Common English writing errors made by English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education and the significance of correcting errors to English writing teaching

iii ABSTRACT ***** This paper studies the common written errors that first year English major students in Hung Yen University of Technology and Education make and the significance of error correction in English writing teaching To achieve the desired aims of the current study, I combined both qualitative and quantitative methods, including main ones namely observation, survey questionnaire and student writing analysis The subjects participating in the survey questionnaire were 60 first year students and writing teachers Besides 30 students’ writings were also analyzed and writing lessons were observed Research results show that errors first year English major students often make are basically dueto the lack of vocabulary and problems with normal grammatical rules in English The main causes of these errors are the interference of mother tongue, teaching- included cause, carelessness and psychology, in which interference from the first language is the biggest cause Besides, it is found out that students’ writing improves significantly after teacher’s error correction Some correction methods and techniques, including self – correction, peer – correction, student – teacher correction and remedial exercises, therefore, are strongly suggested in hope to help teachers to give effective error correction iv TABLE OF CONTENT DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENT iv LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii PART A INTRODUCTION 1 Rational of the study Aims of the study Scope of the study Methods of the study 4.1 Survey questionnaire 4.2 Writing analysis 4.3 Observation Design of the study PART B : DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER : LITERATURE REVIEW 1.Writing 1.2 Definition of error 1.3 Distinction between errors and mistakes 1.4 Sources of errors 1.5 Error analysis Error correction and significance of error correction CHAPTER II : METHODS OF THE STUDY 11 2.1 Participants of the study 11 2.1.1 Students .11 2.1.2 Teachers 11 2 Data collection instruments 11 2.2.1 Survey questionnaire 11 2.2.1.1 Reasons for choosing survey questionnaire 11 v 2.2.1.2 Description of survey questionnaires 12 a Survey questionnaire for students 12 b Survey questionnaire for teachers 12 2.2.2 Student writing analysis 13 2.2.2.1 Reasons for choosing student writing analysis 13 2.2.2.2 Description of student writing analysis 13 2.2.3 Observation .13 2.3 Procedure of data collection 13 CHAPTER III : RESULT AND DISCUSSION 15 Common errors made by first year English major students in UTEHY based on data analysis and discussion 15 3.1.1 Data analysis from questionnaires and observation 15 3.1.1.1 Students’ attitude towards their errors 15 3.1.1.2 Teacher’s attitude towards students’ errors 17 3.1.2 Data analysis from student writing 19 3.1.3 Discusion .23 3.2.Students’ improvement in writing proficiency as a result of teacher’s error correction 24 3.2.1 Data analysis from questionnaires and observation 24 3.2.1.1 Students’ attitude towards their improvement in writing proficiency 24 3.2.1.2 Teacher’s attitude towards their improvement in writing proficiency 26 3.2.2 Data analysis from student writing analysis .28 3.2.3 Discusion .29 3.3 Some implications for writing teachers 29 3.3.1 Methods to give feedback .30 3.3.1.1 Use error code 30 3.3.1.2 How much and when to correct errors 32 3.3.1.3 Integrate positive and negative, direct and indirect feedback 32 3.3.2 Techniques for error correction .33 3.3.3 Self – correction 34 3.3.4 Peer- correction 34 3.3.5 Student – teacher correction .35 vi PART C CONCLUSION 37 Summary of the study 37 The limitation of the study 38 Suggestion for further study 38 REFERENCES: 39 APPENDIXES I APPENDIX I APPENDIX IV APPENDIX VI APPENDIX VI vii LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Page Figure 3.1 Students’ assessment on difficulty of writing skill 15 Figure 3.2 Students’ opinion on importance of writing skill 16 Table 3.1 Student’s opinion on frequencies and quantity or errors 16 Figure 3.3 Students’ opinion on the causes of errors 17 Table 3.2 Teachers’ opinion on the importance and difficulty of writing skill 17 Figure 3.4 Teachers’ opinion on frequencies of errors 18 Figure 3.5 Teachers’ opinion on quantity of student error 18 Figure 3.6 Teachers’ opinion on causes of student errors 19 Table 3.3 Collected data about errors in students’ free writings 20 Table 3.4 Collected data about errors in students’ final writing tests 21 Table 3.5 Comparative data about errors made by students 22 Table 3.6 Types of common errors in writings of the first year English major 22 students at UTEHY Figure 3.7.Students’ assessment on the importance of teacher’s error correction 24 Figure 3.8 Students’ opinion on how teachers correct errors 24 Figure 3.9 Students’ opinion on how much teachers correct errors 25 Table 3.7 Students’ assessment on frequencies of error correction techniques 25 Table 3.8 Students’ assessment on effectiveness of error correction techniques 26 Figure 3.10.Teacher’s assessment on the importance of teacher’s error correction 26 Figure 3.11 The