A Study On Misuse Of Verbs In Senior High School Students’ English Writing

Writing is a fundamental tool for language learners to express themselves and convey their thoughts,which makes it a crucial aspect of senior high school English teaching.Nevertheless,the differences between Chinese and English languages make the acquisition of English verbs one of the most challenging areas for Chinese learners.Therefore,studying verb types in student writing and analyzing the sources for verb errors is necessary to improve writing instruction.Based on the error analysis(EA)and corpus linguistics theory,this study collects a sample of 300 English compositions from two exams in a senior high school using a small corpus for statistical analysis of texts,questionnaires,and interviews.The study seeks to answer the following questions.1.What are the verb errors appearing in the English writing of senior high school students? What is the frequency distribution?2.Regarding English writing,what are the differences between high and low-scored compositions in verb errors?3.What are the possible factors which cause these verb errors?The study finds that,firstly,there are nine types of verb errors committed by senior high school students,among which agreement and non-finite errors are the most common,with a frequency exceeding 20%.Tense errors and set phrase errors close behind,with a frequency higher than 10%.Finite errors,modal errors,voice errors,pattern errors and mood errors all have a frequency lower than 10%.Secondly,for each dimension of verb errors,there are significant differences between high and low-scored compositions in terms of agreement errors,finite errors,and non-finite errors.Thirdly,the causes of verb errors can be categorized into two main factors:linguistic and non-linguistic.Linguistic factors include interlingual transfer and intralingual transfer,while non-linguistic factors include learners’ language proficiency,learning strategies,teachers’ emphasis on English verbs,and students’ attitudes and psychological factors.In light of the results of the analysis,this study proposes to reduce English verb errors committed by senior high school students by focusing on various teaching approaches to strengthen students’ understanding of English verbs and Chinese verbs,consolidating students’ basic knowledge of English verbs to reduce intralingual transfer,fostering good learning habits among students to improve their learning strategies,increasing students’ enthusiasm and enhancing their confidence in writing,implementing a scientific approach to error correction and evaluation.