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Error Analysis Efl

Better Essays

Sep. 2007, Volume 4, No.9 (Serial No.34)

US-China Education Review, ISSN1548-6613, USA

Error analysis and the EFL classroom teaching
XIE Fang, JIANG Xue-mei
(College of Foreign Languages, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian Liaoning 116029, China)

Abstract: This paper makes a study of error analysis and its implementation in the EFL (English as Foreign Language) classroom teaching. It starts by giving a systematic review of the concepts and theories concerning EA (Error Analysis), the various reasons causing errors are comprehensively explored. The author proposes that teachers should employ different and flexible error treatment strategies in accordance with the teaching objectives, students’ linguistic competence, their …show more content…

While each of these designations emphasizes a particular notion, they share the concept that second language learners are forming their own self-contained independent linguistic systems. This is neither the system of the native language nor the system of the target language, but falls between the two. The most important feature of interlanguage is that it has its own legitimate system where learners are no longer looked on as producers of malformed, imperfect language replete with mistakes, but as intelligent and creative beings proceeding through logical, systematic stages of acquisition creatively acting upon their linguistic environment. The second feature is that this system is dynamic and it is based on the best attempt of learners to produce order and structure to the linguistic stimuli surrounding them. Finally, it is a linguistic system which reflects the psychological process of learning and the psychological process of foreign language learning.

3. Error analysis and the procedures
In order to analyze learners’ errors in a proper perspective, it is crucial to make a distinction between “mistake” and “error”. According to Brown (2000), a “mistake” refers to a performance error in that it is a failure to utilize a known system correctly. While an “error” is a noticeable deviation from the adult grammar of a native speaker, reflecting the interlanguage competence of the learner. This recognition

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