Luận văn english prepositions of place at, on, in an analysis of errors made by secondary school students

1 Graduation Thesis

Vinh university
Foreign language department

************

Nguyễn Thị Hơng Trà

English prepositions of place
At, on, in:

An analysis of errors made by
Secondary school students

(phân tích lỗi sử dụng giới từ chỉ địa điểm
at, on, in ë häc sinh thpt)

graduation thesis

pield: Linguistics

by: NguyÔn Thị Hơng Trà
supervisor: Vũ Thị Việt Hơng

Vinh, 2005

Acknowledgements

I could not have completed my graduation thesis without the
enthusiastic help and encouragement of my teachers, my family as well as my

friends.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor:
Ms Vu Thi Viet Huong, M.A whose useful ideas and advice, enlightening
guidance and encouragement have helped me shape and complete my thesis.

Nguyễn Thị Hơng Trà - 42A1 FLD - Vinh University

2 Graduation Thesis

I would also like to express my thanks to all teachers in the foreign
language department, particularly Mr Tran Ba Tien who gave me some useful
opinions and materials for my thesis.

I would also wish to acknowledge the support of the teachers and
students at secondary schools of Nghi Loc 2 and Cua Lo for giving me a
chance to carry out the research design.

I would like to express my special thanks to my parents and my brother
whose encouragements has helped me overcome the difficulty during the time
of doing the thesis.

Finally, my sincere thanks are due to my friends, specifically Ms Dang
Thi Manh with her disinterested help.

Nguyễn Thị Hơng Trà - 42A1 FLD - Vinh University

3 Graduation Thesis

Abstract

English and Vietnamese are the two different language systems; therefore,
errors in the learning process of English are inevitable. The errors in using
prepositions, especially the prepositions of place AT, ON, IN are not
exceptional.
The teaching and learning of prepositions have not yet received adequate
attention since prepositions are the small part of speech in English. However,
it is obvious that they create trouble and confusion for learners most of the
time. A misuse of prepositions is acceptable where communication is
advocated, but it should be considered a big problem where a formal and
standard English is in demands.
An analysis of errors in using prepositions of place AT, ON, IN is carried out
to give the answer to the wondering question. That whether the errors in using
these prepositions is not in their structure, position or function in sentences
but it is due to their idiomatic usage and the culture differences of two
nations, England and Vietnam
A test-based study is carried out on a group of eighty students in two
secondary schools of Nghi Loc 2 and Cua Lo to get data for the research.
Then an error analysis was made, followed by a discussion of the types and
causes of the errors collected. On the basis of this analysis, some
recommendations are put forward to make teaching and learning of
prepositions of place AT, ON, IN more effectively.

