Grammar for English Teachers - Term Paper Example

Grammar for English Teachers Students Name Institution Supervisors Name Date Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 2 2.0 Analysis of three features of grammar 3 2.1 Phonetics 3 2.1 Tenses 5 2.2 Verbs 7 2.3 Nouns 10 Sources 12 1.0 Introduction Language is an instrument of communication among people. It is a well structured and special characteristic of human interaction. Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions, and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols[Jan09]. Learning a new language involves such components as grammar, vocabulary and phonology. It is necessary to make a distinction between two processes: acquiring and learning a language. The former can be defined as a subconscious process that is identical to the process children utilize in acquiring their first language[Chi09]. This essay takes a look at three grammatical errors committed by second language learners of English (ESL). The analysis of the paper will be based on observing Form Four students of a boarding school in Kuantan. For their grammatical errors to be identified, samples of their written work under the genre of narrative writing are also analysed. Subsequently, the errors are recorded and classified based on types and forms of errors such as the wrong or inappropriate uses of , phonetics, Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives (Parts of Speech) and Tenses[Cla10]. In addition, this paper provides useful information as well as the analysis and discussion on various errors which are commonly found in narrative writing[Wil14]. The results of this small scale study may be useful for extended research in the field of Error Analysis especially on ESL learners in boarding schools. 2.0 Analysis of three features of grammar 2.1 Phonetics This is one of the areas in grammar that mostly deals with the medium of speech. Phonetics thus deals with the transmission, production and reception of the human speck. In order for speech to be produced, the one will need air streams. Speech sounds are thus very broadly divided in to two areas, known as consonants and vowels; these are the main features of phonetics. For example, if we say that the English word shoe, we are able to realize that the word is made up of two sounds, this are the shand oe. However, in the same line, when we produce the sound that is represented by the letters sh in a slow motion, we are able to realize the air escapes through the mouth with friction[Per08]. The difference is that when we produce the word oe the air moves out of the mouth freely. The sounds that we here with friction are known as consonants, while the sounds that we hear without friction are known as vowels[Muk13]. For ESL learners, this can prove to be a challenge as well and we find them making a lot of mistakes in a word like car where one will pronounce the c with K and ar ending with a rrrr. Consonants explained When describing consonants we usually take in to account, whether the consonant is voiced or it is voiceless, the other thing that matters with regard to consonants will be the way the person articulates. This is the structure that is involved and nasal, fricative or plosive. Such are the labels that are given to consonants with regard to the articulation manner. With this regard, it is usually difficult for ESL learners to embrace consonants with regard to English due to the influence of their mother tongue. The manner that they articulate will always depend on the way that their first language is articulated. Consonants are thus described with regard to different places of articulation. The label that is commonly used is an adjective from the name that is derived from a passive articulator. For example, dental, retroflex an glottal. Vowels explained Vowels are usually defined with regard to an open approximation and no obstruction, complete or air passage. In other words they are usually referred to as vocoids in relation to part of the tongue that is raised or lowered, height of the tongue and lip-rounding. In this case, vocoids are mostly referred to with regard to the above criteria, tongue height( half close, half ope and open, and tongue advancement which is usually looked at when the tongue is advanced in front, back and central or lip rounding with is unrounded or rounded. For ESL learners, this usually presents a lot of challenges in describing a word with a e i o u. most of them tend to follow their native language in pronouncing different words. For example, in Asia, o; u, u/ is a, E’’, E’’, u, u:/ in English. For example as it is used in cart, caught or book respectively.A vowel can thus be described by use of a three term label that indicates the direction, the height and the position of the lips. For example, /a:/ in the English word arm, open or back is an unrounded vowel. /E’’? in the English word back, open, is a rounded vowel while /i:/ in the English word need is an unrounded vowel[Pat13]. 2.1 Tenses Tenses are one of the three most common types of grammatical errors identified from the students’ writing, the other ones that will be discussed in this essay are Verb and Noun. These three types of errors can be further divided into several categories in detail; considering the examples of errors extracted from the writing. This is especially true for students who have English as Being the Second Language, (ESL). It is also found that, for ESL learners starting to learn a new language, it becomes one of the most important areas that they will need to learn basic rules of grammar of the target language in the first place. And even though it might be easier to speak any language that it is when putting it on paper or understanding it, the ability of learners to write a sentence in a grammatically correct way is usually put in to much consideration especially with regard to an education system that seem to rely mostly on written examination so as to measure the academic