Multi-word verbs in English - Errors commonly made by students at Nguyen Hue gifted High school and possible solutions

Vietnam National University, Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES - - NGUYỄN THỊ LIÊN NINH MULTI-WORD VERBS IN ENGLISH: ERRORS COMMONLY MADE BY STUDENTS AT NGUYEN HUE GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS (Động từ đa thành tố tiếng Anh: Những lỗi học sinh trường THPT chuyên Nguyễn Huệ thường mắc giải pháp khả hữu) M.A THESIS Field: English Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Hanoi - 2010 Vietnam National University, Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES - - NGUYỄN THỊ LIÊN NINH MULTI-WORD VERBS IN ENGLISH: ERRORS COMMONLY MADE BY STUDENTS AT NGUYEN HUE GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS (Động từ đa thành tố tiếng Anh: Những lỗi học sinh trường THPT chuyên Nguyễn Huệ thường mắc giải pháp khả hữu) M.A THESIS Field: English Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Võ Đại Quang Hanoi - 2010 - vii - TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration p i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii List of abbreviations iv List of tables and figures v Glossary of linguistic terms vi Table of contents vii PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Aims and objectives of the study 2.1 Aims of the study 2.2 Objectives of the study Significance of the study Scope of the study Organization of the thesis PART B: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Literature Review 1.1 An overview of multi-word verbs in English 1.1.1 Definition of multi-word verb 1.1.2 Classifications and characteristics of multi-word verbs 1.1.2.1 Phrasal verbs 1.1.2.2 Prepositional verbs 1.1.2.3 Phrasal – Prepositional verbs 14 1.1.2.4 Other multi-word verb constructions 15 1.2 Error and Error Analysis 16 1.2.1 What is “error”? 16 1.2.2 What is “error analysis”? 16 1.2.3 Classification of errors 17 - viii - 1.2.4 Possible causes of errors in second language learning 18 1.2.4.1 Causes of interlingual errors 18 1.2.4.2 Causes of intralingual and developmental errors 19 1.3 Summary 19 Chapter 2: Research Methodology 20 2.1 The context of the study 20 2.2 Research method 20 2.2.1 Research questions 20 2.2.2 Instrumentation 21 2.2.2.1 Test 22 2.2.2.2 Interview 23 2.2.3 Participants 23 2.2.4 Data collection procedures 23 2.2.4.1 Data collection 23 2.2.4.2 Techniques of analysis 23 2.3 Summary Chapter 3: Findings and Discussion 23 24 3.1 Scoring and evaluation of students’ performance in doing test 24 3.2 Number and types of students’ actual errors 26 3.3 Errors and their causes 28 3.3.1 Intralingual errors 30 3.3.2 Interlingual errors 32 3.3.3 Mixed causes 33 3.4 Summary Chapter 4: Possible solutions to the students’ errors in using English 33 34 multi-word verbs 4.1 Possible solutions to the errors commonly made by students 34 at Nguyen Hue Gifted High school in using multi-word verbs 4.2 Suggestions for teaching and learning multi-word verbs in English 4.2.1 Suggestions for teaching 34 35 - ix - 4.2.2 Suggestions for learning 35 4.3 Summary 37 PART C: CONCLUSION 38 Conclusions 38 Recommendations for further research 39 References 40 Appendices I Appendix 1: Written grammar test I Appendix 2: Answer key V - iv - LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS E.g For example i.e That is L1 First language L2 Second language NP Noun phrase O Object Od Direct object Oi Indirect object Part Particle Prep Preposition p Page Qty Quantity V Verb Vintr Intransitive verb Vphr Phasal verb Vphr.prep Phrasal-prepositional verb Vprep Prepositional verb Vtr Transitive verb = Equal to / the same as * An asterisk signifies that what follows it is incorrect ^ Caret indicates omissions -v- LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Differences between prepositional verbs and verbs with prepositional phrases (p.11) Table 2: Differences between phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs (p.13) Table 3: Evaluation of the students’ performance in doing the exercises (p.25) Table 4: Numbers of errors committed by the students (p.27) Table 5: Taxonomy of errors and their causes (p.29) Figure 1: Non-pass and pass students (p.26) Figure 2: Causes of error (p.30) Figure 3: Intralingual errors (p.32) - vi - GLOSSARY OF LINGUISTIC TERMS Code The systems (grammar, meaning and sound) of a language Error A systematic deviation from the accepted code Global error An error which affects the meaning of the whole sentence Local error An error which only affects the meaning of the clause in which it is found L1 transfer Use of what the learner knows about his first language to try and assist expression in the target language Interference The effects of ‘habit’ formed in the speaker’s first language acting from L1 upon the target language (This is the phenomenon of borrowing and transferring learner’s native language patterns into the target