Investigating errors related to english subject verb agreement a case study at tay ninh teacher training collegle submitted to the faculty of enghlish linguistics literature in

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY –HO CHI MINH CITY
UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE

INVESTIGATING ERRORS RELATED TO ENGLISH
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
A CASE STUDY AT TAY NINH TEACHER TRAINING
COLLEGE

Submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial
fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL

By
PHAM THI HONG DAO
Supervised by
DOAN HUE DUNG, Ph.D
HO CHI MINH CITY, JANUARY 2014


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I have been longing to write the acknowledgements. I would like to express my
sincere gratitude for those who helped me to survive all the hardship to complete the
thesis.
I sincerely thank Dr. Doan Hue Dung, my supervisor, for her patience in reading,
commenting on all the drafts of this thesis and giving me advice on the collection of
data. Her comments and guidance have helped me to complete this study.
I am greatly grateful to my colleagues and my friends for their care and
encouragement, as well as to all the lecturers of the Faculty of English Linguistics and
Literature of the Ho Chi Minh University of Social Sciences and Humanities for their
lectures.
I wish to thank my students for their willingness to fulfill the tests, the questionnaires

and the interviews.
Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to my Grandmother and my parents, who have
been giving me unspoken care and great encouragement. Their optimism,
encouragement and concern for me have strengthened me to continue my thesis.

i


STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

This thesis is submitted for the Master’s degree of TESOL in the Faculty of English
Linguistics and Literature at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho
Chi Minh City National University. Except where reference is made in the text of the
thesis, this thesis contains no materials published elsewhere or extracted in whole, or
in part from a thesis by which I have been awarded with another degree or diploma.
No other author’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the thesis.
This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any diploma in any other tertiary
institution.

TAY NINH, VIET NAM, 2014

PHAM THI HONG DAO

ii


RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, PHAM THI HONG DAO, being the candidate for the degree of
Master of TESOL, accept the requirement of the University relating to the retention

and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library.
In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the
Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance
with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or
reproduction of theses.

TAY NINH, VIET NAM, 2014

PHAM THI HONG DAO

iii


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .............................................................. 1
1.1. Background of the study ................................................................ 1
1.2. Rationales .................................................................................... ..3
1.3. Aims of the study .......................................................................... 5
1.4. Overview of the study ................................................................... 5
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................... 7
2.1. Error analysis ................................................................................ 7
2.2. Error analysis in language teaching ............................................... 8
2.3. Error and mistakes ....................................................................... 9
2.4. Source of errors .......................................................................... 10
2.4.1. Interlingual transfer .............................................................. 11
2.4.2. Intralingual transfer ............................................................... 12
2.5. Account of subject- verb agreement errors .................................. 12
2.6. The influence of Vietnamese on the acquisition
of subject-verb agreement ........................................................... 19

2.6.1. Plurality of noun in Vietnamese ............................................ 19
2.6.2. Plurality of noun in English .................................................. 20
2.6.3. Verb inflection ...................................................................... 23
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ............................................................ 27
3.1. Research question ....................................................................... 27
3.2. Research design .......................................................................... 27
3.2.1. Subjects ................................................................................ 27
3.2.2. Research instrument .............................................................. 28
3.2.2.1. The diagnostic test .......................................................... 28
3.2.2.2. The questionnaire ............................................................ 30
3.2.2.3. The interview ................................................................. 32
3.3. Research procedure ..................................................................... 32

iv


3.4. Method of data analysis ............................................................. 33
3.5. Summary of the chapter .............................................................. 34
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ...................................... 35
4.1. What types of subject-verb agreement errors are commonly made
by the Non-English majored students at Tay Ninh Teacher
Training College? ...................................................................... 35
4.1.1. SVA with the subject containing irregular nouns ................ 37
4.1.2. SVA with the subject containing indefinite expression
of amount ............................................................................ 40
4.1.3. SVA with the subject containing intervening expression ..... 43
4.1.4. S VA with the subject having correlative conjunction
“either…or”, “neither…nor” ............................................... 44
4.1.5. SVA with the subject containing noun of amount as single
units .................................................................................... 46