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4 Graduation Thesis

Table of contents

Acknowledgements i

Abstract ii

Table of contents iii

Symbols and abbreviations v

List of Tables vi

Part I: Introduction 1

1. Rationale for the study 1
2. Aims and subjects of the study 2

3. Scopes of the study 2
4. Methods of the study 2

5. Overview of the thesis 3

Part II: Content 4

Chapter 1: Literature review 4

1.1. The overview of the prepositions At, On, In 4

1.1.1. The concept of prepositions 4
1.1.2. Classification of prepositions 4

1.1.3. General introduction about the prepositions of place 5
1.1.4. Prepositions of place At, On, In 6

1.1.4.1. The uses of prepositions At and In 8
1.1.4.2. The uses of prepositions In and On 10

1 1.2. Errors in language learning process 11

1.2.1. The notion of error 12
1.2.2. Errors and mistakes 12

1.2.2. Error Analysis 13
1.2.4.Causes of errors 14

1.2.4.1. Interlingual errors and mother tongue interference 15
1.2.4.2. Intralingual errors and developmental errors 17

(1) over-generalization 17

(2) ignorance of rule restrictions 18

(3) incomplete application of rules 18

(4) false concept hypothesized 19

Chapter 2: The study 20

2.1.Research questions 20
2.2.Research setting 20

2.3.Description of subjects 20
2.4.Description of Data collection 21

2.5.Procedure 21
2.6.Result of the study, findings and discussions 22

2.6.1. Errors in section 1- test 1 22
2.6.2. Errors in section 2- test 1 24

2.6.3. Errors in section 3- test 1 26
2.6.4. Errors in section 4- test 1 27

2.6.5. General tendencies 29
2.6.6. Errors in translation test 30

Chapter 3: Implications and suggestions 32

3.1. Major findings 32

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3.2. Implications for teaching English prepositions of place AT, On, In to
Vietnamese secondary students 33

3.2.1. Suggestions for presentation 33
3.2.2. Suggestions for practice 35

3.3. Implications for translation 38
3.3.1. For translating from English into Vietnamese 38

3.3.2. For translating from Vietnamese into English 39

Part III: Conclusion 40

References 42

Appendix 1 43
Appendix 2 45

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List of tables

Table 2.1
Table 2.2
Table 2.3
Table 2.4
Table 2.5

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part I: introduction

1. rationale for the study

English is used widely in the world. It is the first language in Great

Britain, the United States, Australia, etc and is the second or foreign language
in the rest of the world. It is preferred as the official language in many
organizations worldwide. Moreover, English has confirmed its top position
since the Internet appeared and grows mushroomly in every corner of the
Earth.

In Vietnam, English has been the most update foreign language in
comparison with the other ones. Everyone who desires to have a large stock of
knowledge, get opportunities with jobs, have success in their career or even
just to communicate with foreigners needs to learn and master English. The
trends of learning English grow bigger than ever before since Vietnam is
joining WTO in the near future.

Nowadays, English is one of the 3 most important subjects after
mathematics and literature in most of the secondary schools in Vietnam.
Textbooks have been renovated, new methods have been adapted in teaching
English so as to make it an active and interesting subject.

However, since English is far different from Vietnamese, it is not easy
for learners to have fully understanding about parts of speech in English at the
beginning. Prepositions, as well as other parts of speech such as nouns,
adjectives, and verbs are introduced to students in the early classes at the
secondary schools. Students need prepositions in order to build up simple
sentences. Is it any wonder that prepositions- the small part of speech- create
troubles for most of the learners of English? It is said ' we are AT the hospital
to visit a friend who is IN hospital', 'we lie IN bed but sit ON the bed', 'we
watch a film AT the theater but ON television'. The little words 'AT, ON, IN'
present little difficulty for native speakers but they appear to be troublesome
and confusing for the learners of English. Errors in the learning process are
inevitable. A wrongly use of any prepositions above is acceptable where

communication is advocated. However, it should be considered a big problem
in the case that it happens continuously regardless of the need of a formal and
standard English.

Is it doubtful that the difficulty and errors in acquiring and using
prepositions of place AT, ON, IN of Vietnamese students is not in their
structures, positions or functions in sentences but it is due to their idiomatic
usage and the culture differences of two countries, England and Vietnam?

Therefore, an analysis of errors in using prepositions of place AT, ON,
IN is carried out to help answer these questions. In addition, it also a practical
and applicable study, which provide some suggestions for the improvement of
teaching and learning English prepositions of place AT, ON, IN.

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2. Aims and Subjects of the study

The study reported in this thesis aimed to

- Identify the errors in using preposition of place at, on, in by
Vietnamese students at the secondary schools

- Find the sources and causes of their errors

- Suggest pedagogic solutions for teaching and learning prepositions of
place at, on, in at secondary schools.

Subjects of the study is a group of one hundred students at Nghi Loc 2
and Cua Lo upper- secondary schools

3. Scopes of the study

Within the limitation of a graduation thesis, I would like to deal with
three prepositions of place AT, ON, IN.

The survey is carried out at two upper-secondary schools of Nghi Loc
2 and Cua Lo.

