An Error Analysis on IELTS Writing

【摘要】错误分析（语误分析）是应用语言学的一个分支学科，最初由语言学家S.P.CORDER 提出并确立。错误分析就是指对学习外语的学生所犯的语言错误进行归类并且系统性分析。在第二外语的学习中，错误分析显得格外重要，因为它是衡量学生外语掌握程度的一个标准。通过分析外语学习者所犯的错误也可以给教师很多对于教学的反思，找出自身教学的不足，有助于提高以后的语言教学。文章通过对雅思考试中写作部分考生所犯的错误的分析，提出在外语写作中会遇到的几个问题以及相应的解决方法和策略，从而总结出未来在外语教学中，尤其是写作课程中可以尝试的教学方法。

【关键词】错误分析 目的语言 二语写作 语言干扰

Jiali Yao

The Faculty of Foreign Languages，Tourism and Culture College of Yunnan University.Lijiang，674100

【Abstract】Error Analysis （EA），a branch of applied linguistics，was established in the 1970s by S.P.Corder and his colleagues （Ellis，1994）.It is an attempt to analyse the errors learners make in relation to the target language.Errors can provide “important evidence for the strength and weakness of a particular native language influence” （Odlin 1989：23）.They contain valuable information on strategies that learners use to acquire language and can play an important role in the study of foreign languages （Richards 1974，Dulay and Burt 1974）.A criteria-referenced analysis of the errors in IELTS writing will be carried out，focusing on one specific criterion which generates some detailed points to be further discussed upon with regard to L2 writing.After the error analysis，some strategies will be brought out to help enhance these learners writing proficiency.Finally，some pedagogical implications will be put forward to both teaching and learning L2 writing in English.

【Keywords】error analysis；target language；L2 writing；inter-lingual interference

【中圖分类号】H319.3 【文献标识码】A 【文章编号】2095-3089（2017）04-0009-03

Introduction

The IELTS scripts （Set A：1-6）are composed by East Asian learners whose English is approximately at intermediate level.The written task requires learners of producing a 300-350 word academic style essay in one hour.The topic for the essay is to describe the changes that are taking place in cities and discuss the reasons for the changes and what problems they bring.The six compositions are divergent in terms of writers linguistic proficiency.Some of them have achieved more than intermediate level and some have not even reached lower-intermediate level.For example，the third essay written by Eizo and the sixth one by Xin have been awarded a score of 7 while the first essay by Lei has only got a low score of 3.5.Firstly we will discuss error analysis in second language learning，and then a criteria-referenced analysis of the errors will be carried out，focusing on one specific criterion which generates some detailed points to be further discussed upon with regard to L2 writing.After the error analysis，some strategies will be brought out to help enhance these learners writing proficiency.Finally，some pedagogical implications will be put forward to both teaching and learning L2 writing in English.

Error Analysis

Error Analysis （EA），a branch of applied linguistics，was established in the 1970s by S.P.Corder and his colleagues （Ellis，1994）.It is an attempt to analyse the errors learners make in relation to the target language.EA has replaced the paradigm Contrastive Analysis （CA）which compares the forms and meanings of both the mother tongue and the target language to predict the potential errors learners tend to make as a result of wrongly transferring L1 systems to L2 （James，1998）.The novelty of EA is that the mother tongue is no longer needed to be referred to and errors can be fully described in terms of the target language.Therefore，in EA mismatches can be located after comparing the target language and the learners version of the target language.In addition，EA has showed us that CA was unable to predict a great majority of errors，which were produced by learners making faulty inferences about the rules of the new language.According to Corder （1967），learner errors are significant in three ways：firstly，they serve a pedagogical purpose by showing teachers what learners have learned and what they have not yet mastered；secondly，they serve a research purpose by providing evidence about how languages are learned；thirdly，they serve a learning purpose by acting as devices by which learners can discover the rules of the target language.To most language teachers，EA has become a useful tool for understanding learning process and improving learners output and has attracted wider interests from applied linguists.In this assignment，a criteria-referenced error analysis will be adopted.The focus of the criteria will be on the language structure.

Based on Hyland （2003），one way to look at writing is to see it as a coherent arrangement of words，clauses and sentences，structured according to a system of rules.These rules mainly involve the linguistic knowledge such as syntactic patterns，vocabulary choices and cohesive devices that comprise the essential product of the writing.In this view we put direct attention to the grammatical features of the language which is considered fundamental in writing.As a result，we will mainly focus on the range and accuracy of grammatical structures and analyse the causes for such errors made by the learners.

A Detailed Analysis

In the six scripts，five are composed by Chinese students and one by Japanese.The Japanese learner has almost made no grammatical errors in the writing.The errors those learners have made can be categorized into coming from major sources such as L1 interference，overgeneralization，incomplete application of rules，ignorance of rule restrictions and false concepts hypothesized.Although some errors are only performance mistakes，for example，in the Lei composition，people drink to much alcohol，the systematic errors made by most of them are originated from L1 interference，otherwise called interlingual transfer.Detailed examples of these errors are attached to Appendix.