language) Target language The language which the learner is learning Over- A failure by the learner to apply restrictions where appropriate to generalisation the application of a rule (It is learners’ previous mother tongue experience that is considered as a means of organizing the second language data.) L1 First language (usually the mother tongue) Ignorance of The second language learners “fail to observe the restrictions of rule restrictions existing structures’’ Intralingual are those which reflect the general characteristics of rule learning errors Developmental are those which illustrate the learner’s attempting to build errors hypotheses about English language from his limited related experience -1PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study Multi-word verbs are said to be one of the most important and complicated elements of English In modern English, many multi-word verbs come into existence and cause a lot of troubles for users, especially non-native speakers As a teacher of English at a secondary school in Hanoi, I found that my students have faced many problems when they learn English multi-word verbs They often fail to understand the meaning of multi-word verbs and make errors in using them Therefore, the idea of doing something useful for my colleagues and students has urged me to the research on “Multi-word verbs in English: Errors commonly made by students at Nguyen Hue gifted High school and possible solutions” The study is expected to make a great contribution to improve the quality of teaching and learning English at Nguyen Hue gifted High school Aims and Objectives of the study 2.1 Aims of the study  To help teachers and students gain an insight into multi-word verbs in English  To facilitate the teaching of multi-word verbs to Vietnamese learners of English 2.2 Objectives of the study  To identify the students‟ common types of error in using English multi-word verbs  To find out the causes of error committed by Nguyen Hue Gifted High school students when learning and using multi-word verbs  To work out possible solutions to the problem identified Significance of the study The study will be useful not only to the author and her colleagues in improving the teaching quality, but students will also benefit from it The result of the study will serve as a foundation for the possible solutions to students‟ errors in using English multi-word -2verbs Furthermore, the study will make some contribution to the field of teaching methodology Scope of the study • English multi-word verbs in terms of: (1) structural organization, (2) Meanings and usages, (3) Integrity, motivated and non-motivated idiomaticity • Types of error made by 50 twelfth-form students at Nguyen Hue Gifted High school in using English multi-word verbs Once problems have been identified, it will be possible to make suggestions for improvement Organization of the study The study has three main parts as follows: Part A: Introduction This part introduces the rationale, the aims, the objectives, the significance, the scope and the organization of the thesis Part B: Development This part consists of four chapters: Chapter provides literature review focusing on the issues related to multi-word verbs in English, error and error analysis in second language learning Chapter presents the methodology applied in this work It also includes an overview of the context of the study Chapter discusses the findings of the study based on the test and interview results Chapter offers possible solutions to errors commonly made by students at Nguyen Hue Gifted High school Some suggestions for teaching and learning English multi-word verbs are also provided Part C: Conclusion This part summaries all the major issues in the previous parts with conclusions drawn from the findings Some recommendations for further research are also included PART B: DEVELOPMENT - 31 misselect the verbs like in the sentences: „I‟ll send someone to *deal for the parcel on Thursday.‟; „Don‟t you think the manager should *call with this problem‟ The students made 64 errors of this type False concepts hypothesized are the last cause of intralingual errors These errors are sometimes due to poor gradation of teaching items This leads to learners‟ faulty comprehension of distinctions in the target language Multi-word verbs like: „get on‟, get off‟, „get into‟, „get out of‟ (= to enter / to leave a bus, train etc.) are taught to establish a contrast between them but then the students often confuse their meanings For example: Ann got *into the train just as it was about to leave and got *out of at Portland (got on) (got off) 35 errors of this type were found in students‟ papers The number of intralingual causes of errors is illustrated in Figure 200 184 150 91 100 50 51 35 Overgeneralization Ignorance of rule restrictions Incomplete application of rule False concepts hypothesized Figure 3: Intralingual errors In a short