4. Methods of the study

-Collecting references
-Contrastive analysis
-Collective
-Analytic and synthetic
-Descriptive method

5. Overview of the thesis

Except the acknowledgements, the table of contents and the references
as well as the appendix, this thesis consists of three main parts

Part I Introduction

In this introductory part, the rationale of the study is presented. The
aims, scopes and methods of the study are then identified. An overview of the
thesis is also provided

Part II: Content

The second part is the content of the thesis, which consists of three
chapters

Chapter I Literature review

This chapter will provide an in-depth review of the relevant literature
related to the issue under investigation. Specifically, a review of English
prepositions of place AT, ON, IN will provide the theoretical framework for
the identification of the errors that students made. In addition, theories about

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the sources of errors will help explore what factors caused errors committed by
students in using English prepositions of place AT, ON, IN. Errors Analysis as
the main theoretical tool for analysing data will also be reviewed

Chapter II The study

The methodology adopted to collect data for the research will be
presented in this chapter. It includes the description of research site,
participants, data collection techniques and data analysis methods. Then, the
results and findings of the study will be presented and discussed

Chapter III Implications and Suggestions

This chapter will summarize major findings, suggest some solutions for

teaching and learning prepositions of place AT, ON, IN and suggest some
types of exercises

Part III Conclusion

The final part of the thesis will conclude what has been discussed in the
content of

the thesis, point out the limitations of the study and give some
suggestion for further research

part II: content

Chapter 1: literature review

1.1. The overview of prepositions of place AT, ON, IN

1.1.1.The concept of prepositions

Preposition is one of eight parts of speech. It indicates the relationship
between words in a sentence. Specifically, a preposition is a connector: it
connects a noun/pronoun (its objects) to another word in a sentence. It also
shows how that noun/pronoun is related to the other word. Consequently, a
preposition can never stand alone, it must be contained with a phrase called a
prepositional phrase. A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition followed
by a prepositional complement, which is characteriscally by a noun phrase or
a Wh-clause or V-ing clause

Preposition prepositional complement

at the station

from what I have read

by attending a methodology course

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Most often, prepositions show relationships of direction, place and
time, but they can also express other relationship as well, for instances, the
prepositions but, except, without, show a relationship of exclusion

1.1.2. Classification of prepositions

a. Prepositions are classified as simple and complex
-Simple prepositions are single word prepositions
e.g : across, after, at, before, between, by, during, from, in, into, of, on,
to, under, with, without, etc
-Complex prepositions are prepositions which consist of more than one
word. Most of these are in one of the following categories

+ adverb of PREP + PREP
e.g : along with, as for, away from, out of, up to, etc

+ verb/adjective/conjunction/etc + preposition
e.g : owing to, due to, because of, etc

+ preposition + noun + preposition

e.g : by means of, in comparison with, in front of
b. Depending on the relational meaning, prepositions can be devided
into many types. Some popular ones are:
- preposition of place/location
e.g: at, above, in, on, by, off, etc
- preposition of time
eg: before, after, during, at, in, on, etc
- preposition of cause/reason
e.g: because of, for, of, thanks to, through, etc
- preposition of purpose
e.g: for, in order to, to, etc
- preposition of manner
e.g: with, without, like, etc
- preposition of means
e.g: by, on, in, through, with, etc
- preposition of direction
e.g: into, onto, to, toward, etc

1.1.3. General introduction about the prepositions of place

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Prepositions expressing spatial relations are of two kinds, prepositions
of place and prepositions of direction. Both kinds may be either positive or
negative

a. Prepositions of place, which usually appear with verbs describing
states or conditions, especially 'be', identify the static position of entities in

space

at above after between among In front of

on over behind by near beside
opposite

in before under below beneath underneath
etc

b. Prepositions of direction, which appear with verbs of motion, identify
the position in the dynamic relations of entities in the world

to into

onto out of etc

In the scope of the thesis, I only deal with positive prepositions of place
that sometimes causes difficulty AT, ON, IN

