An investigation into common errors in English speaking skills committed by the freshmen in faculty of English, Thuongmai university

ABSTRACT
In an attempt to investigate common errors in English speaking lessons
committed by freshmen in Faculty of English, Thuongmai University, the research
was aimed at finding out: the errors they might encounter when speaking English
and their suggested solutions to solve problems and improve speaking skill.
Specifically, the study has been conducted in the form of survey research, with the
informants of the study being the first-year students in Faculty of English,
Thuongmai University. The survey questionnaire completed by the students was the
main instrument employed for the collection of data. The research reveals that the
students’ low language proficiency including unclear pronunciation, their bad
grammar, poor vocabulary and lack of practicing speaking all made it difficult for
them to be understood.

1


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my
supervisor, Ms. Duong Thi Hong Tham, for her guidance and encouragement during
my study. Furthermore, I really appreciate all her help and suggestions on various
drafts of the thesis. Without her valuable advice and support, this thesis could not
have been completed on schedule.
I would also like to express my full appreciation to all teachers at the English
Faculty of Thuongmai University who helped me so much in my data collection.
My special thanks also go to English major freshmen at the faculty who agreed to
participate in the study.
Additionally, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my dear friends for
their help and warm encouragement throughout my hard times carrying out the
study. Without them, I could not have overcome such times and concentrated on my
study.
Finally, I am greatly indebted to my family, especially my loving parents for

their continuous support during my study. Thanks to their intense devotion, I have
overcome the difficult times and completed this thesis.
Hanoi, April 16th, 2021
Student
Ly Tien Anh

2


TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT..............................................................................................................i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................iii
LIST OF CHARTS, TABLES AND FIGURES.....................................................v
CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY......................................................1
1.1. Rationale...........................................................................................................1
1.2. Previous studies................................................................................................2
1.3. Aims of the study..............................................................................................4
1.4. Research subjects..............................................................................................5
1.5. Scope of the study.............................................................................................5
1.6. Research methodology.....................................................................................5
1.7. Organization of the study.................................................................................6
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW...............................................................7
2.1. Definitions of speaking skills...........................................................................7
2.2. General outline of a speaking lessons..............................................................8
2.3. Activities in speaking class...............................................................................9
2.3.1. Role play.........................................................................................................9
2.3.2. Pair work.......................................................................................................10
2.4. Nature of errors..............................................................................................12
2.4.1. Definitions of error.......................................................................................12

2.4.2. Errors classification.....................................................................................13
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS..............................................................17
3.1. The reality of English speaking committed by freshmen in faculty of
English, Thuongmai university.............................................................................18
3.1.1: English speaking frequency of students......................................................18
3.1.2: The importance of speaking lessons............................................................18
3.1.3 : Students’ speaking English time per day....................................................19
3.1.4. Self - evaluate your speaking English skills?...............................................20
3.1.5: Frequency of making errors when speaking English..................................21

3


3.2. Common errors in English speaking skills committed by the freshmen in
faculty of English, Thuongmai university............................................................21
3.2.1. Type of errors student usually make when speaking English......................21
3.2.2. The most common lexical errors in speaking English lessons....................22
3.2.3. The most common grammatical errors in speaking English lessons..........23
3.2.5. Some common reasons why students make errors.......................................25
3.3. The solutions to improve English speaking skills for the the freshmen in
faculty of English, Thuongmai university............................................................26
3.3.1. The students’ thought of the knowledge learned from speaking lessons
whether effective or not..........................................................................................26
3.3.2. How the students handle new words or phrases that they encounter in
conversation............................................................................................................27
3.4. Classroom observation...................................................................................28
3.5. Discussion........................................................................................................29
CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS.......................31
4.1. Some solutions to improving student’s English speaking skill....................31
4.2. Limitations of the study.................................................................................32

4.3. Some suggestion for the further research.....................................................32
CONCLUSION......................................................................................................33
REFERENCE........................................................................................................34
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

4


LIST OF CHARTS, TABLES AND FIGURES
No

Name

Content

.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Chart 3.1.1
Chart 3.1.2
Chart 3.1.3
Chart 3.1.4
Chart 3.1.5
Chart 3.2.1

