Error Analysis Of Cohesion In English Writing And Its Implications In The ELT

On the theories of Second Language Acquisition, Functional Linguistics, Psycholinguistics, and English Writing, this M.A. thesis intends to use the framework of Error Analysis (EA) to look into the insights of linguistic features and the properties of learner errors made in English writing, and further to implicate some new approaches to the treatment of errors and the teaching of writing in the ELT in Chinese context.The thesis provides definitions of error and delimitations of error study. Learners can make errors in both the comprehension level and the production level of the target language. This thesis only attempts to probe the production errors, for, as Corder (1974: 125) says, 'it is very difficult to assign the cause of failures of comprehension to an inadequate knowledge of a particular syntactic feature of a misunderstood utterance'. That is why comprehension errors have received scant attention. Based on the fundamental thoughts that 'to err is human' and that errors are indispensable with the learner and attributable to learning, the thesis traces the theoretical bases of the study of learner errors, and it reviews different paradigms of or research approaches to the examination of learner errors. The study of learner errors has gone through different stages. Language researchers have adopted different paradigms to investigate learner errors. Generally speaking there are paradigms of Contrastive Analysis, Error Analysis, Interlanguage, and Transfer Analysis, viewed from different psychological and linguistic perspectives like Behaviorism and Structuralism, Cognitivism and Humanism. Then the thesis offers a general understanding of errors, with regard to the definitions, descriptions, and classifications of errors.Secondly, the thesis makes a cross-sectional research of cohesion errors in English writing in Chinese context. Some general rules of cohesion errors are concluded and the result found in this study indicates that Chinese students generally failed in writing coherently. With the analysis of possible causes oferrors and with the theoretical understandings of error causes, the author concludes a three-tier frame oF error reasons, which are classified into individual, internal, and external sources.Finally, relating to the teaching oF English Writing and the importance oF error Feedback, the thesis accordingly gives the implications in the ELT. The thesis holds that learner errors attribute to the success oF language learning. The study oF learners themselves and how and why they make such errors are more important and meaningful than that of the surface linguistic Forms.Though there are still problems and opposite views oF EA, Further work and empirical studies are sure to be carried on to explore its nature, and thus to facilitate the language teaching and learning practices in China. The present thesis is consisted of xix chapters:Chapter One is an introduction of error studies. It has two parts. Firstly, the need to study errors has been slated. The study oF errors in the process of Language acquisition is an indispensable part of linguistic research. The importance of error study has been highlighted since Lado's publication of Linguistics Across Culture in 1957. Though there have been some criticisms oF error study, more and more researchers have come to revive its importance and more and more related materials have been published. Secondly, the chapter introduces the overall organization of this thesis.Chapter Two is a literature review of error studies. Different approaches and paradigms in the study of learner errors are provided respectively. From contrastive analysis to error analysis, and From transfer analysis to interlanguage, different theories put different emphasis on the study of errors. The chapter can also be seen as a brief historical account of error analysis, along with its heyday and criticism. Finally this chapter gives us a general understanding oF error definitions, descriptions, and classifications.Chapter Three provides us with a methodology, offering...