1.1.4. Prepositions of place AT, ON, IN

When we use a preposition to indicate place, we do so in relation to
the dimensional properties of the location concerned. Prepositions differ
according to the number of dimensions they refer to. We can group them into
three classes using concepts from geometry: point, surface and area/volume

Point: Prepositions in this group indicate that the noun following
them is treated as a point in relation to which another object is located
Surface: Prepositions in this group indicate that the position of an object is

defined with respect to a surface on which it rests

Area/ Volume: Prepositions in this group indicate that an object lies
within the boundaries of an area or within the confines of a volume

At...........point

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On..........surface

In...........area/volume
For example:

1. My car is at the house

2. There is a new roof on the house

3. There are four people in the house

All of these sentences answer a question of the form: 'Where is____?',
but gives variety of information

The spatial relations shown in each sentence can be explained

1. The use of AT makes 'the house' a dimensionless location, a fixed
point

2. The house is treated as a surface upon which another object, 'the roof'
is placed. The use of ON makes 'the house' a two-dimensional area

3. With IN, 'the house' is treated as a three-dimensional structure,
though IN is capable of being used with objects which are essentially two-
dimensional as IN ‘the cow is in the field

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13 Graduation Thesis

1.1.4.1. The uses of the prepositions AT and IN

The preposition IN is used for continents, countries, provinces, towns,
villages, squares, streets (sizeable territories of any kind) and any place which
has boundaries or is enclosed.

e.g: In Italy I live with my family in Rome in a flat
She has been to many countries in the `world
They stay in the hotels and there they can get food which is cheaper
than in many other seaside towns in Britain.

The preposition AT is used to indicate a general location. It is not as
specific as IN

We often use AT to show where something happens, for example,
with meeting places or points in a journey

e.g: You have to change plane at France (France is treated as a point
on a map)

Let's meet at your house
-AT is often used with words for things that people do, or the places
where they do them
e.g: My aunt teaches English at a French school in Canada
Sorry I didn't phone last night, I was at the theatre
Shall we go to the Pop concert at the Rex on Friday at 8.30
-AT is used to indicate presence at an event

AT + a football match
breakfast/lunch
a restaurant

a party
e.g: Were there many people at the party/at the meeting?
I saw Jack at the football match.

-AT is used for specific address
e.g: I live at 58 Albert street

But: David lives in number 103
-AT is used with the name of a person+'s to refer to that person's home
or place of work.
e.g: I'll be spending a quiet evening at my brother's and chatting with
him and his family
The Britist spend a lot of time at the dentist's because they are the
greatest sweet eaters in the world
- AT is used before the particular name of a building or organization

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e.g: She works at Legal and general Insurance
But: She works in an insurance company

Sometimes, AT and IN are both possible
He is at school / (BrE)
He is in school / (AmE)
We prefer AT when we are thinking about the activity-what we do in
the place, and IN when we think about the place as a three dimensional
structure
e.g: He is in school (BrE) = he's actually inside the building

Some common expressions with AT and IN

In hospital (patient) At home/work/university

In prison (prisoner) At the seaside

In the corner (of the room) At the corner ( of the street)

e.g: My son has been in hospital since he fell off his bike

When summer comes, Nga will stay at home and help mum with the
housework

1.1.4.2. The uses of the prepositions ON and IN

ON is used with one or two dimensional spaces, while IN is used with

two or three dimensional spaces

e.g: -The children are playing in the street

(The street is understood as an area enclosed by the sidewalks on either
side)

But: We should walk on the sidewalk ( the sidewalk is a surface)

-Our house is on Third Street

(ON locates the house on either side of Third Street, it does not mean
that the street is a surface on which the house sits. Because the street is
understood as the line next to which the house is situated)

