A Corpus-based Error Analysis On The Production Of Phrasal Verbs In English By Chinese College Non-English Majors

Phrasal verbs are generally defined as combinations of verbs with adverbial or prepositional particles. They are pervasively used in English, which constitutes an essential part of everyday communication. Therefore, students find them vital for understanding. However, it is one of the most difficult and troublesome lexical areas, especially for learners of English as a foreign language. Phrasal verbs cause difficulties for English learners because of their meaning and grammar.Based on the literature review, a comprehensive illustration of phrasal verbs is made. It is widely recognized that Chinese students frequently make mistakes in the use of phrasal verbs, which could find evidence in many of their exam papers and daily performances in classroom. However, the reasons why they often make such kind of mistakes have not been systematically studied. The present study is designed not only to examine Chinese non-English majors'proficiency of using phrasal verbs, but also to explore the causes that lead to the misuse of phrasal verbs. It aims to study phrasal verbs from the respect of error analysis of the Chinese Learners'English Corpus (CLEC), involving both qualitative and quantitative research methods. From the statistics analyzed by SPSS software package, the results of chi-square test testify the hypothesis that there are no significant differences among the students'use of phrasal verbs at different English proficiency levels.Furthermore, based on the results of corpus analysis, three major causes that lead to the students'misuse of phrasal verbs are generalized. The present study exposes some problems existing in Chinese non-English majors'use of phrasal verbs. Some pedagogical implications and suggestions are put forward. It is suggested that language teachers and students should raise their awareness of the importance of phrasal verb learning. Specific techniques for teaching phrasal verbs or help learners successfully using phrasal verbs are provided. Limitations and recommendation for the future research are suggested.