An investigation into errors made by ethnic minority students in using present and past participles as adjectives = Một số lỗi sai của học sinh dân tộc thiểu số

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
o0o





NGUYỄN THỊ HUẾ



AN INVESTIGATION INTO ERRORS MADE BY ETHNIC MINORITY
STUDENTS IN USING PRESENT AND PAST PARTICIPLES AS
ADJECTIVES


(Một số lỗi của học sinh dân tộc thiểu số khi sử dụng phân từ hiện tại và
phân từ quá khứ làm tính từ)





M.A Minor Thesis
Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60.14.10

HA NOI, 2011


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
o0o


NGUYỄN THỊ HUẾ



AN INVESTIGATION INTO ERRORS MADE BY ETHNIC MINORITY STUDENTS
IN USING PRESENT AND PAST PARTICIPLES AS ADJECTIVES

((Một số lỗi của học sinh dân tộc thiểu số khi sử dụng phân từ hiện tại và
phân từ quá khứ làm tính từ)




M.A Minor Thesis

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60.14.10
Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Vượng, M.A









HA NOI, 2011

iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATION
E.P.Adjs: English Participial Adjectives
P.Adjs: Participial Adjectives
-Ed adjs : Past participial adjectives
-Ing adjs: Present participial adjectives

v
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1………………………………………………………………22
Table 2………………………………………………………………23
Table 3………………………………………………………………24
Table 4………………………………………………………………26
Table 5………………………………………………………………28
Table 6………………………………………………………………30
Table 7a…………………………………………………………… 30
Table 7b…………………………………………………………… 31
Table 8a…………………………………………………………… 31
Table 8………………………………………………………………31
Table 9………………………………………………………………32

vi
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1…………………………………………………….22
Figure 2…………………………………………………….24
Figure 3…………………………………………………….25
Figure 4…………………………………………………….27
Figure 5…………………………………………………….29

vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Declaration
i
Acknowledgements
ii
Abstract
iii
List of abbreviation
iv

List of tables
v
List of figures
vi
Table of contents
v
PART A : INTRODUCTION
1
1. Rationale
1
2. Scopes of the study
2
3. Aims of the study
2
4. Methods of the study
2
5. Research questions
3
6. Design of the study
3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT
4
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
4
1.1 An overview of English Participial Adjectives
4
1.1.1 The formation of the Participial adjectives
4
1.1.1.1 Definitions of the participles
4

1.1.1.2 Participial Adjectives
4
1.1.2 Syntactic functions of Participial Adjectives
4
1.1.2.1 Attributive
5
1.1.2.2 Predicative
6
1.1.2.3 Participle as an adjective or adverb element
6
1.1.3 Semantic Features if Participial Adjectives
8
1.1.3.1 Stative/ Dynamic
8
1.1.3.2 Gradable
10

viii
1.1.4 Participial Adjectives in collocation with nouns
10
1.1.5 The meaning of Participial Adjectives in English and their
Vietnamese equivalents
11
1.2 Learners’ errors
12
1.2.1 Definitions of error
12
1.2.2 Errors and Mistakes
12
1.2.3 Types of errors

13
1.2.3.1. Interlingual Errors
13
1.2.3.2. Intralingual Errors
14
1.2.4 Sources of errors
15
1.2.4.1 Interference of the mother tongue
15
1.2.4.2. Overgeneralization
16
1.2.4.3 Ignorance of rule restriction
16
1.2.4.4 Incomplete application of rules
17
1.2.4.5 False concepts hypothesized
17
1.2.5 Error Analysis in second language acquisition.
17
CHAPTER 2: THE METHODOLOGY
20
2.1 The objectives of the study
20
2.2 The participants
20
2.3 Procedure of data collection
20
2.4 Data analysis and discussion
21
2.4.1 Statistical analysis of grammar exercises

