LEARNER
ERRORS
Understanding
mistakes in written language
Learning a language
involves becoming proficient in the four skills of speaking, listening, reading
and writing. Mistakes are an inevitable part of this process and neither the
teacher nor the student should become fixated on them. It is useful for both,
however, to have an understanding of the variety of typical errors in written
English, since these are the most amenable to correction. Written errors can be
categorized as errors of mechanics, grammar and usage.
Mechanical
Errors
Mechanical mistakes are
those of orthography (spelling and capitalization) and punctuation.
Everyone who writes in English makes such mistakes, whether native speaker or
ESL student. In many cases mechanical errors are the consequence of quick
writing where the focus is on the content rather than the form. Although
English spelling is difficult, it is possible with diligent use of a dictionary
and/or computer spellcheck for every writer to eradicate all or almost all of
the spelling mistakes in a piece of writing.
As far as punctuation is
concerned, there are a very few occasions when a non-native speaker is more
prone to make a mistake than a native speaker (for example, the German student
who puts a comma before the subordinate clause in reported speech.*) The most
common punctuation mistakes, however, arise when the student does not correctly
end a sentence (producing either a fragment or a run-on.) These are typical of
immature writers who do not understand the concept of a sentence, and are
neither more nor less likely to be found in an ESL student's work.
Mechanical errors seldom
interfere with comprehension, but can reflect negatively on the writer,
particularly in formal/academic settings. Mainstream teachers can be sure that
ESL teachers will have identified students who make a large number of mechanical
errors and will be working with those students to rectify the problem.
Mainstream teachers are probably best advised not to make a big issue of
general mechanical errors but it is not unreasonable for them to insist on the
correct spelling of the key subject-specific words that are currently being
learned by the whole class - photosynthesis, deforestation, hypothesis, etc.
These words will no doubt have been written on the board and will appear in
class and homework worksheets.
*
"Reagan said, that the USSR was an evil empire."
Grammar mistakes rarely
occur in native speakers' writing but very commonly do in the work of less
proficient ESL students, whose mother-tongue "interferes" with the
production of correct English*. ESL students make numerous mistakes in the use
of verbs (for example, incorrect tense choice, incorrect tense form), the
articles (a/an, the - particularly Asian students in whose languages these
words do not exist), and word order.
* A typical interference
mistake of a German learner of English is: "I am here since 2 weeks"
instead of "I have been here for two weeks". A further example is:
"I tell you tomorrow" instead of "I'll tell you tomorrow."
Grammar
Errors
Grammar mistakes in writing
occasionally disrupt comprehension, but usually they do not. The student who
writes "I putted beaker on tripod", for example, will have conveyed
his meaning perfectly intelligibly. Since there is no clear evidence that ESL
students benefit from correction of grammar mistakes, even in contexts where
the explicit focus of the teaching is grammar, the mainstream teacher is
advised not to make a big fuss about such mistakes in pieces of science or
history homework, etc. Such mistakes will disappear as the learner's inter-language
(implicit grammar system) begins to approximate the intuitive grammatical
knowledge of a native speaker.
On the other hand, there is
no reason why it could not be made clear to ESL students who are writing an
account of a historical event, for example, that they are expected to write
verbs in the past simple tense, and mistakes in this aspect of their homework
will be identified.
Usage
Error
Usage mistakes A usage
mistake is a word or a string of words in a sentence that is grammatically
possible*, but not usual in standard English. Hence native speakers rarely make
usage mistakes, but ESL students very often do. Such mistakes frequently occur
in ESL students' work when they look up a word in their own language and select
the wrong English equivalent for the meaning they wish to express. Conversely,
failure to use the dictionary can result in the false friends usage mistake.
For example, kontollieren in German means to check (over), so the following
problem in the German student's writing is not surprising: "It is
important to control (i.e. check) the results carefully."
Faulty usage in larger
passages of writing is often the consequence of the attempt to render
word-for-word into English the mental or written version that the ESL student
has in the native tongue. It is such mistakes in an ESL student's work that can
make it difficult to understand what meaning is being conveyed.
Usage mistakes, like
grammar mistakes, are not particularly susceptible to eradication by direct
correction. And like grammar mistakes they will eventually disappear,
particularly if the student reads extensively in English. However, the
mainstream teacher is advised to alert an ESL student to usage mistakes in the
way he or she conveys a meaning that is common or integral to the subject. For
example: "The dictator was thrown
over (overthrown) in a people's revolt
Of course, a student may
turn in a piece of written work that contains no mistakes of mechanics, grammar
or usage, but is a long way from meriting a good grade. This is usually because
the student has not understood or complied with the writing task, has given no
thought to organization and structure, has made no effort to string sentences
together in a coherent way, has plagiarized, and so on.
Most mistakes of mechanics,
grammar and usage will disappear automatically as the ESL student becomes more
proficient in English, so mainstream teachers need not focus too much attention
on them. However, it is a primary task of the mainstream teacher to help ESL students
(indeed all students) to improve in the more fundamental aspects of writing
well, as listed in the previous paragraph. This applies particularly to
subject-specific genres such as lab reports, persuasive essays, critical
assessments of historical figures, etc.
