Error Analysis: Activity 2


Classify errors in learner language

What is an error?

An error is something that is different from your reconstruction of the utterances as you think an equivalent native speaker would have produced it. Fragments or colloquial expressions are not errors if an equivalent native speaker would use them.

1. Print the transcripts of the two videos below.    Juilin Transcript / AnnaLi Transcript
Watch the two video clips from Jiulin and AnnaLi’s Interviews and mark all the errors you hear on the transcripts.

Jiulin’s Interview

Transcript (PDF)

AnnaLi’s Interview

Transcript (PDF)

2. Now print 2 copies of the Error Analysis Chart (PDF). Fill in the table with the errors that you heard in the videos, one chart for each learner. Try to include examples of different types: phonology, morphology, syntax, and vocabulary.

  • In Column 1, indicate the line number where you found the error.
  • In Column 2, copy the error and the words that immediately preceded and followed the error.
  • In Column 3, indicate your reconstruction(s) of the learner’s erroneous utterance. If there is more than one possible reconstruction, list more than one.
  • In Column 4, indicate types of the error including phonology, morphology, syntax, morpho-syntax, and vocabulary.

When you have finished filling in your charts, click to compare your charts with those of the Learner Language staff.

1. Sometimes it may not be clear what an error is. For example, a structure may occur in conversational speech, but not be acceptable in formal speech. For some of the errors in the table below (marked with a blue highlight), some of our consultants do not think they are errors and others do. We marked some constructions with a question mark in parenthesis (?) when we found that kind of “error”.  Such “errors” are different in nature from errors that are always wrong, regardless of the formality of the situation, and they create problems and puzzles for the teacher in deciding how to respond to them, as we shall see below.

1

I

嗯,你能告诉我你会说几种语言吗?

2

J

嗯,几种?

3

I

语言。

4

J

语言,嗯,我只说中文,有一点中文

5

I

6

J

嗯,还说英文。

7

I

对,只会说中文和英文,对吗?

8

J

嗯,会说英文。

9

I

嗯,好的。嗯,你为什么要学中文呢?

10

J

嗯,我觉得非常,嗯,非常有意思

11

I

12

J

嗯,但是我,我在以前的大学,我,我学西班牙文(?)

13

I

14

J

嗯,但是转学以后,我开始学中文,因为觉得可能以后,嗯,对,对我有好处,嗯,还有觉得那个机会,嗯,学中文

15

I

16

J

跟,跟学下去西班牙文,嗯,更有意思,更有用

17

I

18

J

所以,嗯,那个原因是,是因为但是,我也觉得中国的历史和文化很有意思。

19

I

20

J

嗯,我,我不知道太多关于他们的                       

21

I

嗯=

22

J

可是=

23

I

好,我想知道你学过西班牙文吗?

24

J

嗯,学过多少期吗?

25

I

西班牙文

26

J

西班牙文?

27

I

你学过西班牙文吗?

28

J

学过

29

I

学过?学过多久?

30

J

嗯,学过两年。

31

I

学过两年

32

J

[两年

33

I

[可是刚才你说你只会说中文和英文=

34

J

对,但是,嗯,每次我想说西班牙文,我就,嗯,想起来

35

I

36

J

中文,所以,嗯,真的不会说西班牙文。

37

I

你现在不会说西班 [牙文?

38

J

                [西班,现在不会,但是,嗯,学好中文以后,可能再,再学西班牙文。

39

I

40

J

嗯,所以,嗯,我真的知道有点的西班牙文,但是不太多

AnnaLi’s Interview

1

I

嗯,我想知道你会说几种语言。

2

A

好(laugh)

3

I

你会说什么语言?

4

A

嗯,我会说中文,英文,还有一点日文。

5

I

哦,还有一点日文。嗯,那你日文是在哪里学的?

6

A

我日文是在,嗯,别的大学 [学的。

7

I

                                                 [别的大学。

8

A

9

I

哦,那个时候你几岁了?

10

A

那个时候我五,嗯,十五岁。

11

I

十五岁。嗯,当时上日文课的时候是什么样子,你能说一说吗?

12

A

嗯,我没学太好了

13

I

14

A

我的日文不太好,所以有的时候我不知道老师说什么,嗯 (?)

15

I

你学了多久?

16

A

我学了一年的 (?)

17

I

18

A

可是以后我自己学了,在家里学了,日文

19

I

嗯,那你们上日文的时候,是说的时候多,还是看的时候多=

20

A

我现在不上日文课。

21

I

那个时候呢?

22

A

哦,那个时候

23

I

24

A

嗯(…)我不太说了很多,我不说了多

25

I

你说的日文不多。

2.

Learner: Jiulin

Line No.

Phrase with error

Target language reformulations

Type of error

4

我只说中文,有一点中文

我只会说一点中文

Lexical: lack of model verb “会(can)”; incorrect use of adjective “有一点(a bit, a little)”

12

但是我,我在以前的大学,我, 我学西班牙文

但是我在以前的大学学过西班牙文 OR: 但是在以前的大学,我学过西班牙文

Lexical [controversial]
Syntax: overuse of subject; lack of aspect marker “过(GUO)”
[controversial]

14-16

还有觉得那个机会,嗯, 学中文 跟, 跟学下去西班牙文,嗯, 更有意思,更有用

还有,我觉得学中文比(继续)学西班牙文更有意思,更有用

Syntax [controversial]
Lexical: incorrect use of comparative structure; incorrect use of “下去(XIA QU)” [controversial]

40

所以,嗯,我真的知道有点的西班牙文,但是不太多

所以我真的(只)知道一点西班牙文,但是不太多

Lexical: incorrect use of adjective “有点的(a bit, some)”

 

Learner: AnnaLi

Line No.

Phrase with error

Target language reformulations

Type of error

12

我没学太好了

我没学太好
OR:我学得不太好
OR :我学得不是太好

Syntax: overuse of aspect marker “了(LE)”; preverbal negation

14

我的日文不太好,所以有的时候我不知道老师说什么

我的日文不太好,所以有的时候我听不懂老师在说什么
OR: 所以有的时候我不知道老师在说什么

Syntax: lack of aspect marker “在(ZAI)”
[controversial]

16

我学了一年的

我学了一年

Syntax: overuse of “的(DE)”
[controversial]

24

我不太说了很多,我不说了多

我说得不是很多

Syntax: incorrect placement of negator; overuse of “了(LE)”

Would you correct “errors” like those marked with a blue highlight above, if they occurred in your classroom?  One difficulty is that your students may have heard native speakers speak this way.  If you are a native speaker teacher, you yourself may produce these patterns sometimes when you speak casually, when talking to your students outside of class, or even in office hours or in class when you’re not monitoring your speech carefully. So how should a teacher respond to these forms when they turn up in students’ speech? Are they really wrong, or are they just wrong in formal contexts?

 

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