21
2.4.1.1 Errors in E.P.Adj formation (Grammar exercise 1)
21
2.4.1.2 Errors in the choice of -ing or -ed P.Adjs (Grammar Exercise 2)
22
2.4.1.3 Error identification of P.Adjs ( Grammar Exercise 3)
24
2.4.1.4 Errors in sentence transformation (Grammar Exercise 4)
25
2.4.1.5 Errors in Vietnamese-English translation (Grammar Exercise 5)
27
2.4.2 Results of the interviews
29

ix
2.4.2.1 The most challenging type of exercise
29
2.4.2.3 Incorrect comprehension in the use of -ing and -ed
31
2.4.2.4 Causes of errors in using participial adjectives.
32
CHAPTER 3: MAJORS FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR
TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN
MOUNTAINOUS AREAS
33
3.1 Major findings and discussion
33
3.1.1 Common types of errors
33
3.1.2 Causes of errors in using -ing and -ed adjectives

33
3.1.2.1 Negative language transfer
34
3.1.2.2 Overgeneralization
34
3.1.2.3 Incomplete application of rules:
34
3.2 Recommendations for teaching
35
3.3 Conclusion
35
3.4 Suggestions for further study
36
REFERENCES
37
APPENDIX A : SURVEY EXERCISES
I
APPENDIX B: STUDENT INTERVIEW
IV
APENDIX C: SUGGESTED EXERCISES
VI
APENDIX D: KEY TO SUGGESTED EXERCISES
VIII




1

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale
English has been playing an important role in the world‟s social life. In
Vietnam, English is widely used by not only foreigners but also Vietnamese people
as a language of work and business. There have been an increasing number of
people desiring to know English with the hope of keeping up with the latest modern
technology in the world. English has now been taught not only at all universities
and colleges, but also at almost every senior high school and it is considered as a
compulsory subject at secondary school. In the last decade, methods of teaching
English as a foreign language in Vietnam have attracted much attention. However, a
lot of controversial problems have still existed in teaching and learning English
Vietnam, especially in secondary schools. The fact is that the curricula of teaching
English in Vietnam base mainly on the textbooks and language teachers have not
really changed their teaching methods, therefore; although the teachers focus more
on grammar than communicative skills and students learn more knowledge of
grammar than language skills, the secondary students tend to make more
grammatical errors.
There are such a lot of types of grammatical errors as errors of verb form,
errors in the use of English articles, preposition, etc. Among those typical errors,
students‟ confusion in using English Participial Adjectives is worth discussing.
Why do the students find it difficult to acquire the uses and meaning of present and
past participles as adjectives. A lot of reasons for this are assumed. In my opinion,
one of the causes for this confusion is that the term “Participial Adjectives” does not
exist in Vietnamese grammar. Another reason is that Participial Adjectives, with
two subclasses of -ing and -ed Participial Adjectives and different meanings. The
fact that the -ing participial adjectives convey active meaning while the -ed
Participial ones convey passive meaning makes Vietnamese learners confused
whenever dealing with them.
2

I have chosen the topic of errors in using English participial Adjectives in the

hope of supplying Vietnamese learners, especially secondary students with a
general view on Participial adjectives. I also expect that the analysis of the actual
errors and the causes of the errors may help our secondary students avoid mistakes
when using the participial adjectives.
2. Scope of the study
The study focuses on basic syntactic and semantic features of English
Participial Adjectives. In addition, our attention will be paid to the analysis of errors
committed by Vietnamese learners in learning English as a foreign language in
general and in acquiring English Participial Adjectives in particular.
Within the scope of a minor thesis, we intend to restrict our study to the
analysis of errors made by Minh Dai Secondary School students in using English
Participial Adjectives in two positions; pre-attributive and predicative. Their
problems are the basis to give practical suggestions in both teaching and learning
English in secondary schools.
3. Aims of the study
The study aims at:
a) Identifying the errors committed by Minh Dai Upper Secondary School students
when learning and using English participial Adjectives.
b) Finding out the sources of errors in using English participial Adjectives by
Ethnic Minority Students.
4. Methods of the study
In order to realize the above aims, the methods used are mainly statistical
and quantitative. In the first state, I am going to analyze some features of English
Participial Adjectives and the rules of uses and then take these a basis to analyze
students‟ performance on survey exercises.
Moreover, qualitative method issued based on the interview given to some of
participants about their reasons for committing errors.
5. Research questions
3

