Error Analysis: Activity 2
Classify errors in learner language
An error is a learner language form that deviates from, or violates, a target language rule. Fragments or colloquial expressions are not errors if a native speaker would use them. Doing an error analysis involves finding a learner’s errors in a text and trying to understand what caused each one.
Instructions:
- Print the transcripts of Pari and Fereshteh’s Interviews below. Watch the two video clips and mark all the errors you hear on Pari’s lines 117-141 and Fereshteh’s lines 52-76.
- Now print 2 copies of the Error Analysis Chart (PDF). Fill in 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.
a) In Column 1, indicate the line number where you found the error.
b) In Column 2, copy the error and the words that immediately preceded and followed the error.
c) In Column 3, indicate your reconstruction(s) of the learner’s erroneous utterance: how might a native speaker of the language say this? If there is more than one possible reconstruction, or target language alternative, list more than one.
d) In Column 4, indicate causes of error, such as transfer of patterns from the native language, or overgeneralization and simplification of a Persian rule.
- Answer the following questions:
a) Compare the learners’ errors. Did one of these learners seem to make more errors than the other, or make different types of errors than the other? Explain.
b) Would you correct these errors in your classroom? How would you correct them?Please type your answers to the questions in the box below.
Transcript (PDF)
Transcript (PDF)
When you have finished typing your answer, click to compare your response with the Learner Language staff response.
Name of learner: Pari |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
Line number |
Phrase with error (phonology, morphology, syntax, vocabulary) |
Target language reformulation(s) |
Cause of error |
117 |
(a) fækæt yek bar hæfte, |
(a) fæghæt yek bar |
a) Faghæt: Transfer (difficulty in the pronunciation of / ɣ / sound which is lacking in English); Simplification |
120 |
æma tuye zemnam |
æma tuye zehnam |
Performance, slip of tongue |
123 |
soal-e khub-e |
soal-e khub-i-eh |
Morphological reduction of the adjective marker /i/ before the short form of “ast” (is) = /eh/. Cause: Transfer (no such marking system in English) as well as Overgeneralization of a related simpler rule in Persian |
129 |
Væ jonub-e væ mian-e Asia ælaghe daræm |
væ (a) be (b) asia-ye jonubi væ mianeh ælaghe daræm |
a) Simplification (Morphological in preposition) |
131 |
vækti ke |
væghti ke |
Transfer: pronunciation of / ɣ / |
132 |
ævælin ke mæn eee eh dærs-am, shoru mikonæm Farsi tu-ye daneshgah-e Minnesota nædad, |
væghti ke/ ævælin (a) bari ke mæn eee eh dærs-am (b) ra shoru (c) kærdæm, Farsi tu-ye daneshgah-e Minnesota (d) næbud/eraʔe nemishod/ Daneshgah-e Minnesota Farsi nadasht. |
a) Lexical Simplification |
134 |
do-o nim sal-e pish |
do sal- o nim-e pish |
Transfer from L1 |
137 |
mærdom Iran kheili dust daræm |
Mærdom (a)-e Iran/Irani-ha (b) ra (ro) kheili dust daræm |
a) Morphological Simplification; Omission of “-e” as possessive noun marker |
138 |
ba næmæk-iand (h) væ kheili, bi hushæn |
ba næmæk (a)-ænd/ namaki-an[d] (h) væ kheili, (b) ba hushæn |
a) Performance, a slip of the tongue. Morphological. |
141 |
in zæban kheili dust daræm |
in zæban ra (ro) kheili dust daræm |
Morphological Simplification and Transfer (lack of DOM in English) |
Name of learner: Fereshteh |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
Line number |
Phrase with error (phonology, morphology, syntax, vocabulary) |
Target language reformulation(s) |
Cause of error |
52 |
chun Iran dust daræm kheili |
chun Iran ra (ro)dust daræm kheili |
Morphological Simplification and Transfer (lack of DOM in English) |
54 |
chun Iran kheili khæshæng-e |
chun Iran kheili ghæshæng-e |
Transfer: / ɣ / and /x/ sounds both lacking in English |
54 |
ziad dust daræm, um,dær Iran…..zendegi mikonæn |
dust-ha-ye ziad-i daræm, um, keh dær Iran…..zendegi mikonæn(d). |
Overgeneralization of word order and message abandonment |
64 |
tekrar, tekrar mikoni! |
tekrar, tekrar kon lotfan!/dobareh begu lotfan! |
Overgeneralization (imperative and formal style needed in this context). |
70 |
mæn be tur mirævæm |
mæn ba tur mirævæm |
Lexico-semantic Overgeneralization (minimal differences in pronunciation between target lexical items). |
76 |
mæn mikham shiraz, tæbriz, mæshæd, mikham. |
mæn mikham shiraz, tæbriz, væ mæshæd ra (ro) bebinam. |
Morphological, simplification; (ungrammatical in both English and Persian)(pidgin?) |
3.a) Compare the learners’ errors. Did one of these learners seem to make more errors than the other, or make different types of errors than the other? Explain.
Pari made more errors, both in terms of frequency and variety while attempting to produce longer and more complex sentences. Pari made a total of 8 morphological or syntactic errors (3 in the area of DOM; 1 in preposition use; 1 in word ordering; 1 in adjective marker; 1 in noun marker; and 1 in verb tense). She made 4 lexico-semantic errors; 1 phonological error and 1 slip. Fereshteh, on the other hand, attempted shorter, simpler utterances, and made a total of only 3 morphological or syntactic errors (1 in each of the areas of DOM, word ordering and incomplete sentence). She also made 1 lexico-semantic and 1 phonological error. In one case there was overlap between a slip of tongue and lexico-semantic error. In spite of her lower proficiency level, Fereshteh made fewer errors than Pari because she didn’t attempt such long, complex sentences. As a consequence, Pari has the opportunity to acquire more complex syntactic forms than Fereshteh because she is willing to take more risks in attempting to produce them.
b) Would you correct these errors in your classroom? How would you correct them?
Some of the errors are performance errors -- slips of the tongue -- and so should not be a big issue in the classroom. Learners like Pari and Fereshteh have a hard time pronouncing some Persian consonants like “خ", “غ/ق", and “ع”. Teachers should spend time modeling these sounds in the classroom. Another area that is problematic for these learners is using the Direct Object Marker (DOM). Teachers should focus on the use of this grammatical structure because it is really confusing for learners.
If these students were in my classroom, as a Persian teacher, I would not correct all of their grammatical errors at once; depending on the focus of the class I would only correct some. For instance if the focus of the class is on subject-verb agreement I would correct all errors with subject-verb agreement, but ignore, for example, most of their pronunciation errors. Asking learners to focus on more than one error at a time sometimes makes them more confused.
