Common errors in the use of post determiners among eleventh grade students at doi can high school

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to a number of people who have helped, advised and supported me in doing my research paper First and foremost, I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to Mrs Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, my supervisor, who has given me valuable suggestion and correction as well as taken troubles with this My debt of gratitude also goes to all the lecturers at Hanoi Pedagogical University Number 2, especially the lecturers in the Foreign Language Faculty for their dedicated instructions during my years of university work I am gratefully indebted to the teachers at Doi Can High School, especially Mrs Bui Thi Bich Thao for her help and guidance while I was carrying out the survey I am also very happy to acknowledge my gratitude to my friends who has encouraged me much and have helped me much with collecting relevant materials I would like to express my thanks to eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School who have helped me to answer the survey questionnaire and their work is a big contribution to completion of this thesis Last but not least, my heartfelt thanks to all members in my family who have made it much easier for me to my research by supporting me with not only finance but also time i ABSTRACT Post-determiners are known as an interesting category of English grammar which was taught and learned at High School Students often make errors when they use post-determiners Therefore, this research will entail studying the uses of post-determiners and conducting survey for error analysis Based on the result of the survey, the types of errors and causes have been found Solutions to the problems have been suggested ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Titles: Common errors in the use of post-determiners among eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School (Graduation paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Bachelor of arts in English) I certify that no part of this report has been copied or reproduced by me from any other person’s work without acknowledgement and that the report is originally written by me under strict guidance from my supervisor Date submitted: May 2013 Student Nguyen ThiThuy Supervisor Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLESGEMENTS i ABSTRACT ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv PART ONE INTRODUCTION I Rationale II Research presupposition III Research objectives IV Research scope V Research tasks VI Research methods VII Significance of the proposed research VIII Design of the research work PART TWO DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND I.1 Literature review in brief I.2 Determiners I.2.1 Definition I.2.2 Classification I.3 Post-determiners I.3.1 Definition I.3.2 Pre-determiner and post-determiner I.3.3 Types iv I.3.3.1 Cardinal Numerals I.3.3.2 Ordinal numerals and general ordinals 10 I.3.3.3 Closed – class quantifiers 11 I.3.3.4 Open – class quantifiers 12 CHAPTER TWO: COMMON ERRORS IN THE USE OF POSTDETERMINERS AMONG ELEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS AT DOI CAN HIGH SCHOOL II.1 Survey questionnaire 13 II.1.1 Rationale behind the survey questionnaire 13 II.1.2 Purpose of the survey 14 II.1.3 Population of the survey 14 II.1.4 Type of the survey 14 II.1.5 Construction of the test 14 II.1.6 Preparation of the survey 15 II.1.6.1 Test items 15 II.1.6.2 Arrangement of the test items 15 II.1.7 Administration of the try-out 16 II.1.7.1 Preparation of the try-out 16 II.1.7.2 Try-out 16 II.1.8 Method of data analysis 16 II.1.9 Results of the survey 16 II.2 Common errors and causes 18 II.2.1 Common errors in the use of ordinal numerals with plural count nouns 18 II.2.2 Common errors in the use of cardinal numerals with plural count nouns 18 II.2.3 Common errors in the use of cardinal numeral with mass noun 19 II.2.4 Common errors in the use of cardinal numerals with singular count nouns 20 II.2.5 Common errors in the use of quantifiers with plural count nouns 20 II.2.6 Common errors in the use of ordinal numerals with singular count nouns 21 II.2.7 Common errors in the use of quantifiers with non-count nouns 22 v II.3 Suggested solutions and suggested exercises 22 II.3.1 Suggested solutions 22 II.3.2 Suggested exercises 24 PART THREE CONCLUSION CONCLUSION 25 REFERRENCES 27 APPENDICES 28 SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE 28 SUGGESTED EXERCISES 33 vi PART ONE INTRODUCTION I RATIONALE Language is a very important means of communication in daily human life Human beings use language to express their ideas However, different countries have different languages; it makes difficult for people to get along with each other In this case, an international language is much needed One of the languages is the English language English is an international language and it’s used in many fields such as finance and banking; commerce; politics; etc In Vietnam as well as in other countries, the teaching and learning English are now mushrooming English has become a