In the process of the study, the following questions are raised for
investigation:
1) What are types of the errors made by Minh Dai Secondary School students in
learning and using English Participial Adjectives?
2) What cause the students to commit those types of errors?
6. Design of the study
This paper is divided into two main parts:
Part A INTRODUCTION present the rationales of the study, the aims, research
questions, the scope of the study, methods of the study and also its design.
Part B DEVELOPMENT
Chapter I deals with some theoretical background that is relevant to the purpose of
the study: features of English participial Adjectives, errors and the sources of errors
in foreign language learning .
Chapter II describes the methodology of the study including the context, the
participants involved in the study, the data collection procedure and the statistical
analysis of data.
Chapter III presents the findings on the grammar test and the student interviews
and applications for the teaching and learning English.










PART B: DEVELOPMENT
4

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 An overview of English Participial Adjectives
1.1.1 The formation of the Participial adjectives
1.1.1.1 Definition of the participles
A participle is a non-finite verb which functions as an adjective or used in
passive sentences or used to form progressive or perfect aspect. There are two kinds
of participle in English which are the present participle and the past participle. (Mc
Graw-Hill, 1976).
According to Richards and others, the present participle is formed by adding
-ing to a verb base. The present participle is used as an adjective (e.g. a smiling girl,
a self-winding watch); it is used with the verb BE to make the progressive aspect
(e.g. It is raining); it occurs in some expressions such as “Let‟s go shopping”.
The past participle is formed by adding -ed to the verb base except some
irregular verbs. The past participle is used as an adjective (e.g. a broken window); it
is used with the verb BE to form the passive (e.g. I was amused by her); it is also
used to form the perfect aspect (e.g. She has finished her work)
1.1.1.2 Participial Adjectives
From the definitions above, it can be seen that there is a subclass of adjective
formally distinguished by -ing or -ed endings. Although some -ed forms, such as
“burnt” and “made”, does not end in -ed, this is simply a cover term for this form.
Adjectives ending with -ing or -ed are known as Participial Adjectives (P.
Adjs for short). Apart from the simple form -ing or -ed, P.Adjs are also found in the
form of compounds such as energy-saving, easy-going or heartfelt, dry-cleaned,
etc.

1.1.2 Syntactic functions of P.Adjs
As adjectives, P.Adjs tend to appear in two major syntactic positions in
clauses: attributive and predicative.

5

1.1.2.1. Attributive
Attributively, P.Adjs can be divided into two subtypes: Pre-attributive and
Post attributive. In the pre-attributive position, P.Adjs precedes a noun as a modifier
in a nominal group with obvious active-passive contrast:
P.Adj + Noun
Eg.
They had a boring date. They had a bored look on their faces.
The child saw a frightening movie (a movie that frightened the child)
The frightened child began to cry. (the child who was frightened)
In post attributive position, a P. Adj follows a noun as a modifier in a nominal
group.
Eg.
There is nothing interesting here.
I watched the match because I knew some of people playing.
The people questioned gave very different opinions.
We couldn‟t agree on any of the problems discussed.
According to Quirk. R. et al (1985) “Adjectives can sometimes follow the
noun or pronoun they modify. A post-posed adjective (together with any
complementation it may have) can usually be regarded as a reduced relative clause”
E.g.
There is nothing interesting here. (There is nothing which interests us)
I watched the match because I knew some of people playing.
(I watched the match because I knew some of the people who were playing)
The people questioned gave very different opinions.
(The people who were questioned gave very different opinions.)
We couldn‟t agree on any of the problems discussed.
(We couldn‟t agree on any of the problems which was discussed.)