The notion of L1 interference is a main contributor to errors in L2 learning.The terms ‘interference and ‘transfer are closely associated with behaviourist theories of L2 learning.The terms ‘interference and ‘transfer typically refer to the learners trying to apply rules and forms of the L1 into L2.According to the behaviourist theories，the main hindrance in learning L2 is interference from the existing linguistic knowledge of L1 as learning a language，whether L1 or L2，is a matter of habit formation.Skinner （1957）holds that if language is essentially a set of habits，then when we try to learn new habits the old ones will interfere with the new ones.This is called mother tongue interference.Provocative inhibition occurs when the old habits of L1 interfere with the attempts of learning new ones.In such conditions old habits must be unlearnt to give place to the learning of new ones.

L1 interference is a significant source of error for Chinese learners due to the differences between the two languages.The typical term ‘Chinglish refers to these errors that made by Chinese learners due to L1 interference.Since the Japanese writing system is originated from Chinese language，thus，L1 interference is also applicable for Japanese learners.In the errors made by these learners interlingual errors seem to be the most dominant one.For example，in Leis version，one sentence ‘These days a lot of change into city because a lot of people going to city… is a typical interlingually induced erroneous sentence.Likewise，the sentence in Shis version ‘It is can be predicted that the cities will continue….In the first sentence，the writer could not differentiate between two Chinese words put together as a verb and an English verb.The writer used ‘into instead of ‘come into because in Chinese ‘in and ‘to are put together as a verb.Another example from the popular Chinglish expression ‘good good study，day day up is a perfect illustration on the cause of such errors.In the second sentence，the writer did not know in English two verbs cannot put together while in Chinese they can.Therefore，‘it is can be predicted works perfectly in Chinese.Invariably，Chinese learners would write sentences such as ‘I am come from Shanghai.，‘You can go die. and ‘They will want go travel Europe..

In most Chinese students mind，writing in English involves only translation from Chinese sentences into English.However，if one rigidly translate his first language into the target language in writing，the result would be disastrous.Learners of L2 writing should try to avoid such a method.

Chinese learners cannot distinguish parts of speech in English because it is not formally recognized in Chinese language.There is no established comprehensive grammatical classification and the same word may often serve different structural functions in Chinese.As a result，Chinese learners often fail to distinguish related words such as ‘beautiful and ‘beauty in terms of their parts of speech，particularly true that Chinese learners do not know the fact that certain functions in a sentence can only be fulfilled by words from certain classes.Such errors occur in the sentences 1，3，5，12，18 and 19 of the Appendix.

There are no articles in Chinese and learners find it very difficult to use them correctly.Chinese learners often omit necessary articles needed in English or insert unnecessary ones.Examples can be found in the sentences 2，3，5，8 and 19 of the Appendix.

Chinese sentences often start with a ‘topicalised subject or object which is grammatically detached from the rest of the sentence.This does not always transfer successfully to English and can cause confusion，especially if a topicalised object is followed by a dropped subject pronoun.In the Appendix，a typical sentence correlates to such a rule，‘They also need money，need food. Likewise，in sentences 4，8 and 21 similar errors are made.

Plurality is rarely expressed in Chinese and there is no countable and uncountable distinction，Chinese students tend to neglect such a rule in English.‘-s is dropped or is added to every noun.What is more，subject-verb concord is also ignored by Chinese learners.Errors of this kind can be found in the sentences 7 and 10.

In Chinese passive voice is not as regularly used as in English，active voice is dominant in Chinese，therefore Chinese learners usually have trouble mastering English passive structures.For instance，in the sentences 17 and 20，the learner failed to use a correct voice.

Although English and Chinese words and phrases overlap a great deal in meaning，the truth is that apart from some nouns，many words and expressions rarely produce exact equivalents.The rough Chinese counterparts given to learners are，to a large extent，false equivalents.Therefore，Chinese learners will make some nonsensical errors known as Chinglish.Such errors can be located in the sentences 9 and 16.

Suggested Strategies

The strengths of the six scripts are that most writers understand the requirement of their written assignment and have a clear concept for developing each paragraph to make a coherent essay related to the topic.Good arguments can be identified in the work of Eizo and Xin.Some of them have relatively higher linguistic proficiency than others.The main problem for my group of learners in writing is an inadequate grasp of vocabulary and grammar，which caused them to become unable to convey their ideas in appropriate and correct English，although most of them have great ideas and know how to write them down in their mother tongue.Interlingual errors occur when they try to translate from their L1 to L2 in writing.

Ellis （1994）and Odlin （1989）use the terms ‘positive transfer and ‘facilitation to refer to those aspects of the L1 that ‘facilitate L2 learning （Ellis，1994，p.302），whereas ‘negative transfer or ‘interference is used to describe learner errors cause by transfer of L1 forms.It could be argued that negative transfer could indeed facilitate learning if errors were correctly identified and appropriate action taken.

