Submitted to: Ma’am Zahida Hussain

Submitted by: Group 6

Presented by:Samina Shabbir 112
Minahil Ishfaq 101
Fizza Jamil 82
Amna Ali 68
Mubashra Rasheed 102
 Error Analysis
• Error analysis is a branch of applied linguistics developed by Pit Corder in
1960s.
• Error analysis is the study of errors made by the second and foreign
language learners.
• It is the process to observe, analyze and classify the deviations of the rules
of the second.
• An error is a systematic deviation from the rules of the target language.
 Explanation:

• Error analysis in applied linguistics is a field that focuses on studying the

error made by second language learners. It involves analyzing the types,
frequency and sources of errors in order to gain insights into the language
acquisition process.
• One key aspect of error analysis is identifying and categorising errors.
Linguists examine the errors made by learners and classify them based on
different criteria such as grammatical, lexical or phonological errors. This
helps identify patterns and common mistakes that learners tend to make
 Error Analysis Types

• Error analysis in applied linguistics involves various types of

analysis to understand and categorize errors made by language
learners. Some common types of error analysis include:
• Interlingual Error
• Intralingual Error
 Interlingual Errors:

• Interlingual errors occur when a learner’s native language influences their production of
a second language. These errors stem from differences between the learner’s native
language and the target language being acquired. Such errors can manifest in various
linguistic aspects, including grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and sentence structure.
Examples of interlingual errors include:
False Friends:
Words in the target language that resemble words in the native language but have
different meanings. For instance, “actual” in English means “current” or “real,” whereas in
Spanish, “actual” means “current” or “present.”
 Intralingual Errors:

• Intralingual errors, on the other hand, arise from within

the target language itself, rather than being influenced
by the learner’s native language. These errors occur due
to misunderstandings, overgeneralizations, or
incomplete knowledge of the target language’s rules
and structures.
• Examples of intralingual errors include:
 Overgeneralization:

• Applying a language rule too broadly, leading to errors.