1.1.2.2. Predicative
6

In the predicative position, P.Adjs have two syntactic roles: subject
predicative and object predicative
Subject predicative complements a copular verb such as seem, become, feel,
look, etc characterizing the nominal expression in the subject position. There is co-
reference between the subject and the subject complement, the two being in an
intensive relationship (SVC), characterizing the subject. The predicative can be the
subject complement to a noun, a noun phrase or a clause.
E.g.
What he said was interesting
His story was interesting.
The last Star Wars movie was amazing.
Object predicative follows a direct object, making a prediction about that
noun phrase. There is co-reference between the direct object and the object
complement, the two being in an intensive relationship (SVOC).
E.g.
I didn‟t find her story interesting. (I didn‟t find that her story interested anyone
of us)
I found what he told me surprising
1.2.2.3 Participles as adjectives or verbs
When P.Adjs are used after a copular verb, it is difficult to distinguish the
adjectival use from the verbal use of them. However, we can distinguish the two
different uses using the following criteria.
The first criterion deal with the present participle. Actually, a direct object
after it shows that the participle here is used as a verb, and the absence of the direct
object shows that the participle is a participial adjective. The following examples
will show this distinction.

7

Adjective
Verb
The strange noise is annoying
The noise is annoying the neighbors
This problem is confusing.
This problem is confusing the students

The second criterion is applied to the past participle. In fact, the presence of a
by-agent phrase after the -ed form indicates that the past participle is a verb phrase.
Conversely, the presence of adjectival complement, such as a that-clause or a
nonfinite clause or a prepositional phrase indicates that it is an adjective. Look at
the following examples:
Adjective
Verb
I was surprised
I was surprised by your attitude
She was frightened.
She was frightened by a mouse that ran
into the room.
She was frightened of losing power

She was frightened that I was late


Another criterion which indicates whether a participle is an adjective or a
verb is the use of the intensifier “very” before it. It can be seen in the following

example.
Adjective
Verb
He was very charming
He is charming a girl next door.
The word “charming” takes the
modifier „very‟ so it is an adjective.
The word “charming” is followed by a
direct object, therefore, it is evidently more
verbal. Moreover, it is not gradable and can
not function as a predicative complement.
The inability to supply “very” in this case
indicates a verbal construction showing the
transivity of the verb.

8

However, this criterion can hardly be applied to the -ed form, since „very‟
can sometimes be supplied in both adjectival and verbal constructions as in the
following example.
Adjective
Verb
I was very surprised
I was very surprised by your attitude
She was very surprised
I was very frightened by a mouse that ran
into the room.

1.1.3 Semantic features of P.adjs
1.1.3.1. Stative versus Dynamic

Quirk (1987:124) shows that “Adjectives are characteristically stative, but
many can be seen as dynamic”. As we know, the participial adjectives come from
the corresponding verbs which denote a state or an action. Basing on the meaning of
the verb base, we divide the participial adjectives into two groups: P.Adjs of state
and P.Adjs of action.
P.Adjs of state refer to the ones which derive from some stative verbs
expressing feelings or emotions like disappointing, disappointed, interesting,
interested, amusing, amused, terrifying, terrified, etc The stative adjectives are both
active and passive. Usually -ing P.Adjs convey the active meaning and -ed ones
passive meaning.
Eg.
What thrilling news it is! Congratulations!
We were thrilled to hear your good news.
Lying in a hot bath is relaxing. I feel relaxed when I lie in a hot bath.
He gave a boring lecture. We were bored with his lecture.
P.Adjs of action refer to P.Adjs deriving from some dynamic verbs expressing
activity and process like damaging, damaged, stolen, fallen, broken, running, etc.
Some dynamic P.Adjs are both active and passive while some are either active or
passive.
9

E.g.
- a damaging earthquake: active meaning (the earthquake which damages
everything)
- a damaged house: passive meaning (a house that was damaged)
- A furnished flat: passive meaning, furnishing: non occurring (a flat which is
furnished)
- running water: active meaning, run: non-occurring
Besides, P. Adjs of action sometimes denote a completed action of a noun referent
as in :

- a retired general ( a general who has retired)
- a faded color ( the color which has faded)
- increased profits ( profits which have increased)
- vanished civilization ( the civilization which has vanished)
1.1.3.2. Gradable
According to Quirk (1987:124), most adjectives are gradable, that is to say, can be
modified by adverbs which convey the degree of intensity of the adjective.
Gradability includes comparison, which can be applied to the Participial adjectives
of state like more interesting, more interested, most exciting, most excited; and
other intensifiers like „very, extremely, quite, rather ‟ such as very disappointed,
extremely exciting, quite shocked, rather interesting.
E.g.
I am absolutely amazed to hear you say that.
We are not entirely satisfied with the result.
Certain P.Adjs which modify a referent noun can focus on the process as a
temporary, non-intrinsic feature of the referent, and not as an intrinsic or permanent
quality. In this case, the P.Adjs can not be modified by adverbs of degree.
E.g.
- a approaching storm (not a very approaching storm)
- a dying custom (not an extremely dying custom)
10