way teacher correct student’s errors 27 Figure3.12 Teacher’s assessment on the frequencies of using correction 27 Figure 3.13 Teacher’s assessment on students’ improvement in writing 28 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS UTEHY : Hung Yen University of Technology and Education PART A INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study Since Vietnam started its open door policy in 1986 The Government of Vietnam has stressed the importance of English as it is considered to play a crucial role on the country’s path of modernization and industrialization and integration As a result, most learners are encouraged to learn English to have access to information and better interactions In the modern world, the ability to use English is an empowering tool, which increases access for professionals to information, technology and professional development Moreover, the English language has rapidly become the most popular first foreign language among Vietnamese people, especially at schools, colleges and universities English serves not only as a beneficial instrument for English major students but also as a beneficial instrument for non – English major ones Writing skill plays the utmost role in learning English A proficient writing ability in second language enhances students’ logical way of thinking, thus facilitating students in meeting the requirements of almost every profession However, to attain the proficiency in writing has long been a challenge consuming much energy and practice for almost second language learners From my own experience as a teacher of English and my observation, it is a fact that Vietnamese students commit a great number of errors when they write in English whatever level they are at After teaching at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education, for three years, I realize that most of the first year English students at UTEHY often make writing errors, especially in grammar With the hope to find out what types of errors they normally make so that appropriate solutions could be applied to improve the current situation through error correction, the author would like to carry out this study entitled “Common English writing errors made by English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education and the significance of correcting errors to English writing teaching” Aims of the study The study is aimed at investigating the common errors first year English major students make in writing at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education; and suggesting some possible implications to aid teachers in correcting to students’ errors To achieve this aim, answers to the following research questions are sought: What are the common writing errors made by first year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education? What should teachers to give effective correction which aims at improving students’ writing proficiency? Scope of the study Due to the limited time and the restricted scope of study of a minor thesis, the study only focuses on identifying a number of common writing errors committed by first year English major students at UTEHY Also, attempts are made to roughly measure the given students’ writing skill improvement after the errors have been corrected in the learning process Methods of the study In order to conduct this paper, the writer has based on the following research instruments:  Survey questionnaire  Student writing analysis  Observation 4.1 Survey questionnaire To collect the information from teachers and students, one survey questionnaire is done with 60 students in classes in Faculty of Foreign languages in Hung Yen University of Technology and Education and the other is used for writing teachers in this university The data collected for the survey questionnaire supplies the information about the common errors made by first year English major students, the fact of teachers’ correction and student’s improvement in writing after teacher’s correction 4.2 Writing analysis To have an insightfully look into the current situation of common errors made by first year English major students at HYUTE, the writer analyzed 30 papers written by the students 4.3 Observation Observation is also applied to find out how the teachers correct students’ errors and how students’ writing improves after their errors are corrected All comments, remarks, and conclusion in the research are backed up by the data analysis Design of the study The study consists of main parts, organized as follows: Part A - Introduction- gives information about the topic of this paper, background to the study, the reason for choosing the topic, the aim, scope, and methods of study An outline of the thesis is also mentioned in this chapter Part B – Development – consists of three chapters, including Literature review, Methodology and Results and discussions Chapter I- Literature review – discusses the relevant theories related to writing, errors and error correction Chapter II- Methodology – will mention the main research instruments employed in the study as well as data collection procedure In chapter III- Results and discussions – the data colleted will be analyzed in order to find out the common errors made by first year English