The Nature of Learner Language Ellies 2003 Chapter 2 PP 15-30

1. The Nature of Learner LanguageEllies 2003 Chapter 2PP 15-30 WindaPutri S 2201410076

2. Errors and Error Analysis • Identifying errors • Describing errors • Explaining errors • Error Evaluation

3. Identifying Error The first step in analysing learner error is to identify them. This is a transcription of a story, told by Jean, an adult French learner of English

4. One day an Indian gentleman, a snake charmer, arrived in England by plane. He was coming from Bombay with two pieces of luggage. The big of them contained a snake. A man and a little boy was watching him in the customs area.

5. To Identify errors, we have to compare the sentence learner produce with what seem to be the normal or correct language For example: A man and a little boy was watching him. It is not difficult to see that the correct sentence should be A man and a little boy were watching him.

6. Decribing Errors Once all the errors have been identified, they can be described and classified into types. There are several ways of doing this • One ways is to classify errors into grammatical categories • Another way might be to try to identify general ways in which the learners’ utterance differ from the reconstructed target language utterance

7. Explaining Errors The identification and description of error are preliminaries to the much more interesting task of trying to explain why they occur. Errors are not only systematic; many of them also universal. However, not all errors are universal. Some error are common only to learner who share the same mother toungue.

8. Source of Errors • Learner commit errors of omission • They also overgeneralize form that they find easy to learn and process • Reflect learners’ attempt to make use their first language knowledge. These are known as transfer error

9. Error Evaluation Some errors, known as global errors, violate overall structure of a sentence and for this reason may take it difficult to process. Example: The Policeman was in the corner whistle….. Which is difficult to understand because the basic structure of the sentence is wrong

10. Development Pattern • The early stage of second language acquisition • The order of acquisition • Sequence of acquisition • Some implication

11. The early stage of second language acquisition In such circumstances, some second language learners, when they are children, undergo a silent period. When they begin to speak in second language their speech is likely to manifest two particular characteristic: • Formulaic Chunk • Proportional Simplification

12. The order of acquisition To investigate the order of acquisition, researcher choose a number of grammatical structure to study. They then collect sample of learner language and identity how accurately each feature is used by different learner.

13. Sequence of acquisition Acquisition follows as U-shaped course of development. Learner may display a high level of accuracy only to apparently regress later before finally once again performing in accordance with target-language norm. As learner restructure their grammatical systems, they may appear to regress whereas in fact they are advancing

14. Some implication The discovery of common pattern in the way in which learner language changes overtime is one of the most important findings of SLA. Some linguistic feature are inherently easier to learn than others. This has implications for both SLA theory and for language teaching.

15. Variability in Learner Language Learners language is variable. At any given stage of development, learners sometimes employ one form and sometimes another. Thus, one type of error may alternate with another type:

16. Variability in Learner Language Yesterday the thief steal the suitcase Yesterday the thief stealing the suitcase Or an error may alternate with the correct target-language form Yesterday the thief steal the suitcase Yesterday the thief stole the suitcase As we have already noted, there is even one verb that occurs in both correct and erroneous forms at different points of the narrative