Language Acquisition

Lic. Mariana Sottile

Lic. En Lengua Inglesa – Unam 4

Aquino García, María Agustina

Bonetti, Carmen Florencia

Guillem, Luciana Carolina

Seewald, Griselda Elizabet

Error Analysis in the production of indirect questions

Introduction

Error Analysis (EA) is an important branch of Applied Linguistics concerned with finding

out the reasons why students of a second language make errors. It consists of a series of

procedures in which learners errors are identified and collected, classified, explained and

evaluated. The analysis of learner errors may serve to improve teaching methodology and

it may also help L2 learners raise awareness of their own errors and be more conscious of

their own SLA processes.

From the point of view of our experience as teachers, the acquisition of English

interrogative structures has proved to be an area of relative difficulty to Spanish learners of

ESL. These difficulties may be due to the differences in the syntax between questions in

both Spanish and English, especially the use of auxiliaries and Subject-Finite inversion.

What is more, once ESL students have mastered question formation, the acquisition of
indirect question structures, such as polite requests or reported questions, seems to present a

new challenge to our learners.

The present work attempts to use the EA methodology in order to inquire about the typical

errors in the acquisition of the structure of indirect question by identifying, classifying and

analyzing them in terms of source and type of error. In addition, this work aims at

providing a possible course of action to remediate the errors made by students in this type

of structures.

Theoretical framework

Error analysis

Errors and mistakes

When investigating SLA, teachers may choose to collect and describe samples of learners’

errors. For language teachers, errors, when analyzed carefully, are useful indicators of the

learner’s stage of development in a foreign language. As Corder noted: “A learner’s errors

are significant in that they provide the researcher with evidence of how language is learned

or acquired, what strategies or procedures the learner is employing in the discovery of

language.” (as cited in Brown, 2000, p. 217) Consequently, a first step to analyse errors

would be to identify them, and this inevitably leads to the question of what constitutes an

error.

Identifying the errors learners make is not always an easy task. According to Rod (1997)

“[t]o identify errors we have to compare the sentences learners produce with what seem to

be the normal or 'correct' sentences in the target language which correspond with them.
Sometimes this is fairly straightforward, (...) sometimes, however, learners produce

sentences that are possible target-language sentences but not preferred ones. (…) At other

times, it is difficult to reconstruct the correct sentence because we are not sure what the

learner meant to say.” (p.16)

In addition to this, it is not always easy to distinguish between an error, a deviant form from

the point of view of standard grammar, and a slip of the tongue. All speakers make

accidental slips in both second and native language situations when they are tired or under

some kind of pressure. For this reason, it is appropriate to make a distinction between

mistakes and errors. According to Brown (2000) “A mistake refers to a performance error

that is either a random guess or a ‘slip’, in that it is a failure to utilize a known system

correctly. Native speakers are capable of recognizing and correcting such mistakes, so

mistakes, when noticed, can be self-corrected.” (p. 217)

However, as noted by Lengo, it is not always possible to make an objective analysis of

what a deviant form of the language is, due to the fact that the term “native speaker” is

itself a somewhat vague notion: “Intuitively, it seems that there are degrees of native

speakership, as there are degrees of foreign language proficiency. Native speakership in

literate societies would tend to be related to the level of education. The native speaker by

whom Chomsky and other linguists swear is probably not an illiterate person. (“What is an

error?” http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol33/no3/p20.htm)

Types of errors

Errors can be classified in various ways:

  Interlingual or Intralingual. Interlingual errors, Ellis (says are indicative of transfer,

which is the influence that a learner’s mother tongue has on the language he/she is

learning. Richards (1971) claims that intralingual errors result from faulty or partial

knowledge of the target language. They may occur because of overgeneralization or

ignorance of rules, wrong hypotheses about how the language works or incomplete

application of rules. He also argues that intralingual errors often occur at a more

advanced learning stage than interlingual errors.

