1、,Error Analysis,英语语言文学 魏琪,Introduction of EA,1,Procedure of EA,2,Limitations of EA,3,Paper Analysis,4,Contents,Introduction of EA,1,2,3,4,Definition,Assumptions,Functions,Significance,Definition of EA,1,2,3,4,A classical definition was given by Corder (1973:295-61) as “breaches of code“, that is, th
2、ey are the signs of an imperfect knowledge of the code, for the learners have not yet internalized the formation rules of the foreign languages.,Brown (1994:205) defines errors as a noticeable deviation from the grammar of a native speaker, reflecting the Interlanguage competence of the learner.,Jam
3、es (2001:1) defines errors simply as “unsuccessful bits of language“.,Richards and Platt (2002:159) regards error as “the use of a linguistic item in a way which a fluent or native speaker of the language regards as showing faulty or incomplete learning“.,Basic assumptions (Brown),02,04,01,03,Errors
4、 made by L2 learners help understanding the process of L2 learning.,Errors made by L2 learners can be observed, analyzed, classified and described.,Human learning involves making errors.,Errors in L2 learning are unavoidable.,Basic Assumptions,Functions of EA,01,02,03,To find out what errors are mos
5、t likely to occur in foreign language learning To find the reasons behind these errors To throw light on the learners mechanism of language acquisition, and find ways to predict and prevent the occurrence of such errors.,The Significance of learners errors,The Significance of learners errors,CORDER(
6、1967,1973)pointed out that errors have theoretical and practical significance.They provide the teacher with information about how much the leaner had learnt indicating to them the effectiveness of the teaching materials and techniques.They provided the researcher with evidence of how language was le
7、arnt; They served as devices by which the learner discovered the rules of the target language.,Procedure of EA,Collection,Explanation,Corder (1974) suggests the following steps in EA research,Description,Identification,Evaluation,Collection of a sample of learner language,Size of the sample Massive
8、sampleMassive sample involves collecting several samples of language use from a large number of learners in order to compile a comprehensive list of errors, representative of the entire population. Specific sampleSpecific sample consists of one sample of language use collected from a limited number
9、of learners. Incidental sampleIncidental sample involves only one sample of language use produced by a single learner.,Collection of a sample of learner language,Factors to consider Language,Collection of a sample of learner language,Factors to consider Learner,Collection of a sample of learner lang
10、uage,Factor to consider Manner of collection Natural sampleNatural samples are generally preferred. Elicitation Elicitation is not to be confused with testing. Corder identifies two kinds of elicitation: 1) Clinical elicitationClinical elicitation involves getting the informant to produce data of an
11、y sort. Example: interview, ask learners to write a composition 2) Experimental methodsExperimental methods involve the use of special instruments designed to elicit data containing the linguistic features which the researcher wishes to investigate. Example: Bilingual Syntax Measure,Collection of a
12、sample of learner language,Factors to consider Time Span Cross-sectionallyat a single point in time Longitudinallyat successive points over a period of time,Identification,Mistakes and Errors Errors a grammatical misuse arise from the learners lack of knowledge; the learner doesnt know the right for
13、m or is unable to use language correctly. unintentionally deviant from the target language and not self-corrigible by the learner (failure in competence) Mistakes a pragmatic misuse often occur when learners fail to perform their competence; the learner has already learned the knowledge or skill but
14、 simply fails to function correctly because of lack of attention, slip of the tongue or other factors either intentionally or unintentionally deviant forms and self-corrigible (failure in performance). Even the native speakers cannot avoid it sometimes, they can correct it by themselves,Identificati
15、on,In Corders article The significance of learners errors, he was careful to distinguish between errors and mistakes. Mistakes are akin to slips-of-tongue. They are generally one-time-only events. The speaker who makes a mistake is able to recognize it as a mistake and correct it if necessary. An er
16、ror, on the other hand, is systematic. It is likely to occur repeatedly and is not recognized by the learner as an error.,How can we distinguish errors and mistakes? (Ellis),1. to check the consistency of learners performance. 2. to ask learners to try to correct their own deviant utterances.,Identi
17、fication,People will do anything to see a free show - even if it is a bad one. When the news got round that a comedy show would be presented at our local cinema by the P. and U. Bird Seed Company, we all rushed to see it. We had to queue for hours to get in and there must have been several hundred p