- a sitting sun (not a slightly setting sun)
However, P.Adjs can be modified by adverbs referring to the speed or extent of the
process.
E.g.
- the slowly setting sun
- a horribly injured man
- a fully furnished flat
- a fast approaching storm

- a perfectly planned journey
- a well polished table

1.1.4. Participial Adjectives in collocation with nouns
* Active versus passive meaning
The head noun in the nominal groups which are collocated with P.Adjs plays
an important part in the distinction between active and passive meaning of the
P.Adjs. Let‟s consider the following examples:
- The boring professor put the students to the sleep.
- The boring lecture put the students to the sleep
- The bored students went to sleep during the boring lecture.
In “boring professor”, the relationship between “boring” and the noun “professor”
can be interpreted as something like “a professor who bores the students”. Or
“boring lecture” can be interpreted as something like “a lecture which bores the
students”. In other words, the -ing P.Adjs of state are used to describe someone or
something that causes a feeling or reaction and the head noun is the doer or causer
of the action.
In „bored students”, the relationship between „bored‟ and „students‟ can be
interpreted as something like “students who are bored by the professor or by the
lecture”. In other words, when the -ed P.Adjs of state are used to describe someone
11

or something who experience a feeling or reaction, the head noun is affected by the
action.
This distinction is also true with the P.Adjs of progress. Take the following
sentences as examples:
- A damaging earthquake occurred recently. People are still in the process of
repairing the many damaged buildings and streets
(a damaging earthquake can be interpreted as “an earthquake which cause
damage‟ while “damaged buildings‟ as „ buildings which are damaged by

something like an earthquake”)
* Being-completed vs. completed
In addition, P.Adj of action with -ed or -ing form can bear the distinction interpreted
as being -completed versus completed corresponding to the progress and perfect
tenses. Take the following as examples:
- a developed country (a country which has already developed)
- a retired general (a general who has already retired)
- a developing country (a country which is developing its economy)
- a burning house (a house that is on fire)
1.1.5 The meaning of Participial Adjectives in English and their Vietnamese
equivalents
Vietnamese adjectives which express the quality of things may be „hay, thú
vị, buồn tẻ, đáng ngạc nhiên‟. These adjectives may be used o talk about someone‟s
feelings. For example:
a) - I was very surprised at his exam result.
- His exam result was very surprising.
b) - She was interested in the cartoon.
- The cartoon was interesting.
The reason why we can use the same form of adjectives to convey the meaning of
the above examples is that in Vietnamese the concept “voice” does not exist.
Therefore, there is almost no distinction between the active meaning and the passive
12

meaning of the adjectives. It leads to Vietnamese learners‟ difficulties in learning
and using E.P.Adjs in both positions: pre-attributive and predicative. In contrast,
there should be a choice of -ing or -ed adjectives in English language depending on
their active and passive meaning as shown in the previous parts.

1.2 Learners’ errors
1.2.1 Definitions of error

So far, a number of experts in linguistics have presented various definitions of
error. Among them, Norrish (1987) considers error a systematic deviation, when a
learner has not learnt something and consistently gets it wrong. Cunning Worth
(1987) defines error as systematic deviations from the norms of language being
learned. It seems that the phrase “systematic deviation” in these two definitions is a
key word which can be interpreted as the deviation which happens repeatedly.
Chaudron (1986) reviews error as (1) “linguistic forms or content that differed from
native speaker norms or facts, and (2) any other behavior signaled by the teacher as
needing improvement”. George (1972) defines error as “an unwanted form,
specifically, a form which a particular course designer or teacher does not want”.
Johansson (1975) believes that “If native speakers hesitate about the acceptability of
a word or construction it should not be considered an error”.
1.2.2. Errors and mistakes
A distinction is sometimes made between an error, which results from
incomplete knowledge, and a mistake made by a learner and which is caused by
lack of attention, fatigue, carelessness, or some other aspects of performance.
Mistakes are of no significance to the process of language learning. However, the
problem of determining what is a learner‟s mistake and what a learner‟s error is one
of some difficulty and involves a much more sophisticated study and analysis of
errors than is usually accorded them.
Corder (1967: 59) made a distinction between a mistake and an error.
Whereas a mistake is a random performance slip caused by fatigue, excitement, etc,
13