 Burt and Kiparsky (1974) distinguish between global and local. Global errors

“affect overall sentence organization [and thus] hinder communication” whereas

local errors “affect single elements in a sentence and do not usually hinder

communication”.

 Corder (1973) categorises errors as Ommision, Addition, Selection or Misordering

errors. These can occur at phonological, morphological, syntactic or lexical level.

 Productive or Receptive. Productive errors can be identified in the learner’s

utterances. Receptive errors occur when the listener fails to understand what the

speaker means. Productive errors are often easier to spot. To identify receptive

errors investigators should pay attention to the listener’s reactions to what he/she

has heard in order to check that what was meant by the speaker, was correctly

understood.

Sources of errors

By analysing the data obtained through second language learners’ production, a number of

possible sources of errors can be identified. This serves to determine the reasons why

certain errors are made:

Interlingual transfer

Interlingual transfer is a significant source of errors since, especially in early stages of L2

learning, when “the native language is the only previous linguistic system upon which the

learner can draw” (Brown, 2000, p. 224). Interlingual errors are those resulting from the

transfer of rules from the L1. Although it is not clear whether the interference of the

learner’s L1 is the cause of a determined error, the knowledge of the students’ native

language may help teachers to recognize, analyse and treat interlingual errors.

Intralingual transfer

Once individuals begin to gain knowledge of the target language structures, intralingual

transfer takes place and, eventually, the overgeneralization of rules. Intralingual errors

emerge from overgeneralization, that is to say, the incorrect use of a previously learned

target language structure in future linguistic contexts.

Context of learning

Errors can also be the product of the context in which the language was learnt. Both formal

classroom learning and natural untutored learning may bring about incorrect linguistic use

on the part of the learner. A typical example of error in a classroom learning environment is

the misuse of a structure or word because of the faulty explanation or use from the part of

the teacher or the textbook used. As regards errors emerging from the experience of

learning a language in a social untutored context, the acquisition of a dialectal variety may

be considered in itself a source of error (if one considers it to be so from the point of view

of the standard variety).

Communication strategies

Learners develop their own strategies in order to communicate their ideas effectively.

However, the misuse or overuse of these strategies may constitute a source of error. For

example, word coinage is a typical way in which a learner can avoid the lack of a register in

the target language, for example the addition of –ing to a verb in order to create a noun.

The overuse of this strategy may result in the erroneous use of an inexistent word instead of

the correct one.

Developmental patterns

One of the major accomplishments of Error Analysis in SLA is the recognition that learners

from different linguistic backgrounds and, irrespective of their context of acquisition of the

L2, make errors that seem to be universal. They all make errors of omission, transfer,

selection, ordering and overgeneralization, much like children learning their L1.

Once identified that an utterance produced by a learner is erroneous or contains some kind

of deviant form of the language, and possibly having identified the probable source of the

error, the researcher must then turn to try to place the error as belonging to one (or more

than one) of the stages the learner follows in the process of mastering the feature of

language in question (phoneme, morpheme, vocabulary item, syntactic structure, etc.) with

native or near native proficiency.

Ellis (1997) says that some L2 learners, particularly children, experience a phase of silence,

a silent period where they make no effort to say anything. This silent period, which may

serve as preparation for successive production, does not mean that they are not learning a
lot about the language through listening or reading. Eventually, when they do start to speak,

their speech is likely to be characterized by:

a) formulaic chunks

b) prepositional simplification

In time, however, when learners begin to use the L2 grammar, other questions arise. One is

related to the acquisition order. Do all learners acquire the grammatical features of the L2

in a definite order? For example, do they learn a feature like the present simple form of the

verb to be before the past simple form of the same verb or, similarly, do they learn the

structure of direct questions before the structure of indirect questions? According to Ellis

(1997) “learners do seem to find some grammatical features easier than others, so it is quite

possible that acquisition follows a definite order”. (p.21)

We should also enquire about the sequence of acquisition of particular grammatical

structures. Do learners learn them in a single step or do they proceed through a number of

temporary stages before they master the target structure?