The
Eleven Most Common Errors in Student Writing
1. John felt badly when he
received a low grade on the final examination.
Adjective/adverb
confusion
-The statement means the
mechanism that allows you to feel is broken.
-feel, smell, taste—the
word following these verbs describes the subject ( a noun or pronoun), not the
verb.
-“Badly” here refers to the
verb “felt,” which implies that John’s ability to feel is impaired.
Corrected version: John
felt bad when he received a low grade on the final examination.
2. There are no secrets
between Mary and I.
Pronoun
case
-Mary and me—me is the
object of the preposition between; prepositions are followed by the object form
of pronouns
-You should be able to take
out the words “Mary and” and still be able to read the sentence.
-Cut out the name; would
you use I or me?
Corrected version: There
are no secrets between Mary and me.
3. One of the many students
who come from the Scandinavian countries are enrolled in my composition class.
Subject-verb
agreement
-One is singular; are is plural.
-A singular subject (one)
should be followed by a singular verb (is, not are)
-Prepositional phrases (of
the many students) are not an important part of the sentence when looking at
verb agreement; the main idea (S + V) is One is enrolled.
Corrected version: One of
the many students who come from the Scandinavian countries is enrolled in my
composition class.
4. Trygve can’t hardly get
out of bed for his 8:00 class.
Double
negative
--two negatives in a
row—can’t hardly
-“Hardly” is already
negative—either He can hardly or He can’t.
-The sentence literally (or
mathematically) means that Trygve can easily get out of bed; two negatives = a
positive
Corrected version: Trygve
can hardly get out of bed for his 8:00 class.
5. Entering the bakery, the
smell of fresh pastries and coffee overwhelmed her.
Dangling
construction
-It sounds like “the smell
of fresh pastries and coffee” is “entering the bakery.”
-As a reader, I am unclear
as to what was entering the bakery—a woman or a smell?
-The actor of the sentence
must be at the beginning of the independent clause.
Corrected version: Entering
the bakery, she was overwhelmed by the smell of fresh pastries and coffee.
6. In Strindberg’s Miss
Julie an aristocratic woman pays a nighttime visit to the servants’ quarters
and slept with the family valet.
Verb
tense shift
-Pick a verb tense and
stick with it; present tense is the standard for writing about literature.
-Avoid verb tense
changes—The woman pays/ The woman sleeps.
-Verb tenses should stay
consistent within a sentence.
Corrected version: In
Strindberg’s Miss Julie an aristocratic woman pays a nighttime visit to the
servants’ quarters and sleeps with the family valet.
7. The Senator voted for
the health care bill to the delight of the opposition. Although he had to admit that there were
certain provisions with which he disagreed.
Sentence
fragment
-Although indicates that
the segment following should be joined to the main clause.
-Things that sound like
afterthoughts or additions are rarely complete sentences.
-These two ideas can be
combined to form one complex sentence; otherwise, the second clause is a
fragment.
Corrected version: The
Senator voted for the health care bill to the delight of the opposition
although he had to admit there were certain provisions with which he disagreed.
8. Dairy farmers should of
received a larger subsidy from the Federal government because of the increased
cost of operation.
Wrong
verb form
-This sentence should read
“should have” because “of” is a phonetic way of saying “have” in spoken
English.
-Should’ve = should have
-“Of” is a preposition
while “should have” is a helping or auxiliary verb.
Corrected version: Dairy
farmers should have received a larger subsidy from the Federal government
because of the increased cost of operation.
9. Anne rode her bicycle to
the meeting in the -40 temperatures, everyone else either drove or stayed home
Comma
splice
-A comma doesn’t correctly
join two sentences (or two independent clauses).
-You have two complete
sentences here; use a semi-colon or a period rather than a comma.
-There is no putting two
sentences together with just a comma.
Corrected version: Anne
rode her bicycle to the meting in the -40 temperatures; everyone else either
drove or stayed home.
10. Warren and Alice spent
at least $5000 on their Hawaiian vacation the trip could have been less
expensive if they had stayed at hotels away from the beach.
Run-on
sentence
-A new subject and a new
verb after “vacation” – a new sentence
-There are two complete
sentences here not separated by punctuation.
-This sentence contains two
complete thoughts without the necessary punctuation.
Corrected version: Warren
and Alice spent at least $5000 on their Hawaiian vacation; the trip could have
been less expensive if they had stayed at hotels away from the beach.
11. Ellen quit her job not
only because of the long commute but also because she did not respect her
supervisor.
(Lack
of) Parallel construction
-If you want to use not
only … but also, the word group following each part (phrase or clause) must be
parallel in construction.
-Because + Prepositional
phrase is grammatically different from because + S + V.
-Match the form of items
joined by coordinating conjunctions or phrases.
Corrected version: Ellen
quit her job not only because she had a long commute but also because she did
not respect her supervisor.
Reference
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