The contrast between ON (surface) and IN (area) has various
implications according to context, as these examples show:

on the window/mirror There's a drop of paint on the window

in the window/mirror I see my face in the window

on the island Robinson Crusoe was marooned on an inhabited island

in the island He was born in Long Island

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on the wall The picture is on the wall
in the wall There was a hole in the wall
on the tree
in the tree There are lots of apple on the apple tree
The boy is sitting in the tree singing noisily
on the bed
She sat on the bed
in the bed/ in bed They are lying on the bed (without blanket)
They are lying in the bed (covered with blanket)
She was ill. The doctor advised her to stay in bed

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-Both IN and ON are used with names of transportation

ON + train/bus/plane/ship

e.g: He's arriving on the 3.15 train

There's no room on the bus

It took five days to cross the Atlantic on the Queen Elizabeth

IN +car/taxi

e.g: I read the paper in taxi

The boss went to Hanoi in a car

Some common expressions with ON and IN

on the corner (of two streets) in the corner (of the room)

on the way (enroute) in the way (obstructing)

on television/radio in newspaper/story

on page in a piece of paper

on the front/the back (of a piece of paper) in the front/the back (of a car)

on the beach

on the farm

e.g: The television is in the corner of the room
There is a telephone box on the corner of the street
The map is on page 3 (But: Open your book at page 12)
Have you read this article in the newspaper?
On a modern farm today the work of the farmer is less hard because he
is helped a lot by machines
I’m going to spend a holidays on the beach

`1.2. Errors in language learning process

1.2.1. The notion of error

According to Longman dictionary of Applied linguistic by Richard,

Jetal (1992: 95), error is the use of a linguistic item in the speech or writing of
a second or foreign language learner; such as a grammatical item, a speech
act, etc in a way which a fluent or native speaker of language regards as
showing faulty or incomplete learning. Error is the results of incomplete
knowledge.

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17 Graduation Thesis

According to Dulay et Al (1982: 138), errors are understood as the
flawed side of learners' speech and writing, those parts of conversation or
composition that deviate from some selected norm

The above-mentioned norm depends on how language is approached.
If it is regarded as a code, a set of rules for generating syntactically,
phonologically and semantically well-formed sentences, then a breach of the
code may result in superficially ill-formed sentences (Corder, 1975: 123).
These ill-formed sentences will be considered to be erroneous in a formal
language situation but is still understandable to hearers in a situation where
communication is advocated.

The norm also depends on the medium, the social context and the
speaker- hearer relationship (Els et Al 1984: 47). Therefore, a form or
structure may seem non-erroneous in citation but become deviant in its
context.

In Vietnam, where English is taught and learnt as a foreign language,
the selected norm here must be the prescriptive English standard usage. Any
deviated forms or structures that cannot meet the demand of English model of

usage are considered erroneous, ungrammatical or unacceptable. This
viewpoint will also lay a foundation for this thesis.

1.2.2. Errors and mistakes

In the 1960s, much attention started to be paid to the concept of errors
in the second language learning. Distinction was drawn between the two terms
' error' and 'mistake'.

Chomsky (1965) suggested that errors fall into two different types: one
originating from verbal performance factor and the other from inadequate
language competence. Later in 1967, the error: mistake distinction was
introduced into modern debate by Corder. He made use of Chomsky's
distinction by relating the term 'errors' with failures in language competence
and 'mistakes' with failure in performance.

Ellis (1997) shared the same view: 'errors reflect gaps in a learner's
knowledge, they occur because the learner does not know what is correct.
Mistakes reflect occasional lapses in performance, they occur because, in a
particular instance, the learner is unable to perform what he or she knows'.

Mistakes are caused by fatigues, lack of attention or lapses of memory.
On the other hand, errors are caused by lack of knowledge, culture, etc.