major students and the significance of error correction to teaching writing Part C- Conclusion – provides some practical suggestions to help teachers in making error correction more effective in teaching writing Some brief information about the limitations of the study and suggestions for further study will be also added here PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.Writing Many linguists give the definition of writing skill However, it is difficult to choose which is the most exact and trustworthy According to Flower (1984, p 16), “writing is simply the act of expressing what you think or saying what you mean” while Byrne (1988) considers writing as the “use of graphic symbols: that is, letters or combinations of letters” (p 1) He concludes that writing is the act of “forming these symbols; making marks on a flat surface of some kind” Nevertheless, on higher level, writing is a more complex process than the “production of graphic symbols” (Byrne, 1988, p 1) It involves the arrangement of symbols “according to certain convention, to form words and words have to be arranged to form sentences” (Byrne, 1988, p 1) Furthermore, writing is regarded as a productive and taught language skill which is “difficult to acquire” ( Tribble, 1996, p3) and “writing normally requires some form of instruction It is not a skill that is readily picked up by exposure” (Tribble, 1996, p.11) Thus, it is necessary for learners to study and practice to improve this skill as Ur (1996) stated that “most people acquire the spoken language intuitively, whereas the written form is in most cases deliberately taught and learned” Regarding academic education, Taylor (1984, p 4) expresses that “the act of writing, upon examination, turns out to be a complex process wherein writers use language as a tool to discover and clarifying meaning on experience in order to say exactly what they mean” In addition, Brannon, Knight and Neverow -Turk (1982, p 2) states that "writing is a creative art, not as an assembly line operation of locking words together into sentences and bolting sentences together into paragraphs in accordance with a predefined plan" In short, writing is a complex skill in second language learning because it requires the ability to communicate in target language and to produce text in order to express oneself efficiently Therefore, academic writing requires conscious effort and much practice in composing, developing, and analyzing ideas 36 teachers employ to correct students’ error Thus, some methods including using error codes, integrating positive and negative, direct and indirect feedback and techniques like self – correction, peer – correction, student – teacher correction and remedial activities are suggested to help teachers offer the effective error correction to students’ errors 37 PART C CONCLUSION Summary of the study All in all, the errors that first year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education often make are basically grammatical Furthermore, their errors are due to the lack of vocabulary and problems with normal grammatical rules in English Thus, their sentences are sometimes incomprehensible The main causes of these errors are the interference of mother tongue, teaching- included cause, carelessness and psychology Among them, the interference of mother tongue, and teaching - included cause are prevailing causes Besides, teacher’s error correction to students’ writing is a painstaking and laborious work for teachers because it consumes much teacher’s time and effort However, its importance in improving students’ writing skill cannot be denied When it comes to teacher’ error correction for English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education, some problems have been revealed Via handing out survey questionnaires for students and teachers along with observation and analyzing students’ writing samples, the author found that most students and teachers prefer the traditional approach to error correction to the modern one, which is more effective They argued that it takes a lot of time if teachers apply all the methods and techniques suggested in preceding chapter In fact, however, it is a waste of time if teachers try to correct all student errors; and it brings students no benefit in learning from their errors if teacher provides them the correct form directly Some correction methods and techniques, therefore, are strongly suggested in hope to solve these problems Instead of correct all errors, teachers should decide when and how much to correct Error code is also recommended to replace for full correction In addition, integration of positive and negative, direct and indirect feedback is a useful method as well To reinforce the efficiency of teacher error correction, such techniques as self – correction, peer – correction, student – teacher correction and remedial activities should be made totally use of It is hopeful that those implications will have some role to play in changing student and teacher attitudes towards errors and making teacher feedback more effective and fruitful to students’ progress in writing 38 The limitation of the study Within the limited time and restricted scope of a minor thesis, some inadequacies are unavoidable The narrow