As a result，the strategies that can be applied to these learners are two-folded.Firstly，for learners themselves，instead of rigidly minimizing negative transfer，identifying errors caused by it is the core task.To solve this problem effectively for these learners，consciousness-raising is an appropriate approach.Learners need to become aware of these errors caused by negative L1 transfer when writing.A possible solution might be for these learners to read more original native writers compositions and pay attention to some different language structures that will happen when written in learners own language.Furthermore，a learner may supplement his/her interlanguage by means of communication strategies （for example，paraphrase or requests for assistance）to compensate for gaps in or difficulty in accessing L2 knowledge while performing.

Secondly，teachers should take responsibility to give learners valuable feedback on their writing errors related with L1 interference.Preferably，by adopting peer feedback，not only teachers can be lifted from checking so many students writing，but also learners will be able to compare their works and benefit from identifying and evaluating each others errors.Additionally，teachers need to modify the writing textbooks and if possible design their own materials to suit the learners needs.Appropriate explanations on how L1 interference related errors can be dealt with will also make a difference in learners output.

Conclusion

The main findings of the analysis can be summarized as follows：

·Learners L1 makes a significant influence on their L2 writing，sometimes the output is negatively affected （下轉13页）

（上接10页）by L1 interference while sometimes the output seems to be successful when the language structure of L1 and L2 is similar or the same.

·Chinese learners tend to imitate and memorize model compositions and stick to their patterns，which is obvious when the first paragraph of each essay has been analyzed.This is a deep-rooted phenomenon due to the learning style and teaching approach in writing class in China.

·Chinese culture may also impact on the ways learners write and the writing they produce.For example，Chinese writers tend to generalize in their writing rather than express personal opinions.

·L2 writers are unique because of their bilingual，bicultural and biliterate experience，and these can either facilitate or impede their writing in various ways.

There may be several points to note from this assignment for teaching writing.Firstly，if a teacher is to ascertain the nature of at least some his/her students errors，it is imperative to learn，or at least be aware of，the students native language（s）.However，this may prove difficult in multilingual classes.Secondly，during the lesson and subsequent post-lesson analysis，teachers should be monitoring and assessing all errors to predict as far as possible，what aspects of the students interlanguages may need work.Thirdly，as one may argue that the analysis of errors focuses only on the negative aspects of a learner language，there are certain patterns or tendencies that are evident.With research，and/or observation，the teacher can exploit these negative aspects to the advantage of their learners.

References

[1]Adamson，H.D.（2009）.Interlanguage variation in theoretical and pedagogical perspective.New York/London：Routledge.

[2]Chang，J.（2001）.Chinese speakers.In M.Swan & B.Smith （Eds.），Learner English：A teachers guide to interference and other problems.（pp.310-324）.Cambridge，England：Cambridge University Press.

[3]Ellis，R.（1994）.The study of second language acquisition.Oxford，England：Oxford University Press.

[4]Ellis，R.& Barkhuizen，G.（2005）.Analyzing learner language.Oxford，England：Oxford University Press.

[5]Hyland，K.（2003）.Second language writing.Cambridge，England：Cambridge University Press.

[6]James，C.（1998）.Errors in language learning and use：Exploring error analysis.Harlow，England：Addison Wesley Longman.

[7]Pienemann，M.，Biase，B.D.，Kawaguchi，S.，& Hakansson，G.（2005）.Processing constraints on L1 transfer.In J.Kroll & A.M.De Groot （Eds.），Handbook of bilingualism：Psycholinguistic approaches （pp.128-153）.New York，NY：Oxford University Press.

[8]Ringbom，H.& Jarvis，S.（2009）.The importance of cross-linguistic similarity in foreign language learning.In H.L.Michael & J.D.Catherine （Eds.），The handbook of language teaching （pp.106-118）.Chichester，U.K.：Blackwell.

[9]Tarone，E.（1988）.Variation in interlanguage.London，England：Edward Arnold.

Appendix

Interlingual Errors Made by Chinese Learners on Grammatical Structure

1.These days a lot of change into city because a lot of people going to city…

2.Problems are people，culture and life.

3.A lot of people from other side into city.

4.They do not know what did they can get.

5.They may have some culture are not good for city.

6.Some people put they rubbish on the outside.

7.The next things is culture change.

8.City at a country everyday have changed.

9.First step，…，next step，…，end of the step.

10.That thing are slowly into every person life.

11.Bad news or bad things start in to this city.

12.They are take both of bad or good things into city.

13.They also need money，need food.

14.They will go to crime.

15.People cannot find an enough big house.

16.More and more buildings make people more and more alone in cities.

17.It is can be predicted that the cities will…

18.Actually，at the same，there are many changes are taking place in cities.

19.Most people who come from rural area come to city are not only for work in factories.

20.Pollution has been awared by people.

21.Population explored in cities is harmful society.

作者簡介：

姚佳力，1983，男，汉族，浙江绍兴诸暨人，云南大学旅游文化学院，助教，硕士，应用语言学。