The term 'error' refers to some idiosyncratic or 'un-nativelike' piece of
language produced regularly and systematically by a number of learners. This
means only learners of a FL commit errors. 'Mistake' refers to occasional
actions which are not systematic. Native speakers as well as a FL learner may
make mistakes

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18 Graduation Thesis

Mistakes are of no significance to the process of language learning
(Corder 1967: 167). Mistakes can be awared immediately by the learners and
can be self-corrected. On the contrary, errors are of significance to the process
of language learning (Corder 1967:167). Errors cannot be self-corrected until
further relevant (to that error) input has been provided and converted into
intake by the learner (C. James 1998:83)

Therefore, mistakes are of no interest to the Error Analysis since they
do not reflect the true state of the learner's knowledge. Only errors can be the
object of Error Analysis.

1.2.3.Error Analysis

Error Analysis is the study and analysis of the errors made by second
or foreign language learners.

Corder, in his serminal1967 paper, made the point that errors are
evidence of what the learners have taken in (intake) rather than what teachers
think they have put in (input). Errors are significant in three respects. First,
they tell the teacher what needs to be taught. Second, they tell the researchers
how learning proceeds. Third, they are a means whereby learners test their
hypotheses about the language they are learning.

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The procedure for E.A is described basing on the six-step method set
by Corder (1974)

1. 1A. cAorcpourspoufs loafnlgaunaggueagisesieslescetleedcted
2. Identification of Errors

3. Description of Errors

4. Explanation of Errors

5. Evaluation of Errors

6. Prevention of Errors

Error Analysis is carried out to serve three different purposes. Firstly,
to identify strategies which learners use in language learning. Secondly, to
identify causes of learner's errors. Finally, to obtain information on common
difficulties in language learning, as an aid to teaching or in the preparation of
teaching materials

1.2.4. Causes of errors

Second and foreign language learners commit a number of errors.
Some of those errors are caused by mother tongue interference and they are
called 'interlingual errors' by Richard (1971:17). Others are committed by
second language learners regardless of their mother tongue and are called '
intralingual errors and developmental errors' (Richard 1971:17)

1.2.4.1. Interlingual errors and mother tongue interference

When the learner tries to create new knowledge about the target
language, he first tries to make some hypothesis by using prior knowledge.
The learner uses his previous mother tongue experience as a means of
organizing the L2. He attempts to transfer the rules of his first language into

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20 Graduation Thesis

the second language. Since this can simplify the task of learning the second
language

In the case that both the L1 and L2 have similar devices, the learner
benefits from positive L2 transfer.

On the contrary, when there are differences between the L1 and L2,
he is encumbered by negative transfer or interference (James 1998:179).
Errors are generated from negative transfer.

In Both English and Vietnamese, 'At' And 'ë/t¹i’ have the same
meaning, and their uses are rather similar. With the sentence TôI gặp anh ta
tại một trận bóng đá the students can transfer successfully into English [I met
him at a football match]

Some more examples are:

Vietnamese English

Quyển sách ở trên bµn The book is on the table

Mẹ ở trong phòng khách Mother is in the dining room

However, in Vietnamese, we say:

Th»ng bÐ ®ang ngồi trên cây

It' s translated into English: *the boy is sitting on the tree

The learner has committed error, since the correct sentence in English is

The boy is sitting in the tree

This error is generated from the negative transfer, and culture difference
attributes to the negative transfer in L2 learning. Lado (1975:1) claims 'errors
are originated in the learner' s disposition to transfer the forms and meanings
of their native language and culture to the FL and culture'.

The misuse of prepositions of place AT, IN, ON is from the difference
perception of space of two cultures, Vietnam and England.

According to Nguyen Quang (2001:13), there are two basic
perceptions of space. The first one is objective perception which seems to
dominate the English point of view.

The boy is sitting in the tree

The speaker- the ego- places himself out of the relation of the boy and
the tree. The preposition 'in' indicates the relation between only two entities in
the world.

The second one is the subjective perception which seems to dominate
in the Vietnamese point of view

Thang be ngoi tren cay

Besides the relation between ‘the boy’ and ‘the tree’ mentioned above,
another relation exists. That is the relation between the speaker and the boy-
the tree.

Nguyễn Thị Hơng Trà - 42A1 FLD - Vinh University