word, errors due to intralingual causes happened commonly and naturally among the learners of English Intralingual causes reflect the students‟ incompetence at a particular stage and illustrate some of the general characteristics of second language acquisition Their origin is found within the structure of second language itself, and through reference to the strategy by which L2 is acquired and taught 3.3.2 Interlingual errors - 32 Together with intralingual errors, the ones coming from the influence of the mother tongue take up a large part covering different types Particularly, major problems Vietnamese students often meet connected with the categories of particles: misselection of particles and omission of particles Of all the errors committed by the students, misselection of particle is considered as the most popular, that can be traceable immediately to the mother tongue interference A big number (140 errors) is accounted for It is inevitable for the learners to commit such errors: Explain *with his parents / Apologized to Huong *about breaking / Thanked Mary *about her gift, because these verbs are followed by different prepositions used in the students‟ first language In addition, the students commit errors in omitting particle because in Vietnamese, there are some verbs which may not be followed by a preposition Here are some incorrect sentences from students‟ works: We apologized ^Huong *because we broke down her bicycle Pleasant memories are brought ^ by your story 3.3.3 Mixed causes A good number of 80 errors found in students‟ papers owed their cause to the combination of two types of over–generalization and interlingual sources This cause mainly leads to the inapplication of unnecessary particle (For example, „describe * about; discuss *about; or explain *about‟) The students sometimes over-generate because of interference between items in the target language From „say about‟, ‟speak about‟, „write about‟, they seem to generalize and produce: The poet described *about beautiful nature in his poem Her latest book discusses *about the problems of disabled He explained to his parents *about this Verbs like „describe‟, „discuss‟, „explain‟ seem to attract „about‟ more easily because they are closer in meaning to verbs which take „about‟ Another reason for their use of unnecessary particle is that these verbs not take a particle in English but need one in Vietnamese Therefore, the errors of this type are also traced to the Vietnamese interference 3.4 Summary To sum up, this chapter has presented the data analysis, interpretation and discussion The analysis has brought to light some of the major sources of errors occurring in Vietnamese - 33 secondary school students The students at Nguyen Hue Gifted High School commit errors when they are learning multi-word verbs not only because of their mother tongue interference but also their linguistic incompetence and mutual interference within the items of the target language CHAPTER POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO THE STUDENTS‟ ERRORS IN USING ENGLISH MULTI-WORD VERBS Based on the findings in chapter 3, in this chapter, the researcher will work out some possible solutions to the students‟ errors in using English multi-word verbs Some suggestions for teaching and learning English multi-word verbs are also provided to help teachers and students at Nguyen Hue Gifted High school solve the identified problems 4.1 Possible solutions to the students‟ errors in using English multi-word verbs ● In terms of linguistic elements + Semantic and morpho-syntactic features of English multi-word verbs are gradually introduced to help students get familiar with multi-word verbs in different functional contexts + Error correction is also a useful technique to teach grammatical rules related to multiword verb usage by drawing students‟ attention to the errors made and explaining the proper grammatical rules as well as presenting various examples + It is beneficial to students if they are provided with systematic and well-designed grammar instructions in connection with their first language, through which language differences were indicated Sufficient time for practice is essential for progress ● In terms of error corrections + Firstly, the teacher has to find out the original causes of students‟ errors and help students to make clear what errors they make and motivate them to correct the errors on their own (E.g Exchange their products with their desk mates and they should underline each other‟s errors Then they have to correct their own mistakes themselves) - 34 + Secondly, drill is recommended as a technique of dealing with errors Remedial instructions should be provided for the contents that students not master 4.2 Suggestions for teaching and learning multi-word verbs in English 4.2.1 Suggestions for teaching ● The most common multi-word verbs should be taught at the very early stage of learning so as to