Common errors in the use of wh questions made by the eleventh grade students at tran hung dao high school

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is a great pleasure for me to thank many people who have helped me in the preparation of this graduation paper First of all, I would like to express my profound gratitude to my supervisor, Mrs Nguyen Thi Le, MA, who has been wonderfully helpful in providing me with invaluable advises, instruction, reading and commenting on every part of my thesis I also would like to express my sincere thanks to the teachers of English at Tran Hung Dao High School, especially Mrs Pham Thi Luan for her help and guidance while I was carrying out the survey I wish to thank 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 particularly grateful to my friends for their collaborating, constructive ideas in helping me collect valuable reference documents and data Last but not least, I would like to acknowledge my beloved family for the source of happiness and support which they have been giving me i ABSTRACT The wh-questions is an interesting category of English grammar It is obvious that students apply the wh-questions much into learning English process and in real life However, the uses of the wh-questions referred to in some books have not been dealt with in full and sometimes cause confusion to learners of English As a result, students of English often make errors when they use the whquestions Therefore, this research work entails studying the uses of the wh-questions and conducting a survey for error analysis Based on the results of the survey, the types of errors and causes have been found Solutions to the problems have been suggested ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Title: Common Errors in the Use of Wh- questions (Graduation paper submitted in partial fulfilment of the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in English) I, Tran Thi Van, hereby state that this thesis is the result of my own research and that the thesis is originally written by me under strict guidance from my supervisor Date submitted: May 2013 Student Tran Thi Van Supervisor Nguyen Thi Le, M.A iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv PART ONE INTRODUCTION I.RATIONALE II RESEARCH PRESUPPOSITION III AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY IV SCOPE OF THE STUDY VI METHODS OF THE STUDY 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 Wh-questions I.2.1 Definition I.2.2 Types of Wh-questions I.2.2.1 Wh-information questions I.2.2.2 Repeat please questions I.2.2.3 Elaborate please questions iv I.2.3 Form I.2.3.1 Wh-questions about an object I.2.3.2 Wh-questions about a subject 11 I.2.3.3 Wh-questions with How + Adjective/ Adverb 11 I.2.4 Functions of wh-question words 11 I.2.4.1 As a subject 11 I.2.4.2 As a direct object 12 I.2.4.3 As an indirect object 12 I.2.4.4 As a subject complement 12 I.2.4.5 As an object complement 13 I.2.4.6 As an object of preposition 13 I.2.5 Uses of wh-questions 13 I.2.5.1 Seeking information 13 I.2.5.3 Beginning a conversation 16 I.2.5.4 Making a comment 16 CHAPTER TWO COMMON ERRORS IN THE USE OF WH- QUESTIONS II.1 Survey 17 II.1.1 Purpose of the survey 17 II.1.2 Population of the survey 17 II.1.3 Type of survey 18 II.1.4 Construction of the survey 18 II.1.5 Preparation of the survey 18 II.1.5.1 Test items 18 II.1.5.2 Arrangement of the survey 19 II.1.6 Administration of the try-out 19 v II.1.6.1 Preparation of the try-out 19 II.1.6.2 Try-out 19 II.1.7 Method of data analysis 20 II.1.8 Results of the survey 20 II.2 Common errors and causes 21 II.2.1 Errors in the use of question words as objects of prepositions 21 II.2.2 Errors in using What and Which, Who and Whom 22 II.2.4 Errors in the use of main verb in wh-questions 23 II.2.5 Errors in the use of how much and how many 23 II.2.6 Errors in the use of what and how 24 II.2.7 Errors in answering questions with why as a suggestion or invitation 24 II.2.8 Errors in the use of how as a greeting rather than a question 25 II.3 Suggested solutions 25 II.3.1 Suggested solutions 25 II.3.2 Suggested exercises 27 PART THREE CONCLUSION REFERENCE 30 APPENDICES 32 SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE 32 SUGGESTED EXERCISES 38 vi PART ONE INTRODUCTION I.RATIONALE The English language is considered to be one of the most important languages in the world There are other languages such as French, Spanish, Chinese etc, but they are not important for the same reasons as the English Language English is a universal language that links the world together which is the most important fact considering the changing times We know that, studying English nowadays has become an essential demand for everyone However, most people beginning to study this language find that it’s difficult to speak it well and fluently Although learning English is not very easy, a lot of people have been eager to learn it Learning English is very important It’s simple because English is one of the most popular, important international languages and it’s most used not only all over the world but also in many fields such as in business, in international conferences or to communicate with foreigners when they come to our country or when we go abroad Moreover, if we know English well, we can read newspapers, magazines and reference books or listen to the radio in English to enlarge our knowledge and