compulsory subject in most schools and universities However, English confronts the learners with a multitude of difficulty because each language has its own feature which is different from that in the learner’s native language The differences in the system of language may bring about learning problems for foreign language learners in general and for Vietnamese students in particular It is proved that English grammar is complex and often causes embarrassment to students A mass of supplementary exercise books, grammar books and other learning materials have been compiled to help students study English grammar better But they often make the mistake when doing exercises Post-determiner is one of the grammatical items that students often make errors For example: …….customers have come into the shop It has been quiet (Few / little) In this case, students wavered between two opinions They can’t distinguish the use of post-determiners with plural, singular count nouns or with non-count nouns Moreover, with the aims of helping students of English to overcome these difficulties as well as a prospective teacher, I would like to make a contribution to the English teaching in Vietnam For these reasons above, this study is conducted with the aim of focusing on errors related to the use of post-determiners among eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School II RESEARCH PRESUPPOSITION With the typical error quoted above The answer must be “few” Few customers have come into the shop It has been quite Some questions are raised: What kinds of errors are made by the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School in the academic year 2013/2014? What kinds of error in the use of post-determiners is the most often made by the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School in the academic year 2013/2014? What are the causes of the errors in the use of post-determiners made by the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School in the academic year 2013/2014? Based on these questions about, I am eager to learn about the problems and make an error analysis in post-determiners so that the major errors related to the use of post-determiners may be found III RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The study aimed at the following goals: To find out kinds of errors in the use of post-determiners made by the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School? To find out kinds of errors in the use of post-determiners most often made by the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School in the academic year 2013/2014 To find out the causes and the errors in the use of post-determiners made by the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School in the academic year 2013/2014 IV RESEARCH SCOPE The general research of this study is grammar:The phenomenon is errors in the use of post-determiners made by the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School Others relating to the postdeterminers are also briefly mentioned The population involved in the study is one hundred students in eleventh grade at Doi Can High School V RESEARCH TASK The study involves fulfilling the following tasks: To study types of post-determiners To research into the uses of post-determiners To conduct a survey to find out error types and causes On the basic of the findings, possible solutions to the problems are sought to minimize the students’ errors VI RESEARCH METHODS To achieve the objectives of the study, the following methods have been applied: Collecting documents from books listed in the references Consulting with the supervisor, experienced teachers and friends Synthesizing theoretical documents on English grammar Conducting a survey and analyzing the results VII SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH Errors in any language teaching and learning, particularly in English as a foreign language, are sometimes predictable and sometimes unpredictable It is, therefore, essential for teachers to have better treatment to anticipate errors After the research, it is hoped that the result will be helpful to provide: Input for learners of English in order to minimize their errors related to the use of post-determiners Input for teachers of English with information on error types and solutions to the problems so that they can have good methods of teaching the postdeterminers This study is also beneficial to anyone who is interested in the postdeterminer in English VIII DESIGN OF THE RESEARCH WORK The research work has three main parts, namely: introduction, development and conclusion The part “ Development” consists three chapters Chapter one is entitled “theoretical background” It consists two sections Section one reviews literature in brief The second one deals with things related to determiners The last one focuses on post-determiners in definition, types and uses Chapter two is named “Common errors in the use of post-determiners among eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School” It has three sections Section one is devoted to the survey The second one deals with error types and causes The last one is on solutions