intralingual (stemming from the target language itself).
Which methodology is applied in this paper?
The paper uses a four-step systematic error analysis approach consisting of error identification, description and classification, explanation, and final correction.
What does the main body of the paper discuss?
The main body discusses theoretical models of why errors are produced and provides a detailed analysis of a learner's written text to categorize observed errors.
Which keywords best characterize the study?
Key terms include error analysis, interlanguage, intralingual/interlingual errors, and pedagogical remediation.
Why are errors often described as "idiosyncratic" in this paper?
Errors are considered idiosyncratic because they reflect the individual, internal rule-systems that each language learner creates during the acquisition process.
What is the distinction between a "mistake" and an "error" according to the text?
Mistakes are seen as performance lapses that learners can often self-correct, whereas errors indicate a lack of underlying competence in the target language rules.
What does the "Black Box" model suggest about the learner's brain?
It suggests that the brain receives input, selects and stores specific information based on significance and frequency, and that the resulting output is a product of this internal processing rather than a direct replication of input.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Nora Thyen (Autor:in), 2011, Analysis of a learner's interlanguage, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/194728