Table 3.2.2

English speaking frequency of students
The importance of English speaking lessons
Students’ speaking English time per day
Evaluate speaking English skills of students
Frequency of making errors when speaking English
Type of errors
The students’ thought of the knowledge learned from speaking

Chart 3.2.3
Chart 3.2.4
Table 3.2.5
Chart 3.3.1
Table 3.3.2

lessons whether effective or not
Common lexical errors in speaking English
Common grammatical errors in speaking English
Common pronunciation errors in speaking English
The reasons why students make errors
How the students handle new words or phrases that they

Table 3.3.3

encounter in conversation
How the students improve their speaking English skills

8
9

10
11
12
13

5


CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
1.1. Rationale
It is popularly admitted that language is an indispensable part of our society’s
cultural richness in particular and of the world’s in general. However, in order to
keep ourselves on a par with the global standards in the today’s world which is
called international community, we need to have. the understanding of English - an
international language. English is considered as the most popular language used to
exchange information and ideas among different nations and cultures today. By
making comparisons, people are able to gain insight into their own culture and
society as well as mutually exchange countries' beauty of cultural values. Moreover,
English makes people understand each other more in the process of diplomatic
relations and economic cooperation and other fields in today's era when countries
tend to integrate for the whole development. As a result, speaking English has
gradually become an indispensable and pressing tool which set the path for the
global success of individuals, organizations, and even businesses in the modern time
when society is more developed and competition is relentless.
Nowadays when Vietnam becomes one of the members of World Trade
Organization, it is necessary for Vietnamese students of English to have expert
speaking skill in order to meet the demand of integration into the world economy
and exchange of culture with other countries. As a result, learning speaking skill is
undoubtedly an advantage for Vietnamese students' ideal future jobs. However, in
reality, speaking skill is not easy for Vietnamese students to master, so learners

cannot avoid mistakes in their speaking practice. Perhaps, because of some
influence on the differences about cultures or their own limited language ability, etc.
Vietnamese students of English in general still have a lot of mistakes on grammar,
word choices and pronunciation.
In the context of Thuongmai University, speaking is one of the compulsory
subjects at Faculty of English. However, the majority of the students do not have
good results in the subject. In addition, from the classroom observation during
speaking course in the academic year 2020 - 2024, the researcher found that the

1


students encounter many problems and difficulties. To improve speaking learning at
Faculty of English, Thuongmai University, it is necessary to identify students’
common errors in English speaking lessons as well as the causes of these errors.
However, until now, there is no research conducting at the University about this
area.
For those reasons, the study entitled “An investigation into common errors in
English speaking skills committed by the freshmen in faculty of English,
Thuongmai university.” was conducted.
1.2. Previous studies
In this part of the study, some previous studies related to this study will be
reviewed. These studies were carried out to identify the speaking errors made by
students.
First, a study on common pronunciation mistakes faced by first year English
majors at Haiphong Private University (Nguyen Thi Hang, 2014). This study helped
first-year students at Haiphong Private University to realize their ending sound
errors. It also helped students raise awareness of pronunciation problems and
gave some suggestions to deal with their ending sound errors. This study
focused on two issues: the first one was to find out the most common English

ending sound errors, the second one was about some solutions for their
pronunciation problems.
Second, “Grammatical error analysis of tenses in speaking English at the first
semester of STKIP-PGRI Lubuklinggau” made by E-Gram Group (2016). In this
research, researchers chose 4 students at first semester of STKIP-PGRI
Lubuklinggau, they were taken to tell something like introduction, idol, experiences
based on their interesting, and all of those are the way to answer the research
question. The researchers found out types of grammatical error in using tenses when
they spoke English and the factors influenced them. Also, suggestions for
improving students’ performance was made.
The third study is “ Errors in Spoken Production Made by Students in
Microteaching Class of Department of English Education of Muhammadiyah
University of Surakarta In 2013/ 2014 Academic Year ” (Hendita Leila Rahma,