4.1.6. SVA with the subject joined by “and” ................................. 47
4.1.7. SVA with the subject modified by a prepositional phrase .... 49
4.1.8. SVA with the subject as a collective noun ........................... 55
4.1.9. SVA with the subject as the 3rd person singular subject ....... 57
4.1.10. SVA with the subject modified by a relative clause ........... 59
4.2. What are the main causes to subject-verb agreement errors made
by Non-English majored students at Tay Ninh Teacher
Training College? ................................................................... 63
4.3. Summary .................................................................................. 74
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION .............................. 75
5.1. Conclusion ............................................................................... 75
5.2. Implication ................................................................................ 76
5.3. Contribution of the study .......................................................... 81

v


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

5.4. Limitation and suggestion for further study ............................... 81
REFERENCES ........................................................................................ 83
APPENDICES ........................................................................................ 88
APPENDIX 1: Diagnostic test ........................................................... 88
APPENDIX 2: Questionnaire for students ......................................... 91

vi

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn

C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Abbreviation

Meaning

AE

error analysis

SLA

second language acquisition

TG

target language

L1

the first language

L2

the second language

NP

noun phrase

SVA

subject-verb agreement

SS

singular-singular

PL

plural-singular

SP

singular-plural

PP

plural-plural

Sg

singular

Pl

plural

vii

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

LIST OF TABLES
Table

page

Table 1: Common rules of plural formation in English .......................... 21
Table 2: The Formation of Plurals in Vietnamese and English................ 23
Table 3: Percentage of students committed errors on categories of
SVA .......................................................................................... 36
Table 4: Students’ performance on the SVA with the subject
containing irregular nouns .......................................................... 39
Table 5: Students’ performance on SVA with the subject
containing indefinite expression of amount ................................. 42
Table 6: Students’ performance on SVA with the subject
containing intervening expression ............................................. 44
Table 7: Students’ performance on SVA with the subject
having correlative conjunction either…or”,
“neither…nor” ............................................................................ 45
Table 8: Students’ performance on SVA with the subject
containing noun of amount as single units ................................. 46
Table 9: Students’ performance on SVA with the subject joined
by “and” ..................................................................................... 48
Table 10: Students’ performance on SVA with the subject

modified by a prepositional phrase ............................................. 50
Table 11: Students’ performance on sentence 31, 32 ............................... 54
Table 12: Students’ performance on SVA with the subject as a
collective noun.......................................................................... 56
Table 13: Students’ performance on SVA with the subject as the
3rd person singular subject ....................................................... 58

viii

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

Table 14: Students’ performance on SVA with the subject
modified by a relative clause ..................................................... 61
Table 15: Causes of the difficulties with English SVA ........................... 63
Table 16: The influence of Vietnamese on the acquisition
of English SVA ....................................................................... 64
Table 17: The case in which the students commit errors ........................ 66
Table 18: Some difficulties the students have in dealing with
English SVA .......................................................................... 67
Table 19: Students’ opinion on the teaching of SVA .............................. 72

.

ix

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn

C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure

page

Figure 1: Percentage of errors committed in 4 conditions ......................... 51
Figure 2: Percentage of errors in sentence 40, 41 ..................................... 53

x

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

ABSTRACT
This study was intended to investigate the common subject-verb agreement
errors made by non English majored students at Tay Ninh Teacher Training College
as well as to explore the causes to these errors. This study also aimed at exploring
difficulties that students have when performing grammatical exercises. The source of
the data consists of the diagnostic test, the questionnaire and the interview. The results
showed that despite the simplicity of the grammatical rules, students still face great
challenges when applying these simple rules. It also revealed that errors occur due to
an interaction of interlingual and intralingual factors. On the basic of the findings, it is
recommended that grammar should be taught explicitly to students to help them
improve their grammatical competence in general and English subject-verb agreement
in particular.

xi

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

Chapter I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter thoroughly presents (1) the background of the study, (2) the
rationales of the study, (3) the aim of the study and (4) the overview of the study.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
English is the language of science, trade, communication and technology.
Therefore, Vietnamese work force needs to have competences in English language
in order to keep pace with current global development. However, learning English is
not easy at all, especially for adult learners those who have already acquired their
mother tongue. It is of course not surprising that EFL/ESL students, especially at the
beginning or even the upper intermediate level tend to make errors in their English
production process.
With the introduction on communicative language teaching the perception of
learners’ errors has changed because errors are now considered part and parcel of
language acquisition. Errors committed by learners revealed the true state of
learners’ language proficiency of the new language they are learning at a particular
point of time. Errors also revealed what the learners do not know and what they
have internalized of the new language system. There is one useful research
technique called Error Analysis which focuses on the errors learners commit. In fact,
studying the nature of errors enables the researchers to have a better understanding
of the linguistic area where the learners of foreign language have the most difficulty.
This fact has led to a large number of researches on adult language learning in

