A Study On Learners' Errors And The Teaching Of English Writing In Colleges

Error analysis, as a branch of applied linguistics, undoubtedly has made much contribution to the study on second language teaching. It mirrors to some extent the process of second language learning, thus providing some insights on the problems and weaknesses learners are confronted with and what they are weak in. The study of learners' errors which can reveal the general situation of learners' learning is believed to be of great help to language teachers to adjust their teaching methods and procedures.Chinese learners' writing is always a weak link in the four basic skills "Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing". However, writing is the best yardstick to measure one's English capability. The low grades of writing in many important examinations disclose the weakness of learners' writing and the diverse errors are a reflection of the deficiencies in the teaching method. The present study is to make a detailed analysis and discussion on the errors in learners' English writings. The research materials were obtained from a comprehensive key university in Shandong Province. 148 compositions of junior students majored in science were collected as research samples. Then all the errors were identified and categorized statistically according to different linguistic levels and sources, including intralingual, interlingual and ambiguous kinds.The findings are that (1) lexical errors take the highest proportion, and most of them are caused by intralingual or developmental reasons; this reflects the learners' poor command of English vocabulary; (2) it is common for learners to do literal translation on lexical items, incurring wrong word choices or improper collocations; (3) intralingual errors take the lead in contrast to other reasons; (4) Chinese flavor in learners' expressions is very striking though Chinese negative transfer is the second main reason for errors in the ranking. Subsequently, corresponding countermeasures are suggested.Analysis of learners' errors can mirror the problems in their learning process, according to which teachers can reflect the gap between what they have taught and what learners have learned, thus adjusting the teaching focus and adopting pointed teaching strategies. In spite of its limitations of the present study, it is still hoped that some enlightenment and beneficial reference can be offered to English writing teaching and other related teaching theoretically and practically.