The use of gerunds an analysis of errors made by high school students = (phân tích lỗi thường gặp trong việc sử dụng danh động từ của học sinh trung học phổ thông)

VINH UNIVERSITY FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT == =  == = VŨ THỊ HUYỀN THE USE OF GERUNDS – AN ANALYSIS OF ERRORS MADE BY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ( PHÂN TÍCH LỖI THƯỜNG GẶP TRONG VIỆC SỬ DỤNG DANH ĐỘNG TỪ CỦA HOC SINH TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG) GRADUATION THESIS FIELD: English Teaching Methodology VINH – 2012 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor Mrs Cao Thi Phuong, M.A who gave me valuable advice and help for carrying out this graduation thesis I am greatly indebted to the teacher of English at Dinh Tien Hoang high school, especially Mrs Vu Huyen Huong for her help and guidance while I was carrying out the survey Next, I would like to all my teachers at the Foriegn Language Department of Vinh university for their lectures which are very useful for me to finish the thesis In addition, I want to give my sincere thanks to my parents, friends who have encouraged and supported me during the period of doing the thesis Finally, I also wish to acknowkledge my great appreciation to my students, who took part in my survey actively Vinh, summer, 2012 Vu Thi Huyen ii TABLE OF CONTENT Page ACKONWLEDGEMENTS i TABLE OF CONTENTS ii LIST OF TABLE v PART I: INTRODUCTION 1 Reasons for choosing the topic Aims of the study Scope of the study Tasks of the study Methods of the study Significance of the proposed study Design of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Gerunds in English 1.1 Gerunds 1.1.1 Definition 1.1.2 Form 1.1.3 Characteristics of gerunds 1.1.3.1 Nominal characteristics 1.1.3.2 Verbal characteristics 1.1.4 Differences between gerunds and present participles 1.1.5 Gerund phrases and modifiers of gerunds in gerund phrases 1.1.5.1 An adverb or an adverb phrase 1.1.5.2 An adjective and/ or a possessive noun or pronoun 1.1.5.3 An object 1.1.5.4 A complement 1.1.6 Functions 10 1.1.6.1 As a subject 10 1.1.6.2 As a direct object 10 1.6.3 As a subject complement 11 iii 1.1.6.4 As an object of a preposition 12 1.1.6.5 As an adjective complement 12 1.1.6.6 As an appositive 13 1.1.7 Uses of gerunds 13 1.1.7.1 Case where gerunds are needed 13 1.1.7.2 Cases in which both gerunds and to- infinitive has the same meaning 17 1.1.7.3 Cases in which both gerunds and infinitives are used but with different meanings 18 What is error? 20 2.1 Definition of error 20 2.3 Errors and mistakes 21 2.4 Error analysis 23 2.5 The significance of error analysis 24 2.7 Error correction 24 2.7.1 Should the language learner’s errors be corrected? 25 2.7.2 When should learners’ errors be corrected? 25 2.7.3 How should learners’ errors be corrected? 26 CHAPTER II: THE STUDY 28 2.1 The research questions of the study 28 2.2 Research setting 28 2.3 Purpose of the study 28 2.4 The subject 28 2.5 Description of data collection 28 2.6 Procedure 29 2.7 Predictable errors and mistakes made by high school students 30 2.8 Preliminary results and data analysis 30 2.8.1 Results of the section 30 2.8.2 Result of section 31 2.8.3 Results of the section 32 2.8.4 Results of the section 33 2.9 Errors and their causes 34 iv 2.9.1 Errors in the use of gerund as direct objects 34 2.9.2 Errors in the use of gerund after possessive 35 2.9.3 Errors in the use of gerund as objects of preposition 35 2.9.4 Errors in the use of gerund after negative adjective no 35 2.9.5 Errors in the use of gerund as adjective complement 36 2.9.6 Errors in the use of gerund after some idiomatic expression 36 2.9.7 Errors in the use of gerund as subjects 36 2.9.8 Errors in the use of gerund as subject complements 37 CHAPTER III: FINDINDS AND IMPLICATIONS 37 3.1 Major findings 37 3.2 Implications for teaching and learning gerund 38 3.3 Suggested exercises 39 PART III: CONCLUSION 43 REFERENCES APPENDIXES v LIST OF TABLE Table 2.1 Result of section 31 Table 2.2 Result of section 32 Table 2.3 Result of section 33 Table 2.4 Result of section 33 vi PART I INTRODUCTION Reasons for choosing the topic Nowadays, tendency of globalization and integration has been taking place strongly in many countries including Vietnam In this process, English is regarded as an effective international communicative language, playing a vital part in making people in different cultures and countries closer Therefore, more and more people attend English courses to learn it.To many students, it can help them get a good job in the future Some want to study English since they think that it offers a chance for advancement in their professional lives However, learning a language is difficult, because each language has its own system which is different from that in the learner’s native laguage The differences in the systems of the languages may bring