1

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

general and error analysis in particular. Many findings showed that “although
interference from a student’s first language is the major predictor of phonological
errors, interference errors are only one of the types of errors found in the syntax,
morphology and lexicon of student’s speech and writing in the target language”
(Burt, 1975:54). Therefore, linguists and language teachers have recognized the
important role that a mother tongue language has in the acquisition of a second or
foreign language. On the other hand, the occurrence of errors during the L2 learning
process may be due to either the pressure of the patterns of the mother tongue or
imperfect learning of the new L2 patterns.
Knowledge of grammar has been one of the most actively discussed
questions in language and literacy pedagogy. When grammar is concerned, the
knowledge occurs in different stages in a person’s language development. In order
to perform certain language tasks, relevant grammatical structures need to be
mastered by a beginner. He only needs to comprehend some rules enough to use
them, like the basic rules of SVA and to know how to apply the rules in forming
sentences. As for students at the upper level, they probably need to be able to
understand the rule of SVA in depth and discuss the grammatical problems with
their teachers.
Despite its difficulty for learners, SVA is one of the basic grammatical
knowledge every learner must acquire in order to communicate fluently and
effectively in English both in written and spoken form. However, a large number of
the students at Tay Ninh Teacher Training College face great difficulty in this area.

2

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

This leads to many problems when the students have to deal with SVA exercises or
writing assignments.
Realizing the issues mentioned above, it is important to obtain data on the
problems of SVA faced by the learners as it is one of the most important
components in grammar. And this will determine what action needs to be taken in
the teaching and learning grammar.
1.2 RATIONALES
In the EFL/ESL context, knowledge of grammar becomes an issue of
intense community interest, evident in media discussion, especially by those who
are concerned with the standard of English language learning and teaching. It cannot
be denied that communicating the meaning of the message is important, it must be
noted that accuracy in language production is equally crucial. Therefore, learners
should also be aware of the rule system of the target language in order to be a
proficient user of the language.
Despite going through the same curriculum, in Tay Ninh province the level
of English proficiency in rural schools is much lower than the level in the urban
schools. At Tay Ninh Teacher Training College it is obligatory for the students to
take English subject and must pass it in order to continue the next level. In English,
grammar rules are very important and have to be mastered by all learners. In the
topic of SVA the subject must agree with the verb. Singular subject is followed by
singular verb and plural subject takes a plural verb. This is a general rule for SVA
which is also represented by its sub-rules. However, based on the observation, it is

3

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

obvious that students make mistakes in both general and sub-general of SVA in their
writing as well as in their grammatical task.
The problem is obvious when it comes to examinations. It is always
difficult to find students writing their essays with very few grammatical errors.
Students usually produce sentences like “she like dancing”, “physics are the only
subject I feels competent in”, “people is not looking for an appropriate job, but a
stable one”…These students have been found wanting in grammatical competence
and, among others, are especially weak in SVA. “I was not sure whether to use is or
are when the subject is everybody, I cannot differentiate singular-plural subject-verb
agreement” said a representative student.
Despite their awareness of the difficulties in learning and mastering English
SVA, many students at Tay Ninh Teacher Training College have still ignored to
train them in some ways. They are not self-motivated to be self-taught because SVA
is just presented as a small unit among other nine units in the textbook. Moreover,
SVA cannot be taken into account with great care, it is taught in about 6 periods in
which 3 periods for theory and 3 periods for practice. Only some exercises are
corrected because of time constraint. It seems that SVA received little attention from
both teachers and learners.
Due to the above-mentioned reasons, the author of the thesis decide to
make a study on SVA issue in order to find out the students’ common errors, causes
to these errors and from the result of the study the author will be able to suggest

4

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

solutions as well as teaching implementation to help students at Tay Ninh Teacher
Training College overcome these difficulties.
1.3 AIMS OF THE STUDY
With the situation of teaching and learning English at Tay Ninh Teacher
Training College, the aims of this study are targeted at investigating common errors
related to English SVA made by students and exploring the causes to these errors. In
addition, the findings of this study may help teachers to revise and devise more
suitable instructional materials and procedures to make teaching and learning of
SVA more effective, as well as to help students be able to apply SVA rules correctly
in their English production.
Specifically, the thesis attempts to answer the following research questions:
1. What types of errors of English SVA are commonly made by Non-English
majored students at Tay Ninh Teacher Training College?
2. What are the main causes to English SVA errors made by Non-English
majored students at Tay Ninh Teacher Training College?
1.4 OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
Besides its abstract, table of content, list of abbreviations, appendices and
references, the thesis includes the five main chapters. Chapter 1 describes the practical
background, the rationale of the study as well as the aims and objectives of the study.
Chapter 2 reviews several concepts of errors, source of errors, the significance of error
analysis, account of SVA errors and the influence of Vietnamese on the acquisition of
SVA. Chapter 3 explains the methodology which mentions the research questions, the

5

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

samples, the materials as well as the methods of getting and analyzing the data.
Chapter 4 discuses and analyzes the findings, seeking for satisfactory answers for the
research questions. Chapter 5 suggests the teaching implication, draws conclusion,
points out the limitations and provides suggestion for further study.

