Analysis of Higher Education Students’ Errors in English Writing Tasks

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Ali Özkayran ◽  
Emrullah Yılmaz
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Word Formation ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Education Students ◽  
English Writing ◽  
The World ◽  
Omission Errors ◽  
Learning English

The aim of this study is to analyse the errors of higher education students in English writing tasks. In the study, the paragraphs in the exam papers of 57 preparatory class students, studying at a state university in Turkey in 2017-2018 academic year, were analysed. The study was conducted using qualitative research method. Case study was used in the research. Document analysis was used to collect data. The collected data were analysed in line with Surface Strategy Taxonomy and errors were identified and classified. As a result of the error analysis process, it was observed that the students made a total of 381 errors on 57 exam papers; 192 of them were misformation errors, 113 were omission errors, 65 were addition errors and only 11 were misordering errors. Misformation was the most frequent error among the students with a percentage of 50.39. In addition, the percentage of omission errors was 29.66%, that of addition errors was 17.06% and misordering errors was 2.89%. The professionals teaching English as a foreign language should focus more on prepositions, verb “to be”, spelling, articles, singular/plural forms of nouns, word formation, tenses, word choice and subject-verb agreement, which were the most problematic areas of language listed under the four main categories by developing efficient instructional techniques and materials. They should also respect learners’ errors and set up a positive atmosphere where learners can easily express themselves in the target language without the fear of committing errors.INTRODUCTIONThere are lots of languages in the world and some of them have come to the fore due to the fact that they are spoken by millions and even billions of people. People generally learn the language spoken where they are born, however; the developments in the fields such as communication, transportation, tourism and trade forced people to learn the languages that they didn’t need to learn in the past. English is the most popular one of those languages and for some it is the lingua franca (Modiano, 2004; Becker and Kluge, 2014) of our age.Millions of people in the world speak English as their mother tongue while others must learn it as a second (ESL) or foreign language (EFL). Learning English as second or foreign language differs with respect to learners’ attitudes towards English and the people who speak it as their native language, exposure to English, their sources of motivation and so on. The main focus of this study is learning English as a foreign language as English is not the primary language in the country where the study was carried out.A considerable

scholarly journals Influența limbii materne în predarea pronunției în limba engleză

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 66-74
Author(s):  
Larisa Usatîi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
English Pronunciation ◽  
Correct Pronunciation ◽  
Phonological System ◽  
Learning English

The present article treats a problem regarding the influence of the mother tongue in teaching English pronunciation. The importance and necessity of using the mother tongue in learning English are relevant. The obtained knowledge, skills and abilities in the mother tongue influence those from the foreign language, as a result thezy are in an interdependence, that observe concrete laws. This interdependence can both contribute to learning English, and hinder it. The formation of correct pronunciation skills depends on the the adjustment of the mother tongue phonological system tot that of the target language.

scholarly journals Reinforcing the Development of Foreign Oral Competence of the Students of Higher Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 3215-3218
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
Independent Study ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Learning Barriers ◽  
The Individual

The oral competence of the person is the indicator which shows the socio-psychological, cultural and educational background of the individual in the case of not only his foreign language but also his mother tongue. As how a person defines his attitudes towards the exterior life has already become an independent study and today more people began to be interested in the nature of speech trying to upgrade oratory skills. This explains why perfecting the speaking comprehension in both native and foreign language is so demanded than any other language skills. Being one of the four major language skills, speaking comprehension is interrelated with every of them (listening, reading, writing) and has special tasks and aims of scope which are more significant and sensible than any other. The reason is that, without the ability to express our mind, the other skills as writing a letter, reading a text or listening to a tape, might lose their essence or just turn into useless one. It should be noted that, there are some obstacles related to psychological, methodical and target language experiences which bother students from interacting in the foreign language. Thus the following work is aimed at analyzing the process of developing the speaking skill of English as a second language of the students of Higher Education; detecting the existing problem areas; providing real solutions considering the learners` needs. As a content matter we chose the students of non-linguistic departments of Higher Education. Choosing non-linguistic sphere is explained with the frequency of language learning barriers which face the very students of this area more than usual. Thus the work analyzes the process; identifies the existing problem areas and the learners` weak-points; includes experimental researches with solutions and gives expedient results clarifying the main standpoints.

scholarly journals DIFFICULTIES IN STUDYING WRITING OF ENGLISH-MAJORED SOPHOMORES AT A UNIVERSITY IN VIETNAM

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wa Thai Nhu Phuong
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
English Writing ◽  
Vocabulary Problems ◽  
Learning English