and therefore can be readily self-corrected, an error is a systematic deviation made
by learners who have not yet mastered the rules of the second language. A learner
cannot self-correct an error because it is a reflective product of his or her current
stage of second language development or underlying competence. In other words,
he associates errors with failures in competence and mistakes with failures in
performance.

1.2.3. Types of errors
Corder (1975) refers to three types of errors including: 1) transfer errors; 2)
analogical errors and 3) teaching-induced errors. Chomsky classifies learners‟ errors
into: 1) performance error and 2) competence error. Competence is the „speaker-
hearer‟s knowledge of his language‟, while performance is the actual use of
language in concrete situations. Heaton (1998) and Littlewood (1984) divide errors
into two main types: global and local errors. Richard (1974) and some other
researchers distinguish between interlingual errors and intralingual errors.
Obviously, errors are classified differently according to perspectives. On the
whole, the most popular classification of written errors that earns scholars'
consensus prevailingly is the division of errors into interlingual errors and
intralingual errors. Because, two major factors that contributed to the presence of
errors in students‟ written work are interlingual transfer and intralingual transfer.
The elaboration of these categories is illustrated as below:

1.2.3.1. Interlingual Errors
According to Brown (1980:173) the beginning stages of learning a second
language are characterized by a good deal of interlingual transfer from the native
language. Richard (1974:35) says that interlingual errors are errors due to
transferring rules from the mother tongue. They are the incorrect elements under the
influence of learners' native language. Therefore, interlingual errors are errors
which are caused by interference from native language to the target language they
learn. So, before someone really master the concept of their target language they
14

will always use the concept of their native language. When it happens all the time
and they do not realize it, it can be called interlingual errors.
Therefore, an interlingual error is an error which results from language transfer,
which is caused by the learner‟s native language transference (also called negative
transfer). For example, Vietnamese learners of English may produce such errors:

(*) He was died last year. (interference from mother tongue “bị”)
(**) I prefer this book than that one (interference from mother tongue “hơn”)
Obviously, the understanding of intralingual and interlingual error enables
teacher to perceive language teaching form a two-way perspective, which is
different from traditional teaching which only emphasizes target language. This
classification could help the teacher deal with the relationship between L1 and L2 in
teaching practice, to trace the origin of errors, and to decide what language points
need more attention.

1.2.3.2. Intralingual Errors
After learning second language or foreign language for some time, learners‟
previous experience and their existing subsumes begin to include structures within
the target language itself. According to James (1998:183), the less the learner
knows about the target language, the more he is forced to draw upon any other prior
knowledge he possesses. While Brown (1980:173) says that it is clear that
intralingual errors or intralingual interference-the negative transfer of items within
the target language, or put another way, the incorrect generalization of rules within
the target language is a major factor in second language learning. Intralingual errors
refer to those out of the influence within the developmental system of target
language, such as faulty generalization, incomplete application of rules, and so on
(Ellis, 1999:58).
An Intralingual error is one which results from faulty or partial learning of
the target language, rather than from language transfer. Intralingual errors may be
caused by the influence of one target language item upon another. For example, a
15

learner may produce He is comes, based on a blend of the English structures He is
coming, He comes.
1.2.4 Sources of errors
We all know that errors are unavoidable in language learning process. These

