Error analysis - Revision history

Volker gast at 20:58, 19 September 2009

2009-09-19T20:58:00Z

Volker gast: /* Criticism */

2009-09-19T20:57:22Z

Criticism

Volker gast: /* Results */

2009-09-19T20:51:01Z

Results

Volker gast: /* Aims */

2009-09-19T20:45:32Z

Aims

Volker gast: /* Definition */

2009-09-19T20:39:47Z

Definition

Volker gast: /* Development */

2009-09-19T20:38:53Z

Development

Volker gast: /* Short Definition */

2009-09-19T20:25:57Z

Short Definition

Volker gast: moved The error analysis to Error analysis

2009-09-19T20:22:38Z

moved The error analysis to Error analysis

Ute Henning at 17:13, 16 September 2009

2009-09-16T17:13:48Z

Ute Henning: Created page with '==Short Definition== Error Analysis is a branch of Applied Linguistics. It is concerned with the compilation, study and analysis of errors made by [[second language lear...'

2009-09-16T17:12:35Z

Created page with '==Short Definition== Error Analysis is a branch of Applied Linguistics. It is concerned with the compilation, study and analysis of errors made by [[second language lear...'

New page

==Short Definition==

Error Analysis is a branch of [[Applied Linguistics]]. It is concerned with the compilation, study and analysis of [[errors]] made by [[second language learners]] and aims at explaining [[second language acquisition]] by these means.

Closely connected to this discipline is the concept of [[interlanguage]].

Some researchers distinguish Error Analysis from Transfer Analysis, which compares the learner’s data with the respective first language, whereas Error Analysis compares the learner’s data with the [[target language]] [[norm]] and identifies and explains errors accordingly (James 1998).

==Development==

Error Analysis was first used as a means of studying [[second language acquisition]] in the 1960s. Corder’s seminal paper “The Significance of Learner’s Errors” (1967) had shifted researchers’ attention from the teaching perspective to the learning perspective – and therefore also away from [[Contrastive Analysis]], [[behaviorism]] and [[structuralism]] towards [[cognitive psychology]]. This was in line with the turn toward the [[Communicative Approach]] in language teaching.

Drawing on knowledge of [[first language]] acquisition, Corder posited the notion that the second language learner discovers the [[target language]] by hypothesizing about it and testing his or her hypotheses – more or less like children do. This happens not randomly, but following the learner’s [[built-in syllabus]], he said, so that errors will necessarily be made.

Corder used the term [[transitional competence]] for what has since become a widely accepted and often used concept: that of [[interlanguage]] (Selinker 1972), the learner’s individual, dynamic approximation of the [[target language]]. Errors, according to this view, indicate that the learner actively learns the target language, for they occur whenever a hypothesis the learner tests does not work. In Error Analysis, the language learning process is thought to be influenced by the learner’s [[first language]], his or her [[interlanguage]] and the [[target language]]. Thus, all of these three language systems have an influence on which errors the learner makes. But the gap between the interlanguage and the target language is considered the most important factor of the three. More importantly, however, the learner makes errors because of the [[learning strategy|learning strategies]] he or she employs to ‘discover’ the target language.

For all these reasons, inductive error analyses were carried out in order to draw generalizations about errors, interlanguage and, ultimately, second language acquisition. Error Analysis reached its zenith in the 1970s, but soon turned out to be deficient as a research tool. By the late 1970s, it was merely contributing to broader second language acquisition theory and research, as it still does today.

==Aims==

The aims of error analyses were to identify types and patterns of [[error|errors]] and to establish error taxonomies. These should then be used to describe [[interlanguage]] and its development, i.e. the learner’s [[internal syllabus]]. Common difficulties in [[second language acquisition]] were to be identified. All this should eventually lead to comprehensive knowledge of the processes of second language acquisition – always assuming with [[Chomsky]] that there is something like a [[language acquisition device]].

In addition, results should be used to review [[language learning theories]] as well as help to evaluate and improve language teaching.

==Results==

The main achievements of Error Analysis are changes of perspective. Firstly, it changed how learners’ errors were viewed. No longer were they “signs of inhibition” (Corder 1967) that needed to be eradicated. Instead, they were regarded as useful “evidence of his strategies of learning” (Corder 1967) and as perfectly natural. Secondly, it widened the perspective on possible causes of errors. Researchers saw that the [[first language]] is not the only – in fact, not even the most important - factor that can lead to errors.