<p>Writing plays an important role in studying a foreign language, especially English. However, students have faced a lot of difficulties in learning English writing. This study aimed to find out and analyze the students’ difficulties in learning English writing skills. The participants of this research were fifty students who were English majored sophomores at Tay Do University. The instruments used in the present study were two questionnaires and an interview. The results showed that the students had seven difficulties in learning English writing such as difficulties with vocabulary, problems with grammar, problems with prior knowledge, troubles with organizing ideas, problems with allotted time, difficulties with teacher and difficulties with mother tongue. Among these difficulties, “allotted time” caused the most difficulty to the students. Generally, the results of this thesis stated that all of participants had difficulties in learning English writing, especially problem with allotted time.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0899/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES OF VERBS IN ENGLISH AND ALBANIAN

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 2245-2249
Author(s):  
Suzana Ejupi ◽  
Lindita Skenderi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Part Of Speech ◽  
Grammatical Categories ◽  
Learning English

Working with English learners for many years, gives you the opportunity to encounter linguistic obstacles that they face while learning English language as a foreign language. Additionally, teaching for 13 years and observing the learning process, it enables you to recognize the students’ needs and at the same time, detect linguistic mistakes that they make, while practicing the target language. During my experience as a teacher, in terms of teaching and learning verbs in general and its grammatical categories in specific, it is noticed that Albanian learners find it relatively difficult the correct use of verbs in context and even more confusing the equivalent use of verbs in Albanian. Since verbs present an important part of speech, this study aims to investigate several differences and similarities between grammatical categories of verbs in English and Albanian. As a result, the Albanian learners of English language will be able to identify some of the major differences and similarities between the grammatical categories of verbs in English and Albanian; overcome the usual mistakes; gain the necessary knowledge regarding verbs and use them properly in English and Albanian.

Translating ambiguous and nonambiguous Words in a foreign Language

2003 ◽  
Vol 139-140 ◽  
pp. 129-152
Author(s):  
Paul Bogaards ◽  
Elisabeth Van Der Linden ◽  
Lydius Nienhuis
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
University Students ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Lexical Ambiguity ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Bilingual Lexicon ◽  
The Individual

The research to be reported on in this paper was originally motivated by the finding that about 70% of the mistakes made by university students when translating from their mother tongue (Dutch) into their foreign language (French) were lexical in nature (NIENHUIS et al. 1989). This was partially confinned in the investigation described in NIENHUIS et al. (1993). A closer look at the individual errors suggested that many problems were caused by words with more than one meaning which each require different translations in the target language. In the research reported on in this paper, we checked our fmdings in the light of what is known about the structure of the bilingual lexicon and about the ways bilinguals have access to the elements of their two languages. On the basis of the model of the bilingual lexicon presented by KROLL & Sholl (1992) an adapted model is proposed for the processing of lexical ambiguity. This leads to a tentative schema of the mental activities that language learners have to perfonn when they are translating from their mother tongue into a foreign language, The second part of the paper describes two experiments we have carried out in order to find empirical support for such a schema. The last section of the paper contains a discussion of the results obtained as well as the conclusions that can be drawn.

Analysis of EFL Learners’ Integrative and Instrumental Motivation Factor at English Language Education Undiksha

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-62
Author(s):  
Made Surya Mahendra ◽  
Ni Luh Putu Eka Sulistia Dewi ◽  
Ida Ayu Made Istri Utami
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Education Students ◽  
English Language Education ◽  
Motivation Factors ◽  
Integrative Motivation ◽  
Language Attitude ◽  
Learning English

This study aimed (1) to analyze motivation’s factor that affects English Language Education Students in achieving learning English both in instrumental and integrative motivation; (2) to analyze the major factor of motivation that affect students; and (3) to analyze how the major factor of motivation influence the students in achieving their goal in learning English. The survey was employed as a method of data collection through questionnaires and interviews. Both instruments consisted of instrumental and integrative motivation, which each dimension involves three factors of motivation. The results showed that English Language Education students were affected by six motivation factors. Those are academic, social, economic, attitude toward learning the target language, attitude toward the target language community, and desire to learn the target language. Among those motivation factors, the academic and attitude toward learning the target language were the major factor that affects students in achieving their goal in language learning.

