An analysis of errors commonly committed by high school students in using english questions

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
VINH UNIVERSITY

NGUYỄN DIỆU HƯƠNG

AN ANALYSIS OF ERRORS COMMONLY
COMMITTED BY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
IN USING ENGLISH QUESTIONS

MASTER THESIS IN EDUCATION

VINH - 2011
i


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
VINH UNIVERSITY

NGUYỄN DIỆU HƯƠNG

AN ANALYSIS OF ERRORS COMMONLY
COMMITTED BY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
IN USING ENGLISH QUESTIONS
PHÂN TÍCH NHỮNG LỖI THƯỜNG GẶP Ở HỌC SINH
TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG TRONG VIỆC SỬ DỤNG
CÂU HỎI TIẾNG ANH
FIELD:

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY

CODE:

60.14.10

MASTER THESIS IN EDUCATION
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. VÕ ĐẠI QUANG

VINH - 2011
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my beloved
supervisor, Associate Professor Võ Đại Quang (PhD) for the invaluable support,
enthusiastic guidance, and encouragement he gave me throughout my research. I am
truly grateful to him for his advice and suggestions right from the beginning when
this study was only in its formative stage. Without his untiring patience in reading the
manuscript and clarifying my ideas, the thesis would have never been in the current
shape.
Secondly, I would like to thank all lecturers at Department of English, Vinh
University and VNU University of Languages and International Studies for their
valuable teaching and tremendous assistance that have enlightened my study path.
I would like to thank Mr. Hồ Sĩ Dương, my head master, who has facilitated at
his best to offer me time and necessary assistance from the beginning to the last
moment of my master course. Many thanks also go to my classmates at the Master
Course Class and to all of my colleagues at Tĩnh Gia II High School who have taken
time and trouble to alert me to errors in my thesis and provided me with useful data
on which this thesis is based.
I also wish to send my sincere thanks to the students of the classes I visited in
order to gather information for my survey questionnaires. Without their help, this
study could not have been successful.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to family members whose support
and encouragements have greatly contributed to the completion of my study.

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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

Except where otherwise indicated, this thesis is my own piece of academic work.
Author

Nguyễn Diệu Hương

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ABSTRACT
This research was conducted to investigate the errors commonly committed by
students at Tinh Gia 2 High School in using English Wh – questions. The major issues

dealt within this thesis are the errors commonly committed by the 10 th form students
at Tĩnh Gia II High School in using English Wh – questions, the main causes leading
to these errors and possible solutions to the problems relating to the teaching and
learning of English Wh – questions.
In order to gain information for the research, the author used a combination of
four major methods: qualitative, quantitative, descriptive and data analysis. Besides,
questionnaires, written tests, informal talks and class observations are used as data
collection instruments to gather information for the study.
The results of this study has shown that the 10th form students at Tinh
Gia 2 High School often commit errors in using English Wh – questions. Besides, the

study has revealed that most of these errors belong to five main categories namely:
misordering errors, misformation errors, misselection errors, omission errors and
additions errors. The research has pointed out that these errors are rooted from both
internal and external factors in language learning and teaching process. This study has
also suggested some solutions to deal with these errors in order to improve the
teaching and learning of English at high schools.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.........................................................................................iii
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP..............................................................................iv
ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................v
TABLE OF CONTENTS..............................................................................................1
PART A. INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................8
1. RATIONALE....................................................................................................8
2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY..................................................9
2.1. AIMS OF THE STUDY.................................................................................9
2.2. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY...................................................................9
3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS...............................................................................9
4. SCOPE OF THE STUDY.................................................................................9
5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY................................................................10
6. ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY.............................................................10
PART B: DEVELOPMENT.......................................................................................12
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW.....................................................................12
1.1. FACTORS INFLUENCING LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING
.............................................................................................................................12
1.1.1. EXTERNAL FACTORS...........................................................................12
1.1.1.1. FIRST LANGUAGE..............................................................................12