learners problems for foreign language learners.Vietnamese and English grammars have many different features which should be taken into consideration more deeply through careful researches.Major fidings in such researches will be useful to apply into teaching and learning English The differences often make students meet obstacles in their acquisition of the target language It is proved that English grammar is complex and often causes embrassment to students The gerund is one of the language categories that students at high school have to learn a lot Due to its various uses, it is assumed that there are many errors which may be made In fact many students confess that the gerund is one of the biggest problems of English grammar and they often make errors in the use of gerunds Furthermore, 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 focuses on the errors in the use of gerunds among the students in grade 10 at Dinh Tien Hoang high school Aims of the study The study reported in this thesis aims to: - Find out the kinds of errors made by the tenth-grade students of English at Dinh Tien Hoang high school in the academic year of 2011-2012 in using gerund - Find out the causes of errors in the use of gerunds made by the 11th- grade studens of English at Dinh Tien Hoang High School in the academic year of 20112012 Scope of the study The phenomenon is errors in the use of gerunds made by the students of English in grade 11 at Dinh Tien Hoang High School in the academic year of 20112012 Other relating to the gerund are also briefly mentioned The subjects involved in the study is ninety eleventh-grade students of English at Dinh Tien Hoang High School Tasks of the study - To study the information and characteristics and modifiers of gerunds in the gerund phrase - To research into the functions and uses of the gerund - To compare and contrast the gerund with the present participles - To conduct a survey to find out error types and causes On the basics of the findings, possible solutions to the problems are sought out to minimize the students’ errors Methods of the study Due to the scope and the characteristics of the study, author follows the procedures: - Collecting documents from books listed in the references - Consulting the supervisor, experienced teachers and friends - Synthesizing theoretical documents on English grammar - Conducting a survey and analyzing the results - Quantitative - Qualitative Significance of the proposed study Errors in any language teaching and learning, particularly in English as a foreign language, are not always easy to predict It is, therefore, essential for teachers to have better treatment to anticipate errors After the research, it is hoped that the results will be helpful to provide: - Input for learners of English in order to minimize their errors in the use of gerunds - 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 gerund This study is also beneficial to anyone who is interested in the gerund in English Design of the study The thesis consist of three main parts: The first part is Introduction This part provides the information about the reasons for choosing the topic, the aims of the topic, the scope of the study, the task of the study, the method of the study, the significance of the proposed study and design of the study The second part is development consisting three chapters - Chapter one is entiled Theoretical background This chapter presents three sections The first section will review literature in brief The second section will deals with things related to the gerund such as definition, formations, functions and uses of the gerund Moreover, the differences between the gerund and the present participle are also mentioned And the last one will be the overview of theories related to the notion of cause of errors in learning English as well as error analysis - Chapter two is named “ The study” It has two sections Section one depicts such elements related to the methodology of this study as purpose of the study, setting, subject, type of the study, procedure, construction of the study The second section is about , method of data analysis, result of the study, the analysis of the study - Chapter three is Findings and Implication The last part is conclusion This part is summarieswhat has been presented At the end of the thesis, there will be some pages for references, appendix and suggested excercises Answer: Send Correct answer:Sending The cause is that mother tongue influences students when they make use of the English gerund In Vietnamses, the same word may function as both a noun and a verb The students applied the rule of their own language to English and made the mistakes 2.9.8 Errors in the use of gerund as subject complements The least common type of error in the use of gerund is the error in the use og gerund as subject complements It is only 26% After analysis, it