Common errors for different [[target language|target languages]] were identified and, in search of reasons why those errors were made, they were classified in a new way. Errors were distinguished from [[mistakes]] or [[lapses]], which are [[performance]] errors that are not determined by the [[interlanguage]] but rather by situational factors such as tiredness. Only ‘true’ errors are connected to the state of the interlanguage, or the learner’s [[competence]]. Interlingual errors, a result of interference from the [[native language]], were differentiated from intralingual errors, occuring for example when a target language rule is applied to areas where it is not applicable. Corder also pointed out that an utterance which is seemingly correct but does not mean what the speaker or writer intended it to mean contains, in fact, a covert error.

Error Analysis also played an important role in the development of the [[Interlanguage Hypothesis]].

==Criticism==

Error Analysis has been criticized for a number of problems concerning its practice, all of them connected to the fact that it tries to gather knowledge of language learning processes by examining the learner’s [[output]]. First of all, it has proved difficult to determine whether there is an [[error]] at all, and if so, what exactly constitutes it. The distinction between [[error]] and [[mistake]] cannot easily be made either. Secondly, there is usually cannot more than just one way to classify an error. Thirdly, errors’ causes are difficult to name; there is a multitude of possible causes (e.g. communication strategies, personal factors, external factors) and since there is only the learner’s output that can be examined, found causes are necessarily unreliable. In addition, “error taxonomies often confuse description with explanation” (Johnson & Johnson 1998:112), thus doing little to help learners.

Other criticism has aimed at the simplistic approach Error Analysis takes toward [[second language acquisition]]. Only looking at incorrect output and ignoring correct output as well as any other aspects of the learning process means leaving out important sources of information to describe the acquisition process. This is connected to the fact that correct output does not necessarily mean that something has been learned – because the learner’s language production varies, among other reasons.

As a result, there has been much criticism of this kind of research. For example, it has been claimed that what were called ‘universal’ errors (errors that are made by any learner of a given target language, no matter what the first language) might in fact be interference errors (Byram 2004, cited in James 1998).

==References==

*Cherrington, Ruth. 2004. Error Analysis. In: Byram, Michael (ed.) ''Routledge Encyclopedia of Language Teaching and Learning''. London/New York: Routledge. 198-200.
*Corder, S.P. 1967. The Significance of Learner’s Errors. In: ''IRAL'' 5/1967. 161-170.
*Ellis, Rod. 2008. ''The Study of Second Language Acquisition'' (2nd edition). Oxford: OUP. 47; 60-65.
*James, Carl. 1998. ''Errors in Language Learning and Use – Exploring Error Analysis''. Essex: Pearson.
*Johnson, Keith & Johnson, Helen (ed.) 1998. ''Encyclopedic Dictionary of Applied Linguistics – A Handbook for Language Teaching''. Oxford/Malden: Blackwell. 110-114.

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:58, 19 September 2009
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	[[Category:En]]		[[Category:En]]
	[[Category:Language acquisition]]		[[Category:Language acquisition]]
		+	[[Category:SURV]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ==Definition==
-'''Error Analysis''' is a branch of [[Applied Linguistics]]. It is concerned with the compilation, study and analysis of [[errors]] made by [[second language learners]] and aims at investigating aspects of [[second language acquisition]].
+'''Error analysis''' is a branch of [[applied linguistics]]. It is concerned with the compilation, study and analysis of [[errors]] made by [[second language learners]] and aims at investigating aspects of [[second language acquisition]].
 Closely related to '''error analysis''' is the concept of [[interlanguage]].

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:13, 16 September 2009
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	*James, Carl. 1998. ''Errors in Language Learning and Use – Exploring Error Analysis''. Essex: Pearson.		*James, Carl. 1998. ''Errors in Language Learning and Use – Exploring Error Analysis''. Essex: Pearson.
	*Johnson, Keith & Johnson, Helen (ed.) 1998. ''Encyclopedic Dictionary of Applied Linguistics – A Handbook for Language Teaching''. Oxford/Malden: Blackwell. 110-114.		*Johnson, Keith & Johnson, Helen (ed.) 1998. ''Encyclopedic Dictionary of Applied Linguistics – A Handbook for Language Teaching''. Oxford/Malden: Blackwell. 110-114.
		+
		+	[[Category:En]]
		+	[[Category:Language acquisition]]