1.1.1.2. LANGUAGE ENVIRONMENT...........................................................13
1.1.1.3. FORMAL TEACHING..........................................................................14
1.1.2. INTERNAL FACTORS............................................................................15
1.1.2.1. MOTIVATION AND ATTITUDES......................................................15
1.1.2.2. LEARNERS’ APTITUDES AND INTELLIGENCE............................17
1.1.2.3. LEARNERS’ PERSONALITY..............................................................19
1.2. ERRORS IN LANGUAGE LEARNING.....................................................20
1.2.1. NOTIONS OF ERRORS...........................................................................20
1.2.2. ERRORS, MISTAKES AND LAPSES....................................................21
1.2.3. DIFFERENT ATTITUDES TOWARDS ERRORS.................................22
1.2.3.1. ERROR IS A SIGN OF FAILURE........................................................23
1.2.3.2. ERROR IS A SIGN OF PROGRESS.....................................................25
1.2.4. ERROR ANALYSIS.................................................................................27
1.2.5. CAUSES OF ERRORS.............................................................................30
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1.2.5.1. MOTHER TONGUE INTERFERENCE...............................................32
1.2.5.2. MOTHER TONGUE INDEPENDENT INTERFERENCE...................36
a. Over-generalization ......................................................................................36
b. Ignorance of rule restrictions...........................................................................38
c. Incomplete application rules ...........................................................................38
d. False concepts hypothesized...........................................................................39
1.3. QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH........................................................................40
1.3.1. DEFINITION OF QUESTIONS...............................................................40
1.3.2. CLASSIFICATION OF ENGLISH QUESTIONS...................................41
1.3.2.1. CLASSIFICATION OF QUESTIONS ACCORDING TO PURPOSES
OF COMMUNICATION....................................................................................41
1.3.2.2. CLASSIFICATION OF QUESTIONS ACCORDING TO TYPES OF
ANSWERS..........................................................................................................43

a. Yes – No questions in English.........................................................................43
b. Declarative questions......................................................................................44
c. Tag questions...................................................................................................45
d. Wh - questions................................................................................................46
e. Alternative questions.......................................................................................48
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY...............................................................................50
2.1. MAJOR METHODS EMPLOYED FOR THE RESEARCH .....................50
2.2. RESEARCH QUESTIONS..........................................................................51
2.3. DESCRIPTION OF PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING.............................52
2.3.1. RESEARCH SETTING............................................................................52
2.3.2. DESCRIPTIONS OF PARTICIPANTS...................................................52
2.4. DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS....................................................54
2.4.1. WRITTEN TESTS ...................................................................................54
2.4.2. SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES................................................................55
2.4.3. CLASS OBSERVATION.........................................................................56
2.4.4. INFORMAL TALKS................................................................................56
2.5. DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE........................................................57
2.6. DATA ANALYSIS......................................................................................57
CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.........................................................58
3.1. FINDINGS OBTAINED VIA SURVEY ANALYSIS................................58

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3.1.1. FREQUENCY OF STUDENTS’ COMMITTING ERRORS IN USING
ENGLISH WH – QUESTIONS..........................................................................58
3.1.2. ATTITUDES TOWARDS ERRORS IN USING ENGLISH WH –
QUESTIONS.......................................................................................................59
3.1.3. REASONS FOR ERROR CORRECTION...............................................61
3.1.4. STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD TEACHERS’ CORRECTION. .62

3.1.5. STUDENTS’ VIEW ABOUT TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS
THEIR ERRORS................................................................................................63
3.1.6. FREQUENCY OF THE DETECTION OF THE SOURCES OF ERRORS
.............................................................................................................................64
3.1.7. TECHNIQUES EMPLOYED BY TEACHERS TO TREAT ERRORS . 66
3.2 ERROR CLASSIFICATIONS......................................................................68
3.3. FINDINGS OBTAINED VIA WRITTEN TESTS......................................70
3.3.1. ADDITION ERRORS ..............................................................................75
3.3.2. MISORDERING ERRORS.......................................................................77
3.3.3. OMISSION ERRORS...............................................................................81
3.3.4. MISSELECTION ERRORS......................................................................85
3.3.5. MISFORMATION ERRORS....................................................................87
3.4. DISCUSSION .............................................................................................88
PART C: CONCLUSION...........................................................................................94
1. RECAPITULATION......................................................................................94
2. CONCLUDING REMARKS ON EACH OF THE OBJECTIVES
ELABORATED INTO RESEARCH QUESTIONS...........................................94
2.1. CONCLUDING REMARKS ON OBJECTIVE 1.......................................94
2.2. CONCLUDING REMARKS ON OBJECTIVE 2.......................................94
2.3. CONCLUDING REMARKS ON OBJECTIVE 3.......................................95
3. IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING...............................................................95
3.1. TECHNIQUES FOR THE TEACHING OF WH – QUESTIONS..............96
3.2. TECHNIQUES FOR ERRORS CORRECTION.........................................96
3.2.1. TEACHERS SHOULD TRY TO MAKE USE OF PEER CORRECTION
.............................................................................................................................96
3.2.2. TEACHERS SHOULD CONSIDER THE STUDENTS’ PREFERENCE
.............................................................................................................................97
3.2.3. TEACHERS SHOULD KNOW WHAT ERRORS TO CORRECT AND
WHEN TO CORRECT ......................................................................................97
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3.2.4. TEACHERS SHOULD BE CONSISTENT WHILE CORRECTING
ERRORS ............................................................................................................98
3.2.5. TEACHERS SHOULD ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO USE SELF
CORRECTION AND DISCOVERY TECHNIQUES .......................................99
4. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH..........................................100
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................101
APPENDICES...........................................................................................................103
APPENDIX 1: PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT THỰC NGHIỆM............................................104
APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS............................................110
APPENDIX 3: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS............................................111