was found that the errors were caused due to the difference between two language, Vietnamese and English The subject complement in English must be a noun, and to make a noun, the – ing is added to the verb However, in Vietnamese, the noun and the verb may be in the same form For instance: The things he enjoys are A to eat and drink Correct answer: B eating and drink C eating and drinking C eating and drinking CHAPTER III FINDINDS AND IMPLICATIONS In the previous section, the causes of errors have been mention and it has been found that Vietnamese learners committed a large number in using gerunds In this chapter, we will look through major findings and some implications for teaching and learning process with a view to preventing errors 3.1 Major findings The results from the study present that students commit a lot of errors in using gerund It is very difficult for them to distinguish gerund and present participle Also, In terms of types of errors, majority of students fail to master the use of gerunds after direct objects Many of them had difficulties indentifying when to use infinitive or gerund after some verbs Besides, most of them met problem in using geund after possessives the error is caused by the limited knowledge of grammartical rules The result presented 37 in table 2.3 indicates that most students find it difficult to use gerund as adjective complements the reasons for making these errrors are shortage of grammartical structure and it seemed to be the students that only the infinitive is used after the adjective The use of gerund after some idiomatic expressions and use of gerund as subjects are thought to be simpler for students Not many errors are made in these cases In terms of error causes, the following findings have been obtained: - Most of errors collected belong to intralingual category and there are three main causes which are arranged in the following order of importance: ignorance of rule restriction, false concepts hypothesized and overgeneralization - Poor grammartical rule is believe to be a main cause of error - There are also mixed type of causes of errors 3.2.Implications for teaching and learning gerund From the major findings above, some following suggestions are made to improve the quality of teaching and learning Gerund at Dinh Tien Hoang high school In fact, the teaching process is complex, requiring a teacher of foreign language to have not only a good knowledge but also patience Students expect teachers to help them be aware of the gerunds and everything related to it through explicit teaching Therefore, it is important for teachers to enable students to see the importance of the gerunds in the English language Teachers introduce all possible uses of gerunds to the students The uses must be introduced systematically such as definition, form, function and meaning Moreover, the uses should be simplified and clarified Next, the teachers should be aware of the importance of the production stage At this stage, students apply the theory learnt into the communicative process It is adisable that students should be given more chances to use gerunds in a natural way.If they so, it means that the target of learning language is obtained It also students’ creativeness and indicates to us that they have mastered the rules Therefore, teachers should create as many real life situation as possible This can be done in both spoken and written form 38 Furthermore, it would be better for the teacher to include the differences between the gerund and the present participle in the the lecture The teacher is to explain the case where the gerund is needed and cases in which both the gerund and the infinitive have the same meaning.A list of words concerned with those uses is necessary As for some verbs employing a gerund and an infinitive, the teach+ gerund is used to talk about activities that take some time or that are repeated There is usually a determiner like the, my, some, and much before the gerund For example: I usually the washing after meals 3.3 Suggested exercise s There are many exercises on gerunds in grammar and text books Teachers could make use of them to consolidate what students have learnt Moreover, they should design particular exercise types to minimize students’ errors in the use of gerunds Here are some suggested exercise types Decide whether the underlined words are gerunds or present participles Give the correct form of the words Rewrite the sentences Translate the sentences into English As for the first exercise type, students have to make a distinction between the gerund and the present participle This type of exercise is designed to help students distingish the gerunds from present participles As for the second exercise type, the gerund and the infinitive are to be mixed This type of exercises help students have a variety of structures in which the gerund is used