make the learners get familiar with this kind of verb These multi-word verbs may be: Look at Put off Listen to Look for Take off Think of/about Look after Belong to Laugh at Turn on Apply for Come in ● Idiomatic multi-word verbs should be taught in comparison with single-word verbs Further explanation should be given if the students cannot deduce their meaning E.g Bring up the children: train/education Look forward to sth/doing sth: anticipate sth with pleasure ● In order to help students to comprehend and correctly use multi-word verbs, the teacher, when introducing any case, should provide examples as illustrations For example, when distinguishing the difference between transitive phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs, the following example may be given: They called on the man (V+ prep + NP) They called up the man (V+ Part + NP) Sentence (2) can be expressed in two different ways: They called the man up or They called him up Whereas, sentence (1) can be only changed in one way They called on him not *They called the man on nor *They called him on ● The teacher should develop students‟ ability to guess the meaning of multi-word verbs in a certain context so that they can master the verb quickly by themselves For example: He picked the paper on the ground up - 35 He went to the airport to pick his friend up He went to the travel agent to pick up the ticket 4.2.2 Suggestions for learning multi-word verbs 4.2.2.1 Recording Phrasal Verbs ● It is advisable to learn multi-word verbs as units Students should record the verb, its meaning, translation in their own language and an example sentence to help them remember the context Be sure that the context is the same Verb Drop off Meaning To fall asleep, often when you don‟t intend to Example He usually drops off in front of the television Translation Ngủ gật ● The position of objects If the verb has an object, it is useful to record the possible positions of the object Verb Try sth out Grammar code V + n/ pro + adv; V + adv + n Examples She tried out the new recipes/ She tried the new recipes out/ She tried them out ● Collocations Many phrasal verbs are frequently used with particular nouns as subjects or objects It is a good idea to record these as follows: To find out information To make up a story To fill in a form To work out a solution To break off a conversation To play down a problem 4.2.2.2 Organizing phrasal verbs ● Organizing by particles - 36 The particles used in multi-word verbs often have particular meanings which can help them to understand the meaning of the whole verb Match the meanings with the verbs Into Entering Grow into, turn into, make into Changing Look into, dig into, delve into Persuading Break into, get into, check into Investigating Talk into, pull into, draw into ● Organizing by topics Sometimes it can help students to remember verbs if they record them in groups according to the topics they relate to Match the topics with the phrasal verbs Computer Take off, check in, touch down Travel Get carried away, fall out, get on with Feelings Log on, boot up, mouse over ● Organizing by opposites Students may find it easier to learn a word together with its opposite Match each phrasal verb with its opposite Pass out Turn down Go away Switch off Switch on Come round Bring forward Get together Turn up Come back Break up Put back 4.3 Summary All of the above suggested techniques in learning English multi-word verbs would be more useful for the learners‟ acquisition with the assistance of practice Doing exercises is considered to be a good way to help learners not only to practice what they have learnt but also to use these special verbs correctly and appropriately in communication - 37 - PART C: CONCLUSION Conclusions So far, the study has fully analyzed the errors made by 12th form students from a group of Natural Science at Nguyen Hue gifted high school in using English multi-word verbs The study is based on the theoretical foundation of English multi-word verbs in many books, namely, (1) Michael Vince with Paul Emmerson (1993 First Certificate Language Practice); (2) Jennifer Seidl (1990 Exercises on Phrasal Verbs); (3) Douglas BiBer et al (1999 Grammar of Spoken and Written English); (4) Raymond Murphy (1994 Grammar in use); (5) Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum (1973 A University Grammar of English) and view points of some famous experts in error analysis such as S P Corder (1967) and Jack C Richards (1974) These errors are described and classified into different categories respectively and their causes are revealed with the help of error analysis techniques We have finally found out the answers to the research questions raised at the very beginning of the thesis Answer to objective Seven common types of errors, in descending order, are listed as follows: misselection of verb (21%), application of unnecessary particle (17%), misselection of particle relating