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ABBREVIATIONS
CAH:

Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis

e.g :

Exempli gratia (for example)

EFL:

English as Foreign Language

ELT:

English Language Teaching

etc :

et cetera

LAD:

Language Acquisition Device

L1:

First language

L2:

Second language

UG:

Universal Grammar

TESOL:

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

SLA:

Second Language Acquisition

Q - Element: Question - element
Vs.

Versus

VTTN:

Vietnam’s English Teacher and Trainer Network

S:

Subject

V:

Verb

O:

Object

A:

Adverb

C:

Complement

i

Indirect

d:

direct

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LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Table 1.1:

Examples of incomplete application rules

Table 2.1:

Information about teachers’ background

Table 2.2:

Information about students’ background

Table 3.1:

List of Wh – words in accordance with their functions and examples to
illustrate.

Table 3.2:

Number of errors commonly committed by 11th form students at Tinh
Gia II High School in using English Wh – questions.

Table 3.3:

Distribution of error types

Table 3.4:

Distribution of the most common sub – types of addition errors

Table 3.5:

Distribution of the most common misordering errors

Table 3.6:

Distribution of the most common omission errors

Table 3.7:

Distribution of the most common misselection errors

Table 3.8:

Distribution of misformation errors

Figure 1.1:

Psycholinguistic sources of errors.

Figure 1.2:

Model for adult second language performance

Figure 1.3:

James’ representation of interlanguage (James, 1998:3)

Figure 1.4:

Classification of Yes – No questions by Vo (2000)

Figure 2.1:

Major methods employed in the research

Figure 3.1:

Frequency of students’ committing errors in using English Wh –
questions.

Figure 3.2:

Frequency of students’ committing errors in using English Wh –
questions

Figure 3.3:

Students’ attitudes towards errors
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Figure 3.4:

Teachers’ attitudes towards errors

Figure 3.5:

Reasons for error correction.

Figure 3.6:

Students’ attitudes towards error correction.

Figure 3.7:

Teachers’ attitudes towards students’ errors.

Figure 3.8:

Students’ reactions to teachers’ error correction.

Figure 3.9:

Frequency of teachers’ finding out main causes of errors.

Figure 3.10:

Techniques used in error correction.

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PART A. INTRODUCTION
1. RATIONALE
During the time working as a teacher at Tinh Gia II High School, the author has
had a hard time correcting errors related to the English Wh - questions committed by
the students there. The researcher has also realized the fact that the error commitment
of students may result from the following factors:
 The students have not fully mastered the structures of English questions,
especially the structures of English Wh - questions.
 They may not fully realize how to use of English Wh - questions effectively in
different communicative contexts.
 They lack confidence in how to use English Wh - questions to serve the
intended communicative goals.
 Negative transfers between English and Vietnamese often mislead students in
using English Wh - questions.
Being a high school teacher of English, the author always keeps in mind the desire
to be able to provide students with some basic knowledge of English Wh – questions
in order to help them well communicate in English and use English as a key to
success.
That is the reason why the author decided to choose the topic entitled “An
analysis of errors commonly committed by High School students in using English
questions” as the theme for the research in order to detect these errors as well as to
find out the main causes leading to these errors as the first step to the pedagogical
solutions. The author hopes that these solutions would help learners achieve their
communicative goals as well as avoid making mistakes, and then to some extent, to
give some practical value in language teaching.