performance of learners[Chi09]. As presented in the statistics, the most common grammatical errors committed fall under the category of Tenses. Since the genre of the essay given to the students is narrative, it could somehow be predicted that they tend to commit errors on the application of Past Tense. Most errors of this type portray that the students did not change the Verbs into Past Tense form[WMc05]. However, when we look at special cases, for example where one finds that such errors contained more than three tense issues of the same type, the Verbs will usually tend to be repeatedly used in Present Tense from the beginning until the end of the writing. For exampleIn a sentence such as: Then, Adam, my only son bring it to me and show me the album. He also ask me to tell him a story about a picture of me and the guy beside me at a river holding a big, huge catfish. Suddenly, an unrank sad feeling attack my heart and soul…1 With regard to the above excerpt, the bold words are Verbs which the student did not change into Past Tense form. Since it had been made compulsory for the essay to begin with the sentence ‘It had been raining all day’, the student should have understood that all the Verbs used to describe things happening in the past should be in the form of Past Tense. Thus, the bold Verbs in Excerpt above, should be written as ‘brought’, ‘showed’, ‘asked’ and ‘attacked’. Besides the Simple Past Tense, there are two types of Tenses which have not been correctly applied in the students’ writing. For example: (a) “Ryan, I am sorry. I has try my best but God’s plan is flawless”, or (b) She was try start a piggy bank for them so they could go to college2. Both sentences in the above excerpt contain errors on the application of two types of Tenses. Sentence (a) shows the error represented by the phrase ‘has try’. For this example, the student should have applied the rule of Present Perfect Tense which takes the form of ‘verb to have + a past participle’ which should make up the correct phrase of ‘has tried’. Putting Sentence (a) into the context of the whole essay, the Past Perfect is not applied to correct the bold phrase because the sentence is a dialogue; spoken directly at that particular moment. For sentence (b), the error represented by the bold phrase is categorized under the application of the Past Continuous Tense[Noa14]. This type of tense is used to talk about something happening around a past time. It takes the form of ‘verb to be + (verb+ing), resulting in the correct form of the phrase ‘was trying’ which is supposed to be used in sentence (b). 2.2 Verbs With regard to Verbs, there is no need for one to be afraid of using drilling because this can be useful especially when the sentence will involve new concepts that are to be fixed in the learners brain. When one fails to observe the rules of grammar and ensure that they are stored in the brain, it could lead to the learner committing some of the most common grammatical mistakes. Here grammatical mistakes refers to the unsystematic error of the learner, however, this does not imply to the systematic error of the learner from which one is able to reconstruct his or her knowledge of the language. However, the underlying reason for doing this would also imply that errors committed by the learner are classified in systematic manner[Lin08]. However, every once in a while, people who speak their native language, will most often make mistakes with regard to the two errors. However they key to differentiating grammatical mistakes and grammatical errors is the fact that grammatical mistakes are usually self-corrected when they are addressed. Errors in the use of Verbs vary from those related to tenses with the applications of certain types of verb including Modal Verbs, Verb versus Noun, verbs in passive form and also Verb to be[Lor01]. For these findings to be clarified, the excerpts below are further analyzed. (a) While I was sawing her, I remember to my cousin… (b) We saw her leg was blooding seriously. (c) I cannot accepted the fate but I tried to be calm. (d) Her parents dead in an accident. (e) Shah found with a pale face and Shah was declare dead. (f) I hoped she at home. I tried to find her at her favourite bookstore but she not there. I just wanted to confess my feeling toward her before it too late. I still happy because she was the last image that I saw. (g) Shestoped and started to run3. The first two sentences show errors on the use of Verbs in relation to Past Continuous Tense. However, the obvious problem is that the form ‘verb + ing’ is not applied appropriately since the student should not have used Past Tense form of the Verb added with the continuous form ‘–ing’ which creates the word ‘sawing’ instead of ‘seeing’. On the other hand, the second sentence shows the incorrect form of the Verb which should be ‘bleed + ing’ and not the noun ‘blood’ plus the continuous form of ‘–ing’. Based on the students’ writing, there are quite a number of errors in the use of Modal Verbs just like the one committed in sentence (c). Although the whole idea is that verbs describing past events in the essay should be in the Past Tense, it is restricted that the use of Modal Verb should be followed by the root word of a Verb resulting in the correct phrase of ‘cannot accept’ substituting the wrong one, ‘cannot accepted’. Next, sentence (d) is one of those sentences in the students’ writing which portrays the interchanging of choices between Verb and Noun, while in other situation it is between Verb and Adjective. For sentence (d) in the excerpt, the student might have wanted to use the word ‘dead’ as a Verb but it should be corrected to form the sentence as ‘Her parents died in an accident’. Alternatively, the students could still use the word ‘dead’ functioning as Adjective; resulting in the new sentence of ‘Her parents were dead because of the accident’. Another common error in the use of Verbs is regarding the Passive Verb forms such as those