especially it’s easy to get a job in a foreign company with a- high salary However, it is proved that English grammar is complex and often causes embarrassment to students The wh-questions is one of the language categories that students at high schools have to learn much The "grammar" used with wh-questions depends on whether the topic being asked about is the "subject" or "predicate" of a sentence Due to its various uses, it is assumed that there are many errors which may be made In fact, many students confess that the wh-questions is one of the biggest problems of English grammar and they often make errors in the use of wh-question For example: What hobbies does Tom have? How does the radio works? From who did you obtain the information? Moreover, as a prospective teacher, I would like to make a contribution to the English teaching in Vietnam For the reasons above, this study is conducted, which mentions to errors in the use of wh-questions among the students in grade 11at Tran Hung Dao High School II RESEARCH PRESUPPOSITION With regard to the errors quoted above, the problem is with grammatical structures The correct versions could be: Which hobbies does Tom have? How does the radio work? From whom did you obtain the information? Some questions are raised: 1) What kinds of errors in the use of wh-questions are made by the eleventhgrade students at Tran Hung Dao High School in the academic year of 2012/2013? 2) What kinds of errors in the use of wh-questions is the most often made by the eleventh-grade students at Tran Hung Dao High School in the academic year of 2012/2013? 3) What are the causes of the errors in the use of wh-questions made by the eleventh-grade students at Tran Hung Dao High School in the academic year of 2012/2013? Based on the questions above, I am eager to learn about the problems and make an error analysis in questions so that the major errors in the use of wh-questions may be found III AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The study aims to find out mistakes in using wh-questions made by learners and determine whether the learners are aware of their mistakes or not The study is expected to answer the following questions: 1) What are the mistakes in using wh-questions by learners? 2) To what extent, are the learners aware of their mistakes? It is expected that after exploring the mistakes and the awareness of learners of their mistakes, the study can suggest some solutions to solve the problems of making mistakes IV SCOPE OF THE STUDY The general research area of this study is grammar The phenomenon is errors in the use of wh-questions made by the eleventh-grade students at Tran Hung Dao High School in the academic year of 2012/2013 Others relating to the wh-questions are also briefly mentioned The population involved in the study is one hundred eleventh-grade students of English at Tran Hung Dao High School VI METHODS OF THE STUDY To conduct this study, a variety of methods have been applied I rely, firstly, on library research, consultation to supervisor and teachers to get ideas and data, exchanging ideas with friends, 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: 1) Input for learners of English in order to minimize their errors in the use of whquestions 2) Input for teachers of English with the information on error types and solutions to the problems so that they can have good methods of teaching the wh-questions This study is also beneficial to anyone who is interested in the wh-questions in English VIII DESIGN OF THE RESEARCH WORK The research work has three main parts, namely: Introduction, Development and Conclusion The part “Development” consists two 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 the wh-questions such as definition, formations, types, functions and uses of the wh-questions Chapter two is named “Common Errors in the Use of Wh-Questions” It has three sections Section one is devoted to the survey The second deals with error types and causes The last one is solutions to the problems and suggested exercises on the wh-questions 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 of English, even to advanced learners The concord in general and the wh-questions in specific are grammatical category that is said to have caused many difficulties to learners For the reason, the study has focused on errors in wh- questions among students of English in Tran Hung Dao High School Taking this point into consideration, the thesis gives an understandable and complete picture of the wh-questions Everything related to wh-questions such as definition, form, uses and functions have been introduced and clarified I hope that the student will have a full look at this grammatical category Then a survey was conducted with the aim of testing the students’ understandings of the wh-questions and finding their common errors in the use of whquestions The outcome of the survey proves that the students of English at Tran Hung Dao High School often make mistakes in the use of wh-questions The survey shows that the highest percentage of errors is in the use of question words as objects of prepositions , which account for 68% The second commonest errors are the errors in using What and Which, Who and Whom , which stand 55% The errors related to in the use of how as a greeting rather than a question are the fewest, 11.33% Most of the errors above are structural ones From