to the deviation of grammatical rules (16.5%), omission of particle (16%), misodering (12.5%), dogmatic application of passive transformation (12%), misselection of particle affecting the sentence meaning (5%) Answer to objective Three major causes of errors identified in this study, in descending order, were intralingual transfers (62%) in the forms of incomplete application of rules, ignorance of rule restrictions, over-generalization, false concepts hypothesized; L1 interference (24%) and mixed causes (14%) From these figures, we can conclude that interference from Vietnamese is not the major factor which caused the students to make errors in using multi-word verbs Rather, lack of linguistic competence and mutual interference within the items of the target language comprised the largest part of error causes - 38 Answer to objective Some possible solutions were worked out to reduce students‟ errors in using English multiword verbs Especially, in the teaching process, semantic and morpho-syntactic features of English multi-word verbs are gradually introduced to help students get familiar with multiword verbs in different functional contexts Drill is also recommended as a technique of dealing with errors Recommendations for further research Although the findings are useful in many ways as indicated, it is important to continue the investigation of errors in using English multi-word verbs in the future under the following domains: Firstly, in terms of English multi-word verbs: This study only looked for errors in Verb + particle, Verb + preposition, and Verb + particle + preposition Further types beyond these three kinds of multi-word verbs need to be identified, such as Verb + verb (compound verbs, e.g to force-land), Noun + verb (e.g to team teach, to baby sit, to house keep, to day-dream), Adjective + verb (e.g to white wash, to black mail), or other multi-word verb constructions (e.g take notice of, make room for, pay attention to, take into consideration) Therefore error analysis on this area could be conducted Secondly, future study could also look into errors viewed psychologically and crossculturally It would be of great value to detect, describe and understand the errors from the psychological and cultural reasons for their occurrences The result of such a study would shed some light on the development of high school students‟ English competence In conclusion, the researcher has made her best attempt to conduct the research Despite all the limitations of the study, she still hopes that it will make some contribution to the betterment of teaching and learning multi-word verbs of the students at Nguyen Hue Gifted High school in particular and in English teaching and learning in general REFERENCES - 39 Alexander, L.G (1988) Longman English Grammar, p 152-158 Longman House, London and New York Beaumont, Digby & Granger, Colin (1989) The Heinemann English Grammar, p 281-284 Heinemann Publisher Oxford Ltd Chalker, S (1984) Current English Grammar Macmillan Publisher Ltd, London & Basingstoke Colin McIntosh (2001) Oxford Phrasal Verbs, p 12 Corder, S.P (1984) “Idiosyncratic Dialects and Error Analysis”, p 158-171 Error analysis – Perspectives on Second Language Acquisition Longman Group limited Corder, S.P (1984) “The Significance of Learner‟s Error”, p 19-27 Error analysis – Perspectives on Second Language Acquisition Longman Group limited Ellis, R (1994) The Study of Second Language Acquisition, p 48-49 Oxford University Press Murphy, R (1994) English Grammar in Use Cambridge University Press Norish, John (1983) Language Learners and their Errors, p 7-8-126-127 Macmillan 10 Parrot, Martin (2000) Grammar for English Teachers, p 108-118 Cambridge University Press 11 Quirk, R et al (1972) A Grammar of Contemporary English, p 815-816 Longman Group Limited 12 Richards, J.C (1984) “A Non-Contrastive Approach to Error Analysis”, p 172188 Error Analysis – Perspectives on Second Language Acquisition Longman 13 Richards, J.C & Richard Schmidt (2002) Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, p 184-185 Pearson Education Limited 14 Seidl, Jennifer (1990) Exercises on Phrasal Verbs, p 7-9-11-19-21 Oxford University Press 15 Vince, Michael & Emmerson, Paul (1993) First Certificate Language Practice, p 150-158 Macmillan Publishers Limited -I- APPENDICES APPENDIX WRITTEN GRAMMAR TEST (Time allocated: 60 minutes) -Dear students, I am doing my M.A minor thesis on the topic “Multi-word verbs in English: Errors commonly made by students at Nguyen Hue Gifted High school and possible solutions” This is the survey exercises about the topic, designed for study purposes only Please fill in necessary information (by giving a tick), then complete the following exercises You can be confident that your name will not be identified in any cases I would be very grateful to have your cooperation Thank you in advance Your full name: School: □ Female Your gender: □ Male Your