2


2015). “In this research, the writer used theory of Clark and Clark. According to
Clark and Clark, 1977: 224 (in Fauziati, 2011: 83) the speech production can simply
be described as the speakers first plan what they want to say based on how they
want to give effect to their listeners. They then put their plan into execution, uttering
the segments, words, phrases, and sentences which made up the plan. The writer
also used the theory of Clark and Clark to analyze the data. Clark and Clark (1977)
divided the speech error into nine types. There were silent pause, filled pause,
repeats, correction, stutters, interjection, slip of tongue, retraced false start and
unretraced false start. Clark and Clark also discovered three possible sources of
planning difficulty, namely: cognitive reason, psychological reason and social
reason.”
In addition, the study “an analysis of grammatical errors on speaking
activities” made by Merlyn Simbolon in 2015. This study aimed to analyze the

grammatical errors and to provide description of errors on speaking activities using
simple present and present progressive tenses made by the second year students of
English Education Department, Palangka Raya University. The errors were
identified and classified according to Linguistic Category Taxonomy and Richard’s
classification, well as the possible sources and causes of errors. The findings
showed that the errors made by students were in 6 aspects; errors in production of
verb groups, errors in the distribution of verb groups, errors in the use of article,
errors in the use of preposition, errors in the use of questions and miscellaneous
errors. With regard to resource and causes, it was found that intra-lingual
interference was the major source of errors (82.55%) where overgeneralization took
place as the major cause of the errors with total percentage of 44.71%.
Another study is “Errors in speaking English made by students of English
department of Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta” by Hawa Fadhila (2013).
The researcher wrote this research to describe the type of errors in speaking English
of English Department of Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta, described the
frequency and the dominant, and explained the sources of error. The type of this
research was descriptive qualitative research. The researcher collected micro
teaching video from her friends. The researcher made the transcript of the video as

3


the source of the data. The researcher used documentation method to select the data.
There were 212 data containing of errors. The researcher used Clark and Clark
theory and Dulay, Burt, and Krashen theory to analyze the errors. The researcher
divided the errors into three classifications. They were speech error, lexical error,
and grammatical error. In speech errors were repetition (27,4%), unretraced (4,3%),
retraced (6,6%), filled pause (20,3%), silent pause (9,9%), stutters (1,9%),
correction (0,9%), and slip of the tongue (0,5% ). Lexical error was wrong choice of
word (0,9%). Grammatical errors were omission of auxiliary in question (6,1%),

omission of “to be” (2,4%), addition of “to be” verb (7,6%), omission of “do” in
negative sentence (0,5%), addition of “do” in question (1,9%), addition of
preposition (2,8%), misordering(0,9%), the use of V-O instead of V-ing (0,5%),
addition of ”to” after auxiliary (1,4%), and wrong choice of verb (3,3%). The
sources of speech error were cognitive and psychological reason. The sources of
lexical and grammatical error were interlingual and intralingual transfer.
To sum up, these previous studies in speaking English revealed that students
had pronunciation errors and grammatical errors in speaking. These errors resulted
from the influence of mother tongue, lack of linguistic competence and lack of
practice.
The present study would have some aspects that were different from the above
studies. The first thing was that the study was conducted to investigate not only
pronunciation and grammatical errors but also lexical errors in speaking English.
The second thing was that the participants of the study were the freshmen in Faculty
of English, Thuongmai University. Another was that these errors were made in
English speaking lessons.
1.3. Aims of the study
The study provides the background theories of speaking skills that help
readers wrap up the basic knowledge of speaking
The primary aim of the thesis is to find out the first-year students’ common
errors in English speaking lessons. The study also aims at finding causes of these
problems and then suggesting some possible solutions to help students overcome
the problems.

4


The targeted subjects of this thesis are mainly students; nevertheless, all
people who are interested in speaking English can consider it as a useful reference
for improving their speaking skills as well.

1.4. Research subjects
The research subjects in this study are common errors in English speaking
lessons committed by the first-year students in Faculty of English, Thuongmai
University. Some mistakes in English speaking lesson are about:
-Pronunciation includes the segmental features of vowels, consonants, stress,
and intonation patterns.
-Grammar correct use of language with respect to word form and word order
at the sentence level.
-Vocabulary
1.5. Scope of the study
This present study focuses on improving English speaking lessons of all
English-majored students. However, due to the limitation of time, resources and
knowledge as well as other condition, the study was carried out to find out the
common errors in English speaking lessons of English-majored freshmen as well as
offering some suggestions to help them enhance their English speaking lessons.
1.6. Research methodology
In this research, the researcher applies both qualitative and quantitative
method, which include data analysis and survey questionnaire. In the study, data
which is collected through observation during lessons and questionnaire will be
processed and analyzed to investigate into learner’s errors in English speaking
lessons. The subject of this research are “Common errors in English speaking skills
committed by the freshmen in faculty of English, Thuongmai university” ; “The
reality of English speaking committed by freshmen in faculty of English,
Thuongmai university” and “The solutions to improve English speaking skills for
freshmen in faculty of English, Thuongmai university” . The number of subject of
data is 40 students. The data of the study was collected through a questionnaire
which was administered to fourty subjects. The questionnaire included thirteen
questions. At first, the researcher identifies the data. The researcher selects the data