errors occur because of many reasons. By identifying the sources of error, the
teacher begins to know how learner‟s cognitive and affective self relates to the
linguistic system and also to formulate his process of learning a foreign language.
However, it is by no means easy to identify the actual sources of errors in the
field of English Language Teaching. Different classifications of errors provide us
with different perspectives to analyze the causes of errors. Brown (1980:156) states
that errors are caused by the lack of knowledge about the target language. Edge
(1989:7) claims that the source of learner‟s errors is the interference from the
speaker‟s first language. In tone with it, Richards (1974:174) says that the source of
errors in studying a language might be derived from the interference of the learners‟
mother tongue and the general characteristics of the rule learning.
In summary, errors can be ascribed to many factors. Some of learners' errors
are due to learners' language competence, some due to cultural interference; some
are results of learners' learning strategies, while others are the products of
communicative strategies; some are classroom induced errors, while others are the
results of individual variables , and so on. Diverse as these viewpoints are, there
should be an intersection among different schools of thoughts or a clear-cut
justification among them so that these causes are figured out and proper error
correction is offered. In general, the very causes of written errors can be summed up
as below:
1.2.4.1 Interference of the mother tongue
Interlingual interference is the interference of the learner‟s first language or
mother tongue onto the process of learning a second language. Mother tongue
interference is one of the major causes leading to learner‟s committing errors.
Norrish (1987) states that learning a language (a mother tongue or a foreign
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language) is a matter of habit formation. Besides, being able to express fully one's
ideas in another language is always a demanding task. Thus, when learners' second
language is not sufficient in expressing themselves, it is likely that they will rely on

their first language to express their ideas. Edge (1989: 7) is in line with this thought:
"when people do not know how to say something in a foreign language, one
possibility is to use words and structures from their own language and try to make
them fit into the foreign language." Moreover, the interference of mother tongue
may result from the complication of the structure of the target language as Abbort et
al (1981: 230) argues that "wherever the structures of the first language and target
language differed, there would be problems in learning and difficulty in
performance, and that the greater the differences were, the greater the difficulties
would be."
Undoubtedly, differences and similarities between L1 and L2 will affect the
learning of the target language greatly. The consideration of the contrast and
comparison between the two languages will for sure contribute to the analysis of
learner' errors. The differences between Vietnamese and English are manifested in
pronunciation, grammatical rules, lexical meaning, and word order is considered
another factor of the interlingual interference as well.
1.2.4.2. Overgeneralization
It occurs when the learner creates a deviant structure on the basis of other
structures in the target language. It generally involves the creation of one deviant
structure in place of two target language structures. Consequently, students
automatically apply rules wherein they are not allowed to. For example:
She will cries aloud.
He can speaks English well.
In the examples, the learners overgeneralize that the simple present tense „s‟
ending is required by the third person singular.
1.2.4.3 Ignorance of rule restriction
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This types of errors involves the application of rules to contexts where the
learner does not apply. Here the learner fails to observe the restrictions of existing
structures. For example:

He asked to me about my family. (Correct: He asked me about my family)
She told to me her big problem yesterday.(Correct: She told me her big
problem yesterday)
He showed to me his new cars. (Correct: She showed me his new cars)
In this case, they should reduce „to‟ in the sentence “He asked to me”
because he applied the same preposition to different verbs.
1.2.4.4 Incomplete application of rules
This kind of error is converse of overgeneralization and represents the degree
of development of the rule required to produce acceptable sentences. It involves a
failure to fully develop a structure. Thus learners of L2 English use declarative
word order in questions (for example, “You like to sing?”) in place of interrogative
word order (for example, “Do you like to sing?”). This type of intralingual error
corresponds to what is often referred to as an error of transitional competence
(Richards, 1971).
1.2.4.5 False concepts hypothesized
The last category of intralanguage error sometimes called semantic error is
false concepts hypothesized. It derives from incorrect comprehending of distinction
in the target language. These particular errors are the result of poor gradation of
teaching items. The form „was‟ for example, may be interpreted as the marker of the
past tense, as in “one day it was happened”.
1.2.5 Error Analysis in second language acquisition.
Errors are now viewed as natural and important part of learning process
because they can yield information about language. This positive attitude towards
errors is especially important in the wake of the Communicative Language Learning
and Teaching. Many researchers on errors in second language learning have been
done by several scholars like Corder (1967), Richard (1992), and Spelunker (1992).