18、eople present just before the show began. Unfortunately, the show was one of the dullest we have ever seen. Those who failed to get in need not have felt disappointed, as many of the artistes who should have appeared did not come. The only funny things we heard that evening came from the advertiser
19、at the beginning of the programme. He was obviously very nervous and for some minutes stood awkwardly before the microphone. As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone burst out laughing. We all know what the poor man should have said, but what he actually said was: This is the Poo and Ee Seed Bird Co
20、mpany. Good ladies, evening and gentlemen!“,Identification,Video: Mind your language,Identification,Video: Mind your language,Danielle: -How much is it a letter to post? -Is it to someone in England? -No, its a Swiss letter. -A Swiss letter? -Yes, I wrote to my boyfriend in Switzerland. -Well, it is
21、 more correct to say you want to send a letter to Switzerland. -Well I come home with you and you could teach me a lot.,Juan: -Are you married? -Si, I married to Gina Lollabrigida.-What sort of a job are you looking for? -A plenty money job. -What sort of work do you want to do in order to earn this
22、 plenty money. -Plenty little.Ranjeet: -Pretend you have a cold. -A cold what?,Taro: -Good morning, Sir. -It is not good morning time. It is good night time.-Good morning, Sir. -Goodbye.-Midlando not my bank! Barclays my banko.-And how do you want it? -In money, please. -Yes, but do you want thirty
23、pounds in tens in ones or fives or what? -Can I have thirty fives -No, that would be 150 pounds.,Identification,Procedures of identification,The first step is to identify overt and covert errors. Overt errors refer to ungrammatical sentences. Convert errors refer to superficially well-formed sentenc
24、es, but which make no sense in the context. Overt error is concerned with grammaticality, while covert error deals with appropriateness.,Identification,Is the sentence superficially well formed in terms of the grammar of the target language?,If the answer is negative.,If the answer is positive.,Does
25、 the normal interpretation according to the rules of the target language make sense in the context?,Overt Errors exist.,If the answer is negative.,Covert Errors exist.,Corder (1971) proposes an elaborate procedure for identifying errors in a second language.,Identification,Procedures of identificati
26、on,Example: “Im fine, thank you.” This sentence is grammatically correct at the sentence level. But if it is the answer to the question “Who are you?”, it is uninterpretable at discourse level. So it is a covert error.,Identification,Procedures of identification,The second step is to provide interpr
27、etations and construct well-formed sentences in the target language. If a sentence contains overt or covert errors, a plausible interpretation can be put on the sentence in context. If the sentence is interpretable, reconstruct a sell-formed sentence in the target language and then compare a reconst
28、ructed sentence with the original idiosyncratic sentence to find out in what respect they differ.If the sentence is uninterpretable, translate the sentence literally into the mother tongue and see if it is understandable in the context. If it is so, retranslate the sentence into the target language
29、to provide a reconstructed sentence. But, if the mother tongue of a learner is not known or the restructured sentence is impossible to understand, hold it in store.,Identification,Description,Comparison: E.g. He comed yesterday.He came yesterday.,Description,Taxonomy of errors: Linguistic categories
30、 Linguistic categories can be chosen to correspond closely to those found in structural syllabuses and language textbooks. Burt and Kiparskys The Gooficon: A Repair Manual for English (1972) General linguistic categories: the skeleton of English clauses, the auxiliary system, passive sentences, temp
31、oral conjunctions, and sentential complements. Each general category is then broken down into further levels of subcategories. e.g. The auxiliary system do, have and be, modals, and mismatching auxiliaries in tag questions or overuse in affirmative sentences. Politzer and Ramirez (1973) Morphology,
32、syntax, and vocabulary.,Description,Surface Strategy Taxonomy,Description,Corders Classification of Errors Pre-systematic errors occur when learners are in a communicative situation where appropriate forms of language are not available to them because of lack of knowledge . At this stage, the learne
33、r is not able to correct his error or explain it, or get his point across in another way. By systematic errors, the language learner already knows the linguistic rules system but not really master them. A systematic error usually cannot be corrected by the learner, but he can “explain“ his error in
34、the sense of providing, in different wording or structure, alternative linguistic messages that get his point across and let the hearer know what he was driving at. In the post-systematic errors stage, learners have grasped a certain correct rule, and can use it correctly. They make errors because t