highlighted in sentence (e). The restricted form of a Passive Verb is ‘be + a participle’. Therefore, the grammatical sentence to correct those errors in sentence (e) would be ‘Shah was found with a pale face and he was declared dead’. This is the grammatically correct sentence with the application of passive form, concordant with the tense used for the whole essay which is Past Tense. The other grammatical errors in the use of Verbs might not be considered as the wrong use of Verbs. It is actually the omission of Verbs, which in this case in sentence (f), the omission of Verb to be before a Preposition or Adjective. Obeying the grammatical rules, the corrections would change those phrases into ‘she was at home’, ‘she was not there’, ‘it was too late’ and ‘I was still happy’. Besides, a minor error in the use of Verbs is identified when the Simple Past form of the word ‘stop’ is spelled wrongly as ‘stoped’. The correct spelling should be ‘stopped’; another ‘p’ is added before the word is added with the morpheme ‘-ed’ to mark the use of Simple Past[Tim12]. 2.3 Nouns As presented in the statistics, errors in the use of Nouns are included in the three most common types of grammatical errors committed by students in their writing. This type of error is further divided into several categories or forms represented by the sentences in the following excerpt. (a) We took all the three point. (b) With 10 game remaining, we had won six matches, drawn three and lost one. (c) Almost every weekend, Shah andme went swimming in the river. (d) After a few minute, my mother, me and rescue team arrived at the river bank. (e) As fast as my foots could bring me, I hoped she was at home4. In sentence (a) and sentence (b), the uses of both nouns are incorrect since the nouns are not concordant with the numbers before them. As the rule of grammar has stated, Nouns which are more than one are classified as plural Nouns and the regular form of plural Nouns is ‘noun + s’. Thus, the grammatically correct use of Nouns should modify ‘point’ and ‘game’ into ‘points’ and ‘games’ respectively[Car14].The second category of errors on the use of Nouns is identified in sentence (c), with the Noun ‘me’ in bold. This is a very common error found in the students’ writing where it involves the structure of those sentences with the Pronoun ‘me’ being used instead of the correct form; ‘Shah and I’. The same goes to the errors in ‘me and my family’ in another situation where it is supposedly written as ‘my family and I’[Mic10]. In most cases, the errors emerged overgeneralization, which involves an unusual structure in place of two regular structures; for examples, ‘He can sings’, ‘We are hope’, ‘It is occurs’. In other words, overgeneralization takes place when the learners apply the same grammatical rule for all events. For instance, learners have been taught that Verbs written in Past Tense form should take the form of ‘verb + (-ed)’ while they might care less about irregular verb forms. Sentence (e) in Excerpt portrays an error due to the over-generalisation of the plural form of the Noun “foots”. The error committed shows the occurance of over-generalisation of the plural Noun form which usually takes the form of ‘noun + (-s)’. The students applied the regular form of plural Noun while the correct form should be ‘feet’. Meanwhile, in sentence (g) taken from, the over-genaralisation is identified in the word ‘stoped’ which applies the regular form of Past Tense ‘verb + (-ed)’ when the correct one should be ‘stopped’. As the general rule of Past Tense form of Verbs is overgeneralised, this particular learner might not be aware of the irregular forms[Per08]. Discussing the common errors will look at the learners’ competence which cannot be self-corrected. Thus, the students continuously apply the same rules of grammar in the way that they understand that they tend to overgeneralise them until the errors are highlighted by others who have the competence. Besides, the errors may be due to ignorance of rule restriction is closely related to the generalization of deviant structures.However, as the context is taken into consideration, the use of Past Tense in dialogue is actually referred to as error committed possibly because of the ignorance of rule restriction. Even though there are many of these errors, the question on why ESL learners would commit this common grammatical mistakes is still a question to ponder on. According to several findings, one of the causes of this could be the interference that learners get from their first language or their native language. Grammatical error committed by learners should be taken as being the tool of critical pedagogical feedback for ESL teachers. They need to improve and reflect on their own deficiencies in knowledge, teaching methods and lesson planning[Edw08]. With regard to the Malaysian context, there are so many studies which are conducted with regard to common grammatical errors in writing for ESL learners. This has been presented almost in the same findings on the errors on beginners. Among the reported errors were Subject-Verb Agreement, use of Pronouns, wrong or inappropriate choice of word, and problems in Tenses which covered 50.6 percent of the total errors. As presented in the statistics, errors in the use of Nouns are included in the three most common types of grammatical errors committed by students in their writing[Man09]. Sources Jan09: , (Bell, 2009), Chi09: , (Chia-Hui, 2009), Cla10: , (Leacock, Chodorow, & Gamon, 2010), Wil14: , (Bradshaw, 2014), Per08: , (F, Owen, & Karen, 2008), Muk13: , (Jayakaran, Ilhamanggai, & Vahid, 2013), Pat13: , (Lightbown & Spada, 2013), WMc05: , (McCashen, 2005), Noa14: , (Chomsky & Raskin, Masters of Mankind: Essays and Lectures, 1969-2013, 2014), Lin08: , (Fernstein, 2008), Lor01: , (Morris, 2001), Tim12: , (Pinneo, 2012), Car14: , (Reover, 2014), Mic10: , (Grave, August, & Mancilla-Martinez, 2010), Edw08: , (Sapir, 2008), Man09: , (Jack, 2009), Read More