The order of acquisition

In order to explore the order of acquisition, researchers choose a number of grammatical

features to study (for example, progressive -ing, auxiliary be, and plural -s). The next step

is to collect samples of learner language and find how accurately they are used by different

learners, which in turn enables researchers to arrive at an accuracy order. “That is, they

rank the features according to how accurately each feature is used by the learners. Some

researchers then argue that the accuracy order must be the same as the order of acquisition

on the grounds that the more accurately learners are able to use a particular feature the more

likely they are to have acquired that feature early.” (Ellis, 1997, p. 21)
Research suggests that there is a fixed and natural accuracy order that all learners follow

and which is more or less the same irrespective of the learners' mother tongues, age, and

whether or not they have received formal language instruction. “This claim is an important

one. It raises crucial theoretical questions as to whether L2 acquisition is the result of

environmental factors that govern the input to which learners are exposed, or of internal

mental factors which somehow dictate how learners acquire grammatical structures.” (Ellis,

1997, p. 22)

Nevertheless, not all researchers are convinced there is a universal 'natural order'. They

point out that not only because a learner is able to use a structure accurately does it mean

that they have acquired it. Other researchers have shown that the order does vary somewhat

according to the learner's first language. Another criticism is towards the claim that

language acquisition is a process of storing linguistic structures, something similar to

building a wall, with one layer of bricks set on top of the other.

Sequence of acquisition

In acquiring a grammatical structure, learners move gradually through a series of stages to

attain the native-speaker rule. “The acquisition of a particular grammatical structure,

therefore, must be seen as a process involving transitional constructions.” (Ellis, 1997,

p.23) For example, when a learner has begun to produce irregular tense past forms, they

may produce the correct form “ate” at the beginning but they might start producing

erroneous forms such as “eated” (overgeneralizing regular past forms) or hybrid forms such

as “ated” later on. That is to say, the use of correct forms at the beginning does not

necessarily imply that the form has been acquired by the learner. “Acquisition follows a U-

shaped course of development; that is, initially learners may display a high level of
accuracy only to apparently regress later before finally once again performing in

accordance with target-language norms. It is clear that this occurs because learners

reorganize their existing knowledge in order to accommodate new knowledge.” (Ellis,

1997, p.23) This kind of reorganization, which is believed to be prevalent in L2 acquisition,

is referred to as restructuring. The acquisition of what looks like a simple grammatical

feature such as past tense is, in fact, a highly complex affair. Not only are there general

stages in the acquisition of grammatical features like past tense, but there may also be

stages within stages. Thus, when learners begin to use past tense markers (either irregular

markers as in 'ate' or regular markers as in 'painted'), they do not do so on all verbs at the

same time. Learners find it easier to mark verbs for past tense if the verb refers to events

(for example, 'arrive'), somewhat more difficult to mark verbs that refer to activities (for

example, 'sleep'), and most difficult to mark verbs that refer to states (for example, 'want').

Learners, then, pass through highly complex stages of development. These stages are not

sharply defined, however. Rather they are blurred as learners oscillate between stages.

Despite the complexity of learners' behaviour, however, it is clear that it is far from

random.” (Ellis, 1997, p. 24)

The discovery of the stages that a language learner follows in acquiring a certain

grammatical structure is one of the most important findings of SLA. It further supports the

claim that L2 acquisition is systematic and, to some degree universal.

The findings also suggest that some linguistic features are easier to learn than others, which

in turn has great implications for SLA theory and teaching. An important question then, is

weather the order and sequences of acquisition can be guided by formal instruction to aid

the learner in their process of acquisition.