For instance, a learner might apply a grammatical rule
learned in one context to another context where it
doesn’t apply, resulting in an error .
 Nature and purpose of error analysis
The nature of error analysis in applied linguistics is multi-faceted and aims
to understand the characteristics, causes, and implications of errors made by
language learners. Here are key aspects:
• Descriptive Nature: Error analysis involves systematically describing and
categorizing the types of errors learners make, such as grammatical,
syntactic, lexical, or phonological errors. This description helps in
understanding the nature and patterns of mistakes.
Let's consider a sample of English language learner essays where the task was to describe a
personal experience. In this sample, several learners consistently make errors related to verb tense
usage.
Instead of merely marking these errors as 'wrong,' a descriptive approach involves:
Identification and Categorization: The errors related to verb tense are identified and categorized.
For instance, learners might be using present tense instead of past tense or mixing different tenses
within the same narrative.
Description of Error Patterns: The analysis goes beyond simply noting mistakes; it observes
recurring patterns among learners. For example, some learners consistently use present tense when
narrating past events, while others inconsistently switch between past and present tenses.
Frequency and Distribution: Descriptive analysis quantifies the frequency and distribution of
these errors. It might reveal that 70% of the learners made past tense errors in their narratives,
and among those errors, 60% involved using present tense inappropriately.
Contextual Consideration: Examining the context of these errors, such as whether they occur
more in specific types of narratives (e.g., personal experiences, fictional stories), provides
additional insights.
Comparison Across Proficiency Levels: Descriptive analysis might also compare these errors
among learners of different proficiency levels to identify if certain errors are more prevalent at
specific stages of language learning.
Systematic Investigation: It involves a systematic and methodical examination of errors, typically
involving collecting samples of learner language, categorizing errors, and analyzing patterns
across different linguistic elements (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc.).
Systematic investigation in error analysis involves methodically collecting learner language
samples, categorizing errors by type (e.g., grammatical, lexical), and analyzing patterns across
diverse linguistic elements. For instance, in ESL settings, gathering written and spoken samples
helps identify recurring errors like verb tense inconsistencies or incorrect word usage. These
errors are systematically documented, quantified, and compared to native language norms.
Through this systematic approach, linguists and educators gain insights into prevalent linguistic
challenges, guiding the development of targeted teaching strategies to address these specific
language acquisition hurdles.
Comparative Analysis: It may involve comparing errors across different proficiency levels, age groups, or
learner backgrounds to draw insights into common linguistic difficulties and their evolution.
Example: Comparing errors made by learners from different linguistic backgrounds when learning a second
language, such as Spanish speakers learning English versus Mandarin speakers learning English.
Diagnostic Function: It serves as a diagnostic tool to identify the root causes of errors. Analyzing errors helps
researchers and educators pinpoint whether errors result from native language interference, overgeneralization
of rules, or other learning strategies.
Example : In a study involving Spanish-speaking learners of English, it's observed that many
students consistently struggle with the use of definite and indefinite articles ("the" and "a/an" in
English). The diagnostic function would delve deeper to ascertain the root causes of this recurring
error.
Pedagogical Implications: The findings of error analysis inform language teaching methodologies.
Understanding learners' specific challenges aids in designing targeted instructional strategies to address
these errors effectively.
Example: Applying insights from error analysis to design teaching materials, curriculum adjustments, or
tailored exercises addressing specific linguistic challenges encountered by learners.
Contextual Consideration: The analysis of errors takes into account various contexts in which language
is used, including cultural, social, and situational factors that might influence error occurrence.
Example: Studying how errors vary in different contexts; for example, analyzing the difference in errors
made in speaking tasks versus writing assignments
 Purposes of error analysis
The primary purpose of error analysis in applied linguistics is to understand and improve
the process of second language learning by examining the mistakes learners make. Some
key objectives include:
• Understanding Learner Challenges: By identifying and analyzing errors, linguists and
educators gain insights into the difficulties learners face while acquiring a second
language. This understanding helps in adapting teaching methodologies to address these
challenges more effectively.
• Informing Teaching Approaches: Error analysis informs the development of
instructional strategies and materials that target specific linguistic areas where learners
struggle the most. It aids in creating more focused and efficient teaching techniques.
Monitoring Progress: Tracking errors over time allows educators to assess learners' progress and
development in acquiring the language. It helps in gauging the effectiveness of teaching methods and
curriculum.
Facilitating Communication Improvement: Recognizing common errors and their patterns aids in
enhancing learners' communication skills. Addressing these errors leads to more accurate and
effective communication in the target language.
Providing Feedback: Error analysis enables educators to give tailored feedback to learners, helping
them understand their mistakes, correct them, and progress in their language learning journey.
 Causes of errors

• Errors in applied linguistics can occur due to various factors. Let's discuss some of the key
causes:
• 1. Inter-lingual errors: These errors stem from the influence of the learner's first language
on their second language acquisition. The differences in grammar, vocabulary, and sentence
structure between the two languages can contribute to mistakes in applying linguistic rules
accurately.

Example: A native Spanish speaker may mistakenly use the word “library” to refer to a bookstore in English because “librería” means both “library” and
“bookstore” in Spanish.
• - Explanation: The differences in vocabulary between the two languages, combined with the learner’s tendency to rely on their native language, lead to an
error in understanding the correct term in the target language.
 Causes of errors