age: Year of studying English: I Circle the best word of A, B, C or D to complete the following sentences E.g Turn ……… the music It’s too loud A on B down C up D off We have decided to call ……… the match A off B on C for D back I have to look this word ………… in my dictionary A down B up C forward D for Ann got ………… the train just as it was about to leave and got off at Portland A away B on C into D up - II Martin isn’t very happy in his job because he doesn’t get……… his boss A up B by C in D along with There was a bank robbery last week The robbers got………$30,000 A on B off C away with D down II Fill in the gaps with the correct multi-word verbs using a verb from box A and a preposition or adverb from box B Put the verbs into the correct form A B Come After Deal Over Look Across Go On Live For Call With E.g I’m afraid I can’t go to the party on Saturday I have to look after my little brother I’ll send someone to ……………… the parcel on Thursday I ………….one of your novels in a second-hand bookshop yesterday Let’s ………….our plan once more Don’t you think the manager should ……… this problem? They ……….the money her father gives them III Put the words in the right order to form a complete sentence E.g This programme is boring going to / I’m / it / off / turn => I’m going to turn it off I won’t forget the titles of the books down / I’ve / them / written …………………………………………………………………………… I wasn’t allowed to go from / leaving / me / prevented / The police …………………………………………………………………………… - III We have little time quickly / Drink / your milk / up …………………………………………………………………………… I have to look smart I’ll / on / put / that expensive grey coat / I / bought …………………………………………………………………………… Peter’s got the photos at / He’s / looking / carefully / them ……………………………………………………………………… IV Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given in brackets Do not change the word given E.g Everyone continued working as usual (carried) Everyone carried on working as usual Quite by chance, Brenda met Philip at the station (ran) Brenda ……………………………………………… at the station How can you bear so much traffic noise? (put) How can you …………………………………………… traffic noise? Charles cheated in his exams, and didn’t get caught (got) Charles cheated in his exams, and ……………………………… it They will have to postpone the game (off) They will have to …………………………………… the game You’ll just have to learn to accept the facts! (face) You’ll just …………………………………………… the facts V Transform the following sentences into passive if possible E.g Someone should look into the matter The matter should be looked into Your story brings back pleasant memories …………………………………………………………… They have provided the victims with food and clothing ……………………………………………………………… I can’t put up with these screaming children! - IV ………………………………………………………………… A neighbor is looking after the children ………………………………………………………………… We called after lunch ………………………………………………………………… VI Translate these Vietnamese sentences into English using the right form of the verbs in brackets with particles / prepositions if necessary E.g Tôi mong sớm gặp anh (Look) I’m looking forward to seeing him soon Nhà thơ miêu tả thiên nhiên tuyệt đẹp thơ (Describe) Quyển sách gần bà bàn đến vấn đề người tàn tật (Discuss) ……………………………………………………………………… Chúng tơi xin lỗi Hương làm hỏng xe đạp cô (Apologize) Tơi cảm ơn Mary q nhân ngày sinh nhật (Thank) ……………………………………………………………………… Anh giải thích điều với cha mẹ (Explain) THE END APPENDIX ANSWER KEY TO EXERCISES I Circle the best word A, B, C, or D to complete the following sentences -V1 A B B D C II Fill in the gaps with the correct multi-word verbs using a verb from box A and a preposition or adverb from box B Put the verbs into the correct form Call for Came across Go over Deal with Live on III Put the words in the right order to form a complete sentence I’ve written them down The police prevented me from leaving Drink up your milk quickly I’ll put on that expensive grey coat I bought He’s looking at them carefully IV Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given in brackets Do not change the word given Brenda ran into Philip at the station How can you put up with so much traffic noise? Charles cheated in his exams, and got away with it They will have to put off the game You’ll just have to face up to the facts V Transform the following sentences into passive if possible Pleasant memories are brought back by your story The matter should be looked into Impossible to transform into passive The children are being looked after by a neighbor Impossible to transform into passive - VI - VI Translate these Vietnamese sentences into English using the right form of the verbs in brackets with particles / prepositions if necessary The poet described the beautiful nature in his poem Her latest book discusses the problems of disabled We apologized to Huong for breaking down her bicycle I thanked Mary for her gift on my birthday He explained this to his parents