@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 ==Criticism==
-Error Analysis has been criticized for a number of problems concerning its practice, all of them connected to the fact that it tries to gather knowledge of language learning processes by examining the learner’s [[output]]. First of all, it has proved difficult to determine whether there is an [[error]] at all, and if so, what exactly constitutes it. The distinction between [[error]] and [[mistake]] cannot easily be made either. Secondly, there is usually cannot more than just one way to classify an error. Thirdly, errors’ causes are difficult to name; there is a multitude of possible causes (e.g. communication strategies, personal factors, external factors) and since there is only the learner’s output that can be examined, found causes are necessarily unreliable. In addition, “error taxonomies often confuse description with explanation” (Johnson & Johnson 1998:112), thus doing little to help learners.
+'''Error analysis''' has been criticized for a number of practical problems, all of them connected to the fact that it tries to gather knowledge of language learning processes by examining the learner’s [[output]]. First of all, it has proved difficult to determine whether there is an [[error]] at all, and if so, what exactly constitutes it. The distinction between [[error]] and [[mistake]] cannot easily be made either. Secondly, there is usually more than just one way to classify an error. Thirdly, causes of errors are difficult to identify; there is a multitude of possible causes (e.g. communication strategies, personal factors, external factors), and since the learner’s output is the only source of evidence used, found causes are necessarily unreliable. In addition, “error taxonomies often confuse description with explanation” (Johnson & Johnson 1998:112), thus providing little to help learners.
-Other criticism has aimed at the simplistic approach Error Analysis takes toward [[second language acquisition]]. Only looking at incorrect output and ignoring correct output as well as any other aspects of the learning process means leaving out important sources of information to describe the acquisition process. This is connected to the fact that correct output does not necessarily mean that something has been learned – because the learner’s language production varies, among other reasons.
+Other criticism has aimed at the simplistic approach that '''error analysis''' takes toward [[second language acquisition]]. Only looking at incorrect output and ignoring correct output as well as any other aspects of the learning process means leaving out important sources of information that could be used to describe the acquisition process. This is related to the fact that correct output does not necessarily imply that something has been learned – among other reasons, because the learner’s language production varies in several ways.
-As a result, there has been much criticism of this kind of research. For example, it has been claimed that what were called ‘universal’ errors (errors that are made by any learner of a given target language, no matter what the first language) might in fact be interference errors (Byram 2004, cited in James 1998).
+As a result, '''error analysis''' has been subject to criticism. For example, it has been claimed that what was called ‘universal’ errors (errors that are made by any learner of a given target language, no matter what the first language) might in fact be interference errors (Byram 2004, cited in James 1998).
 ==References==

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 ==Results==
-The main achievements of Error Analysis are changes of perspective. Firstly, it changed how learners’ errors were viewed. No longer were they “signs of inhibition” (Corder 1967) that needed to be eradicated. Instead, they were regarded as useful “evidence of his strategies of learning” (Corder 1967) and as perfectly natural. Secondly, it widened the perspective on possible causes of errors. Researchers saw that the [[first language]] is not the only – in fact, not even the most important - factor that can lead to errors.
+The main achievement of '''error analysis''' consists in a change of perspective. Firstly, it let learners’ errors appear in a new light. They were no longer regarded as "signs of inhibition" (Corder 1967) that needed to be eradicated. Instead, they were regarded as useful “evidence of [...] strategies of learning” (Corder 1967) and as perfectly natural aspects of second language acquisitin. Secondly, it widened the perspective on possible causes of errors. Researchers recognized that the [[first language]] is not the only – in fact, not even the most important - factor that can lead to errors.
-Common errors for different [[target language|target languages]] were identified and, in search of reasons why those errors were made, they were classified in a new way. Errors were distinguished from [[mistakes]] or [[lapses]], which are [[performance]] errors that are not determined by the [[interlanguage]] but rather by situational factors such as tiredness. Only ‘true’ errors are connected to the state of the interlanguage, or the learner’s [[competence]]. Interlingual errors, a result of interference from the [[native language]], were differentiated from intralingual errors, occuring for example when a target language rule is applied to areas where it is not applicable. Corder also pointed out that an utterance which is seemingly correct but does not mean what the speaker or writer intended it to mean contains, in fact, a covert error.
+Common errors typical of different [[target language|target languages]] were identified and, in search of reasons why those errors were made, they were classified in a new way. Errors were distinguished from [[mistakes]] or [[lapses]], which are [[performance error]]s that are not determined by the [[interlanguage]] but rather by situational factors such as tiredness. Only ‘true’ errors are connected to the state of the interlanguage, or the learner’s [[competence]]. Interlingual errors, a result of [[interference]] from the [[native language]], were differentiated from intralingual errors, occuring for example when a target language rule is applied to areas where it is not applicable. Corder also pointed out that an utterance which is seemingly correct but does not mean what the speaker or writer intended it to mean contains, in fact, a covert error.
-Error Analysis also played an important role in the development of the [[Interlanguage Hypothesis]].
+'''Error analysis''' also played an important role in the development of the [[interlanguage hypothesis]].
 ==Criticism==