Developmental sequences

Lightbown and Spada (1993) support the idea of children acquiring syntactic structures in a

series of stages which are very similar in both first and second language learning. These

developmental sequences are similar across learners from different backgrounds: “what is

learned early by one is learned early by others.” (p.82)

As regards the acquisition of interrogative sentence structures, Bloom (1991) presents the

results of his study made on the language development of seven children from the age of 2

to the age of 3. These consist of six stages in the acquisition of the syntactic order of

questions:

Stage 1

Children earliest questions are single words or simple two –or

three- word sentences with raising intonation.

Cookie? Mommy book?

At the same time, of course, they may produce some correct

questions –correct because they have been learned as formulaic “chunks”.

Where’s Daddy? What’s that?

Stage 2

When their sentences grown longer, children produce questions

without changing the internal structure of the sentence. With “yes/no”
questions, they simply add rising intonation. With wh-questions, they put
a word at the beginning.

You like this? I have some? Why you catch it?

 At this stage, they may continue to produce the correct “chunk-
learned” form:

What’s that?

Stage 3

Gradually, they notice that the structure of questions is different and

begin to produce questions such us:

Can I go? Is that mine?

But at this stage they may generalize that all questions are formed
by putting a verb at the beginning of the sentences. Thus:

Is the teddy is tired? Do I can have a cookie?

Furthermore, wh-questions usually retain the declarative

word order:

Why you don’t have one?

At this stage, the children seem to have worked out that, in a

question, some elements must appear at the beginning of the sentence but
they are not yet aware that there must also be some change in the word
order of the sentence itself. We call this stage “fronting” because the
children place some sort of question marker –an auxiliary verb or a wh-
word- at the front of the senence, but they do not change the order of the
elements within the sentence.

Stage 4

Later, children begin to master the use of inversion and can even
add “do” in sentences in which no auxiliary would be required for the
declarative version of the sentence:

Do you like ice-cream?

 Some wh-questions, especially those which were learned early as
formulaic expressions, seem to have inversion, but inversion is not used
with all auxiliary verbs at this point in development:

What’s that? Where’s the big one?

Even at this stage, however, it sometimes seems that they can either
use inversion or use a wh-word, but not both. Therefore, we may find
inversion in “yes/no” questions but not in wh-questions.

Can he eat the cookie? Where I can draw them?

Stage 5

Eventually, children combine both operations:

Why can he go out?

However, it may still be beyond their ability to carry out a third or

forth operation, for example to negate the questions as well as invert it:

Why he can’t go out?

Stage 6

Finally, when performance on questions is correct and well-

established, there is one more hurdle. When wh-words appear in
subordinate clauses or embedded questions, children overgeneralize the
inverted form and produce sentences such as:

I don’t know why can’t he go out.

(Bloom cited in Lightbown & Spada, 1993, p. 61-63)

A further stage in the acquisition of the syntactic structure of questions would include the

cancellation of the inversion in indirect questions in embedded sentences after the age of

three in native speakers of English.

Variability in learner language

Variability accounts for the alternation of a correct form with an incorrect one, or between

two incorrect forms in learner’s productions of the target language. Studies on variability

suggest that this phenomenon is systematic, that is to say, variation can occur in predictable

ways.

It appears that learners alternate between correct and incorrect forms depending on the

linguistic context. That is, the presence of a nearby linguistic element can trigger the use of

one form or another. Ellis (1997) mentions an example of this type of variation. He says

that, according to research on variability, the presence of an adverb can trigger the use of

the correct form of a verb in the present tense or the use of its base form, while in

utterances without adverbs learners tend to use the progressive form of the verb. Another

example mentioned is the use of omission of the verb “to be”. According to studies,

learners tend to use one of the forms of “be” (either the contracted or the full form) in

sentences with a pronoun as subject, and they tend to omit the verb in utterances with noun

acting as subjects.