Example: A native Spanish speaker may mistakenly use the word “library”
to refer to a bookstore in English because “librería” means both “library”
and “bookstore” in Spanish.
• - Explanation: The differences in vocabulary between the two
languages, combined with the learner’s tendency to rely on their native
language, lead to an error in understanding the correct term in the target
language.
2. Intra-lingual errors: Also known as developmental errors, these errors result from the
learner's incomplete or evolving understanding of the target language. They can manifest as
incorrect word order, pronoun usage, verb tense, or other aspects of language, arising from
the ongoing learning process.
Example: A learner of English may say, "I have a headache yesterday" instead of "I had a
headache yesterday." - Explanation: This error occurs due to the learner's incomplete
understanding of the past tense rule in English, resulting in the incorrect use of verb tense.
3. Overgeneralization errors: Learners often tend to overapply a particular rule or pattern to
contexts where it may not be appropriate. This can lead to errors such as using irregular verb forms
incorrectly or incorrectly applying grammatical rules across different language structures.
Example: A learner of English might say, "I goed to the store" instead of "I went to the store." -
Explanation: The learner applies the regular verb formation rule ("add -ed to form the past tense")
to the irregular verb "go," resulting in an error by using the incorrect past tense form.
4. Literal translation errors: When learners translate word for word from their first
language to the target language, they may produce language that sounds awkward, unnatural, or
incorrect. Literal translations fail to account for the nuances, idiomatic expressions, and cultural
differences that exist between languages.
Example: A non-native English speaker might say, "I'm agree" instead of "I agree." - Explanation:
This error occurs because the learner directly translates the phrase from their native language, where
the verb "to be" is used as a marker for agreement, rather than using the correct English construction.
Other contributing factors to errors in applied linguistics include lack of exposure to authentic
language usage, limited access to quality language learning resources, insufficient practice
opportunities, psychological factors such as anxiety, and the influence of social and cultural factors
on language production and comprehension.It is important to note that errors are an inevitable part
of the language learning process, and learners should view them as opportunities for growth and
improvement. By identifying and understanding the causes of these errors, learners and educators
can develop effective strategies to minimize their occurrence and support language development.
 Contrast between
Behaviouristic and
Mentalistic Attitudes of
Errors
 Language acquisition theories

• In a broader sense, various theories and approaches have been emerged over the years to
study and analyze the process of language of acquisition.For main schools of thoughts,
which provides theoretical paradigms in guiding the course of language acquisition are:
• Imitation , Nativism or behaviourism based on empiresist or behavioral approach
• Innateness or mentalism based on rationalistic or mentalistic approach
• Cognition based on cognitive psychological approach mother is Motherese or input:
based on maternal approach to language acquisition.
 Behaviourist
Skinner and his followers are known as behaviourist.
According to them language learning is a process known
as operant conditioning.
Conditioned behaviour is the behaviour in which the
training is repeated
Operant voluntary behaviour it is the result of the
learners on free will and it is not forced by any person or
thing from the outside the learner demonstrates the new
behaviour first as a response to our system of reward or
punishment, and finally as an automatic response.
Experiment
They put a rat in a box containing a bar.
If it presses the bar it is rewarded with a
palette of food.Nothing forces it to push
the bar.
It probably does accidentally at the first
time. When the rat find out that food will arrive, it
will press the bar again.
Task was made difficult the rat only gets rewarded with food if it
In operant conditioning rainforcement plays a vital role.
There is two kind of reinforcement
1. positive reinforcement (praise and rewards)
2.Negative reinforcement (Rebuke and punishment)
 Mentalism
. Noam Chomsky explicitly rejects the behaviourists
position that language should be thought of as verbal
behaviour, arguing that it should be thought of as
knowledge held by those who use language.
• . Chomsky suggests that learner of any language has
an inbuilt learning capacity of language that enables
each learner to construct a kind of personal theory or
set of rules about the language based on very limited
exposure to language.
 Mentalist

