Error Analysis

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The basic purpose of this research is to give a detailed insight into writing errors and the factors behind these errors. It is needed here to make a distinction between mistakes and errors in order to analyze learners’ errors in a proper perspective. According to Brown (2000), a ‘mistake’ refers to a performance errors, that is failure to utilize a known system correctly, whereas, an ‘error’ is a deviation from the grammar of NSs, reflecting the Inter-language competence of the learner. The difference between these two can be described as; errors are result of ignorance whereas, mistakes are result of stress. In order to learn a language, it is important to understand the process. EA (error analysis) is part of this process. As Corder has…show more content…
But this is deceptive somehow (Gorbet, Frances 1974; 33). Although analyzing errors is surely involved in Error Analysis, much more is implied. Conditionally it is a theory basically developed to explain the learning process involved in the acquisition of a second language (Corder, S.P. 1967). In this sense it is first and foremost a language learning theory. The underlying assumption of this theory is that errors are evidence of learners’ language system, which is not ‘target language’ system, but can be a system of some “other” language. And the theoretical aim of Error Analysis is to describe the “other” language (Corder, 1973 “Introducing Applied Linguistics” p.268). The exposure of this study comes from psycholinguistics, in that the underlying question influencing language development has been the cognitive processes involved in learning second language. Many linguists and psychologists have felt the affect that we can learn a lot about nature of language learning through observation; the way children acquire language. After consideration of these effects, applied linguists such as Corder, Selinker and Richards, here studying second language acquisition turned towards first language acquisition studies for clues about the cognitive processes involved in language learning. There is evidence which states that children follow more or less set levels of language acquisition and…show more content…
Besides, it is the ‘studies of difference between the native language L1 and the target language L2’ which particularly examines the effect of L1 on L2 (Brown, 2000). Therefore, CAH possess the credit that the L2 of a learner develops parallel to the L1 system, which leads towards interlingual interference as a consequence (Macht, 1998:355). Even Brown (2000:213) claims that this effect can also be observed vice-versa that is ‘the L2 language also influences the L1’. Due to this reason CAH (contrastive analysis hypothesis) is often criticized for ignoring the influence of intralingual interference on the learners’ error production and focusing much on the interfering effect of the mother tongue L1 on target language L2 learner. CAH analysts justify this negative mother tongue transfer by claiming that it serves as a way for predicting difficulties of language learners when learning the second language (TL). The theoretical institutions of contrastive analysis hypothesis (CAH) were formulated in Robert Lado’s “Linguistics Across Cultures” (1957). While this was not a new idea, Lado was first to give a comprehensive theoretical treatment and also proposes a systematic set of technical procedures for the contrastive study of languages. Robert Lado (1957) claims ‘those elements that are similar to the mother language will be easy for learner and those elements that are different will be difficult. The main
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