The situational context may also be a source of variability, not only in learners but also in

native speakers of a given language. This can be observed, for example, in the alternation

between informal language in conversations with people the speaker knows well and formal

language in those situations in which the speaker does not know his/her interlocutors.
Another explanation to variability is related to the psychological context, that is, the

amount of planning done before production. In more planned speech or writing learners

tend to make fewer mistakes than in those productions in which they did not have the

opportunity of previous planning.

Interlanguage

Interlanguage is a term coined by Larry Selinker to refer to the “separateness of a second

language learner’s system, a system that has a structurally intermediate status between the

native and target languages” (as cited in Brown, 2000, p. 215). This linguistic system is not

like the learner’s L1, neither like the target language. It is a language in development

through the continuum between the L1 and the target language, which is predictably

systematic and has a system of rules of its own. “A learner's interlanguage is, therefore, a

unique linguistic system.” (Ellis, 1997, p. 33)

Rod Ellis lists a number of premises about L2 acquisition based on interlanguage theory:

“1- The learner constructs a system of abstract linguistic rules which underlies
comprehension and production of the L2. This system of rules is viewed as a
'mental grammar' and is referred to as an 'interlanguage'.

2- The learner's grammar is permeable. That is, the grammar is open to influence
from the outside (i.e. through the input). It is also influenced from the inside. (…)

3- The learner's grammar is transitional. Learners change their grammar from one
time to another by adding rules, deleting rules, and restructuring the whole
system. This results in an interlanguage continuum. That is, learners construct a
series of mental grammars or interlanguages as they gradually increase the
complexity of their L2 knowledge. (…)

4- Some researchers have claimed that the systems learners construct contain
variable rules. That is, they argue that learners are likely to have competing rules
at anyone stage of development. However, other researchers argue that
 interlanguage systems are homogeneous and that variability reflects the mistakes
learners make when they try to use their knowledge to communicate. These
researchers see variability as an aspect of performance rather than competence.
(…)
5- Learners employ various learning strategies to develop their interlanguages.
The different kinds of errors learners produce reflect different learning strategies.
(…)
6- The learner's grammar is likely to fossilize. Selinker suggested that only about
five per cent of learners go on to develop the same mental grammar as native
speakers. The majority stop some way short. The prevalence of backsliding (i.e.
the production of errors representing an early stage of development) is typical of
fossilized learners. (…)” (Ellis, 1997, p. 33-34)

Methodology

The participants in this study are 40 University students from the second year at

Tecnicatura Universitaria en Traducción e Interpretación at a private university from the

city of Posadas, Misiones.

The procedure described below was designed in order to fulfill the objectives of this work:

1) Pre-test: activities oriented at the production of direct questions to check the proper use

of direct interrogative structures by students and discard the possible production of errors in

indirect questions because of the lack of knowledge of direct question structures.

(Appendix 1)

2) Pre-intervention activity: controlled written activity oriented at the production of

indirect questions. (Appendix 2)

3) Intervention: formal instruction by means of explanations and exercises selected from

webpages. (Appendix 3)

4) Post-intervention activities:

a- Game “Who’s got my message?”: The teacher deals out a number of cards to each

student. (Appendix 4) Some cards mention the “sender” of a message (for example: your

sister, your lawyer, your personnel department, etc.) and other cards have a message from

one of those senders (for example: your personnel department’s message: What time is the

meeting?). Each student has to find who has got the message corresponding to the sender

cards they have in their hands by asking: “Have you got a message from my personnel

department?” Once the student finds out who has got the message card corresponding to a

given sender, the holder of the message card in question reports the message and gives that

card away. In all cases, the messages are direct questions which have to be reported by

making them indirect. The student who collects all of his or her message cards wins the

game.

b- Retelling a joke: Students are provided with a number of comic strips. (Appendix 5)

They have to read them all and choose the one they like the most to retell it. All comic

strips include questions which students are expected to report.

The interactions resulting from activities a- and b- will be audio recorded in order to

facilitate the data collection.

5) Error Analysis: Identification, description, explanation and evaluation of errors in the

production of the target structure.

