ERROR ANALYSIS AND CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK 1

Error Analysis and Corrective Feedback

Muhammad Khalid Mehmood

Department of English Linguistic, The Islamia University Bahawalpur

ENG-33103-34272: Applied Linguistics

Dr. Saeed Ahmad

July 31, 2021

2

Table of Contents
ERROR ANALYSIS AND CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK.................................................................................3

WHAT IS ERROR?....................................................................................................................................3

Errors versus mistakes.....................................................................................................................3

SLIPS AND ATTEMPTS......................................................................................................................................3

WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT CAUSES OF ERRORS?.................................................................3

INTERFERENCE..................................................................................................................................................4

OVERGENERALIZATION.................................................................................................................................4

TEACHING-INDUCED ERRORS......................................................................................................................5

TYPES OF ERRORS.............................................................................................................................................5

BASED ON THEIR GRAVITY............................................................................................................................5

RESPONDING TO ORAL ERRORS....................................................................................................................6

ERROR ANALYSIS..............................................................................................................................................7

STEPS FOR ERROR ANALYSIS.......................................................................................................................7

COLLECTION OF A SAMPLE OF LEARNER LANGUAGE.......................................................................7

IDENTIFICATION OF ERRORS.......................................................................................................................7

DESCRIPTION OF ERRORS..............................................................................................................................8

SELECTION..........................................................................................................................................................9

EXPLANATION OF ERRORS..........................................................................................................................10

ILLUSTRATES ELLIS'S EXPLANATION.....................................................................................................10

FEEDBACK..........................................................................................................................................................11

CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................................................11

REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................................................12
 Error Analysis and Corrective Feedback 3

Error Analysis and Corrective Feedback

What is Error?

Corder defines errors as “breaches of the code”. AnPatten and Williams define error
as an evidence of lack of learning. Ellis claims that error occurs because the learner does not
know what is correct; it reflects gaps in learner’s knowledge. In addition, Gass and Selinker
(2008) state that error is systematic as it is likely to occur repeatedly and is not recognized by
the learner as an error.

Errors versus mistakes

These two terms had been used interchangeably before Corder pointed out that it was
important to distinguish between ‘errors’ and ‘mistakes. Mistakes: Mistakes are inaccuracies
in linguistic production either in our native language (L1) or in the foreign language (L2) that
are caused by memory lapses, physical states, and conditions such as fatigue, inattention, or
strong emotion. Mistakes are mainly slipping of the tongue or lapses; even native people
make mistakes in speech and writing. Mistakes are not systematic, they occur accidentally,
the learner is immediately aware of them and can correct them.

Slips and attempts

Edge (1989) distinguishes between slips and attempts from the point of view of
learners and teachers, defining slips as mistakes that the teacher thinks the student could
self-correct. When the students want to express their meaning, but they make a mistake
because they have not yet learned the necessary language structure, their mistakes can be
called attempts Performance versus competence Mistakes are miscues in performance. The
term performance’ was introduced by Chomsky and he meant the overt production of
language as either speech or writing. He contrasted it with ‘competence’, the native
speaker’s perfect knowledge. Competence is the knowledge of what is grammatically
correct; performance is what occurs in practice. Chomsky regarded performance as the
faulty representation of competence caused by psychological restrictions. Mistakes reveal
nothing about the underlying competence. the by.

What are the most important causes of errors?

 Error Analysis and Corrective Feedback 4

After discussing the basic differences between mistakes and errors we must deal
with the issue of why learners make errors and why they find it so difficult to correct their
errors. Researchers dealing with second language acquisition (Corder, 1974, Odlin,1989,
Scovel, 2001) agree that one of the major causes of errors is language transfer. Language
transfer –interference Language transfer refers to the influence of the mother tongue on the
learning of the foreign language. When there are no major differences between L1 and L2,
the transfer will be positive, which will make language learning easier. When there are
differences, the learner’s L1 knowledge may interfere with learning L2, negative transfer
will occur, which is called (mother-tongue) interference. Interference affects all levels of
language, such as pronunciation, grammar, lexis, syntax and so on. The errors arise from
the mismatch between the grammatical habits of the learners’ mother tongue and the new
grammatical patterns that the learners have to acquire in the foreign language. Although
mother tongue interference is a very important cause it is not the only one.

Interference

Language learners may experience confusion when they find conflicting patterns
within the structure of the newly acquired language. Scovel calls it interference. A good
example is the use of the third person singular suffix, which causes problems to a great
number of learners irrespective of what their mother tongue is. The information about the
suffixation (in simple present tense there are no suffixes only in the third person singular)
confuses the learners and it comes from English itself. One of the most common indication
of interference is overgeneralization.

Overgeneralization

Overgeneralization means that whenever learners meet a new pattern or a new rule,
they think that the pattern or rule applies to all cases without exception. Errors are
produced because the learner extends the target language rule to inappropriate context
ignoring the restrictions of the structures. Overgeneralization results from the fact that the
learner finds it easier to transfer previous knowledge to produce a new pattern. A good
example said by a foreign language learner is the following: “She must goes” Here the
 Error Analysis and Corrective Feedback 5

strong rule of using “s” in the third person singular is overgeneralized by the learner, and
he retains the “s” with the auxiliary verb.

Teaching-induced errors

According to Corder errors can be encouraged by the teaching method, as well.

Teaching-induced errors result from different aspects of the teaching process itself that the
learners are exposed to the classroom situation, the used material, the teacher’s language
use, the teaching method. They are difficult to identify. They may be because the teaching
material is not appropriate to the class, or there are some deficiencies in the teaching
methodology. The teacher can also induce errors by using overgeneralization or
simplification himself to help the learners understand the new material. It is important to
identify the causes of errors and mistakes because this knowledge may help the teacher to
decide how to respond. Errors of interference and overgeneralization provide a key to
learners current’ understanding of the language system and may provide the teacher with
evidence on which to base decisions about what to teach explicitly.

Types of errors

According to the above-mentioned causes of errors we can distinguish between

two groups of errors: interlingual/transfer errors, which are due to the interference of the
learners’ mother tongue, and intralingual/developmental errors, which are due to the new
language learned. Errors can be grouped according to their gravity and treatment, as well.
Krashen speaks about three kinds of errors, which he considers the most relevant errors
that are to be dealt with: global errors, stigmatized and the most frequent errors. Global
errors, which make communication impossible because they disable the comprehension of
the communicative message, are necessary to be corrected. Stigmatized errors (use of
taboo words, socially unacceptable words, or violent language) are to be treated
immediately. The group of the most frequently occurring errors includes errors which are
to be corrected no matter which group they belong to. Bárdos groups the written errors

Based on their gravity

 Error Analysis and Corrective Feedback 6

Qualitative errors are errors that are so serious they impede communication or
distort the information transferred. Quantitative errors are errors (misspelled words,
misused structures, synonyms, style) that do not affect communication. However, if any of
these quantitative errors distort the meaning, they may become qualitative errors.

Responding To Oral Errors

Error correction should be positive to encourage students to concentrate on what

they have got right. Teachers must praise students for correct answers, even for partly
correct answers, to make them feel they are making progress. Teachers should avoid
humiliating students or making them feel that making a mistake or an error is bad. Doff
emphasizes that a good teacher should be aware of the effect on each individual learner of
correcting the errors, that is why s/he should be flexible and use different strategies
according to the kind of error, the ability and personality of the student, the kind of
activity, the general atmosphere in the class. First the difference between mistakes and
errors must be clarified because the kind of error will determine what correction strategy is
to be employed. Several teachers consider oral correction more difficult than written
correction because they must make decisions quickly about correction, as they cannot
spend too much time correcting errors, because it gives them too much importance and
holds up the lesson. Teachers must consider several factors:

what to correct (the nature of the error or mistake), when to correct (students’
purpose in speaking, concentrating on fluency or accuracy), how much to correct
(selection of errors to be corrected, individual or common problem, the ease with which
the error or mistake can be corrected, avoidance of overcorrection) - how to correct
(indication of the error, person providing correction, personality and ability of the student).
Very little time is to be spent on mistakes, as students are usually able to correct
themselves either unprompted or with some guidance. Errors are to be dealt with, because
the student may think that what he is saying is correct or does not know the correct form
or even if he knows what the correct answer should be, he cannot get it right. The issue of
when and what to correct is related to what the focus is at the time: accuracy or fluency. It
 Error Analysis and Corrective Feedback 7

depends on the kind of the activity we are doing and the aim of the activity: we want
students to produce accurate language or whether we want them to express themselves
freely and develop fluency.

Error Analysis

Error Analysis can be defined as “technique for identifying, classifying and

systematically interpreting the unacceptable forms produced by someone learning a
foreign language using only of the principles and procedures provided by linguistics “It is
the process of determine the incidence, nature, causes and consequence of unsuccessful
language.

Steps For Error Analysis

Error Analysis is carried out in four consecutive stages as stated by Ellis (1994, p.
48). These stages are as:1. Collection of a sample of learner language 2. Identification of
errors 3. Description of errors 4. Explanation of errors
These stages are summarized and discussed in the following subsections.

Collection Of a Sample Of Learner Language

Researchers are different from each other in their choice of data collection
methods. According to this stage, learners' errors are influenced by a group of important
factors. Ellis (1994, p. 49) asserts that these factors are significant in "collecting a well-
defined sample of learner language so that clear statements can be made regarding what
kinds of errors the learners produce and under what conditions

Identification of Errors

There are certain ways to distinguish between an error and a mistake. The first one
is associated with checking the consistency of the L2 learner's performance. If a learner
 Error Analysis and Corrective Feedback 8

sometimes uses the correct form of a certain structure or rule and later on uses the wrong
one, then it is a mistake and can be self-corrected. However, if he/she always uses it
wrongly, then it is an error. The second way is associated with asking an L2 learner to
correct his/her deviant utterance. In case that he/she is unable to, the deviations are errors,
and where he/she is successful, they are mistakes. Identification of an error is different
from explaining what an error is. Corder has provided a common model for identifying
errors in the utterances of L2/FL learners. According to his model "every sentence is to be
regarded as idiosyncratic until shown to be otherwise". His model provides a good
distinction between what he calls 'overt' and 'covert ‘errors. If a sentence is ill-formed in
terms of TL rules, it has been regarded as 'overtly idiosyncratic' whilst the sentence that is
superficially well-formed but does not mean that the learner intends to mean has been
regarded as 'covertly idiosyncratic'. Corder states "to identify the presence and nature of an
error, an interpretation of the learner's utterance is necessary". It could be understood that
Corder wants to indicate the importance of interpretation of learners' utterances. Such an
interpretation might reveal the main differences between 'what a leaner wants to say ‘and
'what a learner has said'. Corder's model shows that literal translation can be a probable
indicator of the FL learners' errors which might be attributed to interference from their
own MT. Identifying FL/L2 learners' errors is fundamental for determining the standard
against which a particular item that is considered erroneous. Brown, Ellis and Corder
"consider any deviation from what a native speaker would produce, as an error".
Therefore, an error can be any choice, by the language learners, which strays from its
proper application, as would be expected from a typical, knowledgeable, indigenous
speaker of the language being learnt; otherwise, go against whichever canon in dialogue,
of slurred 'language grammar' along with practice. Appropriate elucidation of the
inaccuracies can commence when faults are recognized.

Description of Errors

This stage of EA takes place after the identification step. No description can be
made without identifying the errors. Such a description of FL learners' errors is a
prerequisite for a good explanation of errors. Particularly, description of errors helps in
serving three major purposes. These purposes can be summarized as follows: Initially,
would be to instinctively expound all that is unstated, to substantiate an individual’s
 Error Analysis and Corrective Feedback 9

instinct. The second purpose can be as a prerequisite for counting learners' errors. A third
purpose is to create categories and subcategories for errors which can help in the process
of developing a comprehensive taxonomy of L2 errors.Corder classifies FL learners' errors
in terms of the differences between their utterance and the reconstructed version. Based on
that, errors are classified into four categories: omission, selection, addition, or mis
ordering of some elements. According to Ellis, omission appears when a student leaves a
required item for an utterance out of a sentence that he/she constructed. For example, there
is boy over there. This sentence leaves out the article 'a' which should be added before the
word 'boy'. Selection can be done by selecting an incorrect element. Addition is by adding
unnecessary elements. Lastly, mis ordering which can be done by misplacing the item or
putting it in the wrong place. Ellis points out that "classifying errors in these ways can
help us to diagnose learners’ learning problems at any stage of their development and to
plot how changes in error patterns occur over time". Erdogan makes the aforementioned
categories very clear by providing some examples: Omission: Morphological omission A
strange thing happen to me yesterday'. Syntactical omission 'Must also say the names?'
Addition: In morphology the books is here.' In syntax The London' In lexicon 'I stayed
there during five years ago.

Selection

In morphology My friend is oldest than me.' In syntax I want that he comes here.'
rdering: In pronunciation 'fignisicant for ‘significant’; prulal for ‘plural’' In morphology
'get upping for ‘getting up’' In syntax 'He is a dear to me friend.' In lexicon 'key car for
‘car key’' Brown states that "An error may vary in magnitude. It can include a phoneme, a
morpheme, a word, a sentence or even a paragraph. Due to this fact, errors may also be
viewed as being either global or local". Erdogan distinguishes between the global and
local errors. He indicates that global errors might hinder communication by preventing
understanding of the intended meaning.

Below is such an instance: " I like bus, but my mother said so not that we must be
late for school." In contrast, local errors might not stop comprehension of the intended
meaning if only a slight breach in a single part of the ‘sentence’ concerned occurs, hence
 Error Analysis and Corrective Feedback 10

enabling a correct assumption by the listener. Below is such an example: "If I hear from
her, I will let you know."

Explanation of Errors

The ultimate objective of EA theory is explanation of errors. Hence, this stage is

considered the most important for EA research. To reach to some effective remedial
measures, Sanal claims that the analyst should be aware of the mechanism that triggers
each type of error. Explaining the nature of errors is a fundamental issue in SLA. Ellis and
Barkhuizen declare that "explaining errors involves determining their sources in order to
account for why they were made". In Ellis's words, explanation of errors "involves an
attempt to establish the processes responsible for L2 acquisition". On the other hand, Ellis
explains the psycholinguistic sources of the nature of L2 learners' errors by classifying
them as errors of performance and errors of competence. The following

Illustrates ellis's explanation.

Errors of competence can be caused by applying the rules of the TL wrongly whilst
the errors of performance are the result of committing mistakes repeatedly in language
use. Generally, FL/L2 learners' errors might be attributed to different sources or linguistic
factors that might affect the process of English language learning such as L1 influence or
the effect of TL itself. These linguistic factors are called interlingual and intralingual
interference. They are considered as the two major linguistic factors that might negatively
affect FL/L2 acquisition; James,; Brown, To conclude, errors, whether interlingual or
intralingual, remain vital to understanding learners’ strategies. Analyzing such errors,
which includes identifying, describing, classifying and explaining them can be of much
help to FL/L2 researchers, syllabus designers and EFL/ESL teachers. However, focusing
on only one of these linguistic factors is not sufficient for the researchers who are
interested in investigating and analyzing L2/FL learners’ errors. Explanations for each
type of L2 errors are highly required. The following subsections give an in-depth
discussion of these errors.
 Error Analysis and Corrective Feedback 11

During a course students’ performance is regularly assessed by grades on papers,

quizzes, and exams until they receive the final grade. This information does not always
come in time for the students to improve their learning while they are attending a course.
That is why students need to be given feedback during the course, as well.

Feedback

Feedback refers to the information that learners receive from their teacher about their
performance, which will help them take self-corrective action and improve their
achievement. Learners receive feedback from several sources: themselves, the learning
task, fellow students, and the teacher. The purpose of giving feedback in the classroom is
to improve learner performance, it provides constructive advice, and guidance to learners
in their effort to raise their performance levels. Feedback is generally given for
informational and/or motivational purposes. Informational feedback corrects errors that the
learner commits, but it should not be demotivating. Feedback can also be used as a device
to reinforce learning. Effective feedback focuses on the learner’s performance and stresses
both strengths and suggestions for improvement.

Conclusion

Harmer (1991) makes a distinction between two different kinds of feedback:

content and form feedback. Content feedback involves the assessment of how good the
students’ performance was in the communicative activity, focusing on their ability to
perform the task rather than deal with the correctness of them language used in the
activity. Form feedback deals with the linguistic accuracy of the students’ performance.
The teacher will record the errors the students are making during the activity and will
give a feedback on their successful achievement as well as discuss their errors and
mistakes.
Error Analysis and Corrective Feedback 12

References