unit 3 - introduction to error analysis

8/3/2019 Unit 3 - Introduction to Error Analysis

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English Education Department

UIN Jakarta 2010


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Topics of the day:

1. History of error analysis

2. identification of errors

3. description of errors4. sources of errors

5. Pedagogical implications of

error analysis

10/16/2010 Teguh Khaerudin, MAppLing. 2


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Significance of Errors

Issues: why learners make the same mistakes?

Understanding errors may give hint to understandingsecond language acquisition.

Errors indicate three important aspects of language

learning:1. show what the learner has acquired and what remains to

be learned

2. provide information on how language is learned andacquired and what strategies and procedures a languagelearner is utilizing.

3. serve as a guide to the language learner with respect tohypothesis about the nature of the target language.



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History of error analysis

Errors are inevitable ALL learners make mistakes

and commit errors.

Until late 60s errors are seen as persistent mother

tongue habits in the new target language system. Contrastive Analysis was born under this assumption.

Error analysis born in the sixtieslearner errors

were not only because of the learners nativelanguage but also they reflected some universal

learning strategies



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History continues .

Keshavar (1997) suggested two branches of

error analysis:

1. Theoretical

What is going on in language learners minds?

Universal language learning process?

2. Applied

Organizing and devising materials and teaching

strategies based on the findings of theoretical

analysis of errors.



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identification of errors

Errors mistakes

1. Mistakes

Mistakes because of lack of attention, fatigue, carelessness,

or other aspects of performance can be self-correctedwhen attention is called.

2. Errors

use of linguistic items showing faulty or incomplete learning

learner does not know what is correct, thus cannot makeself-correction



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identification of errors

Ellis (1997) two ways to distinguish errors and

mistake:

1. check the consistency of learners performance:

If he sometimes uses the correct form and sometimes the

wrong one, it is a mistake. if he always uses it incorrectly, it

is then an error

2. ask learner to try to correct his own deviant

utterance.

Where he is unable to, the deviations are errors; where he is

successful, they are mistakes.



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Description of Errors

Corder (1973) classifies errors into:

1. Addition of some unnecessary or incorrect

element;

2. Omission of some required element;

3. Selection of an incorrect element; and

4. Misordering of the elements.



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Description of Errors

Error vary in magnitude: Global vs local

Globalerrors hinder communication

Localerrors = minor violation of one segment of a

sentence that can still be understood

Overt vs covert

Overtextent. errors ungrammatical at the

sentence level Covertdomain . errors grammatically well-formed

but not interpretable within the context of

communication.10/16/2010 Teguh Khaerudin, MAppLing. 9


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Source of Errors

Errors were understood as the implication of

interference of first language habit to L2

learning.

Error analysis sees that the nature of errors

implicates the existence of other reasons for

errors to occur: (i) interlingual transfer, and (ii)

intralingual transfer.



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1. Interlingual Transfer

Interlingual transfer is a significant source for

language learners

Error analysis sees errors as signs that the learner

is internalizing and investigating the system of thenew language

Interlingual errors may occur at different levels

such as transfer of phonological, morphological,grammatical and lexica-semantic elements of the

native language into the target language.



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2. Intralingual Transfer

Ellis (1997) states, some errors seem to be universal,

reflecting learners attempts to make the task of

learning and using the target language simpler.

Intralingual errors result from faulty or partiallearning of the target language rather than language

transfer.



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Pedagogical Implications of Error

Analysis

Students errors have always been of interest and

significance to teachers, syllabus designers and test

developers.

This may lead educators to devise appropriatematerials and effective teaching techniques, and

constructing tests suitable for different levels and

needs of learners.



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Implications for Foreign Language

Teachers

Errors tell the teacher how far towards the goal thelearner has progressed and what remains for him tolearn (Corder, 1987).

Errors are a means of feedback for the teacher reflecting

how effective he is in his teaching style and what changeshe has to make to get higher performance from hisstudents.

Errors indicate the teacher the points that needs further

attention. Errors show the way to be treated when their sources are

identified correctly.



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Implications for Syllabus Designers

Errors are significant data as they show what items

are important to be included or which items needs to

be recycled in the syllabus.

Keshavarz (1997) an error-based analysis givereliable results upon which remedial materials can be

constructed.

It is essential for a syllabus to provide with the needs

for learning appropriately and errors are important

evidence for that.


unit 3 - introduction to error analysis

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