to the problems and suggested exercises on the postdeterminers Based on theory of post-determiners, ordinal numbers generally occur with singular count nouns It occurs with plural count nouns when it is preceded by a cardinal number In these examples, there is no cardinal numbers after ordinal number so the nouns after ordinal number must be singular count nouns The cause of this problem is that students misunderstanding about the uses of ordinal numerals II.2.7 Errors in the use of quantifiers with non-count nouns The least common type of error in the use of post-determiners is the errors related to the use of quantifiers with non-count nouns It is only 23.3% For example: There’s…….food for everybody (many/ plenty of) Students answer: many Correct answer: plenty of She has spent a great deal of times in Europe A B C D Students answer: C a great deal of Correct answer: D times The main cause of this type of error is that students didn’t master the use of quantifiers II.3 Suggested solutions II.3.1 Suggested solutions As can be seen from the previous parts of the thesis, the students’ errors are due to the understanding of post-determiner uses It is quite difficult for them to distinguish the use of post-determiners with plural count nouns, non-count nouns… Based on the causes found, some suggestions are made to minimize students’ errors in using post-determiners 22 Teaching process is complex, requiring a teacher of foreign language to have not only a good knowledge but also patience It is important for the teacher to enable the student to see the importance of post-determiners in the English language The teacher should introduce the main kinds of post-determiner and their uses To achieve the goals, the teacher should the following things: First of all, teachers are advised to adopt teaching materials to the students’ levels of proficiency Besides, the planning lessons logically and suitable for students according to the level of difficulty and complexity is quite necessary Additionally, it would be better for the teacher to distinguish and simplify different types of post-determiners The teacher also need provide students with variety uses of the post-determiner in context and give them various types of exercises related to post-determiner uses To students, the first and foremost thing they should pay attention to is to master post-determiner uses To remember the uses of post-determiner, it is good for students to learn by heart, and then give examples for each type Moreover, they should exercises relating to post-determiners as much as possible They can extra exercises in some comprehensive grammar books and websites as well as exercises given by the teacher Another item which should be paid attention to is grammar Most of the exercises related to post-determiners contain grammatical structures which the student has no choice but to learn by heart In addition, doing this kind of exercise requires care from the student They should enhance their linguistic competence in order to fully understand the meaning of the sentence and use post-determiners correctly To summarize, there are quite a large number of students making error types about The problem is that the way students study post-determiners is not suitable or they are just too lazy to practice this kind of exercise To make things easier, some suggested solutions for both the teacher and the student have been made Hopefully, the students in general and the student at Doi Can High School in particular can minimize errors related to the use of post-determiners 23 II.3.2 Suggested exercises There are many exercises on post-determiners in grammar and test books Teachers could make use of them to consolidate what students have learnt Moreover, they should design particular exercise types to minimize students’ errors related to the use of post-determiners Here are some suggested exercise types: Choose the suitable word to complete the sentence Put in the blank Find and correct the mistake Rewrite the sentences As for the first and second exercises, the students have to choice when postdeterminers are used These types of exercises are designed to help students master the kinds and use of post-determiners The third type is aimed at helping students distinguish each type of postdeterminer and know how to correct the wrong word The last type of exercise is designed to help students understand more about post-determiners By doing this exercise types, students can improve the competence in rewriting the sentence using post-determiners They can know the way to rewrite another sentence remain the meaning of the source sentence by changing the post-determiner use in the source sentence To sum up, by doing these exercise types, students can master the use of postdeterminers and minimize errors related to the use of post-determiners 24 PART THREE CONCLUSION It is undeniable that grammar is very important in the language system However, it is complex and often causes embarrassment to students even to advanced learners The post-determiner is a grammatical category that is said to have caused many difficulties to learners For this reason, the