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 ==Aims==
-The aims of error analyses were to identify types and patterns of [[error|errors]] and to establish error taxonomies. These should then be used to describe [[interlanguage]] and its development, i.e. the learner’s [[internal syllabus]]. Common difficulties in [[second language acquisition]] were to be identified. All this should eventually lead to comprehensive knowledge of the processes of second language acquisition – always assuming with [[Chomsky]] that there is something like a [[language acquisition device]].
+The primary aims of '''error analyses''' were (i) to identify types and patterns of [[error|errors]] and (ii) to establish [[error taxonomy|error taxonomies]]. These were supposed to be used to describe [[interlanguage]] and its development, i.e. the learner’s [[internal syllabus]]. Common difficulties in [[second language acquisition]] were to be identified. On this basis, '''error analysis''' was supposed to contribute to a comprehensive knowledge about processes of second language acquisition -- always assuming with [[Chomsky]] that there is something like a [[language acquisition device]].
-In addition, results should be used to review [[language learning theories]] as well as help to evaluate and improve language teaching.
+In addition, results were intended to be used for a revision of [[theories of language learning]] as well as help to evaluate and improve language teaching.
 ==Results==

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 ==Development==
-Error Analysis was first used as a means of studying [[second language acquisition]] in the 1960s. Corder’s seminal paper “The Significance of Learner’s Errors” (1967) had shifted researchers’ attention from the teaching perspective to the learning perspective – and therefore also away from [[Contrastive Analysis]], [[behaviorism]] and [[structuralism]] towards [[cognitive psychology]]. This was in line with the turn toward the [[Communicative Approach]] in language teaching.
+'''Error analysis''' was first used as a way of studying [[second language acquisition]] in the 1960s. Corder’s seminal paper "The Significance of Learner’s Errors" (1967) had shifted researchers’ attention from the teaching perspective to the learning perspective – and therefore also away from [[contrastive analysis]], [[behaviorism]] and [[structuralism]] towards [[cognitive psychology]]. This development went hand in hand with the turn towards a [[communicative approach]] in language teaching.
-Drawing on knowledge of [[first language]] acquisition, Corder posited the notion that the second language learner discovers the [[target language]] by hypothesizing about it and testing his or her hypotheses – more or less like children do. This happens not randomly, but following the learner’s [[built-in syllabus]], he said, so that errors will necessarily be made.
+Drawing on knowledge about [[first language]] acquisition, Corder posited that second language learners discover the [[target language]] by hypothesizing about it and testing their hypotheses more or less like children do. This process does not happen randomly, but follows the learner’s [[built-in syllabus]], so that errors will necessarily be made.
-Corder used the term [[transitional competence]] for what has since become a widely accepted and often used concept: that of [[interlanguage]] (Selinker 1972), the learner’s individual, dynamic approximation of the [[target language]]. Errors, according to this view, indicate that the learner actively learns the target language, for they occur whenever a hypothesis the learner tests does not work. In Error Analysis, the language learning process is thought to be influenced by the learner’s [[first language]], his or her [[interlanguage]] and the [[target language]]. Thus, all of these three language systems have an influence on which errors the learner makes. But the gap between the interlanguage and the target language is considered the most important factor of the three. More importantly, however, the learner makes errors because of the [[learning strategy|learning strategies]] he or she employs to ‘discover’ the target language.
+Corder used the term [[transitional competence]] for what has since become a widely accepted and often used concept: that of [[interlanguage]] (cf. Selinker 1972), the learner’s individual, dynamic approximation of the [[target language]]. According to this view, errors indicate that a learner actively learns the target language, as they occur whenever a hypothesis tested by the learner does not work. In '''error analysis''', the language learning process is regarded as being influenced by the learner’s [[first language]], his or her [[interlanguage]] and the [[target language]]. Thus, all of these three language systems have an influence on which errors a learner makes. But the gap between the [[interlanguage]] and the [[target language]] is considered the most important factor of the three. Even more importantly, however, the learner makes errors because of the [[learning strategy|learning strategies]] he or she employs to ‘discover’ the target language.
-For all these reasons, inductive error analyses were carried out in order to draw generalizations about errors, interlanguage and, ultimately, second language acquisition. Error Analysis reached its zenith in the 1970s, but soon turned out to be deficient as a research tool. By the late 1970s, it was merely contributing to broader second language acquisition theory and research, as it still does today.
+For all these reasons, inductive error analyses were carried out in order to arrive at generalizations about errors, interlanguage and, ultimately, second language acquisition. '''Error analysis''' reached its zenith in the 1970s, but soon turned out to be deficient as a research tool. By the late 1970s, it was merely contributing to broader second language acquisition theory and research, as it still does today.
 ==Aims==

← Older revision	Revision as of 20:22, 19 September 2009
(No difference)