5

whether error or not. Then searcher describes the data based on the type of error and
error analysis theory. The researcher counts the number of each type of error, and
then the researcher count the percentage of them by this formula:
At last, based on the percentage of the error data, the
researcher presents and explains the source of each error in the
data.
1.7. Organization of the study
The study is divided into four chapters including (1) Overview of the study,
(2) Literature review, (3) Research findings, (4) Recommendations and suggestions.
Opening with chapter 1, Overview of the study, it presents a general overview
of the study, starting with the rationale, aims of the study and some previous studies
related to the present research. Later, there are research subjects, the scope of the
study and research methodology - including a detailed description of the object and
participants of the study followed by the research instruments and procedures to
collect data as well as error analysis, and data analysis. The organization of the
study comes in the end.
The second chapter, Literature review, lays the foundation for the study. This
chapter reviews the terms or aspects related to errors in speaking English, error
analysis, some concepts related to speaking theory and so on.
The next chapter, Research findings, indicates the results of the study,
discussion of the results, and summary of major findings.
The last chapter, Recommendations and suggestions, provides some
suggestions for students alongside with some recommendations for further study.

6


CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Definitions of speaking skills
“Different people use the term “speaking” in different ways, which can cause
much confusion. Speaking a foreign language usually seems much harder than
learning to write and read it, especially to the freshmen. Often the most important
problems people have with foreign language is that they cannot speak their thinking
and their ideas as well. In fact, it is like a vicious circle: they make mistakes, they
become afraid of speaking and thus they never get the practice which would able to
correct their mistakes. Most of the beginning learners do not understand exactly
“what is speaking”. We only regard speaking as a simple, easy process that involves
speaking the words, the ideas by speaking out what they think without the correct.
So, we had better start by making sure that we are thinking about the same thing
when we use this term. As the first step, it would be useful to understand “what is
speaking”.
According to the Oxford Pocket dictionary of Current English 2009,
“Speaking is the action of conveying information or expressing one’s thoughts and
feelings in spoken language. And speaking used to indicate the degree of accuracy
intended in a statement or the point of view from which it is made”.
Meanwhile the book “Collins Cobuild English for advanced learner 4th
edition, which was published in 2007, defines that “Speaking is the activity of
giving speeches and talks, to indicate the opinion you are giving “Speaking” is also
understood the productive skill in the oral mode. It, like the oral skills, is more
complicated than it seems at first and involves more than just pronouncing words”
(In the website Lingua Link Library, Version 3.5, published on CD.ROM by SIL
International 1998).
Other skills and knowledge that speakers might address include the
following: producing the sounds, stress patterns, rhythmic structures, and
intonations of the language; using grammar structures accurately; assessing
characteristics of the target audience, including shared knowledge or shared points

7

of reference, status and power relations of participants, interest levels, or differences
in perspectives; selecting vocabulary that is understandable and appropriate for the
audience, the topic being discussed, and the setting in which the speech act occurs;
applying strategies to enhance comprehensibility, such as emphasizing key words,
rephrasing, or checking for listener comprehension; using gestures or body
language; and paying attention to the success of the interaction and adjusting
components of speech such as vocabulary, rate of speech, and complexity of
grammar structures to maximize listener comprehension and involvement (Brown,
1994).”

