Sudanese EFL Learners’ Sources of Errors in the Production of Articles (Published)
The purpose of this study is to detect to what extent Sudanese EFL learners commit errors attributable to the differences between their L1 and L2. Furthermore discovering the types of errors in use of articles (omission of articles, redundant, or wrong use of articles) is among the objectives of the study. In the direction of checking the status of various categories of errors of articles made by Sudanese EFL learners as a result of the transitional limitations between Arabic and English, an error analysis was performed. Therefore, the researcher developed a writing task in order to find out the inter-lingual article errors committed by the participants as a result of transfer between L1 and L2. A total number of 25 male students studying English at the tertiary level took part in the study and carried out the writing task. The analysis of the results indicated significant differences between different types of errors made by the participants. Sudanese EFL learners had the most problems in terms of the errors related to the redundant use of articles. They were at the second position in the errors of wrong use of articles and finally they had the less frequent errors with respect to the omission of articles in L2 while writing into English.
Keywords: EFL, Error, Error Analysis, Inter-language, Intra-Lingual Error, Mother tongue, Sources Of Errors, Written Production, target language
An Error Analysis of a Nigerian Postgraduate Student in a United Kingdom University (Published)
This study presents an error analysis on an adult Nigerian postgraduate student in the United Kingdom. The results reveal that there are a lot of errors which associated with both Interlingua and intralingua. His second language development moves at lower rate. However, in some instances he has been using appropriate aspects of target language; that at certain points he realises inappropriate use of target language and makes self-correction. In terms of teaching implication, some errors can be corrected immediately while others can be delayed because too much negative feedback may hinder the progress of the learner. For example, the omission of /s/ sound can be ignored for immediate correction because it is often unnoticed, whereas errors associated with unmarked verb form can be corrected immediately.
Keywords: Error Analysis, Inter-language, Interlingua, Intralingua, Nigeria, Postgraduate Students, Second Language Acquisition