study has focuses on errors related to the use of post-determiner among the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School Taking this point into consideration, the thesis gives an understandable and complete picture of the post-determiner Everything related to the post-determiner such as types of post-determiner, uses of different types of post-determiner has been introduced and clarified Hopefully, the students will have a full look at this grammatical category Then a survey was conducted with the aim of testing the student’s understanding of the post-determiner and finding their common errors related to the use of post-determiners The outcome of the survey proves that the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School often make mistakes related to the use of post-determiners The survey shows that the highest percentage of errors is errors in the use of quantifiers with non-count nouns It accounts for 48.8% The second commonest are the errors in the use of ordinal numerals with plural count nouns, which stand for 41.9% The fewest is the errors in the use of cardinal numerals with plural count nouns, only 23.3% From the result of the survey, it has been proved that the major causes are students don’t master the use of post-determiners and don’t pay attention to the nouns after post-determiners 25 Based on the finding, some suggested solutions to the problem have been made, as follow: To the teachers Provide students with a good knowledge of post-determiners Distinguish and simplify different types of post-determiners Give students some techniques to help them memorize and use postdeterminers correctly Provide students with various types of exercises on post-determiners Clarify the position of post-determiners in sentences To students: Master the use of post-determiners Do exercises relating to post-determiners as much as possible Learn by heart the types of post-determiners Read the instructions and analyze the sentences carefully before doing exercises on post-determiners By following the suggested solutions, both teachers and students are believed to have the right ways to approach post-determiners and especially students are hoped to their own methods to better understand this kind of grammatical structure as well as avoid the errors as much as possible 26 REFERENCES Aztar, B S (2000) Understanding and Using English Grammar New York: Longman Close, R A (1979) A reference Grammar for Student of English England: Longman Cowan, J (2008) The Teacher’s Grammar of English Cambridge: Cambridge University Grave, B D (1986) Advanced English Practice Oxford: Oxford University Press Greenbaum, S , & Quirk, R (1990) A Student's Grammar of the English Language England:Longman Hewing, M (1999) Advanced Grammar in Use Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Murphy, R (2000) English Grammar in Use Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Quirk, R , & Greenbaum, S (1976) A University Grammar of English England: Longman Quirk, R et al (1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language London: Longman Sargeant, H (2007) Basic English Grammar Saddleback Educational Publishing Sinclair, J.et al (1990) Collins Cobuild English Grammar Glasgow: Happercollins Publishers Swan, M (1984) Basic English Usage Oxford: Oxford University Press Swan, M (2005) Practical English Usage Oxford: Oxford University Press Vince, M (2003) Advanced Language Practice Oxford: Heinemann Walton, R (1999) Grammar Practice Advanced English England: Longman 27 APPENDICES SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE I Choose the most suitable option to complete the sentences I would like………photocopy of this article A one C once B two D twice Bill’s……….granddaughters are visiting from Australia A one C third B three D once She eats………loaves of bread A much C three B little D a little The …….three planes were American A ∅ C one B once D first His…….…two books were novel A ∅ C several B last D second There is too…… sugar in that drink A much C few B many D a little George is the………boy on the left Dick is the third A one C only B first D only one The ………words he spoke were well chosen A few C little B much D a little 28 She has only got……….money A few C a little B a few D much 10 It rained heavily Only …… children came to school A much C a few B many D a little 11 You’ve made………mistakes than last time A less C least B few D fewer 12 The room contained………students A plenty of C much B little D a little 13 The chest contained a………deal of money A large C small B lot D great 14 The hall contained a……… number of students A large C lot B much D many 15 That is the….big reservation I’ve got A each C any B one D none II Choose the suitable word to fill in the blank 16 He is the……… student who signed up for this course (tenth / ten) 17 We only have to move………… pieces of furniture to rearrange this room (twice / two) 18 We have imported……….videos this year than last year (fewer / less) 19 The………three boys must run again (last / only) 20 We’ve finished the……… of bread (last / only) 21 She bought……….kilos of rice (two / one) 22 We need another……… rooms for the meeting (two / second) 29 23 The…………three questions are easy (first / double) 24 …………vehicles have just been recalled because of a design fault (a lot of / much) 25 ………businesses have gone bankrupt this year (a good deal of / several) 26 There aren’t……….dictionaries that can compare with this one (much / many) 27 There wouldn’t be so many accidents if there was……… traffic on the roads (less / many) 28 I’d like………milk in this coffee, please (a few / a little) 29 There’s…………food for everybody (many / plenty of) 30 There were……… tourists on the ferry (large number of / much) III Which word A, B, C or D is not true? 31 There isn’t many hope of finding the wreck A B C D 32 This room needs a little pictures to brighten it up A B C D 33 She isn’t very popular She has a little friends A B C D 34 The second blue cars belong to me A B C D 35 This is the first people I’ve seen this week A B C D 36 He has one sister and three brother A B C D 37 That is the third buses that passed by without stopping A B C D 38 There is only one seats left on the whole bus A B C D 30 39 I know old Mr Higgins has many money A B C D 40 There are very little scholarships for students in this university A B C D 41 A great deal of my friends have seen the Harry Potter movies A B C D 42 You will gain weight if you eat many ice cream A B C D 43 We’ve put in good much hours to get this work finished A B C D 44 Don’t hurry, we have few time left before we have to leave A B C D 45 She has spent a great deal of times in Europe A B C D 31 ANSWER KEY I Choose the most suitable option to complete the sentences A one A much 11 D few B three B first 12 A plenty of C three A few 13 D great D first C a little 14 A large B last 10 C a few 15 B one II Choose the suitable word to fill in the blank 16 tenth 21 two 26 many 17 two 22 two 27 less 18 fewer 23 first 28 a little 19 last 24 a lot of 29 plenty of 20 last 25 several 30 large number of III Which word A, B, C or D is not true? 21 B many (much) 29 C many (much) 22 B a little (a few) 30 B little (few) 23 C a little (few) 31 A a great deal of (plenty of) 24 A second (two) 32 C many (much) 25 C people (person) 33 B much (many) 26 D brother (brothers) 34 B few (little) 27 B buses (bus) 35 D times (time) 32 SUGGESTED EXERCISES Exercise 1: Choose the right word in brackets I’m sorry, but I am going to have to ask you for….more time to pay this bill (a little / few) … oil has been produced this year than last year (fewer / less) ……time is needed to learn a language (a lot of / many) ……scientists would argue that global warming is not occurring (few / little) There are……fewer children in my class than in your class (five / firth) There is only… state in the United States that is completely surrounded by water: Hawaii (one / ∅) She put her… clothes into a bag and walked out of the house for ever (few / much) She doesn’t have… books (many / much) They live on the….floor ( third / three) 10 I have two brothers The……brother is called Terence (second / two) KEY: A little one Less few A lot of many Few third Five 10 second Exercise 2: Choose A, B, C or D to complete each sentence: I live at… Maynard Drive A twenty-second C two-second B twenty-two D two-twenty I would like to have dinner, but let’s go to the cinema… A one C once 33 B first D ∅ There are… students in this classroom who speak Spanish A firth C five B one D once I don’t think I can lift this box on my own I need……help A few C a few B many D a little … tourists visited Northern Ireland in the 1980s because of the terrorism there A Few C Little B Much D Less … of issues still need to be addressed A Little C Much B A little D A large number … my friends live abroad A A lot of C A great deal of B Much D Little … shops open on Sunday mornings A Much C Less B Little D Plenty of I haven’t got as… money as you A much C few B many D a few 10 The President is married to the… lady A first C once B one D ∅ KEY: B twenty-two D A large number B first A A lot of C five D Plenty of D a little A much 34 A Few 10 A first Exercise 3: Put a complete sentence with (a) few, (a) little (of), the few or the little Although the play is set in Italy,…… the characters are Italian Jim, Bill, Sue and Gill were just… those who came to say goodbye Unfortunately, much of the early history of Zimbabwe is still unknown For example, we know……about the early patterns of settlement Because it was cheap, and we didn’t have much money,……us used to go to the cinema every Saturday morning It will take….time, but I’m sure you’ll learn the rules of cricket eventually Stephen and… his friends were waiting for us in the park The play was poorly attended, but……people who came had a very good evening Many questions were asked, but … were answered The soldiers seemed to have… idea who they were fighting against or why 10 After the plane crashed in the desert the survivors divided… water they had left between them KEY: few of a few of a few of the few little few a few of little a little 10 the little Exercise 4: Supply much, many, a lot of, less or fewer in these sentences Is there… demand for silk stockings? There isn’t……space in this flat Will there be… guests at your party? 