Therefore, they can minimize errors related to these grammartical structures The third exercise type is designed to consolidate what students have learnt about the gerund in terms of structures, functions and meaning It requires students’ comprehensive understanding of the gerund By doing this exercise type, students can minimize errors related to both grammartical structures and functions In addition, this type of exercises can help students minimize the influence of the mother tongue Here are some suggested exercises which may help students support the knowledge about gerunds 39 Exercise Decide whether the underlined words are gerunds or present participles Talking in class disturbs the classmates We sat beside a runing stream The boys shouting the loudest were winners My favourite exercise, playing tennis, is very benificial to my health Is there any hope of getting tickets? The approaching train is from Orleans Leaving for work, I ran into an old friend They are quite content with staying where they were There was a smoking cigarette and in the ashtray 10 You can not make an omelette without breaking eggs KEY: Gerunds: 1, 4, 5, 8, 10 Present participles: 2, 3, 6, 7, Exercise Give the correct form of the words Try (take) an aspirin You will feel better She went on (work) eventhough it was late We regret (inform) you that your application has been unsuccessful Jane stopped (check) the oil level in the engine The school does not allow (smoke) These letters require (type) I hate (do) the washing –up I must pratise (speak) French more often Don’t forget (buy) some milk on yourway home 10 Is there anything here worth (buy)? 11 I am used to (stand) in queues to buy tickets 12 He advised me (apply) at once 13 I am sorry for (make) such noise last night 14 I am ashamed (tell) you how much this carpet cost 15 After (have) a hot drink, I usually go to bed 16 What about (make) an early start? 40 17 He takes a great interested in (study) language 18 I used to (go)to the zoo when I was young 19 There is no (know/) that may happen 20 (Read) was a pleasure we all enjoyed 21 What we want is (make) a study club 22 They are fond of (climb) mountains 23 No (trespass) on these premises will be permitted 24 After I had been working for three hours, I stopped (eat) lunch 25 I tried (push) the car up the hill, but I could not move it KEY: taking working to inform to check smoking typing doing speaking to buy 10 buying 11 standing 12 to apply 13 making 14 to tell 15 having 16 making 17 studying 18 to go 19 knowing 20 reading 21 making 22 climbing 23 trespassing 24 to eat 25 to push Exercies Rewrite the sentences She ran five miles She did not stop.(without) It is boring to spend the whole weekend in the dorm (spending) My sister Vicki draws well (good at) Calling Jim is pointless because his phone is out of order (use) They attempted to put wire netting all around the garden (tried) Jean managed to finish all her work on time (succeeded) You should read this book beacuse it is interesting It is dangerous to play with knives (playing) Brenda really hates staying in expensive hotels (can’t bear) 10 Joe does not like it when people treat him like a child (resents) KEY: She ranfive miles without stopping Spending the wholw weekend in the dorm is boring My sister Vicki is good at drawing 41 4.It is no use calling Jim because his phone is out of order They tried to put wire netting all round the garden Jean suceeded in fishing all her work on time This book is worth reading beacuse it is interesting Playing with knives is dangerous Brenda can’t bear staying in expensive hotels 10 Joe resents being treated like a child Exercise Translate the sentences into English Tôi không ngại đibộ Đọc sách thật phí thời gian Anh giỏi bơi lặn Đọc Tiếng Pháp dễ nói tiếng Pháp Tôi nhớ đưa tới Pari tơi cịn nhỏ Tơi khơng có ý định dự tiệc Anh ta tiết kiệm tiền cách ăn nhà Tơi xin lỗi để cậu phải đợi Sở thích tiêu tiền vào việc mua sắm 10 Cậu phải xin phép trước sử dụng máy KEY: I don’t mind walking It was a waste of time reading that book He is good at diving Reading French is easier than speaking it I remembe being taken to Paris when I was young I have no intention of going to the party He saves money by eating at home I am sorry for keeping you waiting Her hobby is spending money for shopping 10 You have to ask for permission before using this machine To sum up, by doing these exercise types, students can master the gerund and minimize errors in the use of gerunds 42 PART III CONCLUSION It is undeniable that grammar is very important in the languge system However, it is complex and often causes embarrassment to students of English, even to advanced students The study is carried out with a view to benifiting Vietnamese teachers and students at high school and all of those who are concerned about teaching Gerund to Vietnamese students The gerund is a