6) Remedial work: presenting a tentative course of action aiming at the production of

well-formed indirect questions by the participants.

 Appendix Section

Appendix 1: Pre- Test written activity (Direct Questions)

College/University’s name:________________________
Student’s code number: ____________________________

Sounds good, tastes good?

What’s the first thing that you notice when you walk into your favourite pizza restaurant?
Is it the smell of fresh pizza, or the sight of your favourite desserts? Food that looks or
smells good will probably taste good, but what about sound? Is that important, too?
Scientists now believe that the taste of food can change when your brain hears different
sounds, but it has to be the right kind of sound. When you switch on a microwave with
popcorn in it, it soon starts to pop. Do you think, “That sounds tasty!”? Not really, you
probably think it’s nearly ready, but it’s when you smell it that you go to get the salt or the
butter. Hearing the popcorn makes you think about it, but smelling it reminds you that it
tastes good. So, what are the sounds that change how things taste?
In a recent experiment in a fish restaurant, customers wore headphones. They listened to
the sound of the seaside while they ate. Did it make a difference? Yes, it did. Listening to
the sea seemed to improve the taste of the food. It was fresher and saltier. When the
restaurant tried the same experiment with the sound of farm animals there was no
difference in taste. The results are going to be useful for companies that make food.
Perhaps they will try to reduce the amount of unhealthy things, like salt and sugar in food.
With the right music or sounds, perhaps we won’t taste the difference.
Food companies are also beginning to see a connection between food and the sound the
packet makes. Pick up a bag of your favourite crisps. What does it sound like? One crisp
company has recently changed the material that they used to make their crisp packets
because research shows that a packet which makes the right noise will make customers
think the crisps are fresher. Another idea is that playlists will begin to appear on food
packets, so if you aren’t keen on your greens, the right background sounds could help you
learn to love them! (Text taken from GOLD EXPERIENCE B1, Students’ book, Pearson, 2014)

Activities
Read the above text, and then make questions for these answers. Focus on the underlined parts.
1- _________________________________________________________________?
They believe that the taste of food can change when your brain hears different sounds.
2- _________________________________________________________________?
Popcorn soon starts to pop.

3- _________________________________________________________________?
Customers wore headphones.

4- _________________________________________________________________?
They were listening to the sound of the seaside while they were eating.

5- _________________________________________________________________?
No, there wasn’t. There was no difference in the taste of food when they listened to the sound of farm
animals.

6- _________________________________________________________________?
Yes, they are. The results are going to be useful, especially for food companies.

7- _________________________________________________________________?
Food companies will try to reduce the amount of unhealthy things in food.

8- _________________________________________________________________?
Food companies are beginning to see a connection between food and the sound the packet makes.
9- _________________________________________________________________?
One company has recently changed the material that they used to make their crisp packets.

10- _________________________________________________________________?
If you don’t like vegetables, you could play music that could make you love them.
 Appendix 2: Pre- Intervention written activity (Indirect Questions)

College/University’s name:________________________
Student’s code number: ____________________________

“What did he/she say? What did you/they say?”

TASK 1:
Report these YES/NO questions.
(Change the verbal tense when necessary as well as pronouns, possessive and demonstrative
adjectives time and/or place references)

1)Are you hungry? She asked us if/whether we were hungry.____________________________________

2) Are you enjoying yourself? He wants to know ____________________________________________________
3)Do you always go to church on Sunday? He wonders ______________________________________________
4) Have you seen John recently? he asked me _________________________________________________________
5)Did you study hard for the exam? She wondered ____________________________________________________
6) You like Italian food, don’t you? She asked me_______________________________________________________
7) Will Ted and Alice be at the party tonight? Jill wants to know _____________________________________
8) Can your brother ride a bike? Dad wonders _________________________________________________________
9) Has Debbie been working recently? Tom wanted to know__________________________________________
10) Is your sister still sleeping? My mother asked me __________________________________________________

Task 2:
Report these WH- questions
(Change the verbal tense when necessary as well as pronouns, possessive and demonstrative
adjectives, time and/or place references).