. Chomsky and his mentalist followers claims that a child learns his
first language through cognitive learning. They claim that language is
governed by rules, and is not a haphazard thing, a Skinner and his
followers would claim
. According to chomsky, the child is born with a mental capacity for
working out the underlying system to a jumble of sounds which he
hears.
. He constructs his own grammar and imposes it on all sound reaching
his brains
. The mental grammar is part of his cognitive framework, and nothing
he hears is store in his brain until he has matchd it against what he
already knows and found are 'correct' place of it within his framework.
. Chomsky argues that language is so complex that it is most
incredible that it can be acquired by a child in a so short of time.
. He says that a child is born with some innate mental capacity which
helps the child to process all the language which he hears
 Language Acquisition Device
He saw it as comprising a special area of the brain whose only function is the
processing of language.
Chomsky talks about 'rules' , he means the unconscious rules in a human mind.
These rules enables him to make grammatical sentences in his own language.
Chomsky does not mean that a child can do as described in these rules explicitly.
For example, a four or five years old child can produce a sentence like "I am done
with my work" he can do that because he has a 'mental grammar' which enables him
to form correct present perfect structures and also to use such structures in the right
and appropriate situations. But he is unable to define the formation of present
perfect tense.
 Conclusion
Both theories States significant things, yes neither is perfect.
. The mentalist in phases on the rule learning is over enthusiastic, and
the behaviourists, rejection of meaning is entirely unjust.
. Language acquisition seems to be a process both of analogy and
application, both nature and nurture.
. The comparative study makes one thing clear: nature and nurture,
analogy and application, sand exposure are important.
. Innate potentialities lay down the framework.
Within his framework, there is a wide variation depending on the
environment.The kind of language that children ultimately
grown into shaved by the culture based responses of the family, if not in
a way that can be called imitation, then at least in terms of things that
child choose to do with its language.
. But should be very of the idea that all children experience the same
practices and follow the same development path as they grow into their
language.
. Having been exposed to a small number of utterances, the child begins
to extract the principles under lying the attranses and exposed new
words of his own.
. This is the way every child grammar communicate in an intelligent
manner.
. He make mistakes and produces ungrammatical sentences. His elders
correct him; he feels the information into his mini grammar, modifies
some of the rules and again produces new utterances.
. In a period of about 4 years he is able to master and internalize all the
essential rules of language.
. This proves that a child's own rules of language.
. This proves that a child on rules of grammar are more important to
him then mere imitation.
Stages of error analysis
1- identification of error
2- description of error
3- explanation of error
4- remediation of error
Stage 1
The identification stage in error analysis involves the systematic
collection and analysis of learner language to pinpoint errors. This
process often involves examining samples of spoken or written
language produced by language learners.

Here's how this stage typically works, along with an example:

1. **Collecting Data**: Linguists collect samples of learner language,

which can be transcripts of spoken language, written compositions, or
exercises completed by language learners.
2. **Analyzing Errors**: Linguists carefully examine these samples to identify deviations from
the target language (e.g., grammatical mistakes, incorrect word usage, faulty sentence
structures).
Example:
Consider a learner of English as a second language who writes:
*"I am going to shopping yesterday."*
In this sentence, the error is the incorrect use of tense and time reference. The phrase "going to"
should be followed by the base form of the verb or the present participle ("-go shopping" or "-
going shopping") to indicate a future action. The mistake is the improper use of the past tense
"yesterday" with the future expression "going to."
3. **Documentation of Errors**: Linguists document and categorize errors according to their types
(e.g., grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation) and analyze their frequency and patterns within the
learner's language.
4. **Creating Error Profiles**: These errors are compiled into error profiles that help identify
common challenges faced by learners, which aids in understanding areas where learners might
need more focused instruction.
By identifying and categorizing these errors, linguists can better understand the challenges learners
face in acquiring a new language, enabling educators to tailor their teaching strategies to address
these specific linguistic difficulties.
Stage 2
In error analysis, the description of errors involves categorizing and detailing the types of
mistakes learners make in their language production. Here are some common types of errors
with examples:
1. **Grammatical Errors**: These involve mistakes related to the structure of sentences,
tenses, agreement, etc.
*Example*: "She *have* two brothers." (incorrect use of the verb 'have' instead of 'has')
2. **Lexical Errors**: Errors concerning vocabulary choice or word usage.
*Example*: "I am *exciting* to meet you." (using 'exciting' instead of 'excited')
3. **Syntactic Errors**: Mistakes in sentence structure, word order, or arrangement.
*Example*: "Yesterday, *I went* to the cinema." (incorrect positioning of subject and verb)
4. **Phonological Errors**: Errors in pronunciation or sound production.
*Example*: Mispronouncing 'th' as 's' - saying "sink" instead of "think".
5. **Semantic Errors**: Mistakes related to meaning or misunderstanding of words or phrases.
*Example*: "The cat *drank* the book." (incorrect use of the verb 'drank' instead of 'read')
6. **Pragmatic Errors**: Errors in appropriateness or usage in a specific context or social setting.
*Example*: Asking "How old are you?" to someone older can be considered impolite.
7. **Interference Errors**: Errors caused by the influence of the learner's native language on the target
language.
*Example*: Directly translating idiomatic expressions can lead to errors, such as saying "kick the bucket"
in a language where the equivalent phrase doesn't exist.
Understanding these various types of errors helps linguists and educators identify patterns
and challenges faced by learners, enabling them to tailor interventions and teaching
strategies to address specific language learning needs effectively.