the result of the survey, it has been proved that the major causes are students’ limited understandings of the wh-questions and the negative influence of the mother tongues Based on the findings, some suggested solutions to the problem have been made, as followed: To teachers, as following: 28 Provide students with a good knowledge of the wh-questions Clarify and simplify the wh-question uses Provide students with various types of exercises on the wh-questions Help students minimize the influence of mother tongue Give students some good ways to help them memories and use the rules of the wh-questions Make lists of the wh-words related to uses of the wh-questions To students: Do exercises relating to the wh-questions as much as possible Learn by heart grammar structures, question words and question phrases in which questions are used Master the uses of the wh-questions Read instructions and analyze the sentences carefully before doing the exercises on wh-questions It is hoped that the study has made certain contributions to the English teaching and learning practices in Vietnam The research has also mistakes, but I have attempted to it I would be glad to welcome all possible comments from the readers to accomplish the work 29 REFERENCE Alexander, L.G (1990) Longman English Grammar Practice for Intermediate Sudents Essex: Longman Azar, B.S (2000) Understanding and Using English Grammar New York: Longman Baugh, L.S (1993) Essentials of English Grammar Illinois: Passport Books Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., & Finegan, E (1999) Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, England: Pearson Education Limited Celce- Murcia, M & Larsen- Freeman, D (1999) The Grammar Book: An ESL/EFL Teacher’s Course (2nd ed.) Boston: Heinle & Heinle Close, R A (1979) A Reference Grammar for Students of English London: Longman Cowan, R ( 2008 ) The Teacher’s Grammar of English: A Course Book and Reference Guide Oxford: Oxford University Press Dean, M (1994) English Grammar Lesson Oxford: Oxford University Press Eastwood, J (1994) Oxford Guide to English Grammar Oxford: Oxford University Press Endley, J (2010) Linguistic Perspective on English Grammar: A Guide for EFL Teachers Halliday, M A K ( 1994 ) An Introduction to Functional Grammar London: Edward Arnold Hewings, M (1999) Advanced Grammar in Use Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Lester, M ( 2008 ) McGraw-Hill’s Essential ESL Grammar: A Handbook for Intermediate and Advanced ESL Students McGraw Hill Professional Lim, P L Et et al (1992) TOEFEL Grammar Workbook New York: Arco Publishing 30 Murphy, R (2000) English Grammar in Use: A Self- study Reference and Practice Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Murphy, R (2004) English Grammar in Use Cambride: Cambridge University Press Quirk, R (1973) A University Grammar of English England: Longman Sinclair, J et al (1990) Collins Cobuild English Grammar Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers Swan, M (1984) Basic English Usage Oxford: Oxford University Press Vince, M (1994) Advanced Language Practice Oxford: Heinemann Vince, M (2003) Intermediate Language Practice Oxford: Macmillan Press Walker, E & Elsworth, S (2000) Grammar Practice for Intermediate Students Essex: Longman 31 APPENDICES SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE Part A: Could you please give some personal information? How long have you been learning English? What is your English like? A Excellent B Good C Rather good D Not very good E Other The above two questions are called: A Yes/No questions B Wh-questions C Tag questions Part B: Please the exercises below: Choose the correct WH question words _ you do? How you do? a Who b What c How b When c Where car broke down? a Whose _ don’t we try a new restaurant for lunch today? That sounds good a When b Whom c Why b Where c Whose _ knows the formula? a Who Where did Lan yesterday? a went b goes c go How often does your brother football a week? a play b playing don’t you go to bed early? 32 c plays a Why b When c Which fish are there in the pond? a How much b How many c How How long does it him to his homework? a took b takes c take 10 When did he learning English? Three years ago a started b start c starts b Which c Whose 11 keeps the keys? a Who 12 did you go to the cinema with? a When b What c Whom b Whose c Why b When c What b Where c Whose 13 are they talking about? a Who 14 _ caused the explosion? a Whom 15 _ makes that noise? a What 16 With _ is she going to London? a Who b Whom c Why b Which c Whom 17 _ you do? a How 18 To _ were you speaking? a Whose b When c Whom 19 _ sugar is there in the bottle? a How many b How much 20 _ money did you spent on your holiday? 33 c How a How much b How c How many KEY: c c c 13 a 17 a a a 10 b 14 c 18 c c a 11 a 15 a 19 b a b 12 c 16 b 20 a Exercise 2: Make questions with wh question words in bracket 21 This novel was written by Thomas Johnson (Who/Whom) => 22 I like the red blouse, not the blue one (What/which) => 23 There are more than twenty applicants for this position (How) => 24 I help my mother to prepare for breakfast this morning (Who/Whom) => 25 Mary comes from Japan (What/Which) => 26 My brother likes black, red and yellow shirts (What/Which) => 27 There is a little coffee in the box (How) => 28 Let’s go out for dinner That’s a good idea (Why) => 29 She usually does the morning exercise (What) => 30 That sounds interesting I also like taking part in English lessons in your club (Why) 34 => 31 Tam is going to Ha Long bay with her friends next Sunday (Who/Whom) => 32 I want to drink milk with bread, not coffee (What/Which) => 33 There are forty eight students in my class (How) => 34 He likes reading English books on free time (What) => 35 More than one hundred of people are in the party (How) => 36 Only little meat was left in the fridge (How) => 37 I can speak five languages (How) => 38 My house’s roof broke down because of storm (Whose) => 39 You had better see a doctor to check your health You look seem pale.