6

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

Chapter II
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 ERROR ANALYSIS (EA)
The field of EA in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) was established in
the 1970s by Corder and his colleagues. A widely-available survey can be found in
Brown (2000). A key finding of EA has been that many learners’ errors were
produced by learners’ misunderstanding the rules of the new language. EA is a type of
linguistic study that focuses on the errors learners make. It consists of a comparison
between the errors made in target language (TL) and within that TL itself. Corder is
the “father” of EA. It was in his article entitled “The significance of learner errors”
(1967) that EA took a new turn. Corder (1967) presented a completely different point

of view. He contended that those errors are “important in and of themselves”. In his
opinion, systematically analyzing errors made by language learners makes it possible
to determine areas that need reinforcement in teaching.
According to Corder (1967), EA has two objects: theoretical object and
applied object. The theoretical object is to understand what and how a learner learns
when he studies an L2. The applied object is to enable the learner to learn more
efficiently by using the knowledge of his dialect for pedagogical purposes. At the
same time, the investigation of errors can serve two purposes, diagnostic and
prognostic. Corder (1967) said that it is diagnostic because it can tell us the learner's
grasp of a language at any given point during the learning process. It is also

7

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

prognostic because it can tell the teacher to modify learning materials to meet
learners' problems.
EA research has limitations of providing only a partial picture of learner
language; and having a substantive nature in that it does not take into account
avoidance strategy in SLA, since EA only investigates what learners do. Learners who
avoided the sentence structures which they found difficult due to the differences
between their native language and TL may be viewed to have no difficulty. This was
pointed out by Brown (1994) and Ellis (1996).
2.2 ERROR ANALYSIS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING
Learning a foreign language is a step-by-step process which errors or
mistakes are to be expected during this process. Corder (1967) stated that errors are
visible proof that learning is taking place. He has emphasized that errors can provide

significant insights into how a language is actually learned by a foreigner. He also
agreed that studying students’ errors has immediate practical application for language
teachers. In his view, errors provide feedback; they tell the teacher something about
the effectiveness of his teaching. According to Ancker (2000), making mistakes or
errors is a natural process of learning and must be considered as part of cognition.
Weireesh (1991) also considered learners’ errors to be of particular importance
because the making of errors is a device the learners’ use in order to learn. According
to him, EA is a valuable aid to identify and explain difficulties faced by learners. He
went on to say that EA serves as a reliable feedback to design a remedial teaching
method.

8

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

The significance of EA should not be neglected. It is believed that “errors
used to be flaws that needed to be eradicated”. Corder (1967) presented a completely
different point of view of errors. Errors are important in and of themselves because,
for learners themselves, errors are indispensible. Making errors is a method that the
learner can test his hypotheses about the nature of the language he is learning.
According to Richard (1971) EA serves three purposes. Firstly, to find out the level of
language proficiency the learner has reached. Secondly, to obtain information about
common difficulties in language learning, and thirdly, to find out how people learn a
language
In fact, errors not only provide valuable insight into learners’ language
learning process or system but also reveal the strategies that they use. By describing
and classifying errors, the teacher can identify strategies which learners use in

language learning. He can also find out the causes of learners’ errors as well as
produce materials that can help learners when and where needed.
2.3 ERRORS AND MISTAKES
“A mistake refers to a performance error that is either a random guess or a slip,
in that it is a failure to utilize a known system correctly. An error reflects the
interlanguage competence of the learner” (Brown 1980,p.165). Mistakes are what
researchers have referred to as performance errors (the learner knows the system but
fails to use it) while the errors are a result of one’s systematic competence (the
learner’s system is incorrect). “An error that results from incomplete knowledge and a

9

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

mistake that is caused by lack of attention, fatigue, carelessness, or some other aspects
of performance” (Richards 1992,p.127).
Mistakes are classified into global and local mistakes. Global mistakes are
those that violate rules involving the overall structure of a sentence: the relations
among constituents of a sentence or the relations among constituent clauses. Local
mistakes cause trouble in a particular constituent or in one clause of a complex
sentence. Local mistakes do not cause problems with communication, but global
mistakes contribute to miscommunication (Burt and Kiparsky ,1974).
Errors can be also be classified according to categories or subcategories such
as: semantic errors (wrong word, poor choice of word, slang) and syntactic errors
(errors in verb tenses, prepositions, articles, word order, subject-verb agreement). In
this study, subject-verb agreement errors, as a grammatical item, which represents the
local error were examined.