scholarly journals ՎԱՐԺՈՒԹՅՈՒՆՆԵՐԻ ԿԻՐԱՌՈՒՄԸ ԱՆԳԼԵՐԵՆԻ՝ ՈՐՊԵՍ 3-ՐԴ ՕՏԱՐ ԼԵԶՎԻ ՈՒՍՈՒՑՄԱՆ ԳՈՐԾԸՆԹԱՑՈՒՄ / USE OF EXERCISES IN TEACHING/LEARNING ENGLISH AS A THIRD FOREIGN LANGUAGE

2021 ◽  
pp. 117-127
Author(s):  
SIRANUSH GHAZARYAN
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Negative Interference ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Learning English

The article touches upon the problems of teaching English as a third foreign language in higher educational institutions of the Republic of Armenia. The students’ mother tongue, in this case, is Armenian. Russian is the first foreign language and French is the second one. Considering the fact that the students’ 2nd (French) and 3rd (English) foreign languages have significant similarities that can cause both positive transfer and negative interference, the teaching/learning process of English should be organized by paying special attention to the similarities and taking into account certain peculiarities. Accordingly, the use of correctly selected exercises can help in organizing the teaching/learning process more quickly and effectively. The author also introduces some “dangerous” language phenomena that may bring about undesirable interference in learning English after French. In addition, a number of exercise samples are provided that might be used to develop the students’ lexical, grammatical and phonological competences in teaching/learning English as a third foreign language.

scholarly journals The effectiveness of explicit or Implicit pronunciation teaching to Greek learners of english

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Βάϊα Παπαχρήστου
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Phonological Development ◽  
Phonological Acquisition ◽  
Speaker Variability ◽  
English Classes ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
The One

Previous research on second language phonological acquisition has shown that mastery of the L2 phonological system constitutes a challenging task for L2 learners. Several parametres have been suggested to constrain pronunciation accuracy, such as, interference from speakers’ mother tongue, learners’ age, quality and quantity of exposure to the target language, as well as motivation, attitude and other social and psychological factors. However, research on pronunciation teaching and its potential effectiveness on learners’ L2 phonological development has been quite limited, especially in foreign language contexts.The main aim of the present thesis is to investigate the production of English vowels by Greek learners of English and the effectiveness of explicit vs. implicit pronunciation instruction within a foreign language setting. To this end, three groups of speakers aged 9 and 15 years old were examined; i.e. two experimental groups, one which received explicit pronunciation tuition and one which was taught the pronunciation of the English vowels implicitly, via the use of recasts, and a control one which did not get any pronunciation tuition. Both experimental groups received 43 mini pronunciation interventions embedded in the regular English classes at school. The methodology adopted was the one proposed by Celce-Murcia, Brinton and Goodwin (1996) moving from controlled and guided activities to more communicative ones. Additionally, L1 Greek and L1 English data were obtained in order to compare the vowel inventories of the two languages.The results showed that after teaching, explicit pronunciation instruction can selectively bring about a change in both young and older students’ L2 vowel production, while no improvement was reported for the implicit and control groups9for either age group. Generally, considerable intra- and inter-speaker variability was revealed after tuition and despite the small changes observed, systematic native-like production was difficult to attain. Moreover, no clear effect of learners’ age was documented. A thorough examination of the factors hindering pronunciation accuracy is presented and the findings are discussed on the basis of current theories of L2 phonological acquisition.

scholarly journals Higher Education Students and Covid-19: Challenges and Strategies in facing Online Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 396
Author(s):  
Anang Fathoni ◽  
Ali Mustadi ◽  
Wahyu Kurniawati
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Significant Influence ◽  
Learning Strategy ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Integration Of Technology ◽  
The World ◽  
Negative Impacts

The emergence of Covid-19 has had a significant influence on the world of education. Even though the emergence of Covid-19 has accelerated the integration of technology in learning, there are still negative classroom learning impacts. This study aims to explore student experience in online learning in the Covid-19 Pandemic period; describe the negative impacts and obstacles that arise in online learning; and describe student strategies in online learning. This research is qualitative in the type of case studies. Data were collected through open questionnaires and interviews with participants of 20 students. Data analysis was accomplished with Bogdan and Biklen models through reduction, searching for sub-themes, and seeking relationships between sub-themes to obtain the conclusion. The results of this study show that learning in the Covid-19 pandemic period has not been fully optimally done. In addition, students also get physical and mental impacts during online learning. Furthermore, students get barriers to signals, learning environment, and learning activities with lecturers online. However, students have a varied learning strategy to minimize obstacles and negative impacts of online learning.

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