 To sum up everything that has been stated so far, the author can point out
that Speaking is an act of making vocal sounds. We can say that speaking means
to converse, or expressing one’s thoughts and feelings in spoken language. To
speak often implies conveying information. It may be from an informal remark to
a scholarly presentation to a formal address.
2.2. General outline of a speaking lessons
“Speaking lessons can follow the usual pattern of preparation, presentation,
practice, evaluation, and extension. The teacher can use the preparation step to
establish a context for the speaking task (where, when, why, and with whom it will
occur) and to initiate awareness of the speaking skill to be targeted (asking for
clarification, stressing key words, using reduced forms of words). In presentation,
the teacher can provide students with a preproduction model that furthers student
comprehension and helps them become more attentive observers of language
use. Practice involves students in reproducing the targeted structure, usually in a
controlled or highly supported manner. Evaluation involves directing attention to
the skill being examined and asking students to monitor and assess their own
progress. Finally, extension consists of activities that ask students to use the strategy
or skill in a different context or authentic communicative situation, or to integrate

use of the new skill or strategy with previously acquired ones (Brown, 1994; Burns
& Joyce, 1997; Carter & McCarthy, 1995).”
Examples of activities in speaking lessons:

8


⮚Preparations. Show the students a picture of two people conversing in a
familiar casual setting. (The setting will be determined by a prior needs
assessment.) Ask them to brainstorm what the people might be discussing (i.e., what
topics, vocabulary, typical phrases).
⮚Presentations. Present several video clips of small talk in casual situations.
Have students complete a worksheet in which they describe or list the topics
discussed, the context in which the speech is occurring, and any phrases that seem
to typify small talk. Follow up with a discussion of the kinds of topics that are
appropriate for small talk, the factors in the specific situations that affect topic
selection (e.g., relationships of participants, physical setting), and typical phrases
used in small talk. Chart this information.
⮚Practices. Give students specific information about the participants and the
setting of a scenario where small talk will take place. In pairs, have them list topics
that might be discussed by the participants and simple phrases they might use.
Students then engage in improvised dialogues based on these simple phrases.
⮚Evaluations. Give pairs a teacher-prepared dialogue based on their scenario.
Ask them to compare their improvised dialogues with the prepared dialogue,
analyzing the similarities, differences, and reasons for both.
⮚Extensions. Have students go individually or in small groups into various
contexts in the community (work, school, church, bus stop) and record the
conversations they hear. Ask them to report their findings back to the class, and then
have the class discuss these findings.
2.3. Activities in speaking class

2.3.1. Role play
⮚Role-plays is “drama-like classroom activities in which students take the
roles of different participants in a situation and act out what might typically happen
in that situation” (Richards, Platt & Platt, 1993). According to Harmer (1998), roleplays stimulate the real world in the same way, but students are given different
roles. Students are told who they are and what they think about a certain subject.
They have to talk and act with their new characters. While Richards et al. (1993)

9


and Harmer (1998) define role-play as a term, Ladousse (1992) characterizes roleplay as two single words as follows.
⮚When students assume a “role”, they play a part (in either their own or
somebody else’s) a specific situation. “Play” means that the role is taken on in a
safe environment in which students are as inventive and playful as possible. (p. 5)
⮚Meanwhile, Thornbury (2005) thinks that role-play involves the adoption of
another “persona” (p. 98) when students play a role. For example, students pretend
to be an employer interviewing a job applicant or a customer complaining about a
company’s products.
⮚Regarding the advantages of role-play, Dangerfield (1991) believes that roleplay is one method of maximising students’ talking time, ensuring that students get
an optimum level of practice during their limited class time. Furthermore, role-play
gives students opportunities to improve communicative competence and creativity.
Klippel (1991) claims that “role-plays improve the students’ oral performance
generally” (p.122). Besides helping students enhance their oral skills, Sasse (2001)
believes that role-play might unlock creative doors. Last but not least, role-play is
one of the communicative techniques “which develops fluency in language
students, which promotes interaction in the classroom, and which increases
motivation” (Ladousse, 1992).
⮚In brief, there have been various definitions of role-plays, yet they share the
same idea that role-play is a communicative technique in which students are
supposed to act with new characters.