grammartical category that is said to have causes many difficulties to learners For this reason, the study has focused on errors in the use of gerunds among the students of English in grade 11 at Dinh Tien Hoang high school Taking this point into consideration, the thesis gives an understandable and complete pictures of the gerund Everything related to the gerund such as definition, form, charcteristics, functions, and use of gerund has been introduced and clarified Besides, the differences between the gerund and the present participle have been explained All the errors collected by means of an elicitation instrument full of contexual questions have been classified into eight subtypes: Type Errors in the use of gerund as subjects Type Errors in the use of gerund as direct objects Type Errors in the use of gerund as objects of preposition Type Errors in the use of gerund as subject complements Type Errors in the use of gerund as adjective complements Type Errors in the use of gerund after some idiomatic expression Type Errors in the use of gerund after possessive Type Errors in the use of gerund after negative adjective no The analysis of these errors bases on the literature review The errors are traced to the following causes: mother tongue interference, overgeneralization, incomplete application of rules, ignorance of rule restrictions and false concept hypothesized Besides, there are mixed type of causes Most of errors are attributed to intralingual ones And a significant number of errors derived from poor language 43 knowledge of the students should be taken into consideration To gether with the analysis process, some findings related to the use of Gerund have been made The study was conducted with the aim of testing the students’ understanding of the gerund and finding their common errors in the use of gerunds The outcome of the survey proves that the eleventh-grade students of English at Dinh Tien Hoang high school often make mistakes in the use of gerunds From the result of the study, it has been proved that the major causes are students’ limited understandings of gerund and the negative influence of the mother tongue Therefore, some suggestions have been raised how to reduce errors and prevent them from occuring in the teaching and learning process Various exercises have been suggested in which meaningful contexts and communicative purpose play a main role Based on the findings, some suggested solutions to the problems have been made, as follows: To teachers: - Provide students with a knowledge of the gerund - Clarify and simplify the gerund uses - Distinguish the gerund from present participle - Make lists of words related to uses of gerund - Help students minimize the influence of the mother tongue - Give students some techniques to help them memorize and use the gerund correctly - Prove students with various types of exercises on the gerund To students: - Master the use of the gerund - Do exercises relating to gerund as much as possible - Learn by heart grammar structures in which gerunds are used - Read the instruction and analyze the sentences carefully before doing exercies on gerunds Due to the limination of time and scope of study, the present research cannot cover all of problems in learning gerund Besides, it only based on the results of the investigation of errors made by students at Dinh Tien Hoang high school, Ninh 44 Binh province It is hoped that the study has made certain contributions to the English teaching and learning practices in Vietnam Although I have made great efforts, mistakes and shortcomings are unvoidable I would be much greatful to welcome all possible comments from readers to accomplish the work 45 REFERENCES Baugh, L.S (1993) Essentials of English Grammar Illinois: Passport Books Close, P.A (1979) A Reference Grammar for Students of English London: Longman Cook, G (1989) Discourse, Oxford University Press, London Corder, S (1967) The Significance of Learners’ Errors, IRAL, (Vol 5.N.4), 161-70 Corder, S.P (1974) Error Analysis, The Edinburgh Course in Applied Linguistics, Vol 3, Oxford University Press Eastwood, J (1994) Oxford Guide to English Grammar Oxford: Oxford University Press Hendrickson, J.M (1977) The effects of Error Correction Treatments upon Adequate and Accurate Communication in the Written Compositions of Adult Learners of English as a Second Language Unpublished Ph D Disertation: The Ohio State University Jame, C (1998) Errors in Language Learning and Use: Exploring Error Analysis London: Longman Jame, M.H (1987) Methodology in TESOL, Cambridge University Press 10 Lado, R (1957) Linguistics Across Cultures: University of Michigan Press 11 Lalande, J.f (1982) Reducing composition errors : An experiment Modern Language Journal, 66(2), 140-149 12 Norrish, J (1983) Language Learners and their Errors London: Macmillan 13 Quirk, R (1973) A University Grammar of