Contrastive Analysis

Week 2

By Thuy Thanh Nguyen, Ph. D.

English Department
Hanoi University

Versions of CA

- Strong version

- Weak version

- Moderate version
Strong version

- Predicting errors
- Steps:

1. Description;

2. Selection;

3. Contrast;

4. Prediction.

(Whitman, 1970)

Strong version
A hierarchy of difficulties

1. Transfer - no difference

2. Coalescence - one item covering two in L1

3. Underdifferentiation - absence

4. Reinterpretation - different application of existing items

5. Overdifferentiation - new item

6. Split - two items covering one in L1

(Prator, 1967)
Weak version

● Only explains learners’ errors

● Steps for Error analysis

- Step 1: Collection of a sample of learner language

- Step 2: Identification of errors

- Step 3: Description of errors

- Step 4: Explanation of errors

Two kinds of errors

Psycholinguistic Sources of Errors (Ellis, 1994, p. 58)
Two kinds of errors

- Interlingual errors

- Intralingual errors

→ examples?

Interlingual errors
Zobl (1980)

1. Interference produces errors that are not developmental.

2. Learners depend on L1 as a crutch at a low level of L2 proficiency.

3. Learners use L1 to hypothesize about L2.

4. Learners are unable to separate L1 from L2.

5. Learners’ errors are due to L1 habits.

6. Learners employ an interlingual generalization.