35、hey forget the rule for the moment. As for this kind of errors, learners can correct them by themselves and explain why. But learners at this stage may get fossilized when they failed to correct their own errors.,Description,Some Other Major Classifications: Interlingual Error and Intralingual Error
36、Richards (1974) and some other researchers distinguish between interlingual and intralingual errors. Interlingual error (语际错误): It is an error which results from language transfer, that is, which is caused by the learners native language. It mainly results from cross-linguistic interference at diffe
37、rent levels such as phonological, lexical, grammatical or discoursal etc. e.g. 1. I want to marry with him. (受汉语中“我想和他结婚” 介词“和”的影响)2. I open door. (汉语中，我开门，无冠词) Intralingual error (语内错误): It is an error which results from faulty or partial learning of the target language. It may be caused by the inf
38、luence of one target language item upon another. e.g. He is comes from the blend of the sentences He is coming and He comes.,Description,Some Other Major Classifications: Input Error and Output Error In terms of communication, errors are be classified into input and output errors in considering the
39、channels of input and output. In other words, errors occur in listening or reading are called input errors and those occur in writing and speaking are output errors. Global Error and Local Error Global errors : those affect the meaning of the whole sentence or semantic relations between sentences, a
40、nd thus can interfere with communication. e.g. I ate a lot so I was hungry. Local errors: those that do not affect the meaning of the whole sentence significantly. e.g. There is many milk in the bottle.,Description,Some Other Major Classifications: Frequent Error and Occasional Error Frequent errors
41、 refer to errors occur in high frequency. e.g. If the error “He is my sister” frequently appears, it could be interpreted as a frequent error. Occasional errors are those occur in low frequency. Linguistic Error and Content Error Generally, people tend to emphasize more on the linguistic form, (i.e.
42、 lexical errors and structural errors) but ignore the content errors such as pragmatic failure and cultural inappropriateness. In a sense, content error is more important, because it can cause misunderstanding and even cultural shock. e.g. -“Your handwriting is so beautiful“. -“No, my handwriting is
43、 worse than yours.“,Explanation,Explanation is concerned with establishing the source of the error.Taylor (1986) points out, the error source may be psycholinguistic, sociolinguistic, epistemic or may reside in the discourse structure. Psycholinguistic sources concern the nature of the L2 knowledge
44、system and the difficulties learners have in using it in production. Sociolinguistic sources involve such matters as the learners ability to adjust their language in accordance with the social context. Epistemic sources concern the learners lack of world knowledge Discourse sources involve problems
45、in the organization of information into a coherent “text”.,Explanation,Psycholinguistic sources of errors,Explanation,Different sources or causes of competence errors (Richard, 1971) Interference errors occur as a result of “the use of elements from one language while speaking another.” Intralanguag
46、e errors reflect the general characteristics of rule learning such as faulty generalization, incomplete application of rules and failure to learn conditions under which rules supply. Developmental errors occur when the learner attempts to build up hypotheses about the target language on the basis of
47、 limited experience.,Explanation,Transfer errors can be further subdivided. Lott(1983) distinguishes three categories. Overextension of analogy occurs when the learner misuses an item because it shares features with an item in the L1. e.g. Italian learners use “process” to mean “trail” because Itali
48、an “processo” has this meaning. Transfer of structure arises when the learner utilizes some L1 feature(phonological, lexical, grammatical, or pragmatic) rather than that of the target language. Interlingual/intralingual errors arise when a particular distinction does not exist in the L1. e.g. the us
49、e of “make” instead of “do” by Italian learners because the “make/do” distinction is non-existent in Italian.,Explanation,Intralingual errors are also often further subdivided. Richard(1971) distinguishes the following: Overgenralization errors arise when the learner creates a deviant structure on t
50、he basis of other structures in the target language. e.g. He can sings.= He can sing. + He sings. Ignorance of rule restrictions involves the application of rules to contexts where they do not apply. e.g. He asked me to go. He made me to rest. Incomplete application of rules involves a failure to fu
51、lly develop a structure, because th learner finds he can achieve effective communication by using relatively simple rules. e.g. You like to sing? vs. Do you like to sing? False concepts hypothesized arise when the learner does not fully comprehend a distinction in the target language. e.g. “was” vs. “One day it was happened.”,