English England: Longman 14 Richards, J.C (1992) Error Analysis Respective on Second Langauge Aquisition: Longman limited 15 Richards, J.C, Platt, J and Platt, H (1992) Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics 16 Richards, J.C (1971) A non- contrastive Approach to error Analysis, English Language Teaching, 25: Oxford University Press 46 17 Robb, T., Ross, S and Shorteend, I (1986) Salience of feedback on error and its effect on EFL Writing quality TESOL Quarterly, 20 (1), 85-95 18 Truscott, J (1996) The case against Grammar Correction in Second Language Wrting Class Language learning, 46:2, 327-369 47 APPENDIXES SURVEY QUESTIONAIRE This survey questionaire is carried out for the study about “ Common errors in the use of gerund made by the eleventh-grade students at Dinh Tien Hoang high school.” The researcher would be very glad if you support her by answering the following questions trufully The purpose of this is only for study so you not have to worry that your name will be mentioned in the study Thank you for your help Section Choose the correct answer Would you mind my .with you?” he asked, before I had finished speaking A to come B coming C come I bought a new car instead of away on holiday A go B going C went She is busy the housework A doing B to C Alice denied John’s money A to steal B stealing C steal .late offended the King A Galahad’s arriving B Arrive C Galahad arriving The things he enjoys are A to eat and drink B eating and drink C eating and drinking It was no use that I had not seen him, so I waved to him A pretending B to pretent C pretent coming in late is a big inconvinient A You B Your C Yours Tommy’s hobby is stamps A collect B to collect C collecting 10 Our front gate is falling into pieces It really wants A to mend B mending C mend 11 There is no that she is very clever A to deny B deny 48 C denying 12 It’s not worth angry with her A to get B getting C get 13 I have no choice except .Erogbellow chairperson A electing B to elect C elect 14 There is no him”, said mother A stop B stopping C to stop 15 is prohibited A The playing of the ball games B The playing ball games C Play ball games Section Give the correct form of the words 16 The car need (clean) 17 There was no (light) fireworks that day 18 Some people think that the (sell) of bonds is benificail … 19 (Vote) in every election is important 20 I have no objection to (hear) your story again 21 Fishing relaxes the soul 22 It is no use (expect) him to say thank you 23 I remember (read) about the earthquake in the papers 24 It is no good (talk) to him 25 (Send) a telegram was faster than writing a letter 26 No (smoke) is allowed in this classroom 27 What we want is (make) a study club 28 I regret(tell) him the truth 29 His responsibility is(drive) a car 30 She felt awful (leave) him with all the clearing up 31 (See) her so thin and pale shocked him 32 Do you mind (I) smoking? 33 He expressed a lot of interest in (apply) for this job 49 34 What about my (come) to see you tomorrow? 35 Would you like to take a taxi instead of (go) by bus Section Rewrite the sentences 36 He didn’t mind living alone because he has lived alone for 15 years He is used to 37 I’m sorry I didn’t go to university I regret 38 If you work for this company,you have to travel a lot Working for this company involves 39 This book is very interesting You should read it This book is worth 40 Doing the same thing makes me bored I hate 41 I don’t intend to there I have no intention of 42 Why don’t we wait for the bus? How about 43 He is responsible to drive a car His responsibility is 44 “Remember to buy some notebooks for me!” she said I remind 45 It minght be a good idea to use honey instead of sugar Why don’t you try IV Rewrite the following sentences, using a gerund preceded by a personal pronoun or noun in the genitive case Example: We are all surprised that he made that mistake We are all surprised at his making that mistake 46 It’s very kind of you to give me a lift 50 I appreciate 47 No one will object if you finish the presentation a little early No one will have objection 48 He is singing in the shower which I can’t stand I can’t stand 49 You mustn’t go there.I don’t approve of this I don’t approve 50 You tried to lie to me,which made me angry I was angry 51 ... out the causes of errors in the use of gerunds made by the 11th- grade studens of English at Dinh Tien Hoang High School in the academic year of 20112012 Scope of the study The phenomenon is errors. .. inappropriate use of language which the students are not aware of, and a mistake is caused by incorrect use of language in performance Only errors can be the object of the study of error analysis. .. finding their common errors in the use of gerunds The outcome of the survey proves that the eleventh-grade students of English at Dinh Tien Hoang high school often make mistakes in the use of gerunds