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Error Analysis
Instructor
Marwan Alalimi

Errors and mistakes
• An error : is a faulty utterance
produced by language learners as a
result of incomplete knowledge.
• A mistake : is a faulty utterance
produced by language learners caused
by lack of attention, fatigue or
carelessness.

Error analysis
• The process of studying and analyzing
the errors which are made by second
language learners.
• It studies the types and causes of
errors.
• It is an alternative to contrastive
analysis.

How errors are seen by
behaviorists and cognitivists
 Behaviorists:
 Errors are signs of learning failure.
 Cognitivists:
 Errors are signs of language
development.

Error analysis is important…
why?
 Errors are helpful for learners to
learn.
 They are useful for teachers to
observe the learner’s progress.
They are valuable for researchers to
find out what strategies learners use
and how language is acquired.

Stages of error analysis
Recognition or identification of
errors:
 First step.
E.g.
1- George and his child was watching T.V
2- Linda goed to school yesterday.
3- she has taken a translation exam last week.
 comparison.

 Description:
 Describing and classifying errors.
E.g.
1- George and his child was watching T.V
3- she has taken a translation exam last
week.

 explanation :
 Why errors occurred ?
3- The students are clevers.
4- It is car.

Interlingual and
intralingual errors
 Interlingual errors:
Errors caused by transferring rules
from mother tongue.
 Intralingual errors:
Errors caused by second language
processing in its own terms.

Sources of errors
According to Jack Richards, there’re five factors
explaining learners' types of errors:
1. Mother tongue interference.
2. Overgeneralization.
3. Ignorance of rule restriction.
4. Incomplete application of rules.
5. False concept hypothesized.

Mother tongue
interference.
 Differences of languages’
structures. Arabic – English.
 E.g.
 They are beautifuls.
 They students.

Overgeneralization.
 Simplification strategy.
 Learned rule applied to all.
 E.g. learning to pluralize (-s)
 Two pens √
 Two mouses – Three mans- Two foots.

Ignorance of rule
restriction.
 The learner lack the knowledge of
the rule.
 E.g. I will let him to drive.
 I will make her to leave.
 She can translates very well.

Incomplete application of
rules
 Learners apply one of the two connected
rules.
 In forming negatives and interrogatives
for instance:
 She speaks English pretty well. (positive)
 She does not speaks English pretty well.(negative)
 Do she speak English pretty well? (interrogative)

False concept
hypothesized.
 Learners wrongly assume something.
 No rule’s ignored or overgeneralized.
 E.g. Assuming that Verb be “am – is –
are ” , indicate present tense.
 I am speak French.
 You are dress elegantly.

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Error analysis

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