2.3.2. Pair work
According to Curtain & Dahlburg (2010), interaction is very important to
language development for second-language learners and interactive language tasks
are one of the most important activities. Sufficient opportunity for interaction and
for building interpersonal communication should be given to learners, as both
cognitive learning theory and second-language acquisition theory affirm that in
order to acquire language, learners must express themselves orally. Partner activities
and small-group work are a plus for the early language classroom, as when students
learn to work in cooperation, their opportunities for language use are multiplied,

10


and so are their opportunities for active participation in concrete and meaningful
experiences.
"Small group and pair work activities (…) have numerous advantages for
the language learner: many opportunities for language use, a chance for natural
language practice, more student talk, a higher percentage of student talk in real
communicative activities, a "safe" environment for communication, more like oneon-one conversation, two- way communication - a chance both to ask and to answer
questions. In addition to the language benefits, partner activities specifically provide
other benefits (Nerenz and Knop, 1982): variety in class routines and activities, an
opportunity for students to practice social skills, students are "center stage" rather
than the teacher and an on-task behavior" (Curtain & Dahlberg, 2010, p. 98).
McDonough (2004) claims that there are several theoretical approaches to
L2 acquisition that indicate that pair and group work activities generate learning
opportunities through various interactional features that occur when learners engage
in the communication of meaning. There are also many pedagogical reasons to use
these activities, such as providing more time to speak using L2 than with teachercentered classes, they promote learner autonomy and self-directed learning, and
they provide the opportunity for teachers and instructors to work and observe
individual learners. This study also states that learners may feel less anxious and

more confident when working with peers in group or pair activities, than during
whole-class discussions. Even when students can speak in L2, they were not good at
interacting using that language in a natural way. By promoting pair work, students
are more motivated to use L2 in those activities (Hawkey, 2006).
In a study conducted by Cao & Philp (2006), they reached the conclusion
that the willingness to communicate (WTC) of students in an L2 classroom depends
on various levels. The study suggests that the WTC behavior of students was
influenced by trait- level and state-level WTC. Trait-level WTC brings situations
where communication is likely, whereas state-level WTC could influence whether
communication actually happens. In pair work, the WTC is influenced by the
familiarity with the other student and motivational disposition. Pair work is most
likely to be successful if both learners are motivated to work, and if one learner
11


talked more, the other may also produce more speech. The willingness to
communicate may also vary in the classroom across interactional contexts, and that
willingness is not necessarily predictive of the behavior that will occur in the
classroom. This WTC may be strengthened or weakened, according to many factors
associated with a specific situation, whether it is related to the topic, the speaker or
the confidence of the learner in relation to that task. The results of this study by Cao
& Philp (2006) concluded that learners have different behaviors, according to the
contexts, and preferences were different amongst students, as some were more
willing to communicate in teacher-centered activities, and others were more into
pair or group work. The participants of this study linked differential WTC behavior
to the size of the group, self-confidence in their abilities to communicate and
familiarity with the speaker or interlocutor. Teachers may increase learners’
participation by addressing such factors such as learner self-confidence and anxiety,
and through the selection of materials and topics that are more appealing to learners,
and that match their interests and needs.

2.4. Nature of errors
2.4.1. Definitions of error
There have been many studies concentrating on the issue of foreign language
errors and how to deal with them. These studies are mostly done by famous scholars
in the world such as Edge (1989), Gower (1983), Hubbard (1991), etc. Depending
on their own point of view and their own areas of research, these authors give
different notions about errors. So it is essential for us to consider some definitions
of errors from different sources.
“Error is an act that through ignorance, deficiency or accident departs from or
fails to achieve what should be done.”
(Webster, 1976).
“Error is the use of a linguistic item in a way which a fluent or native speaker
of the language regards as showing faulty or incomplete learning.”
(Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistic, 1992).
“The above definitions of errors provide us with a deep insight of the nature of
errors in the process of learning language. Errors are not a simple record of what

12


learners fail to do because of incompetence or indifference. They are referred to as
evidence of choice or strategy among a range of possible choices or strategies,
providing evidence of an individual style of using the language and make it work.
In other words, errors are evidence of learners’ strategies they build in the target
language.”
“On the other hand, the definition of errors is always given in connection with
that of mistakes. These two terms are often assumed to have a similar meaning and
they are used to replace each other. However, there is a significant distinction
between errors and mistakes. A mistake is a slip of the tongue or pen. Normally,
learners can use a particular item of language correctly but when making a