(Why) => 40 She is better now (How) => 41 Le is chatting with her sister on the phone at the moment (Who/Whom) => 42 He’s a very talkative, friendly man (What/How) => 43 Ngan’s study depends mainly on her brother’s salary => 35 (What) 44 He is great, thanks for asking (What/How) => 45 He works at the post office (Where) => KEY: 21 Whom was this novel written by? 22 Which blouse you like, the red or the blue? 23 How many applicants are there for this position? 24 Whom you help to prepare for breakfast this morning? 25 What country does Mary come from? 26 What colour does your brother like shirts? 27 How much coffee is there in the box? 28 Why don’t we go out for dinner? 29 What does she usually do? 30 Why don’t you take part in English lessons in our club? 31 Who is going to Ha Long bay with her friends next Sunday? 32 Which drink you want with bread? 33 How many students are there in your class? 34 What does he like to on free time? 35 How many people are there in the party? 36 How much meat was left in the fridge? 37 How many languages can you speak? 38 Whose roof broke down because of storm? 39 Why don’t you see a doctor to check your health? 40 How is she now? 41 Who is chatting with her sister on the phone at the moment? 42 What’s he like? 36 43 What does Ngan’s study depend on? 44 How is he? 45 Where does he work at? Exercise Fill in the blanks with question words 46………… you all aware of the environment protection? 47 don’t you lock the door? 48 is Mr Green responsible for? – Hiring employees 49 you do? – How you do? 50 does she look like? – She is tall and glamorous 51 don’t we try a new restaurant for lunch today? – That sounds good 52 applicants are there for this position? 53 is she? – She is not good because of her sickness 54 will you have, tea or coffee? 55 butter does she want? 56 is watching TV with you? – My grandmother 57 country you come from? 58 you meet this morning? 59 hand you use? 60 bird is that? KEY: 46 What 51 Why 56 Who 47 Why 52 How many 57 What 48 What 53 How 58 Who 49 How 54 Which 59 Which 50 What 55 How much 60 What 37 SUGGESTED EXERCISES Exercise 1: Choose the correct WH question words Do you know _ language is spoken in Kenya? a Which b Who c When d How c What d How c What d How c Where d How c What d How c What d How b Who c What d How b Who c What d How c What d How _ is your blood type? a Which b Who _ you play tennis for? For exercise a Which b Who _ can I buy some milk? At the supermarket a Which b Who _ much you weigh? a Which b Who _ hat is this? It`s my brother`s a Which b Whose _ can I park my car? Over there a Where _ tall are you? a Which _ you expect me to do? a Which b Who 10 _ you like your tea with? I like it with cream and sugar a Which b Who c What d How 11 _ picture you prefer, this one or that one? a Which b Who c What d How c When d How 12 _ is that woman? - I think she is a teacher a Which b Who 13 _ book is this? It`s mine 38 a Which b Who c Whose d How c What d How c What d How 14 _ you usually eat lunch? At noon a Which b When 15 _ washes clothes every week? a Which b Who KEY: a c a 10 a 13 c c d d 11 a 14 b c b c 12 b 15 b Exercise Make questions with wh question words in bracket He plays tennis well (What/How) => Minh usually takes exercises after getting up (What) => I brush my teeth twice a day (How often) => Nga has an appointment at 10.30 this morning (What time) => She goes to bed at p m (When) => I began to study English years ago (What) => They live in the city center (Where) => I like ‘Tom and Jerry” because it’s very interesting (Why) => Last night I went to disco with my friend 39 (Who/Whom) => 10 She is worried about the next examination (What) => 11 Music makes people different from all other animals (What) => 12 They their homework at night (When) => 13 Mr Robertson came to the party alone (Who/Whom) => 14 I like the red blouse, not the blue one (What/Which) => 15 That is an English book (What) => 16 She talked to him for an hour (How long) => 17 This hotel is pretty good (What/How) => 18 My father work at that company because it’s near our house (Why) => 19 My sister dances the best in my family (Who/Whom) => 20 We are going somewhere on weekends => KEY: How does he play tennis? What does Minh usually after getting up? How often you brush your teeth? 40 (When) What time does Nga have an appointment? When does she go to bed? What did you begin to study years ago? Where they live? Why you like “Tom and Jerry” ? Whom did you go to disco with last night? 10 What is she worried about? 11 What makes people different from all other animals? 12 When they their homework? 13 Who came to the party alone? 14 Which blouse you like, the red or the blue? 15 What is that? 16 How long did she talk to him? 17 How is this hotel? 