1)What’s the weather like today? She wants to know WHAT the weather is like today________
2) What does Frank do for a living? He wants to know ________________________________________________
3)Why is Maria crying now? Mum wonders ____________________________________________________________
4) What kind of holiday has Marco had? He wanted to know
__________________________________________
5)Where did they go last week? The detective inquired _______________________________________________
6) Who were you looking for? Louis asked me__________________________________________________________
7) How can I solve this problem? Molly wants to know ________________________________________________
8) How much does that new phone cost? Dad wonders _______________________________________________
9) How long have you been living here? They wanted to know________________________________________
10) Which countries will you be visiting in Europe? My mother asked __________________________

Task 3:
Report the following YES/NO and WH- questions.
(Change the verbal tense when necessary as well as pronouns, possessive and demonstrative
adjectives, time and/or place references).

1) Where are my keys? _________________________________________________________________________________

2) What does Maya sells in her shop? _______________________________________________________________
3) Why was he driving your car this morning? _____________________________________________________
4) Can your parents speak French?__________________________________________________________________
5) Is he in jail? _____________________________________________________________________________________
6) What kind of books does Ana like reading? ___________________________________________________
7) Where did you go last night? __________________________________________________________________
8) Are you going to the pool tomorrow? ________________________________________________________
9) Who has sent these flowers? ___________________________________________________________________
10)Do you like country music? ______________________________________________________________________
Appendix 3A: Powerpoint Presentation for teaching intervention

(Click on the image to start the presentation)

Appendix 4: Sender and message card for the game “Who’s got a message for me?”
The game and the cards were adapted from the original game “Who’s got my message?”
(from GAMES FOR GRAMMAR PRACTICE, Cambridge University Press, 2001)

Appendix 5: Comic strips for retelling jokes

Dear Mrs. Sottile,

The actual completion of the procedures mentioned in our methodology section, including

the analysis of the errors collected from the different activities that are proposed, will not

be included for the time being in the present document.

Despite our efforts to fulfill the objectives of this work, we must admit that because of the

reasons we are going to enumerate, we see ourselves in the need to send this paper in the

conditions as it is at present.

In the first place, deadlines for the completion of the seminar's final work constitute an

obstacle to the data collection since formal classes have not started yet at the university

and this prevents us from getting the permission needed to enter the institutions where

we intend to collect the data and do the intervention. What is more, there have already

been objections on the part of the authorities of the institution where we intend to carry

out this research regarding the amount of classes required to gather the data and do the

intervention. However, it was made clear that they could allow the entrance and

intervention of teachers outside the institution if this work's goal was the final work to the

completion of the Licenciatura (namely the "Tesina") and if it was supervised by a

professor.

Secondly, the fulfillment of the activities with the participants as well as the analysis of the

resulting errors would demand a considerable amount of time and effort which we

consider is outside of the scope of the seminar´s final work, but which is going to be
fulfilled by two of the authors of this work who are interested in selecting this topic for

the development of their tesina.

We are aware that this is not what we have been asked for when we went through the

research guidelines in class. Unfortunately as these limitations have arisen, we see

ourselves in the need to send the research paper as it is at present in order not to lose the

opportunity to send it before the deadline. We leave to your consideration whether it can

get a passing score or not. In case you do not consider this paper as valid as the final work

for Language Acquisition, we will be obliged to start a brand new research project since

this one has been planned to be carried out with a substantial number of participants of a

B2 level, and the access to this sample is compromised. In case it did, we would very much

appreciate your suggestions and any feedback that could help us develop a good tesina

paper.

Looking forward to a favourable response.

Yours sincerely,

Aquino García María Agustina

Bonetti Carmen Florencia

Guillem Luciana Carolina

Seewald Griselda Elizabet

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