source of bibliographic books gives the author few chances to go more deeply into the research area This limitation is hoped to be tolerable Suggestion for further study Error and error correction is an interesting but controversial area on which many researches have been conducted Numerous techniques are suggested and applied in error correction, including peer – correction As previously mentioned, peer – correction has many benefits in reinforcing teacher’s feedback and promoting students’ writing proficiency However, how peer – correction is carried out and applied so as to make all use of it is a difficult question If time is unrestricted, a case study on this subject is strongly recommended for Vietnamese researchers 39 REFERENCES: Allwright, R L (1975) Problems in the study of the language teachers' treatment of learner error In M K Burt & H Dulay (Eds.), New directions in second language learning, teaching and bilingual education: 9th TESOL convention (pp 96-106) Washington, DC: TESOL Bartels,N (2003) Written peer response in L2 writing English Teaching Forum, 41(1), pp.34-37 Brown, H Douglas.1980 Principles of Language Learning and Teaching New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc Brown, D.B (1994) Principles of Language Learning and Teaching Third Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents Byrne, D (1988) Teaching writing skills Longman Handbooks for Language Teachers Longman: London Choon, T (1993) “Error analysis and correction of written work in the classroom” The English Teacher Vol XXII Corder, S (1967) The significance of learners’errors International Review of applied Linguistics, pp.161-70 Corder, S.pit (1975) Error analysis Paper in Applied Linguistics, Vol5 London: OUP Corder, S.P.(1974) Error analysis The Edinburgh Course in applied linguistics Oxford: Oxford University Press 10 Corder, S P (1974) Error Analysis In J P B Allen and S Pit Corder (eds.) Techniques in Applied Linguistics , London: Oxford University Press , pp 122-154 11 Clenton, J (2006) Academic Writing: towards an integrated approach Sussex Language Institute http://www.sussex.ac.uk/languages/documents/academicwritingessay.pdf 12 Edge, J 1989 Mistakes and Correction London: Longman Selinker, L (1974) Interlanguage In Richards, J (Ed.) Error analysis: Perspectives on Second Language Acquisition 31-54 Essex: Longman 40 13 Ellis, R 1994 The study of second language acquisition New York: Oxford University Press 14 Ferris, D R (2002) Treatment of error in second language student writing Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press 15 Ferris, D R 2003 Response to Student Writing: Implications for Second Language Students Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 16 Flower, L S., & Hayes, J R (1981) A cognitive process theory of writing College Composition and Communication, 32, 365-387 17 Gower, R and Walters, S (1983) Teaching Practice Handbook Oxford: Heinemann 18 Hendrickson, J M (1984) The treatment of error in writing work In S McKay (Ed.), Composing in a second language (pp 145-159) Rowley MA: Newbury House Publishers 19 James,C.(1998) Errors in Language Learning and Use Addison Wesley Longman Limited 20 Klassen, J (1991) “Using Student Errors for Teaching”, FORUM, Vol XXIX, No 1, Jan 21 Michaelides, N (1990) “Error Analysis: An Aid to Teaching”, English Teaching Forum, Vol XXVIII, No.4, Oct 22 Myles, J (2002) Second language writing and research: The writing process and error analysis in student texts TESL-EJ, 6(2) A-1 [On line] http://www.zait.uni-bremen.de/wwwgast/tesl_ej/index.html 23 Norrish, J (1987) Language Learning and their Errors London: Macmillan Publisher Ltd 24 Raimes, A (1983) Techniques in Teaching Writing New York: Oxford University Press 25 Rich Raimes, A (1991) Errors: Windows into the Mind College ESL, 1(2), 55-64 ards, J (1971) Error Analysis and Second Language Strategies Language Science, 17: 12-22 41 25 Richards, J.C and G.P Sampson (1974) The study of learner English In J.C Richards (ed.) Error Analysis Perspectives on second language acquisition, pp 3-18 27 Richards, J.C ed (1984) Error Analysis: Perspectives on Second Language Acquisition London: Longman 28 Selinker, L (1974) Interlanguage In Richards, J (Ed.) Error analysis: Perspectives on Second Language Acquisition 31-54 Essex: Longman 29 Tribble, C (1996) Writing Oxford: Oxford University Press 30 Ur, P (2003) Unit five: Giving Feedback on Writing A course in Language Teaching Practice and Theory Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 31 White, E M (1994) Teaching and assessing writing: Recent advances in understanding evaluating, and improving student performance (2 ed.) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers 32 Wood, N.M (1983) ‘Self-correction and Rewriting a Student Composition’ Teaching Forum July-September, 1977 Vol.31 No.3 Pp 38 I APPENDIXES APPENDIX Survey questionnaire ( For students) I am conducting a research on “Common English writing errors made by first year English major students at Hung Yen university of Technology and Education and the significance of correcting errors to English writing teaching” In order to collect reliable data for my study, I am badly in need of your sincere opinion on writing errors and error correction in writing English classrooms I hereby certify that all the information acquired will be dealt with anonymously Thank you for all the time and effort you spent completing this questionnaire! A General information: How old are you? …………… Where are you from? ……… How long have you been learning English? … Are you male or female ? …… B In your opinion, writing skill is …………………… a very difficult b difficult c quite difficult d not difficult In your opinion, writing skill is …………………… a very important B important c quite important d not important How often you make errors in writing? a very often b often c sometimes d rarely e never How many errors you often make? a many b several c few d no error What types of errors you often make? Verb tense Articles / Determiners Verb form noun endings subject verb agreement Word choice Word form Parallelism word order Pronoun sentence structure Run-ons II Fragments Punctuation Spelling Capitalization 10 What are the causes of errors in your writing? a Interference of mother tongue b Psychology ( stress, fear,…) c Teaching – induced cause d carelessness e Time pressure e Others Please specify : ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… 11 In your opinion, teacher’s error correction is to your writing improvement a very important b Important c quite important d a bit important e not important at all 12 How would you like your errors corrected by your teacher? a underline errors and correct form b underline errors and note error codes c note error codes d underline errors 13 How many errors does your teacher correct? a correct all errors b correct important errors c leave errors uncorrected 14 How often does your writing teacher use the following correction techniques? Often Sometimes Rarely Never Remedial exercises Self correction Peer correction Student – teacher correction 15 What techniques is effective to your writing improvement? How useful is each technique? Very effective effective A bit effective Not effective Remedial exercises Self correction Peer correction Student – teacher correction 16 Does your writing improve significantly as your results of teacher’s correction? III a My writing improves significantly b My writing improves a bit c My writing does not improve at all Thank you for your cooperation!!! IV APPENDIX Survey Questionnaire (For teachers) This questionnaire is conducted with a view to finding out the reality of writing teaching English for students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education Your completion of this questionnaire is highly appreciated It is guaranteed that your name will no be identified in any data analysis Thank you in advance for your time and cooperation! Gender : - Male □ - Female □ Please complete the following questions You may tick more than one option How long have you been teaching English? years In your opinion, writing skill is … a very difficult b difficult c quite difficult d not difficult In your opinion, writing skill is …………………… a very important B important c quite important d not important How often your students make errors in writing? a very often b often c sometimes d rarely e never How many errors your students make in writing? a many b several c a few d no errors What are the common errors your students often make in their writing? Verb tense Verb form subject verb agreement Articles / Determiners noun endings Word choice Word form Parallelism word order Pronoun sentence structure Run-ons Fragments Punctuation Spelling Capitalization What are the causes of your students’ errors in writing? a Interference of mother tongue c Teaching – induced cause e Time pressure b Psychology ( stress, fear,…) d carelessness e Others Please specify : ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… V In your opinion, your error correction is to your students’ writing improvement a very important b Important c quite important d a bit important e not important at all How you often correct student errors? a underline errors and correct form b underline errors and note error codes c note error codes d underline errors only 10 In your opinion, how many errors should be corrected? a correct all errors b correct important errors c leave errors uncorrected 11 How often you use the following correction techniques? Often Sometimes Rarely Never Remedial exercises Self correction Peer correction Student – teacher correction 12 How your students who receive error feedback show measurable improvement in writing over time? a significantly b a bit significantly c not significantly at all Thank you for your cooperation!!! VI APPENDIX Observation sheet Class observed: …………Teacher’s name : ………………………………………… Lesson: ……………………………………………………………………………… Warm – up : ………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… Pre- Writing: ………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… While – writing : …………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… Post – writing : ……………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… Errors : ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… Techniques used : …………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… APPENDIX A STUDENT WRITING SAMPLE CORRECTED BY TEACHER (1) VII STUDENT WRITING SAMPLE CORRECTED BY TEACHER (2) VIII