18 Why does your father work at that company? 19 Who dances the best in your family? 20 When are you going anywhere? Exercise Fill in the blanks with the question words you want? - A box of chocolate is this building built? - It's about 200 years ago money you earn? – About 240 USD a week bag are you carrying? –Judy’s first stepped on the moon? – Neil Amstrong, wasn’t it? is your new school? – It’s very big and friendly is it from your house to the post office? –About 3000 meter is your national flag? – Red and yellow you take a holiday? – Once a year 41 10. _ is Greg like? – He is tall and thin with brown hair KEY: What Whose How far When Who What colour How much How How often 42 10 What [...]... classified into the following categories 1) Errors in the use of question words as subjects 2) Errors in the use of question words as objects of prepositions 3) Errors in using What and Which, Who and Whom 4) Errors in the use of how much and how many 5) Errors in the use of main verb in wh- questions 6) Errors in the use of what and how 18 7) Errors in the use of how as a greeting rather than a question 8) Errors. .. that the students of English at Tran Hung Dao High School often make mistakes in the use of wh- questions The survey shows that the highest percentage of errors is in the use of question words as objects of prepositions , which account for 68% The second commonest errors are the errors in using What and Which, Who and Whom , which stand 55% The errors related to in the use of how as a greeting rather... in grade 11 at Tran Hung Dao High School were noted as follows 1 Errors in the use of question words as subjects 43.75% 2 Errors in the use of question words as objects of prepositions 68% 3 Errors in using What and Which, Who and Whom 55% 4 Errors in the use of how much and how many 28.09% 5 Errors in the use of main verb in wh- questions 35.14% 6 Errors in the use of what and how 22% 20 7 Errors in. .. Errors in the use of question words as subject 43.75% 4 Errors in the use of main verb in wh- questions 35.14% 5 Errors in the use of how much and how many 28 09% 6 Errors in the use of what and how 22% 7 Errors in answering questions with why as a suggestion or invitation 12.71% 8 Errors in the use of how as a greeting rather than a question 11.33% II.2 Common errors and causes II.2.1 Errors in the use of. .. in chapter one, the study does not only help students have a deep insight into the wh- questions but also find out errors in the use of wh- questions Due to the framework of the thesis, to map out all the mistakes made by student at all educational levels is impossible Therefore, this thesis is only focused on common errors in the use of wh- questions made by the eleventh- grade students at Tran Hung Dao. .. Dao High School To find out the errors made by those students, a survey questionnaire was conducted II.1.1 Purpose of the survey The overall objectives of the survey questionnaire are to test students understanding of the wh- questions and find out common errors made by the eleventhgrade students at Tran Hung Dao High School in the school year of 2012/2013 II.1.2 Population of the survey The number of. .. think that question word along with preposition is put initial position in a 21 sentence to be a subject So, they made these errors II.2.2 Errors in using What and Which, Who and Whom The errors linked with using what and which, who and whom make up 55% They rank second to the errors in the use of question words as objects of prepositions There were no students who made 100% of errors in this use of. .. some of the kinds of information that can be sought with wh- questions For example: Question Word What Function asking for information about Example What is your name? something asking for repetition or What? I can't hear you confirmation You did what? What for asking for a reason, asking why What did you do that for? When asking about time When did he leave? Where asking in or at what place or Where... that learners of English often make when they use the wh- questions Therefore, it is essential to have a comprehensive study of common errors in the use of wh- questions I.2 Wh- questions I.2.1 Definition Wh- questions, according to L G Alexander in the book Longman English 6 Grammar Practice for Intermediate are questions that begin with any of the words “who, what, when, where”, etc or phrases “ what... knowledge of the wh- questions 2 Clarify and simplify the wh- question uses 3 Provide students with various types of exercises on the wh- questions 4 Help students minimize the influence of mother tongue 5 Give students some good ways to help them memories and use the rules of the wh- questions 6 Make lists of the wh- words related to uses of the wh- questions To students: 1 Do exercises relating to the wh- questions ... of errors in the use of wh- questions is the most often made by the eleventh- grade students at Tran Hung Dao High School in the academic year of 2012/2013? 3) What are the causes of the errors in. .. questions are raised: 1) What kinds of errors in the use of wh- questions are made by the eleventhgrade students at Tran Hung Dao High School in the academic year of 2012/2013? 2) What kinds of. .. objects of prepositions 3) Errors in using What and Which, Who and Whom 4) Errors in the use of how much and how many 5) Errors in the use of main verb in wh- questions 6) Errors in the use of what