conversation, they might use it wrongly because of their carelessness, sickness or
quick speaking. In order to correct mistakes, learners are able to do by themselves,
either completely unprompted or with the guidance of teachers and other learners.
Meanwhile, an error is much more deep-rooted. Learners might believe what they
are speaking is correct, or not know what the correct form should be, or know the
correct form but cannot get it right.”
2.4.2. Errors classification
2.4.2.1 . Vocabulary errors
In some literature, vocabulary is defined differently by different scholars.
Below is the presentation of some definitions.
Vocabulary is collection of all words that constitute a language under
discussion or a particular subject. A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a
person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and
fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an
extensive vocabulary is one of the largest challenges in learning a second language
(Wikipedia).
According to Websters Collegiate Dictionary (9th ed., 1978:1320), vocabulary
is defined as: (1) A list or collection of words and phrase usually alphabetically
arranged and explained or defined. (2) A sum or stock of words employed by a
language group individual or work or in a field of knowledge. (3) A list or
collection of terms or codes available for use.

13


This definition is echoed by Hatch and Brown (1995). Ur (1996) elaborates
further and she uses the term ‘vocabulary item’ to refer to ‘word’. This is because,
she argues, a vocabulary item can be either a single world or a multi-word phrase.
According to her, “Vocabulary can be defined, roughly, as the words we teach in the
foreign language. However, a new item of vocabulary may be more than just a

single word: for example, post office, and mother-in-law, which are made up of two
or three words but express a single idea. A useful convention is to cover all such
cases by talking about vocabulary “items” rather than “word” which is made up of
two or three words but express a single idea”.
Similarly, Lewis, an advocate of the lexical approach to second language
teaching, views vocabulary either as individual words or as full sentences, which he
terms as ‘institutionalized utterances, that “convey fixed social or pragmatic
meaning within a given community” (Lewis, 1993: 89).”
In my opinion, when learning a foreign language, our individual vocabulary in
that language is one of the most important micro-skills to develop. Of course, all
micro-skills like grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation are important. But it is far
more difficult to communicate with no vocabulary than with no grammar.
Some vocabulary errors:
-Non-availability of words to express feelings.
-A wrong word was used to express student’s idea, thus rendering the
sentence as illogical.
-Spelling mistakes.
-The lexical item in the sentence is repeated, used or paraphrased
unnecessarily.
-The wrong form of word is used in the sentence.
-The word used does not collocate well with another part of the sentence.
2.4.2.2.

Grammar errors

In linguistics, grammar (from Greek: γραμματική) is the set of structural rules
governing the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural
language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field

14

includes phonology, morphology, and syntax, often complemented by phonetics,
semantics, and pragmatics.
The whole system and structure of a language or of languages in general,
usually taken as consisting of syntax and morphology, etc. A particular analysis of
the system and structure of language or of a specific language.
Grammar is the structural foundation of our ability to express ourselves. The
more we are aware of how it works, the more we can monitor the meaning and
effectiveness of the way we and others use language. It can help foster precision,
detect ambiguity, and exploit the richness of expression available in English. And it
can help everyone, not only teachers of English but also teachers of anything, for all
teaching is ultimately a matter of getting to grips with meaning.
(David crystal, “In Word and Deed”, TES Teacher, April 30, 2004)
Without grammar, a language wouldn't work, because people couldn't
communicate effectively. The speakers and the listeners of any exchange need to
both function in the same system in order to understand each other.
Some grammar errors:
-Adjective is used as adverb
-The verb does not agree with the subject.
-The order of the word in a sentence is not correct.
-An incorrect form of the verb is used.
-An incorrect verb tense is used.
-The students use the wrong article or they do not use any article.
-The wrong preposition is used.
2.4.2.3. Pronunciation errors
“To every English speaking learners, the first thing they need to learn is
pronunciation. They have to know how to pronounce a word exactly before they
learn the other things, so what is pronunciation?

In this part, definition of

pronunciation will be presented to provide more information for all students. First
of all, pronunciation is “the way a word or a language is spoken, or the manner in
which someone utters a word. If one is said to have "correct pronunciation", then it
refers to both within a particular dialect”, according to Wikipedia.