2.4 SOURCE OF ERRORS
Language transfer is the primary source that is considerably concerned.
Odlin’s definition of transfer: “transfer is the influence resulting from similarities and
differences between the target language and any other language that has been
previously (and perhaps imperfectly) acquired” (Odlin,1997, p.27). Brown (1994,
p.90) considered that “positive transfer occurs when the prior knowledge benefits the
learning tasks - that is, when a previous item is correctly applied to present subject
matter. Negative transfer occurs when the previous performance discrupts the
performance on a second task. The latter can be referred to as interference, in that

10

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

previous learned material interferes with subsequent material - a previous item is
incorrectly transferred or incorrectly associated with an item to be learned”.
A prominent researcher of EA is J. C. Richards. In his book on Perspectives
on Second Language Acquisition (1971), he argued that many of the learners' errors
happen due to the strategies that they use in language acquisition, especially their L2.
The problem includes the interference of the target language items; i.e., negative
effect of their prior knowledge of their L1 on their absorption of L2. Richard (1971,
p.206) supposed that there are two types of errors. They are interlingual and
intralingual errors. The former is caused by the interference of the mother tongue
while the latter is the result of interference within the target language.
2.4.1 INTERLINGUAL TRANSFER
In early stages, the mother tongue language is the only previous linguistic
system that the learner can draw upon, thus the interference is inevitable.

“when learning a foreign language an individual already knows his mother
tongue, and it is this which he attempts to transfer. The transfer may prove to be
justified because the structure of the two languages is similar – in that case we get
positive transfer or “facilitation” – or it may prove unjustified because the structure of
the two languages is different – in that case we get negative transfer or
“interference””(Wilkins, 1972, p.199).
Like Wilkins, Brown (1994, p.89) believed that SLA is strongly
influenced by the learner’s first language. He asserted “native language interference is

11

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

surely the most immediately noticeable source of error among second language
learners”.
2.4.2 INTRALINGUAL TRANSFER
Brown (1980,p.173) also stated that intralingual errors are those due to the
language being learned, independently of the native language. According to Richard
(1971,p.6) they are “items produced by the learner which reflect not the structure of
the mother tongue, but generalizations based on partial exposure to the target
language”. The learners try to “derive the rules behind the data to which he/she has
been exposed, and may develop hypotheses that correspond neither to the mother
tongue nor to the target language”.
2.5 ACCOUNT OF SVA ERRORS
A lot of practical researches concerning SVA have been done so far. Bhatia
(1974) conducted a study at New Delhi University. The subjects wrote 250-word free
composition for their regular class work which showed that verb forms and tense

sequence made up 40% of the errors and that of SVA was 20%. Vongthieres (1974)
studied English grammatical difficulties of 30 advanced Thai students at Ohio
University. She analyzed their informal essays and discovered that errors in the verb
system accounted for the highest frequency of errors (32.4%). This was sub-divided
into other categories with tenses (44.8%) as the highest percentage and SVA came
second to 20.8%. Another finding by Dalrymble (as cited in Kusutani) was that
Japanese students also face problems in using the copula “be” in the English

12

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

language. These Japanese students are not familiar with the copula “be” and SVA.
The research showed that 46.83 % of the learners’ mistakes were on SVA.
Similarly, Elliot (1983) examined and identified errors in descriptive writing
of Singapore’s Nanyang University graduated in science and mathematics. The
twenty candidates wrote two essays of 150 words each. The result of the study
revealed that most of students had difficulties with verbs, with agreement with verb
and subject, especially in the third person singular subject. This situation is similar to
that faced by the subjects in this present study.
The acquisition of SVA by Cantonese speakers was studied by Law (2005).
She found that learners showed very obvious evidence of the influence of their L1,
Cantonese. It was found that these grammar errors which were related to SVA
included plural singular (11.31%), tenses (31.55%), negation (4.67%), and
interrogative (4.17%) making up more than 50% of the errors made. Basing on these
practical researches the writer believes that subject-verb agreement is a problem for
learners at all levels (Celce-Murcia,M. & Larsen-Freeman, D, 1983,p.37).

The studies of the occurrence of the SVA errors have been carried out by
many researchers so far. According to these studies, SVA errors seem to emerge
mostly when a sentential subject (e.g. the key to the cabinets) included a head noun
(e.g the key) and a post-modifying NP (e.g. the cabinets) as illustrated in (1) below:
1. The key to the cabinets was/*were lost.
(Bock & Miller, 1991, p.56)

13

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn