Error analysis EA is concerned with the description and analyses of errors made by second language learners, whether they

are induced by the mother tongue or derive from some other sources. EA may be carried out in order to: Identify the strategies which learners use in language learning Try to identify the causes of learners errors Obtain information on common difficulties in language learning, as aid to teaching or in the preparation of teaching materials. EA came as a reaction to CA. Errors and Mistakes Mistake refers to a performance error that is either a random guess or a slip. A mistake is random performance slip caused by fatigue. All people make mistakes in L1 & L2. natives can recognize their mistakes and correct them. It is not the result of incompetence but imperfection. Error is a noticeable deviation from the adult grammar of a native language, reflecting the inter-language competence of the learner. (Brown, 1994). It is deviation from the norms of the TL. Error is a systematic deviation made by learners who have not mastered the rules of L2. How can you determine the difference between error and mistake? Error analysts distinguish between errors, which are systematic, and mistakes, which are not. An error cannot be self-corrected, while a mistake can be self-corrected if the deviation is pointed out to the speaker. E.g. Ali cans speak Error: lack of knowledge (competence) and mistake (competence) EA is closely related to the study of error treatment in language teaching. Today, the study of errors is particularly relevant for the focus on forms teaching methodology. Significant of EA for the teaching of English Researchers, teachers, learners of English as well as syllabus designers and materials producers have much to gain from the studies of EA and Inter-language. a) The researcher: they provide him with evidence of how language is learned or acquired. What strategies the learner uses to discover language/ it provides him/ her with evidence of the process of language acquisition. b) The teacher: to assess whatever they have taught and whatever the learners have learnt to make plans for the future to rectify their teaching methodologies to get information about how much the learner has learnt Learners error will provide the sort of data on which realistic predictions about learning and teaching can be based (Richards and Sempson, 1974)

If the learners learning strategies are understood, by a systematic study of their errors, teaching procedures could be developed to make optimal use of the learners way of learning. If the teachers know the nature of the learners system to be transitional, they would be on the look out for items, which are fossilized. They might at least make a mental note of the errors that occur over long periods of time and treat them appropriately as part of their class work. If the teachers attitude towards errors changes, they would at least encourage the learners to use the language in the class without worrying about their errors. c) The learner: signs that they are learning devices by which the learner discovered the rules of the target language. They will make attempts to from hypotheses and test them without any inhibition. They would use the language to express their feelings and attitudes. They would actively participate in the learning process. d) The syllabus designer and Materials producer Longitudinal (see Cross-sectional) studies of acquisition of mother tongue as well as English could be carried out to see how far the hypotheses about the grammatical rules of mother tongue and English are related. Processes in EA 1. Identification: a) Over errors: ungrammatical utterances at the sentence level (Nada she go to school; I angry b) Covert errors: grammatical but not interpretable within the context of communication: A: Who are you? B: I am fine, thanks. 2. Classification: errors can be classified according to the level of language: phonological errors, vocabulary or lexical errors, syntactic errors, and so on. They may be assessed according to the degree to which they interfere with communication: global errors make an utterance difficult to understand, while local errors do not. In the above example, I angry would be a local error, since the meaning is apparent. 3. Description: to develop a typology of errors. Error can be classified according to basic type: Omissions (omissive): she sleeping Additions: (additive): I went to the Marrakesh Misinformation: the dog eated the chicken Misorederings (word order): what Ali is doing? 4. Explanation: Interlingual transfer (result of interference when the learner transferred native language habits into the L2. Intralingual transfer/development errors (Overgeneralisation): caused by the extension of target language rules to inappropriate contexts) Context of learning (teaching Induced errors)

Communication strategies

Fossilization manifested phonologically in foreign accent It is defined as the relatively permanent incorporation of incorrect linguistic forms into a persons second language competence. It is the internalization of incorrect forms. R and r t and T L2 learners will keep certain forms in their IL that differ from the TL regardless of further study and exposure to the TL Due to the different structures used for L1 vs. L2 learning