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2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
2.1. AIMS OF THE STUDY
The research is aimed at providing a reference related to common errors committed
by high school students in using English Wh – questions.
2.2. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives set forth for the study are:
•

Providing as comprehensible an account of types of errors commonly committed

by 10th form students at Tinh Gia II High School in using English Wh – questions and
features of English Wh-questions.
•

Pointing out the causes of errors commonly committed by 10th form students at

Tinh Gia II High School in using English Wh – questions.
•

Establishing possible solutions to different types of common errors made by

Vietnamese high school students relating to English Wh - questions at high schools
3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The above mentioned objectives can be elaborated into the followings research
questions:
1. What kinds of errors do students at Tinh Gia II High School often make in using

English Wh - questions?
2. What are the main causes leading to these errors?
3. What are the possible solutions to the errors relating to English Wh - questions at
high schools?
4. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study is confined to:
(i) Problems related to English Wh-questions
(ii) Errors committed by students at Tinh Gia II high school
(iii) Possible solutions to the identified problems lie within the scope of this thesis.
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5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
English questions in general and English Wh - questions in particular appear
as one of the most dominant factors that often make not only Vietnamese students but
Vietnamese teachers as well encounter a lot of troubles and even make them confused
during teaching and learning process. These troubles result from some reasons such
as the poor understanding about the structures of English questions, the lack of
confidence in using questions to communicate, the negative transfers between the
English and the Vietnamese Wh - questions and even the bad habits formation during
teaching and learning process. Therefore, it is necessary to provide the readers insight
about some question types in English in general and the English Wh - questions in
particular in order to help them overcome some difficulties in using English Wh questions. More importantly, the analysis of some common errors mistakes that
Vietnamese students often commit in using Wh – questions and main causes leading
to these errors will be useful for English teaching and learning. What is more, it also
greatly contributes to the second language teaching process, for this may provide
better understanding about the difficulties that students and teachers often encounter
during the teaching and learning process. Last but not least, some pedagogical
implications, to some extents, would be of great value for the teachers in their making
effort to improve English teaching and learning process in Vietnam.

6. ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY.
The study consists of 3 main parts:
Part A is the “INTRODUCTION”, which presents the background to the study, aims
of the study, research questions, methods of study, scope of the study, and an
overview of the thesis.
Part B is the “DEVELOPMENT” of the study with 3 chapters
Chapter 1 is “LITERATURE REVIEW” which provides the readers with the
literature review of the research, which attempts to present the theoretical background

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including general understanding about language learning process, an overview of
errors in language learning and insights about questions in English.
Chapter 2 is “METHODOLOGY” which describes in detail the research
methodology which comprises the information of the subjects, instruments of data
collection and methods of data analysis.
Chapter 3 named “DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION” presents the two main
issues. The first focuses on the main features of English Wh – questions. The second
issue is statistical results and the analysis of the data. The statistical results are shown
in the tables which are the basement to analyze the common errors committed by high
school students in using English Wh - questions.
Part C is the “CONCLUSION”. This part provides conclusions on each of the
objectives, implications for teaching and suggestions for further research.

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1. FACTORS INFLUENCING LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING
It is believed that the language, bears a lot of influences on language learning
process and the factors that affect language learning might be classified into two
types. The first one named external factors consists of the first language, the language
environment and the formal teaching.

The second one called internal includes

learners’ motivation and attitudes; learners’ aptitudes and intelligence; and learners’
personality.
1.1.1. EXTERNAL FACTORS
1.1.1.1. FIRST LANGUAGE
According to Chomsky, “The foreign language learner does not come to
language as an organism initially uninformed as to its general character”.
(Chomsky,1965: 58). It might be inferred that the mother tongue, which made
“transfer” or “interference” to the target language, may be more or less useful for the
learners of a new language, as they have already learned how to do with that
language. The terms “transfer” mentioned here can be suggested as two types. The
first one which occurs when the first and the target language share similar features is
positive transfer while the second one called negative transfer appears when there are
different features between the two languages. To some extents, universal features
shared by language may facilitate their learning a new language. However, it is a fact
that learners of different backgrounds experience failures in controlling the foreign
language learning. As far as we are concerned, the first language may influence the
learners’ inter – language in some ways. When learners reach a certain stage and
perceive a similarity to their first language, for instance, they may linger longer at that
stage or add a sub -stage, to the sequence, which is similar across learners, regardless
12