35 I must say, you have… books The……you pay, the……services you get We’ve had……complaints this year New cars need… servicing than old ones People have… money to spend this year Sue’s got… homework than Tom 10 I’ve had….lessons than you KEY: much fewer much less many less a lot of less less / fewer 10 fewer 36 [...]... post- determiner and finding their common errors related to the use of post- determiners The outcome of the survey proves that the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School often make mistakes related to the use of post- determiners The survey shows that the highest percentage of errors is errors in the use of quantifiers with non-count nouns It accounts for 48.8% The second commonest are the errors in the. .. in rewriting the sentence using post- determiners They can know the way to rewrite another sentence remain the meaning of the source sentence by changing the post- determiner use in the source sentence To sum up, by doing these exercise types, students can master the use of postdeterminers and minimize errors related to the use of post- determiners 24 PART THREE CONCLUSION It is undeniable that grammar... that it is an inexpensive way to gather data from a potentially large number of respondents Secondly, it can reach a large number of people in a very short time As it is in the case, with the students in Doi Can High School, a survey questionnaire was designed to find out the common errors in the use of post- determiners in English made by the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School in the school. .. the use of postdeterminers Students who made the most errors were identified in the last step II.1.9 Result of the survey It can be seen from the result of the survey that every student could recognize kinds of post- determiners However, it is difficult for them to master the uses of post- determiners 16 Based on the survey analysis, the errors made by the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High gh School. .. possible errors in the use of post- determiners that a survey cannot find out Thus, it is necessary to predict possible errors and include them in the survey In this survey, possible errors were classified into the following categories 1 Errors in the use of cardinal numerals with singular count nouns 2 Errors in the use of cardinal numerals with plural count nouns 3 Errors in the use of cardinal numerals... conducted on post- determiners in English However, there is no research that has focus on errors in using postdeterminers In fact, there are many errors that learners of English often made when they use post- determiners in learning and communicating Therefore, it is essential to have a comprehensive study on common errors related to the use of post- determiners I.2 DETERMINERS I.2.1 Definition According to... mass nouns 4 Errors in the use of cardinal numerals with singular count nouns 17 5 Errors in the use of quantifiers with plural count nouns 6 Errors in the use of ordinal numerals with singular count nouns 7 Errors in the use of quantifiers with non-count nouns II.2 Common errors and causes II.2.1 Errors in the use of ordinal numerals with plural count nouns The errors in the use of ordinal numerals... POST- DETERMINERS AMONG THE ELEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS AT DOI CAN HIGH SCHOOL This chapter presents the findings of the practical research with the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School It falls into three sections Section II.1 deals with survey questionnaire which was designed to map out some common errors made by the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School Section II.2 presents common errors and causes... follows: 1 Errors in the use of cardinal numerals numerals with singular count nouns 37.2% 2 Errors in the use of cardinal numerals with plural count nouns 41.9% 3 Errors in the use of cardinal numerals with mass nouns 39.53% 4 Errors in the use of ordinal numerals with singular count nouns 34.88% 5 Errors in the use of ordinal numerals with plural count nouns 48.8% 6 Errors in the use of quantifiers... unavoidable at all educational levels However, due to the framework of a thesis, this thesis is only focused on common errors in the use of post- determiners by the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School A survey questionnaire was conducted to find out the errors of students II.1.1 Rationale behind the survey questionnaire Survey questionnaire was chosen for the study because of four main reasons ... the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School in the academic year 2013/2014? What are the causes of the errors in the use of post- determiners made by the eleventh grade students at Doi Can. .. eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School? To find out kinds of errors in the use of post- determiners most often made by the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School in the academic... What kinds of errors are made by the eleventh grade students at Doi Can High School in the academic year 2013/2014? What kinds of error in the use of post- determiners is the most often made by the