15


In the AMEP Fact sheets that have been funded by the Department of
Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs through the AMEP Special
Project Research Program, pronunciation was defined as: “The production of
sounds that we use to make meaning. It includes attention to the particular sounds
of a language (segments), aspects of speech beyond the level of the individual
sound, such as intonation, phrasing, stress, timing, rhythm (suprasegmental
aspects), how the voice is projected (voice quality) and, in its broadest definition,
attention to gestures and expressions that are closely related to the way we speak a
language. Each of these aspects of pronunciation is briefly outlined below, and
references for further study are suggested.”
Wikipedia Dictionaries indicates another definition of pronunciation:
“Pronunciation refers” to the ability to use the correct stress, rhythm, and intonation
of a word in a spoken language. A word can be spoken in different ways by various
individuals or groups, depending on many factors, such as: the area in which they
grew up, the area in which they now live, if they have a speech or voice disorder,
their ethnic group, their social class, or their education.” Besides, pronunciation was
also put as “the way in which a language is spoken” (Oxford Advance Learner’s
Encyclopedic, 1992:718). The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 8th end
(2008) makes clear pronunciation is “the way in which a language or a particular
word or sound pronounced”.”

English pronunciation is notoriously difficult There are two different
pronunciations: British English and American English.
Some pronunciation errors:
-Drop the ending sound of the word.
-Have trouble pronouncing words ending with consonants.
-Confuse some similar sounds such as: /s/ for /ʃ/, /ð/ for /d/ or /z/…
-Omit the connecting sounds.
-Use too much unrelated words like: uhm, ah, oh…
-No intonation and word connections
-No stress or wrong stress patterns

16


CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS
This chapter deals with the collected data and analyzes statistics implemented
via the classroom observation and the responses to the questionnaire in order to
categorize kinds of Errors in English speaking lessons committed by freshmen in
Faculty of English, Thuongmai University (2020-2024 curriculum), the possible
causes of those errors and the techniques to avoid them and to improve the students’
speaking skills.
The questionnaire has two parts: the first one asks about the students’ personal
information; the second one is the main part containing 13 questions which are
closed questions, multiple choice questions and opened questions which were
prepared with the purpose to seek for information about the students’ recognition of
difficulties, errors in speaking English as well as the ways they improve their
speaking skills.
The 40 copies of the questionnaire were delivered to the first-year students in
Faculty of English, Thuongmai University (2020-2024 curriculum) and all were
collected. After collected through the questionnaire, the data of the study is

identified and described basing on the type of error and error analysis theory. Then
the researcher counts the number of the type of error and calculates the percentage
of them by the formula which is mentioned in part 1.6, Chapter 1. The result is
presented and explained the source of each error in the data.

17


3.1. The reality of English speaking committed by freshmen in faculty of
English, Thuongmai university.
3.1.1: English speaking frequency of students

Chart 3.1.1. English speaking frequency of students
Chart 3.1.1 reports the results for the question how often the students speak
English. From the chart, it demonstrates that most of the students speak English
regularly (45%) and very often (27.5%). The number of students who occasionally
speak English accounts for 17.5%, whereas 10% of the students rarely speak
English and 6,5% never speak English.
3.1.2: The importance of speaking lessons

18


Chart 3.1.2. The importance of English speaking lessons
When students were asked “How do you think about the importance of
speaking lessons?”, 100% of them chose it was “very important” and nobody has
another choices
3.1.3 : Students’ speaking English time per day

Chart 3.1.3. Students’ speaking English time per day

19


Self-study is very important to the students’ studies. The answers to question 3
show that 42.5% of the students spend about 1 hour per day on speaking English.
12.5% of students spend 2 hours and 15% spend over 2 hours on speaking English.
However, a large number of students only spend 30 minutes on speaking English
per day. No one answered “never” practice speaking at home. It can be concluded
that most of the students expressed their positive attitude towards self-studying
English speaking as well as learning English in general.
3.1.4. Self - evaluate your speaking English skills?

Chart 3.1.4. Evaluate speaking English skills of students
Only 7.5% of the participants thought that they were good at speaking English,
whereas 62.5% of them thought their skills were normal. 27.5% thought they were
bad at speaking English and even 2.5% said they were very bad. This result shows
that the students still are not self-confident about their speaking skills. In spite of
their quite good grammar and vocabulary, there are some factors which influent to
their speaking skill such as: intonation, stress, the lack of background and
specialized knowledge of the topic they talk about, etc.

20