of their first language. Further more, the learners may learn a second language rule
but restrict its application.
In summary, learners’ mother tongue has great influence, (both negative and
positive) on second language learning process. The understanding about “transfer” or
“interference” viewed from different aspects may bear significance to language
teaching, for it sets good foundation for the teachers by providing basis for their
teaching. Besides, current views of learners’ mother tongue influence put an emphasis
on the fact that there is an important interaction in the first language (or other
previously learned languages), some universal knowledge or processes, and the
samples of the target language which learners encounter in the input. However, the
first language is not the only external factor that bears great influences on language
learning. There still exist many other factors among which language environment is
considered a dominant one that may affect this process.
1.1.1.2. LANGUAGE ENVIRONMENT
Like the first language experience, language environment can greatly
contribute to the success of a new language learning process. It is undeniable that
language environment is also of great help to success in learning a foreign language.
In fact, a child can successfully acquire his first language during his childhood
because he is constantly exposed to it. As far as we have known, a child has a lot of
opportunity to acquire his mother tongue by hearing the sounds around him, feeling
what is happening, imitating these sounds and then, talking in a variety of interactive
situations like verbal public exchanges, daily conversations with friends, parents and
other people in the community, and even through public media, etc. Learning a
foreign language, however, always lacks a natural environment. This greatly affects
the success of learning process because the linguistic input mostly comes from the
environment around the learners but when learning a foreign language, usually
learners get linguistic input from the classroom teachers who usually have insufficient
mastery of the language they are teaching and sometimes, from his classmates. This
leads to the fact that they may encounter a lot of difficulties in mastering the language

13


and therefore, making errors in using foreign language in their communication is
inevitable. Meanwhile, during the lesson, the main purpose of teaching is only to
develop learners’ competence of the target language’s rules and the focus often falls
on the formal aspects of language. As a result, although this conscious knowledge of
linguistic rules can be useful in increasing accuracy in some situations, it is not
successfully taught for the learners.
In short, language environment has great influence on language learning
process because it is the main source providing linguistic input for the learners. Good
language environment creates a great deal of opportunities for the learners to gain
success in their linguistic processing whereas language learning process will be
limited due to the lack of a good place for students to do with language, especially
with foreign language.
1.1.1.3. FORMAL TEACHING
The success of language learning process is greatly influenced not only by first
language and language environment but also by the teaching process itself. It is
known that whether formal teaching is of great use for the learners or not depends on
the situations where the language is taught. What is more, certain techniques or
methods prove to be relevant in particular groups of learners. In fact, the effectiveness
of teaching a foreign language is unquestioned when it is taught in a host
environment, for learners have a lot of chances to acquire that language outside the
classroom. However, without a natural environment, it would be hard for the learners
to be successful in their language mastery. Therefore, formal teaching, in this case,
would be really a crucial factor to success of learning. The term “teaching” mentioned
here refers to such things as teaching techniques, teaching methods, teachers’ mastery
of the language they are teaching, etc. Yet, certain techniques and teaching methods
applied in teaching process would match particular groups of learners. Therefore,
different learners with the same teachers and same techniques would not acquire the

same amount of linguistic knowledge. For example, using pictures or visual aids
would be effective techniques for some learners but does not work well with those
14


who are suitable with taking part in discussions or seminars. Besides, frequent use of
foreign language in classrooms may dominate mechanical drills in accelerating
learning. Further more, the techniques used to teach adults and adolescents are not
usually the same as those used to teach small children. For example, providing an
explanation for a specific structure before giving learners time to practice seems to be
an effective activity in teaching language for adults while using games or body
movements to conduct a lesson would be efficient in teaching small children.
It is concluded that there still exists a close connection between formal
teaching and language proficiency as all the factors related to the formal teaching like
teaching methods or techniques greatly contribute to the effectiveness of language
learning process. Therefore, in order to help learners to have a good control of the
language they are learning, we should account for all the factors concerning formal
teaching. However, apart from external factors, language learning is also greatly
influenced by many other factors among which learners’ characteristics like
motivation, aptitude, personality, intelligence, learners preferences, etc. functioning
as internal factors appears as the most dominant ones.
1.1.2. INTERNAL FACTORS
It is clearly shown that although “all normal children, given a normal
upbringing, are successful in the acquisition of their first language” (P.M. Lightbown
and N. Spada, 1999: 45), their experience of a second or foreign language may vary
greatly because this process depends much on learners’ characteristics. The term
“learners’ characteristics” here refers to many things but due to the limitation of this
paper, the author only mentions some of the most dominant ones.
1.1.2.1. MOTIVATION AND ATTITUDES
There has been a great deal of research which points out that motivation and