Stage 3
The "Explanation of Errors" stage in error analysis aims to understand why language
learners make specific mistakes. There are various reasons behind these errors:
1. **Interlanguage**: Learners often construct their own version of the language they are
acquiring, known as an interlanguage. Errors can occur as learners' knowledge of the
language is developing. For instance, a learner might say, "I have 20 years old" instead of "I
am 20 years old," influenced by their understanding of verb structures in their native
language.
2. **Transfer and Interference**: This occurs when elements of a learner's native language
affect their production in the target language. For example, a Spanish speaker might say "I
have 20 years" in English due to the structure in Spanish where 'have' is used to express
age.
3. **Overgeneralization**: Learners often apply language rules they've learned to new contexts,
leading to errors. For instance, a learner might add "ed" to irregular verbs in English, saying
"breaked" instead of "broke" because they've generalized the rule for regular verbs.
4. **Lack of exposure or instruction**: Errors can stem from inadequate exposure to certain
language structures or insufficient instruction. For instance, if a learner hasn't been taught the
correct word order in sentences, they might make errors in that area.
5. **Communication Strategies**: Learners might opt for simpler language or alternative
structures to convey meaning, resulting in errors. For example, using a simple verb tense instead
of a more complex one to ensure communication.
Understanding these explanations helps educators tailor teaching methods to address specific
issues and support learners in overcoming these challenges in language acquisition.
Stage 4
Evaluation and Remediation in error analysis involves assessing the identified errors and devising
strategies to address and correct them. Here's a breakdown with an example:
1. **Evaluation of Errors**:
- **Error Prioritization**: Not all errors are equally impactful. Some may hinder communication
significantly, while others might not. Evaluating errors involves prioritizing them based on their
frequency, severity, and impact on communication.
- **Error Patterns**: Understanding recurring patterns of errors among learners helps in
creating targeted solutions. For instance, if many learners consistently make mistakes in subject-
verb agreement, this pattern could guide the focus of remediation efforts.
- **Contextual Analysis**: Examining errors in different contexts (written vs. spoken language,
formal vs. informal settings) aids in understanding their variations and addressing them
accordingly.
**Example**: In a group of ESL learners, an evaluation reveals that the most common errors are
related to using prepositions inaccurately in sentences. These errors occur frequently and
significantly impact the clarity of their communication.
2. **Remediation of Errors**:
- **Feedback and Correction**: Providing targeted feedback to learners regarding their errors is
crucial. It could involve explicit correction during class activities, individualized feedback on
assignments, or peer-correction exercises.
- **Instructional Strategies**: Designing specific lessons or activities targeting the identified errors.
For instance, conducting drills, exercises, or games focusing on prepositions' correct usage in different
contexts.
- **Error Awareness**: Raising learners' awareness of their errors and helping them self-correct.
This could involve error logs, self-editing exercises, or reflective tasks.
**Example (continued)**: To address the preposition errors, the teacher designs interactive
exercises where learners practice using prepositions in various sentence structures.
Additionally, the teacher provides personalized feedback on their written assignments,
highlighting and explaining incorrect preposition usage.
By evaluating and remediating errors systematically, educators can tailor their teaching
strategies to effectively address the specific linguistic challenges faced by learners.
Thank You!