What are the sources of errors in second language learning? How can they be ratified?

Sometimes what the teacher teaches and what the learners learn are not the same. So,
it is important to notice the distinction between teaching and learning in analyzing the reasons
of errors. Errors may arise from the following factors.

Different Learning Strategies

Normally, the resulting errors and mistakes are not always the same in any language
class despite the identical input. Some students make multiple errors in a particular language
system and suddenly move to correct forms. Others may move more gradually, item by item.
Some may appear to learn in a linear progression, but others adopt a different procedure
where they suddenly seem to get a clever idea and learn the whole chunks of the language
system. This can either be conscious or unconscious activity.

Lexical Error

Lexis forms a potentially open set of items when new words are introduced and the
need of the language arises. The introduction of new vocabulary in context and learning when
the need arises are the most efficient aid to learning second language. A lexical error is an
error made in the choice of an appropriate word in a context either syntactic or situational.

Interference from first language

In terms of learners’ habit in the field of pronunciation, he tends to ‘hear’ the sounds
of his own language, or at least sounds close to those of his own language, rather than those
that are being produced in the foreign language. For example, many learners of English have
trouble distinguishing between the vowel sounds in ‘hit’ and ‘heat’ because although the
difference is significant in English, it isn’t in many other languages.

Another significance is stress patterns. Many languages have stresses syllables at

roughly equal distances in time which are not dependent on the number of unstressed
syllables in between. They are called stress-timed languages.

For example, in English, The ‘man is’ here

The ‘Mansion House is’ here

Both of these sentences would take a roughly similar time for a native English speaker
to utter because the different syllables would be pronounced at different speeds. In some
other languages each syllable occupies roughly the same amount of time. These are called
syllable-timed languages.

Accent

Some learners, especially adolescents, might be resistant to produce the unfamiliar

sounds from the foreign language. Thus, ESL teachers should expect imperfections in
pronunciation in learners. However, we should not accept a decline in ‘standard,’ but to
prioritize making the learners feel comfortable in the classroom. Moreover, as there are many
varieties of English dialects, the teacher should not accept the pronunciation pattern of only
one variety. The sounds that are the most familiar to their mother tongue should be selected
for students.

Motivation

Two basic types of motivation in language learning are integrative and instrumental.
Integrative motivation helps the learners have the willingness to identify with the culture,
perceived personality, and habits of the language speakers. Thus, this type of motivation is
useful for second language learning. Instrumental motivation can be seen in the learners who
use the language for the specific purpose such as for study. The learners with the second type
of motivation are more likely to make phonological errors.

Sociology

There are sociological factors that affect the learner’s type of motivation. For
example, in environments where English is used instrumentally as an official language and
the standard form of the language taught in the classroom will be different from the forms
used in contexts outside the school. Both syntax and phonology may differ considerably
since there can be strong social and political reasons for expressing solidarity as a mother
tongue. Therefore, the language teacher needs to be aware of all these possible factors. An
analysis of each student’s performance, both in terms of what he knows and what he doesn’t
will help the teacher monitor the student’s progress and provide as much individual help as
possible.