attitudes play an essential role in language learning. It is clearly said that positive
motivation and attitudes are related to learners’ success in their learning a language.
However, it is not easy to indicate precisely how motivation is related to learning
15


since “we do not know whether it is the motivation that produces successful learning
or successful learning that enhances motivation or whether both are affected by the
other factors” (P.M. Lightbown and N, Spada, 1999: 56). In fact, minority group
members learning the language of a majority groups may have different attitudes and
motivation from those of majority group members learning a minority language.
Motivation in second language learning is considered a very complex phenomenon
that can be classified into two types. The first one called intrinsic (integrative)
motivation refers to language learning for personal growth and cultural enrichment
and the second one called extrinsic (instrumental) motivation refers to immediate or
practical goals of the learners. Both integrative and instrumental types of motivation
are related to success in second language learning and most second language learning
situations involve a mixture of each type of motivation. Besides, motivation, which
can be defined in terms of two factors: learners’ communicative needs and their
attitudes towards the second community, may help learners acquire more proficiency
in their learning in case learning a second language is a source of personal growth or
cultural enrichment or may resent learning process when motivation is regarded as
external pressure. However, motivation, both intrinsic and extrinsic types is often
affected by many factors among which social dynamic or power relationship between
the language are the most influenceable ones. It is the fact that languages exist in
social context cannot be overlooked when we seek to understand the variables which
determine language proficiency.
From the above mentioned ideas, it can be inferred that motivation is of great
importance in language learning, especially, in learning a second or foreign language.
Thus, in a language class, it is necessary to create a supportive and non-threatening

learning atmosphere by making our classrooms places where students enjoy coming.
In order to do that, the lesson should be carried out in the way that the content is
interesting and relevant to learners’ age and level of ability, the learning goals are
challenging yet manageable and clear. By doing this, we can make a positive
contribution for students to learn.
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1.1.2.2. LEARNERS’ APTITUDES AND INTELLIGENCE
The term “aptitude” mentioned here refers to potential for achievement and
there is no doubt that some individuals have an exceptional “aptitude” for language
learning. Actually, aptitude for language learning is usually composed of four
different types of abilities: the ability to identify and memorize new sounds, the
ability to understand the function of particular words in sentences, the ability to figure
out grammatical rules from language samples and the ability to memorize new words.
However, successful language learners are often not strong in all of the four
components above. Some individuals may be good at identifying and memorizing
new sounds but have no ability to memorize new words. The other may have strong
memories of new words but are not able to figure out grammatical rules from
language samples. There fore, it is advisable that students who were high on analytic
ability but average on memory should be assigned to teaching that focuses on
grammatical structures, while learners who are strong in memory but average on
analytic skills are advised to be placed in class where teaching is organized around
the functional use of the language in specific information. Learning quickly is,
moreover, one of the most distinguishing features of aptitude. People who have
remarkable talent in language learning are usually the quick - minded ones. They
often have good memory to remember new words and sounds and (or) do not waste
much time to figure out specific structure from language sample. In short, people with
exceptional aptitudes for language learning often well perform in language learning
process for they have specialized ability to attain significantly high levels of

achievement. Therefore, for educational purposes, the teachers should bear in mind
the fact that “knowing the aptitude profile of their students will help them in selecting
appropriate classroom activities for particular groups of students” (P.M. Lightbown
and N. Spada, 1999: 54).
Apart from aptitude, intelligence is also a strong factor which decides the
success of language learning process. Traditionally, intelligence refers to the mental
abilities that are measured by an IQ (intelligence quotient) test. The IQ usually
17


measures only two types of intelligence: verbal / linguistic and mathematical / logical
intelligence. Besides, there are other types of intelligence such as spatial intelligence,
bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, musical intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, and
intrapersonal intelligence. Linguistic intelligence indicates the ability to speak, to use
words, to write, to give presentations, and to solve word problems. Logicalmathematical intelligence refers to the ability to use numbers, logic or calculations,
the ability to learn and understand grammar rules. Spatial intelligence means the
ability to draw, paint, use color, art, graphics, pictures, maps, and charts. Bodilykinesthetic intelligence shows muscular coordination, athletic skill, body language,
drama and theater. Musical intelligence is the ability to use music and tones, hear and
produce the intonation and rhythm of a language. Interpersonal intelligence regards to
the ability to talk with other people, understand them, and the ability to use language
to communicate. Intrapersonal intelligence is viewed as self-knowledge, selfconfidence, and the ability to use language to analyze things. These types of
intelligence are related to the development of language learning process. However,
some recent studies have shown that intelligence may strongly influence certain kinds
of language abilities than others. In addition,
“While intelligence may be a strong factor when it comes to learning which
involves language analysis and rule learning, intelligence may play a less important in
classrooms where the instruction focuses more on communication and interaction”
(P.M. Lightbown and N. Spada, 1999: 53)
It should be noted that intelligence is complex and each individual has
different abilities as well as strengths. Therefore, it is not surprising when we

experience the fact that many students whose academic performance is weak have
gained considerable success in their language learning process.
In conclusion, “aptitude” and “intelligence” are two factors that directly
influence the result of language learning process. However, not many people are born
with exceptional aptitude. What is more, intelligence and although some learners are
considered intelligent but they are not really successful in learning a second or
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foreign language while some others who may weakly perform in academic field but
can experience considerable success in learning second or foreign languages.
Therefore, it would be unfair when we keep in our minds one thing that only people
with noble intelligence and aptitude can be successful in language learning process.
1.1.2.3. LEARNERS’ PERSONALITY
It is supposed that learners’ personality characteristics are likely to affect
language learning to some extents. In fact, there are a number of personality
characteristics that may be of great influence on second language learning, such as
extroversion vs. introversion, inhibition vs. risk-taking, self-esteem or selfconfidence, anxiety, empathy.
Some studies have found that learners’ success in language learning is
associated with extroversion such as assertiveness and adventurousness, while others
have found that many successful language learners do not get high scores on
measures of extroversion. Inhibition, which is considered a factor discouraging risk –
taking, one thing necessary for progress in language learning, is a negative force for
second language pronunciation performance. Several other characteristics such as self
– esteem, empathy, dominance, talkativeness, etc. are also regarded as influenceable
personality variables in language learning. However, in general, the research does not
show a clearly defined relationship between personality and second language
acquisition.

Personality may be a major factor only in the acquisition of

conversational skills like oral communicative ability but not in such acquisition of
literacy skills as reading and writing skills. Although there are contradictory and the
problems involved in carrying out in the area of personality characteristics, it is still
believed that personality is of great influence on progress in language learning.
However, it is surely that not personality alone, but there still exist many other factors
that contributes to proficiency in language learning process.

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1.2. ERRORS IN LANGUAGE LEARNING
1.2.1. NOTIONS OF ERRORS
A far as we have known, the term “error” is used in a variety of ways in
linguistics and language teaching theory, in error analysis research, in English
language teaching (ELT) including Teaching English as a Second Language
(TESOL), and not least in the ordinary classroom. Although “error” has been clearly
defined in error analysis research and in ELT, interpretation and usage of this term
specifically for error correction purposes has nevertheless been less than systematic.
Errors, in fact, play an important role in English learning process because committing
and analyzing errors will help learners realize and try to avoid them better. Up to
now, there are a variety of definitions of errors made by many grammarians and
linguists.
In English language teaching, the term “error” appears to differ markedly from
that of “errors” in linguistics / psycholinguistics. In English language teaching,
“errors” refer to the pedagogical notion of “errors” in the context of language
learning and language teaching. In the early 70's, research into “errors” (for example,
by Corder 1967, Selinker 1972, Nemser 1971, Richards 1973, Dulay and Burt 1974)
has demonstrated that learner errors are indicative of both the state of the learner's
knowledge and of the ways in which the second language is being learned. According

to Corder (1975), an error is referred to as a linguistic form that is either superficially
deviant or inappropriate in terms of the target language. Carl James, moreover,
defined errors as “being an instance of language that is intentionally deviant and not
self-corrigible by its authors” (Carl James, 1980: 129). Hendrickson, in methodology
in TESOL (1987) says that an error is “an utterance form or structure that is a
particular language teacher seems unacceptable because of its inappropriate use or its
absence in real life discourse”.
A lot of definitions of errors have been given due to various standards and from
those, it can be concluded that errors are what the second language learners produce,
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